History

Tell me the Bill of Rights

1. Freedoms

2. Own guns

3. Quartering Soldiers

4. Warrants

5. Cannot testify against self

6. Right to speedy trial

7. Right to a jury

8. Cruel, unusual punishment

9. People’s rights

10. States’ rights

Tell me the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution

We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Tell me about September 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four airplanes. They flew two into the World Trade Center in New York City and one into the Pentagon in Washington, DC. The fourth plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field.

Tell me about U.S. astronauts

In 1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon

Tell me about Brown v Board of Education

In 1954, in Brown v Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation of public schools by race is unconstitutional

Tell me about NATO

In 1949, the United States and its allies formed NATO to resist the spread of Soviet communism

Tell me about Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, causing the United States to join the Allies in World War II.

Tell me about the Nineteenth Amendment

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony led the women’s suffrage movement in the United States, resulting in the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 that granted women the right to vote

Tell me about the United States and World War I

In 1917, President Wilson asked Congress to enter World War I against the Central Powers two years after German U-boats sank the Lusitania, killing American citizens.

Tell me about immigrants coming to America

From 1820 to 1930, more than 37 million immigrants came to America, seeking freedom and the opportunity to increase their personal wealth

Tell me about tycoons

During the late 1800s, tycoons like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Swift fueled the nation’s Industrial Age by developing American resources

Tell me about the Fourteenth Amendment

In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment made all former slaves U.S. citizens and paved the way for the Civil Rights Movement

Tell me about General Robert E. Lee

In 1865, General Robert. E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia

Tell me about the Civil War

In 1861, the Civil War began when President Abraham Lincoln went to war with the Southern states that had seceded from the Union.

Tell me about Manifest Destiny

President Polk believed that the Mexican War and the Gadsden Purchase in the mid-1800s affirmed America’s manifest destiny to spread across the continent

Tell me about the secession of the Southern States

The Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act, and the Dred Scott decision preceded the secession of the Southern states.

Tell me about the Missouri Compromise

In 1820, Henry Clay worked out the Missouri Compromise, allowing Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

Tell me about the Monroe Doctrine

After victory in the War of 1812, the United States wrote the Monroe Doctrine, which warned Europeans not to attempt to colonize the Americas

Tell me about the Louisiana Purchase

In 1803, the purchase of Louisiana from France prompted westward exploration by pioneers such as Lewis and Clark and Congressman Davy Crockett

Tell me about George Washington

In 1789, in New York, George Washington was granted the full powers and responsibilities of the presidency by the U.S. Constitution

Tell me about the Declaration of Independence

In 1776, the Continental Congress published the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, announcing the colonists’ intent to separate from England

Tell me about the Boston Tea Party

In 1773, colonists disguised as Mohawks dumped tea from the British East India Company into the Boston Harbor.

Tell me about the Pilgrims

In 1620, the Pilgrims sailed from Plymouth, England and signed the Mayflower Compact before founding Plymouth Colony in North America

Tell me about Columbus

In 1492, Columbus made the first of four trips to the Caribbean on three Spanish ships named the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria

Tell me about the Greek and Roman gods

1. Greek Zeus = Roman Jupiter

2. Greek Hera = Roman Juno

3. Greek Ares = Romans Mars

4. Greek Aphrodite = Roman Venus

5. Greek Hermes = Roman Mercury

6. Greek Athena = Roman Minerva

7. Greek Poseidon = Roman Neptune

Tell me about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are:

1. Pyramids of Giza

2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon

3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

4. Statue of Zeus at Olympia

5. Mausoleum at Helicarnassus

6. Pharos Lighthouse at Alexandria

7. Colossus of Rhodes

Tell me about the Romans

The Roman Republic became the Roman Empire when Augustus was crowned emperor in 27 BC. This was followed by the Pax Romana. In AD 286, the empire divided into the western and eastern empires until Germanic barbarians defeated the western empire in AD 476.

Tell me about some ancient Greeks

Homer, a famous poet; Pythagoras, a famous mathematician; Socrates, a famous philosopher; and Archimedes, a famous inventor, shapes Western ideas. Ancient Greek city-states were among the first democracies.

Tell me about Hinduism and Buddhism in India

Hinduism developed around 1500 BC and is known for karma, reincarnation, and the caste system.

Founded in the sixth century BC, Buddhism teaches self-denial as the path to enlightenment.

Tell me about the Age of Imperialism

During the Age of Imperialism, the British established rule over India in 1858, and Queen Victoria was declared the Empress of India in 1877.

Before his assassination in 1948, Mohandas Gandhi led the passive resistance movement, which helped win India’s independence.

Tell me about the Lao-Tzu and Confucius in China

Around the sixth century BC, Lao-Tzu founded Taoism, which emphasizes harmony with nature, and Confucius taught compassion and obedience.

Tell me about Japan’s Heian period

Around 794, Japan’s emperors moved to Heian, present-day Kyoto. The Heian period ended in the twelfth century when civil war gave control to military commanders called shoguns in a feudal system where knights called samurai protected wealthy landowners

Tell me about Emperor Constantine and the Byzantine Empire

Emperor Constantine stopped the persecution of Christians in the Eastern Roman Empire. In AD 330, he moved the capital to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople. Emperor Justinian’s Code became a model for legal systems. The Byzantine Empire lated until Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453

Tell me about the Muslim Empire

In 622, Islam was founded in the Arabian Peninsula by Muhammad, who worshiped Allah. Mecca is the holy city of Islam. During the 1400s, the Ottoman Turks expanded the Muslim Empire

Tell me about the Kush

The Kush mined gold along the Nile River from 2000 BC to AD 350. The Berbers traded gold, iron, and salt in the desert.

Tell me about trade in Africa

In 700, Ghana was known as “the land of gold.” The Mali nation took control of the gold trade in 1240 and established Timbuktu as a center of trade, culture, and learning. By the mid-1400s, the wealthy and powerful Songhai Empire controlled trade in western Africa.

Tell me about Prince Henry of Portugal

In the 1400s, Prince Henry of Portugal founded a school of navigation. His work advanced European exploration and trade, including the slave trade

Tell me about the civilizations of Mesoamerica

Three of the advanced civilizations of Mesoamerica from 1200 BC to AD 1500 were the Olmecs, the Mayans, and the Aztecs

Tell me about the Aztecs

The Aztecs used pyramids in rituals of human sacrifice. Their civilization began to fall when Hernan Cortes of Spain defeated Montezuma II in 1519

Tell me about the Mound Builders

Circa 1000 BC to AD 1450, three North American mound-building civilizations were the Adena, the Hopewell, and the Mississippians

Tell me about the Anasazi

The Anasazi of the southwestern United States built adobe villages in caves and on the sides of cliffs from 500 BC to AD1200

Tell me about the Mexican Revolution

Circa 1910, during the Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata fought the federales for “Land and Liberty.”

Tell me about the exploration of Canada

John Cabot and Samuel de Champlain explored Canada and the St. Lawrence River. Creation of the Hudson’s Bay Company, in 1670, eventually led to war between Britain and France. The maple leaf is the symbol of Canada.

Tell me about the British North America Act of 1867

In 1867, the British North America Act established the Dominion of Canada. The Canadians gained total independence from Britain in 1982. French is spoken in the province of Quebec.

Tell me about the liberation of South America

In the early 1800s, San Martin of Argentina, O’Higgins of Chile, and Bolivar of Venezuela fought to liberate South America from Spain

Tell me about the Portuguese Empire

When Napoleon threatened the Portuguese Empire, King John VI fled to Brazil. His son, Dom Pedro I, declared Brazil independent in 1822.

Tell me about Charlemagne

In 800, during the medieval period, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roma Emperor of Europe

Tell me about William the Conqueror

In 1054, the church split into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. William the Conqueror defeated King Harold of England in 1066 and started feudalism

Tell me about the Crusades

Richard the Lion-Hearted, son of Eleanor of Aquitaine, fought the Turks for Jerusalem during the time of the Crusades, from 1095 to 1291

Tell me about the Magna Carta

English King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, limiting the king’s power. Later, England’s King Edward III claimed to be king of France and began the Hundred Years’ War in 1337.

Tell me about the Hundred Years’ War

During the Hundred Years’ War, Joan of Arc and King Charles VII led the French to defeat the English at the Siege of Orleans. In the late 1340s, fleas on rats carried the plague, which killed one out of three Europeans.

Tell me about the Renaissance

During the Renaissance period, from 1350 to 1600, Leonardo da Vinci was a famous inventor, Shakespeare was a famous playwright, Michelangelo was a famous artist, and Copernicus was a famous scientist.

Tell me about the Reformation

In 1517, Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation by printing the Ninety-five Theses that made Pope Leo X excommunicate him. Later, John Calvin joined the reformation

Tell me about the European explorers

Between the late 1400s and the mid-1500s, Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, Amerigo Vespucci sailed to the Americas, Balboa crossed Central America to the Pacific, Magellan’s crew sailed around the globe, and Coronado explored the American Southwest.

Tell me about some absolute monarchs

Between the 1500s and 1800s, Henry VII of England, Louis XIV of France, Philip II of Spain, Peter the great of Russia, and Frederick the Great of Prussia ruled during the age of absolute monarchs.

Tell me about the history of Russia

Vladimir I brought Christianity to Russia in the 900s. In the 1500s, Czar Ivan the Terrible unified Russia. Peter the great and Catherine the Great expanded and Westernized Russia in the 1700s

Tell me about the French Revolution

In 1789, the French Revolution began when citizens stormed the Bastille and fought for the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Later, during the Reign of Terror, the aristocrats’ heads were removed by the guillotine

Tell me about the Battle of Waterloo

Napoleon Bonaparte of the French Empire was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by British General Wellington and his allies soon after the War of 1812

Tell me about the Industrial Revolution

Watt’s steam engine, Cartwright’s power loom, and Whitney’s cotton gin spurred the Industrial Revolution that begain in the 1760s

Tell me about World War I leaders

Clemenceau of France, Lloyd George of England, Nicholas II of Russia, Wilhelm II of Germany, and Wilson of the United States were leaders during World War I, which started in 1914 and ended in 1918

Tell me about World War I countries

During World War I, Great Britain, France, and Russia were Allies and fought against Austria-Hungary and Germany, which were called the Central Powers. In 1917, the United States entered the war, assisting the Allies.

Tell me about how World War II began

World War II began in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland. Two engagements that helped the United States win the Pacific front were defeating Japan at the Battle of Midway and dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945

Tell me about World War II leaders

World War II AXIS leaders were: Hitler of Germany, Tojo of Japan, and Mussolini of Italy. World War II Allied leaders were: Churchill of England, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and MacArthur of the United States, and Stalin on the USSR.

Tell me about the United Nations

In 1945, after the League of Nations failed to prevent World War II, American President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Churchill, and Soviet Premier Stalin began the United Nations

Tell me about the Korean War

In 1950, General Douglas MacArthur led United Nations forces to stop communist North Korea from capturing all of South Korea during the Korean War.

Tell me about the Vietnam War

In 1965, President Johnson sent U.S. troops to stop communist North Vietnam from capturing all of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War

Tell me about the end of the Cold War

In the 1980s, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and American President Ronald Reagan worked together to end the Cold War, lessen big government, and strengthen the conservative movement

Tell me about the fall of communism

In 1989, the communist dictators began to fall in Eastern Europe when Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev refused to send them military aid

Tell me about the Gulf War

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush sent troops to the Persian Gulf to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from Kuwait during the Gulf War

Tell me about the end of apartheid

In 1994, South African President de Klerk allowed free elections. Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first black president, demonstrating apartheid was ending