The Birth of a Nation
In which month do Americans celebrate Independence Day, commemorating the declaration signed in 1776?
July
In October 1929, the American economy crashed, leading to the Great Depression. In what city is the famous Wall Street stock market located?
During the Cold War, the United States entered a high-stakes geopolitical competition with which global superpower?
The Soviet Union
What is the official political capital city of the United States, where the President lives and Congress meets?
Washington, D.C.
Which world-famous water sport features Baltimore's own Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time?
Swimming
Before becoming independent, how many original British colonies were there on the East Coast of America?
13
What style of energetic African-American music became the defining sound of the 1920s, featuring instruments like the saxophone and trumpet?
What type of devastating new weapon did the US develop during WWII and use on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war in 1945?
The atomic bomb / nuclear bomb
What massive river—the longest in the United States—flows from Minnesota all the way down to New Orleans into the Gulf of Mexico?
The Mississippi River
What is the name of the world-famous hospital and medical university located in Baltimore, consistently ranked as one of the best in the world?
Johns Hopkins
Who was the commander of the Continental Army during the revolution and eventually became the very first President of the United States?
George Washington
During the 1920s, the US government banned a certain substance nationwide, a period known as "Prohibition." What was banned?
Alcohol
The US entered WWII after a surprise aerial attack on a naval base in Hawaii in December 1941. What is the name of this base?
Pearl Harbor
Which ocean borders the West Coast of the United States (where California, Oregon, and Washington state are)?
The Pacific Ocean
What famous 19th-century abolitionist and writer escaped slavery in Maryland to become one of the most powerful voices for freedom in US history?
Frederick Douglass
What major slogan did American colonists use to protest the fact that they had to pay taxes to the King but had no voice in the British government?
No taxation without representation!
Who was elected President in 1932 and introduced the "New Deal" program to help America recover from the Great Depression?
Franklin D. Roosevelt
In 1963, Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a historic speech in Washington, D.C. What is the famous 4-word phrase from that speech?
"I have a dream"
Which two US states are completely separated geographically from the "mainland" or continental United States?
Alaska and Hawaii
Baltimore's football team is named after a poem called The Raven. Who is the famous gothic American author who wrote it and lived/died in Baltimore?
Edgar Allan Poe
Which European nation secretly allied with the American colonists, providing vital military ships and troops to help defeat the British?
France
What is the nickname given to October 29, 1929, the catastrophic day the US stock market collapsed and triggered the Great Depression?
Black Tuesday
In 1955, what African-American woman was arrested in Alabama for bravely refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, sparking the Civil Rights Movement?
Rosa Parks
What is the name of the massive bay that Baltimore's Inner Harbor sits on—famous for its seafood and blue crabs?
The Chesapeake Bay
What famous spice blend created in Baltimore is used globally on seafood, chicken, and French fries, instantly recognized by its yellow and blue tin?
Old Bay