US Lit
What is the actual name of Mark Twain?
Samuel Clemens
The Salem Witch Trials
Why does Brazil speak portugese when other countries speak spanish?
Brazil speaks Portuguese because of the Treaty of Tordesillas, which gave the eastern portion of the continent to Portugal and the rest to Spain.
Which Mesoamerican and South American deity—often depicted as a feathered or winged serpent—was revered by the Inca as a god of water, wind, and fertility?
Amauro or Amaru (the specific Andean winged serpent). Many also associate this concept broadly with Viracocha’s manifestations or the shared cultural imagery of the feathered snake.
What Native American group, famous for never signing an official peace treaty with the U.S. government, was based in Florida and fought three major wars to defend their Everglades homeland?
Seminole Tribe
The most famous American horror poet is?...
Edgar Allen Poe
Who was the president during the first world war?
Woodrow Wilson
What 1494 treaty divided South America between Spain and Portugal?
The Treaty of Tordesillas (signed in 1494).
What is the name of the legendary city of gold hidden deep in the Andes or Amazon that Spanish conquistadors searched for in vain?
El Dorado. Conquistadors spent decades searching the rainforests and mountains for it, costing countless lives.
Taíno People
Who is the most famous MODERN horror novelist?
Stephen King (famous for Carrie, The Shining, and It)
What does the Bill of Rights do?
Protect the liberties of the citizens by limiting the power of the government.
What is the name of the ancient Peruvian civilization, dating back to 3500 BCE, that is considered the oldest known civilization in the Americas?
The Nazca civilization, famous for creating the Nazca Lines.
In the folklore of Chiloé Island in Chile, what is the name of the mythical ghost ship that sails the waters at night, manned by the souls of drowned sailors?
The Caleuche. It is described as a beautifully lit, festive ship that disappears quickly or hides underwater.
Which wealthy, maritime-based indigenous society carved massive cedar totem poles and dominated the coastal regions of modern-day Washington State, British Columbia, and Alaska?
The Haida or Tlingit
Who is the famous FEMALE American 19th -century Classics writer famous for writing about girls in Concord?
NOTE: Classics here refers to the field LITTERARY classics NOT Greek and Roman Mythology.
Lousia May Alcott
Ratified in 1920, what adendment guaranteed American women the right to vote?
What was the name of the secret, U.S.-backed campaign of political repression and state terror coordinated by South American military dictatorships in the 1970s?
Operation Condor, a brutal campaign of political repression and intelligence-sharing among right-wing military regimes.
The legend of El Dorado actually originated from a ritual performed by which indigenous Colombian chiefdom, where their leader would cover himself in gold dust and dive into a lake?
The Muisca (or Chibcha) civilization. Their zipa (king) covered himself in gold dust and dove into the lake as an offering to the gods.
What fierce, nomadic warrior tribe dominated the vast grasslands of Argentina (the Pampas) and successfully resisted both Spanish and Argentine expansion until the late 1800s?
Mapuche
Who is one of the most important FEMALE American poets, who spent her life enslaved?
Phillis Wheatly
Which amendment, ratified in 1868 during the Reconstruction era, granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons (people) born or naturalized in the U.S.?
14th
In 1828, the Treaty of Montevideo officially ended the Cisplatine War between the Empire of Brazil and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (modern-day Argentina). To prevent either regional superpower from controlling the strategic mouth of the Río de la Plata, a third party intervened as a mediator. This mediator forced both empires to renounce their territorial claims, resulting in the creation of a brand-new, independent buffer state. What European global power acted as the mediator, and what modern-day South American country was born out of this treaty?
The United Kingdom (Great Britain) acted as the mediator. Lord John Ponsonby was the British diplomat who orchestrated the deal. Uruguay (the Oriental Republic of Uruguay) was born as a buffer state to keep peace—and protect British maritime trade—between Brazil and Argentina.
In Mapuche mythology, what is the name of the famous legend involving two massive serpents—one representing the sea and the other representing the earth—who fought an epic battle that reshaped the geography of Chile?
Trengtreng Filu (the earth serpent) and Kaykay Filu (the sea serpent). Their legendary battle caused cataclysmic floods and created Chile's islands.
Before being forced south into Oklahoma, which powerful, nomadic horse-culture tribe dominated the southern Great Plains, specifically the region known as the Comancheria (modern-day Texas and New Mexico)?
Comanche