Colonial period and independence

Thomas Jefferson was 33 when Congress adopted his Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

American History on the 2025 list starts with the colonial period and independence, questions 73 to 89. The section covers roughly 180 years, from the first English settlements to the first years under the Constitution, and it introduces five founders by name: Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton.

Before and during the colonies

American Indians, or Native Americans, lived in America before the Europeans arrived (question 74, starred). The colonists came for freedom, political liberty, religious freedom and economic opportunity, or to escape persecution (question 73). English settlers founded Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, and the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact in 1620 before going ashore in Massachusetts. Africans were taken and sold as slaves (question 75); enslaved Africans were brought to Virginia in 1619.

The road to independence

After 1763 Britain taxed the colonies to pay for its wars and governed them more tightly. The 2025 list gives many reasons the Americans declared independence (question 77): high taxes and taxation without representation, British soldiers staying in Americans’ houses, no self-government, the Sugar Act (1764), the Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767), the Boston Massacre (1770), the Boston Tea Party (1773) and the Intolerable Acts (1774). Fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. The war is called the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War or the War for Independence (question 76).

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence (question 78, starred), and Congress adopted it on July 4, 1776 (question 79). Important events of the war on the list include the Battle of Bunker Hill, Washington crossing the Delaware to win at Trenton, the Battle of Saratoga, the winter camp at Valley Forge and the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781 (question 80). The peace treaty that ended the war was signed in Paris in 1783.

Thirteen states and a Constitution

There were 13 original states, and question 81 asks you to name five: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. That list runs roughly north to south along the Atlantic coast, which makes it easier to recall. The Constitution was written in 1787 (question 82) at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, writing under the name Publius, published the Federalist Papers to help people understand the Constitution and to support passing it (questions 83 and 84).

Five founders

Benjamin Franklin founded the first free public libraries, was the first Postmaster General, helped write the Declaration, was an inventor and served as a diplomat (question 85). George Washington is the Father of Our Country, the first president, General of the Continental Army and President of the Constitutional Convention (question 86, starred). Jefferson was also the third president, doubled the size of the country with the Louisiana Purchase, was the first Secretary of State and founded the University of Virginia (question 87). Madison is the Father of the Constitution and was the fourth president, in office during the War of 1812 (question 88). Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury and helped establish the First Bank of the United States (question 89).

2008 version: Colonial Period and Independence, questions 58 to 70