just not sure

OK – I am taking it a bit easy this week. So I am going to survey the internet for some interesting questions about US history. As we all know – what we were taught in school and what really happened are often different things.

1) How many signers were there to the Declaration of Independence?
a) 13 (one per colony)
b) 26
c) 56
d) 100

2) July 4th as Independence Day became a national holiday in what year?
a) 1789
b) 1826
c) 1918
d) 1941

3) Who was the oldest signer of the Declaration?
a) John Hancock
b) Benjamin Franklin
c) Samuel Chase
d) Benjamin Rush

4) What is on the back of the Declaration of Independence?
a) A Treasure Map
b) Nothing
c) Signatures of the delegates
d) the words “Original Declaration of Independence 4th July 1776”

5) Three presidents died on July 4th. Most famous is the odd coincidence that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration July 4, 1826. What other president died on July 4th?
a) James Monroe
b) James Madison
c) Theodore Roosevelt
d) Ronald Reagan

6) Benedict Arnold was famously charged with treason. What did he do?
a) Led the British on a night time attack on Washington’s troops at Valley Forge
b) Gave the British advance warning before an attack by Lee in Virginia
c) Prepared to turn Fort West Point over to the British, but the plot was exposed.
d) Sold American arms under his watch to the British.

7) Thomas Paine was a pamphleteer whose pamphlets helped unify the Americans during the Revolution. Which of the following was not a Paine pamphlet?
a) Common Sense
b) The Time For Action
c) The American Crisis
d) The Rights Of Man

8) In 1777, what city held what is considered the first July 4th Independence Day celebration?
a) Philadelphia
b) New York
c) Boston
d) Baltimore

9) July 4th 1897, this staple Independence day anthem was first heard. What is this song?
a) “It’s a Grand Old Flag” by George M. Cohen
b) “God Bless America” by Irving Berlin
c) “Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Phillip Sousa
d) “Oh! Susanna” by Stephen Foster

10) During their stay at Valley Forge, American troops tried to keep morale up by engaging in what sport?
a) rugby
b) cricket
c) hunting
d) soccer

I have always wondered what it would have been like to be alive at the time of the Revolution. From what I have read, it may well have been somewhat boring and mundane. Remember wars back then took place on battlefields usually away from the population. So the days would often go on as usual.

Answers, Sir!

1) c) 56

2) d) believe it or not 1941

3) b) Benjamin Franklin

4) d) the words “Original Declaration ….”

5) a) James Monroe July 4, 1831

6) c) was planning to turn West Point over to the British but was foiled when Major Andre was captured with the plans in his boot

7) b) the Time For Action was not a Paine pamphlet

8) a) Philly

9) c) “Stars and Stripes Forever”

10) b) Cricket!

And with that I hope all of you celebrated America’s birth in the best way you could. Now relax because as Paul Simon reminds us in “American Tune” that “tomorrow’s going to be another working day.”