4th of July Trivia – Do You Know Your Country?

Okay, trivia buffs, gather round the screen. It’s 4^th of July trivia time – how well do you really know your country?

In the spirit of Independence Day, the PrideStaff team created this 10-question quiz just for you. If you’re having a work celebration, you’re hosting family picnic, or you’re just a lover of all things trivia, have some fun with PrideStaff’s “Do You Know Your Country” Trivia Quiz (Answer key is below all of the questions): 

1. When did the 4^th of July become a paid federal holiday?
2. Name a U.S. President who was born on the 4^th of July.
3. Name a U.S. President who died on Independence Day.
4. What day was the Declaration of Independence signed?
5. When were fireworks first used in an official 4^th of July celebration?
6. Who wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner”?
7. Which newspaper first printed the Declaration of Independence?
8. How tall is the Statue of Liberty?
9. How many people were living in the United States on July 4, 1776?
10. Who originally said this quote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Answer Key:

1. 1938.
2. Calvin Coolidge was born July 4, 1782.
3. There are two correct answers to this question. Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826.
4. While most people assume the document was signed on July 4, 1776 (the date inscribed on the Declaration), the document was actually signed on August 2, 1776 – nearly a month after its adoption.
5. In 1777, Congress authorized using fireworks to help mark the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. The celebration also included bonfires and bells.
6. Francis Scott Key penned the poem in 1814. The poem was later set to music and became the country’s national anthem in 1931. 
7. Although John Dunlap printed copies of the Declaration for the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the Pennsylvania Evening Post was the first newspaper to print it on July 6, 1776.
8. From her base to the top of her torch, Lady Liberty is 151 feet tall. When you add in her pedestal and foundation, the full height of the Statue of Liberty is 305 feet.
9. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, approximately 2.5 million people lived in our country in 1776.
10. It’s a trick question! While President John F. Kennedy included this statement in one of his most famous speeches, this statement is an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence.