American History
State Geography
American Symbols
Presidents
American-Made
100
This document begins with the words, "We the People."
What is the Constitution?
The United States Constitution is the oldest written national constitution still in use anywhere in the world.
100
This river forms much of the border between Texas and Mexico.
What is the Rio Grande?
The Rio Grande is called the Río Bravo in Mexico, which means “fierce river” or “wild river.”
100
The eagle on the Great Seal holds this plant in one talon as a symbol of peace.
What is an olive branch?
The eagle's head is turned toward the olive branch, symbolizing that the United States prefers peace over war.
100
Construction on this famous presidential monument lasted from 1927 until 1941.
What is Mount Rushmore?
October 31, 1941 – The project officially ended after the death of chief sculptor Gutzon Borglum. The original plan included carving the presidents down to their waists, but funding shortages and World War II brought the project to an end.
100
This red toy wagon has been a childhood favorite since 1917.
What is a Radio Flyer wagon?
The company got its name by combining two exciting inventions of the early 1900s:
- "Radio" represented the exciting new technology of the time.
- "Flyer" was inspired by the Wright brothers' airplane.
200
This purchase doubled the size of the United States in 1803.
What is the Louisiana Purchase?
Before the United States stretched across the continent, European countries claimed huge portions of North America. They explored the land, established settlements, traded with Native American nations, and claimed territory for their monarchs.
The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States overnight. In 1803, the U.S. bought about 828,000 square miles of land from France for $15 million.
The purchase works out to about 4 cents an acre—one of the greatest real estate bargains in history!
200
This is the smallest U.S. state by area.
What is Rhode Island?
Rhode Island could fit inside Texas about 174 times.
- Texas: 268,596 square miles
- Rhode Island: 1,545 square miles
200
This monument (and gift from the country of France) in New York Harbor was dedicated in 1886.
What is the Statue of Liberty?
The statue isn't actually green! It was originally shiny copper. Over about 20 years, the copper reacted with air and seawater, forming the green patina we see today. That patina actually protects the metal underneath.
200
He was the youngest elected U.S. president.
Who was John F. Kennedy?
Kennedy was the first president to hold live televised press conferences on a regular basis, allowing millions of Americans to watch him answer reporters' questions from their living rooms.
200
Boardwalk and Park Place are the most expensive properties in this American-made board game.
What is Monopoly?
The streets on the Monopoly board are based on real streets in Atlantic City, where many can still be visited today.
300
This company introduced color television broadcasts to millions of American homes in the 1950s.
What is RCA?
RCA (short for Radio Corporation of America) was one of the most important American technology companies of the 20th century.
RCA helped bring television into American homes. By the 1950s, families across the country were gathering around RCA TV sets.
300
This state is home to Mount Rushmore.
What is South Dakota?
Construction took 14 years, and amazingly, no workers were killed during the carving, despite the dangerous conditions.
300
This famous monument honors the president who preserved the Union during the Civil War.
What is the Lincoln Memorial?
The memorial has 36 columns, one for each state in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death in 1865.
300
This stuffed toy is named after President Theodore Roosevelt.
What is the teddy bear?
During a 1902 hunting trip, he refused to shoot a bear that had been tied to a tree because he thought it was unsportsmanlike. A political cartoon of the incident inspired a toy maker to create the first "Teddy's Bear."
300
This red-and-white soup company has been an American pantry staple since 1869.
What is Campbell's?
The famous red-and-white Campbell's soup can was inspired by the colors of the football uniforms worn by executives from Cornell University. The design has remained almost unchanged since 1898.
400
The U.S. Bicentennial event in 1976 celebrated this major milestone in America's history.
What is America's 200th birthday?
The celebration lasted all year long, not just on July 4. The official logo was a white five-pointed star surrounded by a red and blue outline. It appeared everywhere—from postage stamps to cereal boxes.
400
This river begins in Minnesota and empties into the Gulf of Mexico.
What is the Mississippi River?
The Mississippi River is so large that water from 31 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces eventually flows into it. Nearly 40% of the continental United States drains into the Mississippi River system.
400
The Liberty Bell is famous for its large crack and calls this City home.
What is Philadelphia?
The Liberty Bell is significant because it has become one of the most powerful symbols of American freedom, independence, and equality.
The bell bears the inscription:
"Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof."
This biblical verse (Leviticus 25:10) gave the bell its famous name.
400
This former president purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 and his face can be found on the US nickel.
Who was Thomas Jefferson?
Jefferson wasn't sure the Constitution gave the president the power to buy land from another country. Even though he had doubts, he decided the opportunity was too important to pass up.
400
This company introduced Barbie dolls in 1959.
What is Mattel?
When Mattel started in 1945, the company made picture frames. The founders used leftover wood scraps to make dollhouse furniture, and those toys became so popular that they shifted to making toys full-time.
500
This amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920.
What is the 19th Amendment?
The 19th Amendment gave women the constitutional right to vote in 1920—but many women, especially Black, Native American, and Asian American women, still faced legal barriers that kept them from voting for years afterward. It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that many of the legal barriers preventing Black Americans from voting were prohibited and federal protections for voting rights were significantly strengthened.
500
This mountain range stretches from Alabama into Canada.
What are the Appalachian Mountains?
They're older than the dinosaurs! The Appalachian Mountains formed about 480 million years ago, making them among the oldest mountain ranges on Earth.
500
This American lawyer and an amateur poet penned the words to the "The Star-Spangled Banner" on September 14, 1814. The song later became America's National Anthem in 1931.
Who is Francis Scott Key?
After witnessing the overnight British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key saw the large American flag still flying at dawn. Inspired by the sight, he wrote a poem titled "Defence of Fort M'Henry" on the morning of September 14, 1814.
The poem was later set to the tune of the popular English song "To Anacreon in Heaven," and eventually became "The Star-Spangled Banner."
500
This president authorized the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first humans on the Moon.
Who was Richard Nixon?
Although Nixon was president during the Moon landing, the Apollo program had actually begun years earlier under John F. Kennedy, who challenged America in 1961 to land a person on the Moon before the end of the decade.
500
This famous cast-iron cookware company has been making skillets in Tennessee since the 1890s.
What is Lodge?
Every piece of Lodge cast iron is still made in South Pittsburg, where the company was founded more than 125 years ago.