I WATCHED AS A FOX TV personality questioned random people on the streets of New York City, asking them questions about U.S. history.
I can understand a visitor to America not knowing U.S. history, but not a naturalized citizen and certainly not a product of the U.S. educational system (never mind CRT, “new math,” and Ebonics).
- As it happens, my Spouse, who was watching with me, knew 90% of the answers; she had to know then to gain her U.S. citizenship back in the 1970s.
The Fox guy asked an assortment of people — different ages, different races (albeit all “human”). There was one gentleman of my generation who knew ALL the answers to ALL the questions.
Was school so much different, better, “then” than it is today?
Spanish philosopher George Santayana is credited with the aphorism, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” while British statesman Winston Churchill wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” https://tinyurl.com/ufx kpya
Short Sampler
What country helped the U.S. in the Revolutionary War?
From what country did the U.S. want to separate?
When was the Revolutionary War fought?
Answers:
- France, already at war with England.
Many Americans wanted to be rid of England’s king (some wanted to stay with England)
The war officially commenced in 1775 and ended in 1776. (Bonus: The U.S. Marines were founded in 1775.)
Who were America’s enemies during World War 2?
When did the U.S. enter the war?
What was the Lend-Lease Act?
Answers:
- Germany, Italy, and Japan
December 7, 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii before declaring war
The Act provided war materials to Russia and England before the U.S. officially entered the war.
Americans fought a “civil” war (brother against brother, father against son).
When did the war officially commence and end?
Why was the war fought?
Who won the war?
Answers:
- 1861 to 1865
The war was fought to “preserve the Union.” (The Emancipation Proclamation came well after hostilities commenced and applied only to slaves in secessionist states.)
The Federal government, with its industry, prevailed.
What are “U.S. highways?
Answers:
- All highways with “U.S.” numbers (e.g. US 1, US 41) are STATE roads that receive some Federal money for their maintenance.
The only “U.S.” roads are on Federal lands (forests, parks, military installations, etc.)
The Interstate System was created under the Eisenhower administration as a way to rapidly move military equipment and troops. Each Interstate highway had to have two-mile straight stretches every so often to allow B-52 bombers to land, load, and take off.
What U.S. president instituted Social Security?
Answer:
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
President Harry S Truman integrated the U.S. military
President Eisenhower integrated public schools
President Lyndon B. Johnson initiated Head Start
What was the last war the U.S. won?
- World War 2.
It managed a cease fire in Korea
It followed the French out of Vietnam
It declared premature victory in Iraq
It ignobly left Afghanistan after more than 20 years
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (right) (no relation to Karl) used to ask this question of people who did poorly on his popular radio and tv show “You Bet Your Life”: Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?
- U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia Dent Grant
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