#32 - The 4th of July 🎇

Today is July 3rd and tomorrow we will have a big holiday in the USA - the 4th of July! Let’s have a little 4th of July Trivia Quiz! The dictionary definition of trivia is "unimportant information or facts". It is very popular now to have trivia quizzes – games in which people try to answer questions about fun facts or information. A quiz is a  short informal test. The teacher says “We’re going to have a “pop quiz.” – an unexpected little test. Our 4th of July trivia quiz has some questions about trivia but most of the questions are about actual United States history. How many answers will you know, dear listener?
1.  What is another name for the 4th of July holiday?  Independence Day.   Yes, the 4th of July celebrates the signing of the Declaration (announcement) of the Independence of the United States.
2.  What country did the United States (at that time the “colonies”) announce their independence from?  Great Britain (England)
 3.   What year was the Declaration of Independence written & signed?  In 1776
4.   How many states (colonies) were in the original United States?  13  - all were on the Atlantic coast  - from New Hampshire in the North to  Georgia in the South.
  5. How many people lived in the United States in 1776? About 2 ½ million people– about the same number of people who live in Chicago today.
6. Who wrote the  Declaration of Independence? A committee of 5 white men including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin & Thomas Jefferson
7.  The famous words in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident (obvious), that all men are created equal”… did not apply to a large number of people who lived in the  United States in 1776? Who were those people? About 500,000 enslaved black people living in the United States in 1776 – about 20% of the population. Those people were not considered equal. Slavery was legal in all the original states in 1776. 89 years later in 1865, near the end of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment to the US constitution made slavery illegal throughout the United States. There are many black people in the United States today who do not consider the 4th of July their Independence Day.
8. Who signed the Declaration of Independence?  55 white men representing the 13 states/colonies - the “Founding Fathers” (to found something means to start it. "He founded his company in 2020”.)
9. Who are some of the names that we still recognize today? JOHN HANCOCK – was the first signature. We now use “John Hancock” to talk about a signature or name : “Put your John Hancock at the bottom of the page.” Benjamin Franklin – diplomat & inventor,Thomas Jefferson – He wrote much of the Declaration of Independence & became the 3rd president. John Adams – He was the 2nd president. Alexander Hamilton – Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote an amazing musical about him.  10. Did the United States become independent immediately after the Declaration of independence was signed?  No, the newly declared 13 United States fought the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783.
11. Who was the general who led the United States in the Revolutionary War?          General George Washington 11. Who was the first president of the United States? George Washington!  12. Who is Washington State named after? George Washington! 13. Whose face is on the one dollar bill?  George Washington!
A Joke: How are George Washington and a duck different?  George Washington has his face on a bill and a duck has a bill on his face. HaHa!
14. What is the most popular food to eat on the 4th of July? Hot dogs!

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