The Fourth of July is basically a trivia holiday wearing a barbecue apron. Between the cookout, the parade, and the wait for it to finally get dark enough for fireworks, there's plenty of downtime to fill, and a quick quiz beats arguing about the grill. So here are twenty Independence Day trivia questions with answers, sorted from the history into the flags, songs, and the gloriously weird traditions. Read them out at the cookout, save them for a road trip, or just quietly test yourself.
Want to keep going after these run out? We drop a fresh batch of holiday questions into the in-app Holiday Trivia event around the Fourth every year, free to play, with a collectible badge for the holiday.
The history
1. In what year did the Continental Congress adopt the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: 1776.
2. The Declaration of Independence declared the colonies free from which country?
Answer: Great Britain.
3. Who is credited as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson.
4. How many colonies declared their independence in 1776?
Answer: Thirteen.
5. How many people signed the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: Fifty-six.
6. Which founding father is famous for his oversized, can't-miss-it signature on the Declaration?
Answer: John Hancock.
7. Two founding fathers who both became president also both died on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years after the Declaration. Name them.
Answer: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
Symbols and traditions
8. The Liberty Bell sits in which American city?
Answer: Philadelphia.
9. How many stars are on the current United States flag, and how many stripes?
Answer: Fifty stars and thirteen stripes.
10. By popular legend, which seamstress is said to have sewn an early American flag?
Answer: Betsy Ross.
11. The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the United States from which country?
Answer: France.
12. Which animal was adopted as the national emblem of the United States in 1782?
Answer: The bald eagle.
13. Which South Dakota monument carries the carved faces of four U.S. presidents?
Answer: Mount Rushmore.
14. Founding father John Adams imagined the day being celebrated with "illuminations." What do we now call those?
Answer: Fireworks.
Songs, culture, and the fun stuff
15. What is the official national anthem of the United States?
Answer: "The Star-Spangled Banner."
16. Which patriotic song opens with the line "O beautiful for spacious skies"?
Answer: "America the Beautiful."
17. Every Fourth of July, Coney Island hosts a famous eating contest. What food is on the menu?
Answer: Hot dogs (Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest).
18. Which city served as the first capital of the United States under the new Constitution in 1789?
Answer: New York City.
19. Roughly how many people lived in the United States in 1776: about 2.5 million, 10 million, or 25 million?
Answer: About 2.5 million.
20. Complete the famous line from the Declaration: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are..."
Answer: "...created equal."
How did you do? If you swept all twenty, congratulations, you've earned that second hot dog. If a few slipped past you, that's the fun part, because now you've got fresh ammo for next year's cookout. Either way, the questions you missed are the ones you'll remember, which is sort of the whole point of trivia in the first place.
Play the Fourth of July event
The free Holiday Trivia event brings a themed set of questions to every major holiday, with a badge to collect. Download TrendTrivia on iOS and Android and jump in.
