2000 High School History Quiz
The American
Council of Trustees and Alumni, a Washington-based nonprofit group that
promotes liberal-arts study, posed 34 high-school level questions randomly to
556 seniors at 55 leading colleges and universities, including Harvard,
Princeton and Brown. Only one student answered all the questions correctly, and
the average score was 53 percent.
1. When was
the Civil War?
a. 1750-1800
b. 1800-1850
c. 1850-1900
d. 1900-1950
e. after
1950
2. Who said
Give me liberty or give me death?"
a. John
Hancock
b. James
Madison
c. Patrick
Henry
d. Samuel
Adams
3. What is
the Magna Carta?
a. The
foundation of the British parliamentary system
b. The Great
Seal of the monarchs of England
c. The
French Declaration of the Rights of Man
d. The
charter signed by the Pilgrims on the Mayflower
4. The term
Reconstruction refers to:
a. Payment
of European countries' debts to the United States after the First World War
b. Repairing
of the physical damage caused by the Civil War
c.
Readmission of the Confederate states and the protection of the rights of black
citizens
d.
Rebuilding of the transcontinental railroad and the canal system
5. Are
Beavis and Butthead . . .
a. A radio
show
b.
Television cartoon characters
c. A musical
group
d. Fictional
soldiers
6. The
Scopes trial was about:
a. Freedom
of the press
b. Teaching
evolution in the schools
c. Prayer in
the schools
d. Education
in private schools
7. The
Emancipation Proclamation issued by Lincoln stated that:
a. Slaves
were free in areas of the Confederate states not held by the Union
b. The slave
trade was illegal
c. Slaves
who fled to Canada would be protected
d. Slavery
was abolished in the Union
8. The
purpose of the authors of the Federalist Papers was to:
a. Establish
a strong, free press in the colonies
b. Confirm
George Washington's election as the first president
c. Win
foreign approval for the Revolutionary War
d. Gain
ratification of the U.S. Constitution
9. Sputnik
was the name given to the first:
a.
Telecommunications system
b. Animal to
travel into space
c. Hydrogen
bomb
d. Man-made
satellite
10. The
Missouri Compromise was the act that:
a. Funded
the Lewis and Clark expedition on the upper Missouri River
b. Granted
statehood to Missouri but denied the admission of any other states
c. Settled
the boundary dispute between Missouri and Kansas
d. Admitted
Maine into the Union as a free state and Missouri as a slave state
11. Which
document established the division of powers between the states and the
federal
government?
a. The
Marshall Plan
b. The
Constitution
c. The
Declaration of Independence
d. The
Articles of Confederation
12. When was
Thomas Jefferson president?
a. 1780-1800
b. 1800-1820
c. 1820-1840
d. 1840-1860
e. 1860-1880
13. What was
the lowest point in American fortunes in the Revolutionary War?
a. Saratoga
b. Bunker
Hill
c. Valley
Forge
d. Fort
Ticonderoga
14. In his
farewell address, President George Washington warned against the
danger of:
a. Expanding
into territories beyond the Appalachian Mountains
b. Having
war with Spain over Mexico
c. Entering
into permanent alliances with foreign governments
d. Building
a standing army and strong navy
15. The
Monroe Doctrine declared that:
a. The
American blockade of Cuba was in accord with international law
b. Europe
should not acquire new territories in Western Hemisphere
c. Trade
with China should be open to all Western nations
d. The
annexation of the Philippines was legitimate
16. Who was
the European who traveled in the United States and wrote down
perceptive
comments about what he saw in Democracy in America?
a. Lafayette
b.
Tocqueville
c.
Crevecoeur
d. Napoleon
17. Identify
Snoop Doggy Dog.
a. A rap
singer
b. Cartoon
by Charles Schultz
c. A mystery
series
d. A jazz
pianist
18. Abraham
Lincoln was president between:
a. 1780-1800
b. 1800-1820
c. 1820-1840
d. 1840-1860
e. 1860-1880
19. Who was
the American general at Yorktown?
a. William
T. Sherman
b. Ulysses
S. Grant
c. Douglas
McArthur
d. George
Washington
20. John
Marshall was the author of:
a. Roe v.
Wade
b. Dred
Scott v. Kansas
c. Marbury
v. Madison
d. Brown v.
Board of Education
21. Who was
the Father of the Constitution?
a. George
Washington
b. Thomas
Jefferson
c. Benjamin
Franklin
d. James
Madison
22. Who
said, I regret that I have only one life to give for my country?
a. John F.
Kennedy
b. Benedict
Arnold
c. John
Brown
d. Nathan
Hale
23. What was
the source of the following phrase: Government of the people, by
the people,
for the people?
a. The
speech: I have a Dream
b.
Declaration of Independence
c. U.S.
Constitution
d.
Gettysburg Address
24. Who was
the second president of the U.S.?
a. Thomas
Jefferson
b. James
Madison
c. John
Adams
d. Benjamin
Franklin
25. Who was
president when the U.S. purchased the Panama Canal?
a. Theodore
Roosevelt
b. Jimmy
Carter
c. Franklin
D. Roosevelt
d. Woodrow
Wilson
26. Who was
the leading advocate for the U.S. entry into the League of Nations?
a. George C.
Marshall
b. Woodrow
Wilson
c. Henry
Cabot Lodge
d. Eleanor
Roosevelt
27. Who
said, Speak softly but carry a big stick?
a. William
T. Sherman
b. Sitting
Bull
c. John D.
Rockefeller
d. Theodore
Roosevelt
28. The
Battle of the Bulge occurred during:
a. The
Vietnam War
b. World War
II
c. World War
I
d. The Civil
War
29. Which of
the following was a prominent leader of the Abolitionist Movement?
a. Malcolm X
b. Martin
Luther King Jr.
c. W.E.B. Du
Bois
d. Frederick
Douglass
30. Who was
the president of the United States at the beginning of the Korean
War?
a. John F.
Kennedy
b. Franklin
D. Roosevelt
c. Dwight
Eisenhower
d. Harry
Truman
31. When the
United States entered World War II, which two major nations were allied with Germany?
a. Italy and
Japan
b. Italy and
Poland
c. Italy and
Russia
d. Russia
and Japan
32. Social
legislation passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society program included:
a. The
Sherman Antitrust Act
b. The
Voting Rights Act
c. The
Tennessee Valley Authority
d. The
Civilian Conservation Corps
33. Who was
First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen?
a. George
Washington
b. Woodrow Wilson
c. Dwight
Eisenhower
d. Abraham
Lincoln
34. Who was
the leader of the Soviet Union when the United States entered World War II?
a. Peter
Ustinov
b. Nikita
Khrushchev
c. Marshal
Tito
d. Joseph
Stalin
(The study
was based on telephone interviews conducted by the Center for Survey Research
and Analysis at the University of Connecticut in December 1999. The answers
follow, along with the percentage of respondents who answered correctly.)
1.C/60;
2.C/66; 3.A/56; 4.C/29; 5.B/99; 6.B/61; 7.A/26; 8.D/53; 9.D/89; 10.D/52;
11.B/60;
12.B/45; 13.C/38; 14.C/52; 15.B/62; 16.B/49; 17. A/98; 18.E/44;
19.D/34;
20.C/33; 21.D/23; 22.D/40; 23.D/22; 24.C/73; 25.A/53; 26.B/69; 27.D/70;
28.B/37;
29.D/73; 30.D/35; 31.A/67; 32.B/30; 33.A/42; 34.D/72