Editor note: Thanks to reader James Toedtman of Savannah for this timely quiz.


Fireworks. Picnics. Beaches. Whatever your plans are for the Fourth of July, we’ve got some brain teasers for you to test what you know about the history of our country’s independence 245 years ago.

  1. John Adams wrote his wife Abigail that he expected a joyous celebration of “bonfires and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other.” When did he think that would occur?

a) July 2, the anniversary of the delegates’ vote of independence;

b) July 4, the printing of the document and ratification of the vote;

c) July 10, the anniversary of the reading of the declaration;

d) January 1, the anniversary of the first new year of independence?

2. Which of the following documents protects free speech and practice of religion?

a) the Articles of Confederation;

b) the Declaration of Independence;

c) the Constitution;

d) the Bill of Rights.

3. Which of the following documents declares “as self-evident,” that “all men are created equal?”

a) the Articles of Confederation;

b) the Declaration of Independence;

c) the Constitution;

d) the Bill of Rights.

4. Which of the following documents establishes the three branches of government?

a) the Articles of Confederation;

b) the Declaration of Independence;

c) the Constitution;

d) the Bill of Rights.

5. What are the three branches of government?

a) The Defense Department, the Executive Branch and the Judicial branch;

b) The Internal Revenue Service, the State Department, and the Congress;

c) the Executive branch, the Legislative branch and the U.S. Postal Service;

d) the Legislative, the Executive and the Judicial branches.

6. Lyman Hall, George Walton and Button Gwinnett represented the Georgia colony in the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. Why was Button Gwinnett there?

a) he was Governor of Georgia;

b) he was a Savannah plantation owner;

c) he was a military commander;

d) he had defeated rival Lachlan McIntosh in a duel.

7. Georgia was the last of the 13 colonies to join the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. State lawmakers dispatched the Georgia delegation to Philadelphia on:

a) July 4, 1774;

b) July 4, 1775;

c) July 4, 1776;

d) July 4, 1783.

8. Who is credited with writing the Declaration of Independence?

a) George Washington;

b) Thomas Jefferson;

c) James Madison;

d) Benjamin Franklin?

9. On July 9, 1776, George Washington read the Declaration of Independence in New York City. What happened then?

a) British ships occupying New York harbor fled the city;

b) New Yorkers sympathetic to the British protested;

c) Fired-up New Yorkers stormed the Bowling Green, destroying a statue of King George III, which was melted and recast as musket balls.

10. Button Gwinnett died in Savannah after a 1777 duel at Colonial Park Cemetery. What is his claim to fame today?

a) he led a successful Eastern Florida attack on the British;

b) his leadership as governor of Georgia;

c) of all the Declaration of Independence signers, his signature is the most valuable ($722,500 in May);

d) for the metallic buckle named for him.

11. Which of these military events occurred in 1776?

a) The Boston Tea Party,

b) the battle of Lexington and Concord;

c) George Washington led the colonial army’s retreat from New York City;

d) the Battle of Bunker Hill.

ANSWERS: 1-a; 2-d; 3-b; 4-c; 5-d; 6-a; 7-b; 8-b; 9-c; 10-c; 11-c.