North American history is fairly complex and there are gaps in our knowledge. There is debate amongst scholars about the "first contact" made in the Americas. In North America, these initial encounters almost always refer to first contact between indigenous peoples and Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries. In reality, of course, the Americas were populated by millions of people from thousands of culturally distinct communities. There were thousands of “first contacts” between these groups, as well as later European immigrants.
This quiz will test your knowledge of some of the most important periods in North American history. To do well on this quiz, you are going to have to know much about the history of the United States, Mexico, Canada, Greenland or any of the other countries located on the continent. Many of these countries have vastly different cultures, ideals, and ways of life as well. If you are a super smart person, then you should do pretty well on this quiz.
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Get PremiumIf You Can Pass This North American History Quiz Then You're Super Smart Questions
What is the estimated Native American population before contact with European settlers in 1492?
60 million
60,000
600,000
6 million
What is the name of the Mesoamerican culture of people that flourished from the 14th to 16th centuries in Mexico?
Inuit
Aztecs
Mayans
Eloi
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. Who was the 15th president?
James Buchanan
Andrew Johnson
Franklin Pierce
Ulysses S. Grant
What US state became the first to abolish slavery when it did so in the year 1780?
Maine
Vermont
New York
Pennsylvania
In what year did Canada officially become a country of its own?
1867
1794
1832
1904
This large creature came to North America from Asia across the Bering land bridge some 100,000 years ago. It went extinct at the end of the last ice age. What is its name?
Mastodon
Castoroide
Peccary
The woolly mammoth
What US president signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 that led to the forced displacement of tens of thousands of Native Americans?
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
Martin Van Buren
Andrew Jackson
In what year did Canada begin using the maple leaf on its flag?
1965
1928
1867
1942
On what dates is Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrated in Mexico?
September 1st and 2nd
October 30th and 31st
September 29th and 30th
November 1st and 2nd
In what year did Greenland become an official part of Denmark?
1953
1969
1947
1933
Which US president is thought to have given the White House its name?
John F. Kennedy
George Washington
Theodore Roosevelt
Abraham Lincoln
In which North American country can you find the crater left by the asteroid believed to have killed off the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago?
Greenland
Canada
Mexico
USA
What Canadian territory was only recently created in 1999?
The Yukon
Nunavut
Alberta
Northwest Territories
What US president fathered 16 children?
William Henry Harrison
George Washington
John Tyler
Bill Clinton
The Mexican War of Independence began in 1810 and ended with Mexico becoming its own country. What year did the war end?
1821
1812
1824
1817