A free US history quiz covering four centuries of the American story: Plymouth Rock, the Boston Tea Party, the Alamo, the golden spike, the Wall Street Crash and the March on Washington. Twelve multiple-choice questions on American history — how much of it can you place in time? Every answer comes with an explanation, and the full answer key is at the bottom of the page.
Every question in this quiz, with the correct answer and the story behind it. Open it after you've played — or use it as a study sheet before you do.
Answer: 1884
Washington Monument Nearing Completion — 1884. Construction halted for 23 years, which is why the monument's lower and upper portions are different shades—they came from different quarries.
Answer: San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
San Francisco Earthquake and Fire came first, in 1906. The earthquake lasted 45 seconds but subsequent fires burned for three days, destroying 80% of the city and displacing 250,000 people.
Answer: 1963
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom — 1963. MLK's famous 'I Have a Dream' refrain was improvised after gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted 'Tell them about the dream, Martin!'
Answer: Washington Crossing the Delaware
Washington Crossing the Delaware came first, in 1776. Washington crossed in a nor'easter storm on Christmas night 1776, surprising Hessian forces at Trenton when the Continental Army was near collapse.
Answer: 1969
Woodstock Music Festival — 1969. Despite mud, overcrowding, and food shortages, Woodstock saw only two deaths and two births among nearly 400,000 attendees.
Answer: Statue of Liberty's Arm on Display in Manhattan
Statue of Liberty's Arm on Display in Manhattan came first, in 1882. The statue's arm and torch were displayed in Madison Square Park for six years to raise funds—visitors climbed inside for city views.
Answer: 1627
Plymouth Colony Settlement — 1627. Only 53 of 102 Mayflower passengers survived the first winter—the colony's survival depended on Squanto teaching them to fertilize corn with fish.
Answer: Battle of the Alamo
Battle of the Alamo came first, in 1836. All 189 Texan defenders perished, but their sacrifice delayed Santa Anna's army long enough for Sam Houston to win the war six weeks later.
Answer: 1945
V-J Day Celebration in Times Square — 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt's iconic photo of a sailor kissing a nurse was one of four similar shots he took in 15 seconds as celebrations erupted.
Answer: Brooklyn Bridge Grand Opening
Brooklyn Bridge Grand Opening came first, in 1883. Chief engineer John Roebling died before construction began; his son Washington was paralyzed by decompression sickness—Washington's wife Emily became the de facto engineer and completed the bridge.
Answer: 1929
Wall Street Crash of 1929 — 1929. On Black Tuesday, investors traded a record 16.4 million shares in a single day, wiping out billions of dollars in wealth.
Answer: Ford Model T Assembly Line, Dearborn
Ford Model T Assembly Line, Dearborn came first, in 1920. Ford's moving assembly line cut Model T production time from 12 hours to 90 minutes, making cars affordable for millions of Americans.
The same 12 questions as a photocopiable worksheet — tick boxes, no answers on the student pages, and a teacher answer key with explanations and marking bands on its own sheet. Free, no sign-up, A4 and US Letter.
Printable American History worksheet + answer key19 documented moments, in order. Each one is also a playable 360° round in the game.
12 multiple-choice questions, each with four options. Most ask you to date an event; the rest ask which of four events happened first. You get the correct answer and a short explanation the moment you answer, and the full answer key is published further down this page.
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no account and no email required. Your score appears as soon as you finish, and you can retake the quiz as many times as you like.
It spans 1620 to 2011 and draws on 19 documented events, including Mayflower Landing at Plymouth Rock, Statue of Liberty's Arm on Display in Manhattan, Wall Street Crash of 1929. Mayflower to Woodstock — 12 questions on the American story.
Anything above 8 out of 12 puts you in History Buff territory. 10 or more earns Grand Historian, and a perfect 12/12 makes you a Time Lord. Under 40% is a Tourist — worth another run once you've read the answer key.
Every question is built from the same historical events used in the HistoryGuesser game — real, dated moments with a documented place and year. Nothing is AI-invented at question time: dates, places and facts come from a fixed, hand-checked event library, so the quiz is identical each time you load it.