Can You Pass This High School U.S. History Test Without Googling?

By: John Miller
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
Can You Pass This High School U.S. History Test Without Googling?
Image: shutterstock

About This Quiz

From the Stamp Act to the Boston Tea Party, tensions between Britain and its 13 New World colonies slowly but surely ratcheted to extreme levels in the 1770s. Finally, on July 4, 1776, the Founding Fathers - after much heated debate - decided to ratify the Declaration of Independence. King George was infuriated, and the American Revolution was on. In this United States history quiz, do you really know how the world's sole superpower came to be?

Sure, George Washington is often credited as the guy who won the war for the Continental Army. But did you know that the "father” of the country was actually not a great strategist? In warfare, his primary strength was tenacity and perseverance against a larger and better-equipped British force. What else do you think you know about the Revolution and the men who led it?

The tumult of the Revolution had barely ended when another war began. Do you know which war it was, and how it affected America?

As the republic grew and spread, it gained new territories and settled them with wild abandon. How much do recall about the frontier era and its politics?
In the 20th century, the U.S. dealt with major turmoil at home and abroad, grappling with basic human rights, voting issues and a Communist foe that just wouldn't go away.

Take our U.S. history quiz now! Maybe you'll tap into your inner Thomas Jefferson and ace this tough challenge, or maybe you'll "John Tyler” yourself into the oblivion of disgrace!

Which event drew the United States into World War II?
invasion of Poland
attack on Pearl Harbor
9/11 attacks
The Fourth of July celebrates the ratification of which famous document?
Bill of Rights
Declaration of Independence
Constitution
Which country gave immense support to the colonies during the American Revolution?
France
Japan
Panama

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Which American president was assassinated in Dallas in 1963?
Ronald Reagan
William McKinley
John Kennedy
The Reconstruction Era followed which violent period in American history?
Spanish-American War
World War I
Civil War
Which person was a Civil War hero, and later, U.S. president?
Jimmy Carter
John Tyler
Ulysses Grant

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When the Cold War with _____ ended in 1991, the United States was the only superpower left standing.
Britain
USSR
Canada
How many nuclear weapons did America use during World War II?
1
2
6
What did the Mason-Dixon Line mark?
the area between states where slavery was and wasn't legal
It separated blacks from whites,
a line in the sand

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Which battle started the Civil War?
Battle of Fort Sumter
Battle of Normandy
Battle of Iwo Jima
In 1803, the U.S. obtained a huge swath of land from France in the _______ Purchase.
Oregon
Louisiana
Texas
What is the longest war in U.S. history?
World War II
Gulf War
Vietnam War

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Before the Civil War, slavery was used to prop up which industry?
weapons manufacturing
cotton farming
steel making
Which president led America through most of World War II?
Gerald Ford
Franklin Roosevelt
William McKinley
In 1773, angry colonists dressed up like _____ and dumped British tea into the ocean as part of the Boston Tea Party.
teddy bears
women
Indians

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The Great Migration marked a massive movement of ______ in the United States.
geese
women
blacks
The Battle of New Orleans was part of which U.S. war?
Mexican-American War
Vietnam War
War of 1812
Why did John Wilkes Booth assassinate Abraham Lincoln?
Lincoln rejected Booth for a job.
He was just a lunatic.
He wanted the South to win the Civil War.

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Which man wrote most of the Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Edison
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
True or false, did George Washington own slaves?
true
false
What was the purpose of the Bill of Rights?
to give women the right to vote
to reassert specific citizens' rights
to repeal Prohibition

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The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was especially important to which segment of the U.S. population?
women
racial minorities
small children
The Battle of the Argonne Forest was a deadly battle in which war?
World War I
Vietnam War
American Civil War
How many U.S. presidents have been assassinated while in office?
4
9
13

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The "Ghost Dance" movement was driven by which people?
women
Native Americans
Latinos
In 1917, America declared war on which country?
Britain
Germany
Cambodia
The New Deal was a political response to which event?
Civil Rights Movement
World War II
the Great Depression

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Which president signed legislation banning the importation of slaves?
Thomas Jefferson
Andrew Jackson
Jefferson Davis
In 2001, Operation Enduring Freedom saw the U.S. invading which country?
Philippines
Afghanistan
Iran
Who is the only three-term president in U.S. history?
George Washington
Franklin Roosevelt
William Harrison

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