Question 1 of 10
The Declaration of Independence was primarily written by:
AGeorge Washington
BBenjamin Franklin
CThomas Jefferson
DJohn Adams
Explanation
📌 Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Adopted July 4, 1776 by the Continental Congress.
Adopted July 4, 1776 by the Continental Congress.
Question 2 of 10
The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) was important because:
Ait was the war's first major battle
Bit was the turning point of the Civil War
Cit fully ended slavery across the entire South
Dit was the last battle of the entire Civil War
Explanation
📌 Turning point of the Civil War. Union victory. Ended Lee's invasion of the North. Bloodiest battle.
Question 3 of 10
The first permanent English settlement in America was:
AJamestown
BRoanoke
CPlymouth
DSt. Augustine
Explanation
📌 Jamestown, Virginia (1607). Founded by the Virginia Company for economic reasons (gold, trade).
Question 4 of 10
The Louisiana Purchase (1803) doubled the size of the US. It was purchased from:
AMexico
BSpain
CBritain
DFrance
Explanation
📌 Napoleon's France sold it for $15 million. Doubled US territory. Lewis & Clark explored it.
Question 5 of 10
Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in:
A1865
B1870
C1863
D1860
Explanation
📌 1863. Freed enslaved people in Confederate states. Did NOT free slaves in border states.
Question 6 of 10
The 13th Amendment:
Acreated the income tax
Bestablished Prohibition
Cgave women the right to vote
Dabolished slavery
Explanation
📌 Abolished slavery (1865). 14th = citizenship/equal protection. 15th = voting rights regardless of race.
Question 7 of 10
The Great Plains are primarily used for:
Amining
Bagriculture
Csteel factories
Dfishing
Explanation
📌 Agriculture (wheat, corn, cattle ranching). Called 'America's breadbasket.'
Question 8 of 10
The cotton gin was invented by:
ABenjamin Franklin
BEli Whitney
CAlexander Graham Bell
DThomas Edison
Explanation
📌 Eli Whitney (1793). Made cotton profitable → increased demand for slavery in the South.
Question 9 of 10
The Bill of Rights consists of the first ___ amendments.
A13
B10
C5
D20
Explanation
📌 First 10 amendments = Bill of Rights. Ratified 1791. Protects individual liberties.
Question 10 of 10
The map below shades each state by how its population changed between the 1930 and 1940 censuses. The country as a whole grew by 7.3 per cent over that decade.
Five of the six states shaded as losing population form one block on the Great Plains. What best accounts for that pattern?
AThe federal government relocated residents away from the plains by statute
BDrought and dust storms drove farm families out
CImmigration restrictions passed in the 1920s applied only to the plains states
DWartime factories in those states closed and were never afterwards reopened
Explanation
Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and the Dakotas lost people as drought, erosion and falling crop prices pushed tenant farmers and owners off the land, many toward California. Vermont, the sixth state, lost population for an unrelated reason — the long drift away from marginal New England hill farms.