History Facts
Out of 50 states ONLY one had to change its initials from NB to NE. What was the state?
Nebraska
Canada Post unveiled an abbreviation list of its own, the province of New Brunswick to NB. The Canada Post asked the U.S. Postal Service to change Nebraska’s abbreviation. The request was met without resistance, and the abbreviation for Nebraska was changed from NB to NE in November 1969.
What famous hiking trail runs from Georgia to Maine?
Appalachian Trail Oregon Trail
Silk Road Appian Way
Appalachian Trail
The biggest cities in the U.S. enjoyed the luxury of free mail delivery to their homes beginning in 1863. When did rural free delivery (RFD)get started?
1896 1865 1900 1940
New postmaster general William L. Wilson agreed to launch an experimental rural free delivery (RFD) service in three West Virginia towns in 1896.
The Louisiana Purchase was made under which President?
George Washington Thomas Jefferson
John Adams John Quincy Adams
Thomas Jefferson
In 1803, the United States paid France only $15 million (about $345 million today) to acquire 828,000 square miles of territory stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. President Thomas Jefferson and future President James Monroe were both instrumental in negotiating the deal with France’s leader, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Which of these states was NOT one of the 13 original colonies?
New Hampshire Pennsylvania
New Jersey Florida
Florida
Which city is known as the “gateway to the West”?
Chicago St. Louis Oklahoma City Cincinnati
St. Louis
Many U.S. "ghost towns" exist as a result of what phenomenon?
Fear of Haunting Oil Rush
Bubonic Plague Civil War
Oil Rush
Many towns across the U.S., in areas such as Texas, the Great Plains, and Pennsylvania, experienced population booms in the 19th century when oil was struck, then were left behind when it became unprofitable to drill. It is estimated that there are more than 6,000 of these abandoned or “ghost” towns in Kansas alone.
Maine was a part of which U.S. state until 1820?
New Hampshire New York
Vermont Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Known as the District of Maine from 1780 until 1820, the most northern state of the lower 48 was actually part of Massachusetts, even though it was separated by New Hampshire’s 13-mile coastline. During the War of 1812, the British held vast swaths of Maine. Massachusetts' weak response increased calls for statehood, which it was finally granted on March 15, 1820.
Which US State was created as a result of the Civil War?
California West Virginia Massachusett
Arizona
West Virginia
Virginia voted to secede from the United States in 1861 during the Civil War, the delegates of the state’s western mountainous region opposed secession. They formed a new state, which was admitted by Congress to the United States in 1863, on the condition that slavery there would be abolished.
The Southern Plains experienced what ecological disaster in the 1930s?
Hurricane Steve First Ice Age
Eruption of Vesuvius Dust bowl
Dust bowl
Which state was annexed after winning independence from Mexico?
Texas California New Mexico Arizona
Texas
When Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821 and expanded the Texas territory, it brought in settlers from the United States to help develop the land. Eventually, those settlers fought for their own independence, establishing first an independent Texas Republic and then joining the U.S. in 1845.
What is both the westernmost and easternmost state in the country?
Hawaii Maine Alaska California
Alaska
Alaska’s Aleutian Islands extend west from the mainland into the Pacific Ocean, and some of the islands jut so far out that they cross over the 180th meridian into the Eastern Hemisphere. That makes Alaska’s Pochnoi Point on Semisopochnoi Island, which crosses the meridian, the easternmost location in the U.S, while Amatignak Island is the westernmost location.
Which of the 13 original colonies was established first?
New York Georgia Maryland Virginia
Virginia
The first permanent British colony in what would become the United States was established at Jamestown in Virginia in 1607. This was a full 13 years before the Pilgrims even spotted Plymouth Rock, even though popular American stories sometimes incorrectly claim the Pilgrims were the first British settlers to land in the U.S.
From which country did the U.S. purchase Alaska?
Canada Russia China Greenland
Russia
In 1867, the U.S. managed to rustle up about $7.2 million in gold so that it could purchase the Alaskan territory from Russia. The territory stretched more than 580,000 square miles, over twice the size of Texas. Spearheaded by President Andrew Johnson's secretary of state, William Henry Seward, the purchase was considered a foolish move at the time.