4th of July Historical Trivia Quiz

It's the 4th of July. Time to barbecue, enjoy the company of friends, and watch some fantastic fireworks. So, what do you know about the American history of the 4th? I thought it might be fun to make a trivia quiz with questions concerning the celebration of American independence.

I hope you enjoy taking the quiz and even learn a new wrinkle or two about the cradle of freedom, the United States of America. Don't cheat. The answers follow the quiz. Run it off on your printer for ease in answering. Blow this one up, baby!


4th of July Historical Trivia Quiz


1. ___ Who wrote the bestselling pamphlet "Common Sense” in early 1775 that fueled the colonists' desire for independence from English rule?

a. Benjamin Franklin
b. Thomas Paine
c. John Q. Adams
d. Larry the Cable Guy


2. ___ The revolutionaries' major objection to being ruled by Britain was

a. taxation without representation
b. land ownership
c. unjust imprisonment for crimes
d. imposition of mandatory tea times


3. Who first put forth the motion to the Continental Congress to declare independence from Great Britain on June 7, 1776?

a. George Washington
b. John Hancock
c. Richard Henry Lee
d. William Hillary Clinton


4.___ Who was NOT a member of the committee formed to compose the formal Declaration of Independence? 

a. Thomas Jefferson
b. Philip Livingston
c. Roger Sherman
d. Larry King


5.___ The Declaration of Independence was primarily drafted and written by

a. Thomas Jefferson
b. Thomas Paine
c. John Adams
d. The "Duke" Marion Mitchell Morrison


6.___ The first words in the Declaration of Independence are

a. "We hold these truths to be self-evident..."
b. "When in the Course of human events..."
c. "In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress..."
d. "Frankly, your royal highness, we don't give a bloody damn."


7.___ Who was the king of England when the Declaration of Independence was written?

a. King Edward I
b. King James II
c. King George III
d. "I'm Hen-er-ry the Eighth, I am."


8. ___ On July 4, 1776,

a. the congress ratified a final, edited version of the Declaration of Independence
b. the congress signed a final, edited version of the Declaration of Independence
c. the American Revolutionary War began
d. the first cheese steak stand opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

9.___ America’s independence from Great Britain was actually declared and approved (voted for) by resolution of the Continental Congress on what day? (John Adams said this date should be known as Independence Day and celebrated as "the most memorable epoch in the history of America.")

a. July 2, 1776
b. July 4, 1776
c. August 9, 1776
d. February 30, 1776


10.___ Most delegates actually signed the Declaration of Independence on

a. August 2, 1776
b. July 4, 1776
c. April 20, 1775
d. their 21st birthday

11.___ The first person to sign the Declaration of Independence was

a. Benjamin Franklin
b. John Hancock
c. Thomas Jefferson
c. Richard Burton


12.___  Who was the last to sign the Declaration of Independence in January, 1777?

a. Thomas McKean
b. Charmin "Squeezy" Whipple
c. Samuel Chase
d. George "No Show"  Jones


13.___ In total, how many people signed the Declaration of Independence?

a. 13
b. 24
c. 56
d. 555 on the first edition


14. ___  Approximately what percentage of the 2.5 million inhabitants of the Thirteen Colonies remained loyal to the British crown or less indifferent to the claims of Declaration insurgents?

a. close to 1,000 per cent
b. two thirds
c. one third
d. only Benny Hill


15.___  If independence had not been achieved, the treasonable act of the signers would have, by law, resulted in their deaths. In order to protect the signers of the Declaration, how long were their names withheld from the public?

a. approximately six months
b. approximately two years
c. until the end of the American Revolutionary War
d. only J. Edgar Hoover knew for sure and he's dead

16.___ British Tories denounced the signers of the Declaration for not applying the same principles of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" to

a. the witches of Salem
b. African Americans
c. people of meager means
d. American husbands


17.___ The American Revolutionary War began on

a. July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia
b. July 2, 1776 in Boston
c. April 19, 1775 in Lexington
d. December 26, 1919 when Boston sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees resulting in the "Curse of the Bambino"


18.___ Philadelphia held the first annual commemoration of independence on July 4, 1777, while Congress was still occupied with the ongoing war. George Washington issued double rations of what to all his soldiers to mark the anniversary of independence in 1778?

a. kidney pudding
b. rum
c. socks
d. feathers to stick in their "macaroni" hats


19.___ France, Spain and what other country all secretly provided supplies, ammunition, and weapons to the revolutionaries during the American Revolutionary War?

a. the Dutch Republic
b. Egypt
c. Columbia
d. Texas


20.___ How did the ringing of the Liberty Bell come to signal American independence?

a. Most of the signers of the Declaration went to Whitechapel Church immediately after signing the document, and the bell was rung to signify independence.
b. It was a story concocted in the middle of the 19th century by George Lippard in a book intended for children.
c. The Liberty Bell was rung as code to signify secret gatherings of gay patriots in Philadelphia.
d. Rocky Balboa scored a Number One Billboard Hit with "Ring My Bell" in 1979.


21.___ The bell was actually named the "Liberty Bell" in the early 19th century when

a. Ralph Waldo "Keys" Emerson wrote his famous song "The Star-Spangled Banner."
b. France gave America the gift of the Creme de la Creme Madam better known as Lady Liberty.
c. Abolitionists used it as a symbol of the antislavery movement.
d. Liberty Valance became the kind of a man the West would need to tame a troubled land.


22.___ Who sewed the first flag? Betsy Ross? No one knows. But we do know who designed it.
Records show that in May 1780 he sent a bill to the Board of Admiralty for designing the “flag of the United States.” He was

a. Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration
b. Iko "Flag Boy" Cormier
c. Thomas Jefferson (the flag was just one of his many great innovations)
d. Ralph Lauren


23.___ On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, looking to promote national pride and unity, adopted the national flag. This resolution stated:

 “Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing...

a. "the thirteen illegitimate children of Benjamin 'The Irresistible Old Dog' Franklin."
b. "a new constellation.”
c. "the known planets of the heavens."
d. "the thirteen marriages of Elizabeth Taylor"


24.___  Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President, was born on the 4th of July in 1872. What two Presidents and signers of the Declaration died on the 4th of July?

a. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson
b. John Hancock and George Washington
c. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
d. George M. Cohan and Francis Scott "Star Spangled" Key
 

Answers:

1. B    2. A    3. C    4. D    5. A    6. B   7. C    8. A    9. A   10. A   11. B   

12. A   13. C    14. B    15. A    16. B   17. C    18. B    19. A    20. B   

21. C     22. A    23. B     24. C