BCC ESL Program

US Culture Contest

Part 2

In what month is the President inaugurated?

January

Which state was sold by Russia to the United States?

Alaska

Which amendment ended slavery?

13th

Which amendment made Black people citizens of the

US?

14th

Which amendment gave Black people the right to

vote?

15th

In what year did women

get the right to vote?

1920

Name the annual holiday that celebrates the workers of

the United States on the

first Monday in September.

Labor Day

When did the US fight in the Vietnam War?

1964-1973

When did the US fight in the Korean War?

1950-1953

Name the “war” in which the US and the Soviet Union

competed against each other in politics and economics.

The Cold War

American citizens have to participate in

trials. What do we call that

responsibility?

Jury Duty

On July 4, Americans celebrate

independence from whom?

England

Name the 49th and 50th states of the United States.

What did the US government do to

Japanese Americans during World War II?

Sent them to internment camps

Name the current vice-

president of the United States.

Joe Biden

In which state is Graceland, the estate and

the gravesite of Elvis Presley?

Tennessee

What military base in

Hawaii was attacked by

Japan in 1941?

Pearl Harbor

What continent did the “Indians,” the first inhabitants of North and South America,

come from?Asia

Who was the American

President during World War I?

Woodrow Wilson

From what country did the United States buy the Louisiana Purchase, which

doubled the size of the country in 1803?

France

In what year did the New York

Stock Market crash?

1929

What two skyscrapers in New York City were destroyed by terrorists on

9/11?

The Twin Towers/ World Trade Center

In what year did the United States land the first men

on the moon?

1969

What is the most famous opera company in the United

States?

What is the largest

museum in the United States?

The Metropolitan Museum of

Art

“Bean Town” is the nickname for which American city?

Boston

What is the nickname for New

York City?

“The Windy City” is the nickname for what American city?

Chicago

“The Big Easy” is the

nickname for what American

city?

New Orleans

What is the smallest state?

Which state is famous for potatoes?

Idaho

In what state is the Great Salt Lake?

What is the name of the famous mountain range in Colorado?

The Rocky Mountains

What is the largest

collection of museums in Washington,

D.C.?

The Smithsonian

When were the first public schools in the US established?

By the middle of the 19th century

What melts in your mouth and not in your hand?

M & M candies

What is the name for the system in which states choose the president

based on their population?

the Electoral College

What are red states and blue states?

red = voted Republican blue = voted Democratic

On what day of the week do Americans vote in elections?

What is the name of San Francisco’s football team?

Which baseball team won The World Series in 2012?

In what year did the Supreme Court rule, in the case of Loving v. Virginia, that states

could not ban interracial marriages?

1967

What is the name of the site where the World Trade Center once stood?  

Ground Zero

What African-American woman helped change segregation laws by

refusing to give her bus seat to a white person in

Montgomery, Alabama in 1955?

Rosa Parks

What are the most popular U.S. weekly news magazines?

What are the 3 most popular U.S. daily newspapers?

The Wall Street JournalUSA Today

The New York Times

What is the name of this line that separated northern states from southern states in the 1770s-1800s?

The Mason-Dixon Line

What do we call the region in red?

The West

What do we call the region in green?

The Northeast

What do we call the region in orange?

The South

What do we call the region in blue?

The Midwest

What state is this?

Texas

What state is this?

Florida

What state is this?

New York

What city is this?

Chicago

What pop artist painted this in 1962?

Andy Warhol

Name this painting, painted by Grant Wood in 1930.

American Gothic

What 1950s movie star is this?

Marilyn Monroe

What 1960s movie star is this?

James Dean

What 1950s-70s singer/actor is this?

Elvis Presley

What President is this?

Abraham Lincoln

What President is this?

George Washington

What 1960’s First Lady is this?

Jackie Onassis Kennedy

This famous poster used what character to represent the U.S.

Government?

Uncle Sam

What 1939 Technicolor film is this?

The Wizard of Oz

What modern pop star is this?

Lady Gaga

What spy movie character is this?

James Bond

What basketball star is this?

Jeremy Lin

What First Lady is this?

Michelle Obama

Name this writer, inventor, and politician from the 1700s.

Benjamin Franklin

What former First Lady, Presidential candidate, and Secretary of State is

this?

Hillary Clinton

What talk show host, media mogul, and philanthropist is this?

Oprah Winfrey

What labor and civil rights leader is this?

Cesar Chavez

Name this Sesame Street character, who became even more famous during the 2012

Presidential election.

Big Bird

Name this silent-film writer,

producer, and actor.

Charlie Chaplin

Name this character who

represented women working during World War II.

Rosie the Riveter

Name this heavyweight boxing

champion who controversially

refused to fight in Vietnam.

Muhammad Ali

Name this 300-foot-tall statue, given to the U.S. by France in 1886 and placed

in New York.

The Statue of Liberty

What is the name of this mountain in South Dakota with the faces of 4 Presidents

carved into it?

Mount Rushmore

What is the name of this 555-foot-

tall structure in the nation’s capital?

The Washington Monument

What is the name of this famous

skyscraper in New York?

The Empire State Building

What is the name of this building where the top level of the legislative branch of

government (the U.S. Congress) works?

The Capitol Building

What is the name of this building where the top level of the executive

branch of government (the President) lives and works?

The White House

What is the name of this building where the top level of the judicial branch of

government works?

The Supreme Court

What is this famous American junk food whose maker, Hostess, went out of

business in 2012?

Twinkie

What is this science fiction TV show from the 60s?

Star Trek

What is this TV show from the 8os set in the 50s?

Happy Days

What is this TV sitcom from the 50s?

I Love Lucy

What is this TV quiz show from the 60s-70s?

Jeopardy

What heavy metal band is this?

KISS

What is the name for the famous list of the most popular songs from each week?

Top 40

What is this TV quiz show from the 60s-70s?

Jeopardy