ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?

Today is Independence Day, when we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of our nation. We all know what happened on July 4, 1776; we learned it in elementary school.


But how much more do you remember about the American history lessons you learned?

Greenville County fifth-graders get an in-depth look at American history, from post-Civil War Reconstruction to the present.

Here’s a sampling of questions from the South Carolina Social Studies PACT test for fifth-graders. See how much you know:

1. Why did General Robert E. Lee agree to lead Confederate troops?
A. He was born in Virginia, a Confederate state.
B. The Union did not ask him to serve in their army.
C. He had argued with President Lincoln about strategy.
D. He thought the practice of slavery should be defended.

2. Why was the Battle of Gettysburg an important victory for the North?
A. Both sides agreed to end the war immediately.
B. Confederate troops were prevented from advancing into the North.
C. There were no Union casualties.
D. All of the Confederate troops were captured and taken prisoner.

3. What happened as a result of the Boston Tea Party?
A. Samuel Adams formed the Sons of Liberty.
B. The British government passed the Intolerable Acts.
C. The Stamp Act was repealed.
D. British soldiers carried out the Boston Massacre.

4. Why did the colonists use the slogan, “No taxation without representation”?
A. To demand that property and income taxes be lowered.
B. To request that Great Britain choose colonist leaders to govern the 13 colonies.
C. To protest the fact that the colonists had no one to represent them in the British government.
D. To gain support for the colonists’ efforts to dethrone King George III.

5. Why was tobacco an important cash crop for Jamestown?
A. Native Americans were paid cash to grow tobacco.
B. Profits from exports of tobacco helped the colony grow.
C. Tobacco smokers paid huge fines.
D. Tobacco was imported from England in large amounts.

6. On what issue did Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson disagree?
A. The strength of the national government.
B. Property rights for new citizens.
C. Relations with Great Britain and France.
D. The effects of westward expansion on Native Americans.

7. Why was it a problem when Missouri asked to be admitted as a state in 1819?
A. There were not enough people in Missouri to form a state.
B. It would upset the balance of free states and slave states.
C. Land gained in the Louisiana Purchase could not become a state.
D. The people needed to vote for or against slavery.

8. Where in the United States were women first granted the right to vote?
A. New York
B. Illinois
C. Kansas
D. The Territory of Wyoming

9. What major factor led to the Spanish-American War?
A. Spain imprisoned thousands of Americans.
B. The USS Maine was destroyed in a huge explosion, killing 260 Americans.
C. Spanish newspapers insulted the United States Senate
D. Spain destroyed United States-owned businesses in Miami.

10. What was President Wilson hoping to accomplish by entering World War I?
A. He wanted to punish Germany.
B. He wanted the United States to gain control of European land.
C. He wanted to maintain the United Statesí policy of isolationism.
D. He wanted to make the world “safe for democracy.”

Answers:
1. A; 2. B; 3. B; 4. A; 5. B; 6. A; 7. B; 8. D; 9. B; 10. D