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50 free United States trivia questions with answers. Think you know America? From the founding fathers to modern landmarks, from state capitals to constitutional amendments, this quiz covers the breadth of the United States. Whether you are brushing up on your civics or diving into obscure state facts, these 50 questions will challenge every level of knowledge.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How many states are in the United States?
50
The United States has 50 states; the 50th star was added to the flag on July 4, 1960, the year after the last admission.
Q 02What is the capital of the United States?
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. became the seat of the federal government in 1800 under the 1790 Residence Act; it is a federal district and not part of any state.
Q 03Which river is the longest in the United States?
Missouri
The Missouri flows 2,341 miles from Montana's Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi north of St. Louis; channelization has shortened it by almost 200 miles from pre-development times.
Q 04What is the largest state in the US by area?
Alaska
Alaska covers 663,268 square miles, more than twice the area of Texas and larger than Texas, California, and Montana combined.
Q 05Which phrase did Congress adopt as the official US national motto in 1956, later printed on paper currency?
In God We Trust
In God We Trust, first struck on the two-cent coin in 1864, became the official national motto in 1956 and first appeared on paper money on 1957 one-dollar silver certificates.
Q 06Who was the first President of the United States?
George Washington
George Washington served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797. He is often called the "Father of His Country."
Q 07In what year did the United States declare independence from Great Britain?
1776
In 1776 Congress voted for independence on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4; most delegates signed the engrossed copy on August 2.
Q 08What mountain is the tallest in the United States?
Denali
Denali in Alaska rises 20,310 feet, the highest summit in the United States and all of North America; Mount Whitney, the tallest in the lower 48, is 14,505 feet.
Q 09How many stripes are on the US flag?
13
13 stripes, 7 red and 6 white, for the original 13 colonies that declared independence from Britain.
Q 10Which US national park was the first to be established?
Yellowstone
Yellowstone, widely understood to be the first national park in the world; annual visits grew from 300 in 1872 to 5,000 by 1883 once a rail link opened.
Q 11Which amendment to the US Constitution abolished slavery?
13th
The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States. It was the first of the Reconstruction Amendments.
Q 12What faces are carved into Mount Rushmore?
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt
Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt (Theodore); Borglum carved them between 1927 and 1941, and the idea came from state historian Doane Robinson.
Q 13Which state was the last to join the United States?
Hawaii
Hawaii; it had been annexed as a US territory in 1898, five years after American and European businessmen overthrew its monarchy.
Q 21Which US territory is the largest by population?
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico, with about 3.3 million residents in the 2020 census, holds over 90 percent of the combined population of all US territories and sends a non-voting resident commissioner to Congress.
Q 22How many electoral votes must a candidate win to become US president?
270
A candidate needs 270, a majority of the 538 electors; the total has been 538 since 1964, the first election in which the 23rd Amendment's three District of Columbia votes counted.
Q 23What is the national bird of the United States?
Bald Eagle
The bald eagle has appeared on the Great Seal since 1782, but Congress only made it the official national bird in December 2024; its on-screen cry is usually a dubbed red-tailed hawk.
Q 14How many justices serve on the US Supreme Court?
9
The US Supreme Court has nine justices: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. This number has been set at nine since 1869.
Q 15The Statue of Liberty was a gift from which country?
France
The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, dedicated on October 28, 1886. It was designed by French sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi with a metal framework built by Gustave Eiffel.
Q 16How many days did William Henry Harrison serve as president before dying in office in 1841?
31
Harrison served 31 days, from his March 4, 1841 inauguration to his death on April 4; it set off a debate over whether Vice President John Tyler became president or merely acting president.
Q 17What is the smallest US state by area?
Rhode Island
Rhode Island is the smallest state at about 1,545 square miles; its official name was 'State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations' until voters shortened it in 2020.
Q 18Which war was fought between the Union and the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865?
Civil War
The Civil War began when Confederate forces bombarded Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, and ended in 1865 with Union victory and the freeing of about four million enslaved people.
Q 19What is the most populous state in the United States?
California
California is the most populous state, with about 39.5 million residents in the 2020 census, well ahead of Texas at about 29 million.
Q 20'We the People' are the opening words of which part of the US Constitution?
The Preamble
The Preamble; courts have generally held that this brief statement of the document's purposes and guiding principles grants no powers of its own.
Q 24The Grand Canyon is located in which US state?
Arizona
The Grand Canyon is located in Arizona. It is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and over a mile deep. It was carved by the Colorado River over millions of years.
Q 25Which was the first US state to allow women to vote?
Wyoming
Territorial governor John Allen Campbell signed the law on December 10, 1869, and Wyoming kept women's suffrage when it became a state in 1890.
Q 26Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech in 1963 from the steps of which landmark?
Lincoln Memorial
King spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, to more than 250,000 March on Washington participants; an inscription carved into the step marks where he stood.
Q 27Which amendment gives US citizens the right to bear arms?
2nd
It was ratified on December 15, 1791, together with nine other articles that make up the Bill of Rights.
Q 28Which of the Great Lakes is the largest by surface area?
Superior
Superior covers about 31,700 square miles, the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area.
Q 29Which American inventor is credited with inventing the light bulb?
Thomas Edison
Many inventors built incandescent lamps before him, but their bulbs were too flawed for large-scale commercial use. Edison later teamed up with British rival Joseph Swan to form Ediswan.
Q 30Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles Tennessee and which other state?
North Carolina
The park straddles the Tennessee–North Carolina line along the Appalachian crest; about 14 million visits in 2021 made it the most visited US national park that year.