Happy birthday to us United States of Americans! We’re (almost) 250! And we don’t look a day over, what … 234? 218? Remember the Bicentennial and that flotilla of tall sailing ships in New York Harbor? Remember anything else? Seems like yesterday, right?
Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee we’ll make it to 251. Some days, it looks kind of iffy.
So, bring on the party! Nashville has two days of celebrations planned, culminating with a free concert and a giant fireworks display. Best part about the concert: Lee Greenwood will not be there!
Meanwhile, test your status as an all-American American with this little quiz about our nation’s early facts and trivia:
1. The first permanent European settlement in North America was in what future state?
(a.) Massachusetts
(b.) Virginia
(c.) Florida
(d.) Rhode Island
2. What were patriots protesting by tossing crates of tea into Boston Harbor in 1773?
(a.) Declaratory Act
(b.) Stamp Act
(c.) The Tea Act
(d.) The Intolerable Acts
3. A secret, underground group formed in Boston and New York to support the cause of independence was known as what?
(a.) The Minute Men
(b.) The Sons of Liberty
(c.) America First
(d.) 86 George III
4. The first state to enter the Union, earning it the catchy nickname “the First State,” was what?
(a.) Delaware
(b.) Maine
(c.) Pennsylvania
(d.) West Virginia
5. George Washington famously had dental issues, leading to a set of false choppers crafted from various substances. Which of these substances was not used?
(a.) Other people’s teeth
(b.) Cow and horse teeth
(c.) Hippopotamus and walrus ivory
(d.) Wood
6. None of the Founding Fathers were born in the United States, obviously, since there’d been no United States to be born in. But which of the following Revolutionary figures wasn’t even born in one of the colonies?
(a.) James Madison
(b.) Alexander Hamilton
(c.) Paul Revere
(d.) John Hancock
7. Independence and the Revolution had broad but not unanimous support. Which Founding Father had a son who remained loyal to the crown?
(a.) John Adams
(b.) Samuel Adams
(c.) Benjamin Franklin
(d.) Thomas Jefferson
8. What did Paul Revere and Betsy Ross have in common?
(a.) They both came from Boston
(b.) They both had a hand in designing the first American flag
(c.) They both were born on Jan. 1
(d.) They both were distantly related to George Washington
9. Who was famous for saying, “I have not yet begun to fight?”
(a.) The Marquis de Lafayette
(b.) John Paul Jones
(c.) Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee
(d.) Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis
10. What agreement officially ended the Revolution?
(a.) The Treaty of Versailles
(b.) The Treaty of Ghent
(c.) The Treaty of Paris
(d.) The Treaty of Doak’s Stand
11. The Constitutional Convention, initially just known as the Federal Convention, was held in:
(a.) 1787
(b.) Independence Hall
(c.) Philadelphia
(d.) The Pennsylvania State House
12. Before the Constitution officially took effect in 1789, under what document were the 13 colonies governed?
(a.) The Declaration of Independence
(b.) The Royal Charter of Patriots
(c.) The Articles of Confederation
(d.) The Mayflower Compact
Answers: 1. (c.) St. Augustine, Florida, was founded in 1565. 2. (c.) What, you thought I made up the Tea Act? 3. (b.) The Sons of Liberty were also featured in “Johnny Tremain,” a book about the Revolution I read as a kid. I wanted to be a member and to drink hot buttered rum. 4. (a.) Delaware. You know West Virginia didn’t exist then, right? 5. (d.) Contrary to legend, George had no wooden teeth. 6. (b.) Alexander Hamilton was born on the Caribbean island of Nevis, in the British West Indies. You saw the play, right? 7. (c.) William Franklin was the last Royal Governor of New Jersey. Ben later disinherited him. 8. (c.) 9. (b.) 10. (c.) All are real treaties, though. 11. All the answers are correct; the State House was later renamed Independence Hall. But the only answer my 10th-grade history teacher accepted was that the convention was held in “secret.” 12. (c.) Very much not to be confused with the Confederacy.
Joe Rogers is a former writer for The Tennessean and editor for The New York Times. He is retired and living in Nashville. He can be reached at jrogink@gmail.com