Spin Control: Test your Yankee-Doodleness with our annual July 4th trivia test

So you think you’re a true-blue ’Merican because you sing most of the national anthem without looking at the words on the Jumbotron and you have a special pair of star-spangled undies to wear to Tuesday’s fireworks display.

Then it’s time to test your Yankee Doodleness with our annual Independence Day Trivia test, with one question for each of the original colonies:

1. Just to be sure you know what all the fireworks are about, July 4 is Independence Day because it’s the day that:

A. The American Revolution started.

B. The Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence.

C. The American Revolution ended.

D. The Treaty of Paris recognizing American independence was approved by British Parliament.

2. The Declaration of Independence has many famous phrases. Which of the following is not one?

A “When in the course of human events.”

B “All men are created equal.”

C “Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”

D “We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.”

3. What was the most populous city in the colonies when the Declaration of Independence was signed?

A. Philadelphia.

B. New York.

C. Boston.

D. Charleston.

4. Which of the following was not one of the original 13 colonies?

A. Rhode Island.

B. Georgia.

C. New Hampshire.

D. Maine.

5. Three American presidents – Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and James Madison – died on July 4. Which president was born on that day?

A. Ulysses S. Grant.

B. Theodore Roosevelt.

C. Calvin Coolidge.

D. Ronald Reagan.

6. On July 4, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson made an important announcement. What was it?

A. The U.S. had purchased the Louisiana Territory from France.

B. He was running for re-election without Aaron Burr as vice president.

C. He was painting the Executive Mansion white.

D. The nation’s capital city was being named as Washington.

7. How many stripes run the full length of the American flag (no looking)?

A. 4.

B. 5.

C. 6.

D. 7.

8. What Founding Father first suggested that Americans should celebrate independence with fireworks?

A. George Washington.

B. John Adams.

C. Thomas Jefferson.

D. Ben Franklin.

9. Francis Scott Key, and the verses he wrote, are controversial with some Americans because:

A. He borrowed the music from a popular drinking song without crediting it.

B. Anglophiles who love Masterpiece Theater don’t like the anti-British tone.

C. Musicians want the national anthem changed to “God Bless America” because it’s easier to sing.

D. He owned slaves and one of the verses supports slavery.

10. Who was the oldest person to sign the Declaration of Independence?

A. Benjamin Franklin.

B. George Washington.

C. Stephen Hopkins.

D. John Hancock.

11. How many wars were fought on American soil while George III was king of England?

A. 1.

B. 2.

C. 3.

D. 4.

12. Who reportedly said, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”?

A. Nathan Hale.

B. Thomas Paine.

C. George Washington.

D. Samuel Adams.

13. The American flag design that had the longest run without being changed to add a new star had how many stars?

A. 13.

B. 15.

C. 48.

D. 50.

Answers

1. B. The Congress voted for independence on July 2 and ratified the final draft of the declaration two days later.

2. C. That’s a line from the preamble to the Constitution.

3. A. Philadelphia was the largest city for much of the colonial period, although by the 1790 Census, New York was larger.

4. D. Maine was part of Massachusetts, separated by New Hampshire, in 1776.

5. C. Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872.

6. A. Jefferson announced the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the country, 27 days after the Declaration was signed.

7. C. There are three red and three white stripes below the blue field with white stars.

8. B. In a letter to his wife, Adams wrote the day “ought to be solemnized with … illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.”

9. D. Key, who owned slaves, wrote in the third stanza “no refuge could save, the hireling and slave …”

10. A. Franklin was the oldest, at 70. Eleven years later, he was the oldest to sign the Constitution.

11. C. George III became king in the middle of the French and Indian War and was king, although his son was regent, during the War of 1812.

12. A. A Continental officer who volunteered to gather information behind British lines, Hale was captured and sentenced to hang.

The sentence was attributed to him, although it wasn’t recorded at the time by any eyewitness to the execution.

13. D. The current flag has been in service the longest – 63 years this July 4 – because this is the longest period the nation has gone without adding a state.

Scoring

0-3 right: Turn in your flag lapel pin.

4-6 right: Shouldn’t have slept through American history class.

7-11 right: Could probably pass the naturalization test.

12-13 right: George Washington would have been proud.

Editor’s note: An early version of the quiz had an incorrect answer for question 12, due to the author’s error.