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172 free U.S. History trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
174 free U.S. history trivia questions with answers. How well do you know American history? From the founding of Jamestown to the space race and beyond, this quiz covers the full sweep of U.S. history. Challenge yourself with 172 questions on presidents, landmark events, social movements, and surprising facts that shaped the nation.
30 of 172 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who was the first President of the United States?
George Washington
George Washington served as the first President from 1789 to 1797, after leading the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War.
Q 02The 1846 Oregon Treaty set the US–British boundary along which parallel?
The 49th parallel
The 49th parallel: the 1846 Oregon Treaty extended to the Pacific the line already used east of the Rockies since 1818, though expansionists had demanded everything up to 54°40′.
Q 03What was the main purpose of the Lewis and Clark Expedition?
To explore land newly bought from France
Commissioned by the president shortly after the 1803 land deal with France, the Corps of Discovery reached the Pacific in November 1805 and returned the next year.
Q 04Which amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery?
The 13th
The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, except as punishment for a crime.
Q 05Who shot the president at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on 14 April 1865?
John Wilkes Booth
Booth was a well-known stage actor from a prominent theatrical family. He fled on horseback into Southern Maryland and was tracked down twelve days later in a barn on a Virginia farm, where a Union soldier shot him dead.
Q 06What was the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620?
The Mayflower
The Mayflower carried 102 passengers from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. The Pilgrims aboard signed the Mayflower Compact, an early form of self-governance.
Q 07Which battle is considered the turning point of the Civil War?
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War and is widely considered its turning point, halting General Lee's invasion of the North.
Q 08In what year was Texas admitted to the Union as the 28th state?
1845
Texas joined the Union in 1845 after nearly a decade as an independent republic; the annexation helped trigger the Mexican–American War in 1846.
Q 09In what year did the U.S.-built Panama Canal open to shipping?
1914
The Panama Canal opened to shipping in 1914; the United States took over the failed French project in 1904, and the SS Ancon made the first official transit on 15 August 1914.
Q 10Which war was fought between the North and South regions of the United States?
The Civil War
The American Civil War (1861-1865) was fought between the Union (Northern states) and the Confederacy (Southern states) primarily over slavery and states' rights.
Q 11In what year was NASA established?
1958
NASA was established in 1958 by the National Aeronautics and Space Act, signed 29 July 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and giving the space program a civilian focus.
Q 12Who delivered the famous 'I Have a Dream' speech during the March on Washington?
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the speech on August 28, 1963, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, to a crowd of more than 250,000 people.
Q 13Where did General Cornwallis surrender his army to Washington in October 1781?
Yorktown
Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on 19 October 1781; claiming illness, he skipped the ceremony and sent Brigadier Charles O'Hara to hand over his sword.
Q 21For how many days were 52 Americans held hostage in Iran from 1979 to 1981?
444
The hostages were held for 444 days, from 4 November 1979 to 20 January 1981; the crisis ended with the Algiers Accords, and they were released minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in.
Q 22What was the Underground Railroad?
A secret network of escape routes for enslaved people
The Underground Railroad was a secret network of escape routes for enslaved people; its routes ran to free states and Canada, and conductors such as Harriet Tubman guided escapees along them.
Q 23Who commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 until its surrender in 1865?
Q 14At which 1876 engagement were Lt. Col. George Custer and five companies of the 7th Cavalry wiped out?
Little Bighorn
Lakota and other Plains peoples call it the Battle of the Greasy Grass; Custer's widow Libbie spent decades burnishing his legend.
Q 15Which Native American woman helped guide Lewis and Clark on their expedition?
Sacagawea
Sacagawea, a Lemhi Shoshone woman, served as interpreter and guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition from 1804 to 1806. Her knowledge of the terrain and languages was invaluable to the journey.
Q 16What was the primary cause of the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain?
British impressment of American sailors
The War of 1812 was largely provoked by Britain's practice of impressment, forcibly conscripting American sailors into the Royal Navy, along with British restrictions on American trade during the Napoleonic Wars.
Q 17Who was President of the United States in October 1962?
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in January 1961. At 43 he was the youngest man ever elected to the presidency, and the first Catholic to hold it.
Q 18What term names the early-1950s campaign of anti-communist accusations led by a Wisconsin senator?
McCarthyism
McCarthyism refers to the campaign of accusations of subversion and treason led by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950s. He targeted government employees, entertainers and academics with often baseless claims of communist ties.
Q 19Which state was admitted to the Union as the 50th state?
Hawaii
Hawaii became the 50th state on 21 August 1959; Alaska had been admitted in January of the same year as the 49th.
Q 20Which 1803 Supreme Court case established the principle of judicial review?
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison (1803): Chief Justice John Marshall struck down part of the Judiciary Act of 1789, the first time the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in April 1865, only months after being named general-in-chief of all Confederate forces.
Q 24What was the Homestead Act of 1862?
A law granting free land to settlers willing to farm it
Claimants could take 160 acres if they lived on and improved the land for five years; by 1934 the government had granted 1.6 million homesteads.
Q 25Which President negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia?
Andrew Johnson
President Andrew Johnson's Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. Critics initially called it 'Seward's Folly,' but it proved an extraordinary bargain.
Q 26The 1925 Scopes 'Monkey' trial over the teaching of evolution took place in which state?
Tennessee
Dayton, Tennessee: local boosters staged the case to put the small town on the map, and it drew Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan to opposite sides of the courtroom.
Q 27Which 272-word speech did Lincoln deliver at the dedication of a soldiers' cemetery in 1863?
The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address lasted only about two minutes and followed a two-hour oration by Edward Everett, the day's featured speaker.
Q 28What kind of economic activity dominated the antebellum South?
Plantation agriculture
Plantation agriculture: large estates grew cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, rice and indigo, and the system depended on enslaved labor.
Q 29Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932, flying from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland. She later disappeared during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1937.
Q 30What was the name of Franklin D. Roosevelt's domestic program to combat the Great Depression?
The New Deal
The New Deal, a 1933–1938 run of economic, social and political reforms, delivered relief, recovery and reform through programs, public works and financial regulation.