Test your knowledge of U.S. history with these 61 riddles. See if you can solve these brain teasers about important people, events, and places in America’s past. The answers are provided after each riddle, but try to solve them on your own first!
People
Q: I was the first president of the United States. I served two terms and helped establish many of the institutions of the new federal government. Who am I?
A: George Washington
Q: I wrote the Declaration of Independence and served as the third president of the United States. I doubled the size of the country with the Louisiana Purchase during my presidency. Who am I?
A: Thomas Jefferson
Q: I was an African American abolitionist who led a violent insurrection in Virginia in 1859, hoping to start a slave rebellion. My attack failed and I was executed, but I became a martyred hero of the abolitionist movement. Who am I?
A: John Brown
Q: I was an American industrialist and philanthropist who founded Standard Oil and became one of the richest men in history. I also donated much of my fortune to educational, medical, and scientific causes. Who am I?
A: John D. Rockefeller
Q: I was an African American civil rights activist who refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. My act of defiance helped launch the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Who am I?
A: Rosa Parks
Q: I was a pioneering American aviator and the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. I completed the feat in 1932 aboard my plane called the Spirit of St. Louis. Who am I?
A: Charles Lindbergh
Q: I was an American inventor and businessman who developed many revolutionary products in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of my most famous inventions are the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the light bulb. Who am I?
A: Thomas Edison
Q: I was an American frontiersman and politician who became a legendary folk hero known as the “King of the Wild Frontier.” I served as a colonel in the Texas Revolution and became the seventh president of the Republic of Texas. Who am I?
A: Davy Crockett
Q: I was a Union general during the Civil War and commanded the forces that captured Fort Sumter. After the war, I served two terms as the 18th president of the United States. Who am I?
A: Ulysses S. Grant
Q: I was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter who was famous for his skill with firearms in the late 19th century. My most famous trick was splitting a playing card edge-on, which I executed repeatedly with great accuracy. Who am I?
A: Annie Oakley
Events
Q: What pivotal conflict began in 1775 between the American colonists and the British, resulting in American independence?
A: The American Revolutionary War
Q: What massacre took place in Boston in 1770, heightening tensions between the American colonists and the British in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War?
A: The Boston Massacre
Q: What legendary overnight ride did Paul Revere make in 1775 to warn local militias that the British were advancing to Lexington and Concord?
A: Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride
Q: What was the first battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought in Massachusetts in 1775?
A: The Battle of Lexington and Concord
Q: In what decisive 1777 battle did the Continental Army under George Washington defeat the British forces of General Burgoyne near Saratoga, New York, leading to greater French support for the American Revolution?
A: The Battle of Saratoga
Q: What grueling winter encampment did Washington’s Continental Army endure in 1777-1778 that renewed their determination to fight the British?
A: Valley Forge
Q: What was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War in 1781, resulting in the surrender of British general Cornwallis to George Washington?
A: The Siege of Yorktown
Q: What treaty signed in 1783 formally ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized the United States as an independent nation?
A: The Treaty of Paris
Q: What famous ship took part in the Boston Tea Party in 1773, when American colonists dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to protest taxes?
A: The Dartmouth
Q: What September 1862 battle was the bloodiest single-day battle in all of American military history, resulting in over 23,000 casualties?
A: The Battle of Antietam
Places
Q: What present-day metropolis was once known as New Amsterdam when it was founded as a Dutch colony in 1624?
A: New York City
Q: What city did the Continental Congress flee to in 1776 after the British captured New York City during the Revolutionary War? This city served as the temporary national capital during the war.
A: Philadelphia
Q: What southern city did General Sherman’s Union troops capture and burn near the end of the Civil War in 1864, dealing a crushing blow to the Confederacy?
A: Atlanta
Q: What California city grew rapidly starting with the 1849 Gold Rush and became a thriving West Coast metropolis?
A: San Francisco
Q: What Midwestern city was the hometown of aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright, where they built and tested some of their early flying machines?
A: Dayton, Ohio
Q: What New Mexico city was the primary site of the Manhattan Project during World War II, where scientists developed the first atomic bombs?
A: Los Alamos
Q: What Massachusetts town was the site of the famous 1692 witch trials, during which twenty people were executed for witchcraft?
A: Salem
Q: What South Dakota mountain and monument features the carved faces of four US presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt?
A: Mount Rushmore
Q: What state was admitted as the 36th state in 1836 under President Andrew Jackson? Its famous defenders fought and died at the Alamo in 1836.
A: Texas
Q: What did the 1803 Louisiana Purchase add to the United States?
A: A massive new territory stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada
Culture
Q: Who wrote the novels Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Pearl of Orr’s Island, which were influential in energizing the abolitionist movement?
A: Harriet Beecher Stowe
Q: Who was the talented and tragic jazz trumpeter and singer of the 1920s known as “Lady Day,” who sang classics like “God Bless the Child”?
A: Billie Holiday
Q: Which Yankees slugger was nicknamed “The Sultan of Swat” and broke Babe Ruth’s home run record in 1961 with 61 homers?
A: Roger Maris
Q: Who wrote Leaves of Grass, a famous collection of poems celebrating the spirit of America and pioneering free verse?
A: Walt Whitman
Q: Who painted iconic and realistic portraits of famous Americans like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin?
A: Gilbert Stuart
Q: What Pulitzer Prize-winning 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell told the epic story of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods?
A: Gone With the Wind
Q: Which poet read her poem “The New Colossus” at the dedication for the Statue of Liberty in 1886? This poem includes the famous lines “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
A: Emma Lazarus
Q: What Broadway musical that premiered in 1957 depicted rival New York City street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks? It features the songs “Maria” and “I Feel Pretty.”
A: West Side Story
Q: Who hosted the wildly popular children’s TV show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood from 1968 to 2001 and became known for his warm persona and cardigan sweaters?
A: Fred Rogers
Q: What Mark Twain novel published in 1884 satirizes Southern culture and racism by following the adventures of two runaway boys, Huck and Jim?
A: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Politics
Q: Who famously debated Stephen Douglas over slavery and became the 16th president of the United States in 1860?
A: Abraham Lincoln
Q: Which early suffragette worked tirelessly for women’s right to vote in the United States, founding the National Woman Suffrage Association? She appeared on US currency in the late 20th century.
A: Susan B. Anthony
Q: Who served an unprecedented four terms as president of the United States, leading the country through the Great Depression and World War II?
A: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Q: Who was the communist revolutionary and Marxist theoretician who influenced many 20th century revolutions and political movements?
A: Karl Marx
Q: Who became the leader of the new Republican Party in the 1850s and famously engaged in debates with Stephen Douglas over the issue of slavery? He would later become president.
A: Abraham Lincoln
Q: Which US president served during World War I and proposed the League of Nations, even though the US never joined? He won the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize.
A: Woodrow Wilson
Q: Who was the conservative Republican president who cut taxes and increased military spending in the 1980s during the end of the Cold War?
A: Ronald Reagan
Q: Who served as first lady from 1933 to 1945 as the wife of FDR and was known for her social activism and role as her husband’s unofficial diplomat?
A: Eleanor Roosevelt
Q: Who was the Supreme Court chief justice who presided over the unanimous 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that ended legal segregation in schools?
A: Earl Warren
Q: Who was the aviator and isolationist that became a prominent opponent of FDR’s foreign policies and ran for president several times on a platform of keeping the US out of World War II?
A: Charles Lindbergh
Innovation & Technology
Q: Who invented the cotton gin in 1793, revolutionizing the labor-intensive process of separating cotton fibers from their seeds?
A: Eli Whitney
Q: Who conducted dangerous experiments with electricity in the 18th century, including his legendary kite experiment in a thunderstorm? He also published famous writings like Poor Richard’s Almanack.
A: Benjamin Franklin
Q: Who developed the polio vaccine in 1955, helping to nearly eradicate the deadly disease that afflicted millions of people?
A: Jonas Salk
Q: Who built and demonstrated the first successful airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, marking the dawn of aviation?
A: The Wright Brothers
Q: Who was the Serbian-American inventor best known for designing the alternating current (AC) electrical system that helped bring electricity to homes and businesses?
A: Nikola Tesla
Q: Who developed the phonograph in 1877, which used rotating cylinders to play recorded sounds and paved the way for modern sound recording?
A: Thomas Edison
Q: Who led the US space program and became a hero worldwide as the first person to walk on the moon during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission?
A: Neil Armstrong
Q: Who developed the McDonald’s fast food franchise, helping pioneer the concept of fast, inexpensive prepared food served quickly for on-the-go dining?
A: Ray Kroc
Q: Who was the African American agricultural chemist who invented hundreds of uses for the peanut, including food products, dyes, plastics, and cosmetics?
A: George Washington Carver
Q: What Microsoft entrepreneur helped usher in the home computing revolution by developing software like MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows for PC computers?
A: Bill Gates
Conclusion
There you have it – 61 challenging riddles covering key people, events, places, and innovations throughout American history! From the Revolutionary War to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond, these brain teasers put your knowledge of US history to the test. How many were you able to get right without peeking at the answers? Learning history through riddles, puzzles and games makes it more engaging and fun. Keep seeking out new intriguing history riddles to continue building your knowledge. The past is full of fascinating stories just waiting to be uncovered!
