15 Fun Facts About American Trivia

The 13 stripes on the flag of the United States stand for what?

The fifty stars represent the states; the stripes represent the British colonies that won independence in the Revolutionary War.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from the people of which country?

The copper-clad statue was designed by sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, its metal framework built by Gustave Eiffel, and it was dedicated on 28 October 1886.

In which year did the United States complete the Louisiana Purchase?

France controlled only a small fraction of the enormous area it sold; for most of it, the United States was buying the exclusive right to acquire land from Native nations.

Who was the first president to live in the White House?

He did not live there long: he lost his bid for reelection in 1800 to his own vice president, Thomas Jefferson.

The lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner were written in 1814 after Francis Scott Key watched the British bombard which Baltimore stronghold?

Key wrote the poem Defence of Fort M'Henry on 14 September 1814, after the Royal Navy shelled the fort during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812.

Which was the first national park in the United States, created in 1872?

President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into existence on 1 March 1872. It is widely understood to be the first national park in the world.

The Golden Gate Bridge spans a one-mile-wide strait linking the Pacific Ocean to which body of water?

The bridge opened to the public on 27 May 1937 and was then both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world.

Which amendment to the US Constitution, adopted in 1920, bars denying the vote on account of sex?

It went into effect on 18 August 1920 once the thirty-sixth state ratified it.

Mount Rushmore carries the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and which fourth president?

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum oversaw the carving from 1927 to 1941, and the four heads were chosen to represent the nation's foundation, expansion, development and preservation.

The first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869 at Promontory Summit, in what was then which territory?

The Central Pacific built 690 miles east from Sacramento to the meeting point, closing a line begun in 1863.

When it first went up in 1923, the Hollywood Sign spelled out which word?

It was a temporary advertisement for a real estate development, set out in 50-foot-tall white letters across 450 feet of hillside.

How many amendments to the United States Constitution have been ratified?

Thirty-three amendments have been sent to the states in total; six of those were never ratified.

In which city can visitors see the Liberty Bell?

It once hung in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, and today sits across the street in the Liberty Bell Center.

The trophy handed to the Super Bowl champions is named after which coach?

He led the Green Bay Packers to victory in the first two Super Bowls.

The United States bought Alaska in 1867 from which country?

The price was $7.2 million. Alexander II had begun looking for a buyer after the Crimean War left the territory hard to defend.