Education World ® - Lesson Planning Skills Page: The Elite College History Survey

The Elite College History Survey

DIRECTIONS: Circle the correct answer.

1. When was the Civil War?
a. 1750-1800
b. 1800-1850
c. 1850-1900
d. 1900-1950
e. after 1950
f. Don't know

2. Who said, "Give me liberty or give me death?"
a. John Hancock
b. James Madison
c. Patrick Henry
d. Samuel Adams
e. Don't know

3. What is the Magna Carta?
a. The foundation of the British parliamentary system
b. The Great Seal of the monarchs of England
c. The French Declaration of the Rights of Man
d. The charter signed by the Pilgrims on the Mayflower
e. Don't know

4. The term Reconstruction refers to ...
a. Payment of European countries' debts to the United States after World War I
b. Repair of the physical damage caused by the Civil War
c. Readmission of the Confederate states to the Union and the protection of the rights of black citizens
d. Rebuilding of the transcontinental railroad and the canal system
e. Don't know

5. Who are Beavis and Butthead?
a. A radio show
b. Television cartoon characters
c. A musical group
d. Fictional soldiers
e. Don't know

6. The Scopes trial was about ...
a. Freedom of the press
b. Teaching evolution in the schools
c. Prayer in the schools
d. Education in private schools
e. Don't know

7. The Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln stated that ...
a. Slaves were free in areas of the Confederate states not held by the Union
b. The slave trade was illegal
c. Slaves who fled to Canada would be protected
d. Slavery was abolished in the Union
e. Don't know

8. The purpose of the authors of The Federalist Papers was to ...
a. Establish a strong, free press in the colonies
b. Confirm George Washington's election as the first president
c. Win foreign approval for the Revolutionary War
d. Gain ratification of the U.S. Constitution
e. Don't know

9. Sputnik was the name given to the first ...
a. Telecommunications system
b. Animal to travel into space
c. Hydrogen bomb
d. Human-made satellite
e. Don't know

10. The Missouri Compromise was the act that ...
a. Funded the Lewis and Clark expedition on the upper Missouri River
b. Granted statehood to Missouri but denied the admission of any other states
c. Settled the boundary dispute between Missouri and Kansas
d. Admitted Maine into the Union as a free state and admitted Missouri as a slave state
e. Don't know

11. Which document established the division of powers between the states and the federal government?
a. The Marshall Plan
b. The Constitution
c. The Declaration of Independence
d. The Articles of Confederation
e. Don't know

12. When was Thomas Jefferson president?
a. 1780-1800
b. 1800-1820
c. 1820-1840
d. 1840-1860
e. 1860-1880
f. Don't know

13. What was the lowest point in American fortunes in the Revolutionary War?
a. Saratoga
b. Bunker Hill
c. Valley Forge
d. Fort Ticonderoga
e. Don't know

14. In his farewell address, President George Washington warned against the danger of ...
a. Expanding into territories beyond the Appalachian Mountains
b. Going to war with Spain over Mexico
c. Entering into permanent alliances with foreign governments
d. Building a standing army and strong navy
e. Don't know

15. The Monroe Doctrine declared that ...
a. The American blockade of Cuba was in accordance with international law
b. Europe should not acquire new territories in the Western Hemisphere
c. Trade with China should be open to all Western nations
d. The annexation of the Philippines was legitimate
e. Don't know

16. Who was the European who traveled in the United States and wrote down perceptive comments about what he saw in Democracy in America?
a. Lafayette
b. Tocqueville
c. Cr�vecoeur
d. Napol�on
e. Don't know

17. Identify Snoop Doggy Dog.
a. A rap singer
b. A cartoon by Charles Schultz
c. A mystery series
d. A jazz pianist
e. Don't know

18. Abraham Lincoln was president between ...
a. 1780-1800
b. 1800-1820
c. 1820-1840
d. 1840-1860
e. 1860-1880
f. Don't know

19. Who was the American general at Yorktown?
a. William T. Sherman
b. Ulysses S. Grant
c. Douglas McArthur
d. George Washington
e. Don't know

20. John Marshall was the author of ...
a. Roe v. Wade
b. Dred Scott v. Kansas
c. Marbury v. Madison
d. Brown v. Board of Education
e. Don't know

21. Who was the "Father of the Constitution?"
a. George Washington
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. Benjamin Franklin
d. James Madison
e. Don't know

22. Who said "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country?"
a. John F. Kennedy
b. Benedict Arnold
c. John Brown
d. Nathan Hale
e. Don't know

23. What is the source of the phrase "Government of the people, by the people, for the people?"
a. The "I Have a Dream" speech
b. Declaration of Independence
c. U.S. Constitution
d. Gettysburg Address
e. Don't know

24. Who was the second president of the United States?
a. Thomas Jefferson
b. James Madison
c. John Adams
d. Benjamin Franklin
e. Don't know

25. Who was president when the United States purchased the Panama Canal?
a. Theodore Roosevelt
b. Jimmy Carter
c. Franklin D. Roosevelt
d. Woodrow Wilson
e. Don't know

26. Who was the leading advocate for U.S. entry into the League of Nations?
a. George C. Marshall
b. Woodrow Wilson
c. Henry Cabot Lodge
d. Eleanor Roosevelt
e. Don't know

27. Who said "Speak softly but carry a big stick?"
a. William T. Sherman
b. Sitting Bull
c. John D. Rockefeller
d. Theodore Roosevelt
e. Don't know

28. The Battle of the Bulge occurred during ...
a. The Vietnam War
b. World War II
c. World War I
d. The Civil War
e. Don't know

29. Which of the following was a prominent leader of the abolitionist movement?
a. Malcolm X
b. Martin Luther King Jr.
c. W.E.B. DuBois
d. Frederick Douglass
e. Don't know

30. Who was president of the United States at the beginning of the Korean War?
a. John F. Kennedy
b. Franklin D. Roosevelt
c. Dwight Eisenhower
d. Harry Truman
e. Don't know

31. When the United States entered World War II, which two major nations were allied with Germany?
a. Italy and Japan
b. Italy and Poland
c. Italy and Russia
d. Russia and Japan
e. Don't know

32. Social legislation passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society Program included ...
a. The Sherman Antitrust Act
b. The Voting Rights Act
c. The Tennessee Valley Authority
d. The Civilian Conservation Corps
e. Don't know

33. Who was "First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen?"
a. George Washington
b. Woodrow Wilson
c. Dwight Eisenhower
d. Abraham Lincoln
e. Don't know

34. Who was the leader of the Soviet Union when the United States entered World War II?
a. Peter Ustinov
b. Nikita Khrushchev
c. Marshal Tito
d. Joseph Stalin
e. Don't know

Click here for the answers to this test.

Note: The correct answer to each question, as well as the percentage of students who selected each answer, can be found on the Elite College History Questionnaire.