Quizzing the locals on the FourthPeople from all walks of life questioned on what they know about the nation's birthday — find out who did best By Diette Courrégé (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Saturday, July 5, 2008
It was July Fourth, Independence Day, a time to celebrate ... Um. Ah. I guess that depends on who you ask. The Post and Courier decided to find out what a few people in the Lowcountry know about our nation's birthday. We talked to an eighth-grader, a surgeon, an attorney, a police officer, a tourist, a business owner, a college student, a recent high school graduate and a former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania. We'll put a sampling of some of their answers here. Guess who did the best, and we'll tell you at the end. To make it a little tougher, we rarely offered multiple-choice answers. To make it a little easier, we used a quiz for kids, yes kids, from the White House's Web site. The seemingly simple quiz stumped everyone who took it. Thirteen year-old Devon Smith is going into the eighth grade at Charleston Progressive Academy downtown. He was fishing off the Battery with his uncle, Nathaniel McCant, and godfather, Peter Simmons. When asked what happened on July 4, 1776, Devon stumbled. "The end of the Civil War," Devon said. No, not quite. "The end of the Revolutionary War," he said. Not exactly. Do you know what was adopted (although many, even the test, say it was signed) that day? "The Declaration of Independence," Devon said. Right. You're not the only one who missed that question. Congrats on catching a shark. Next up, Natalka Stachiw, an ear, nose and throat surgical resident at the Medical University of South Carolina. She was taking a break to stretch in the middle of a six-mile run with her boyfriend, and she was up for a history quiz. Which two presidents died July 4, 1826, 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed? "James Madison and James Monroe," she said. Actually, it was John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who also were the only two future presidents who signed the Declaration of Independence. "Are you kidding?" she said. "They both signed it and died on the same day? Really?" Yup, really. Ironic, huh? Enjoy the run, Dr. Stachiw. George Williams is an insurance salesman from Roanoke Rapids, N.C., who was sightseeing near the Battery. He said we were making him remember lessons he learned 45 years ago; he got tripped up on the same question that stumped Stachiw. "Who knows this stuff? It seems like you'd have to be a history buff to know this," he said. Probably so. Only one person got this question right today. Have a nice trip, George. Elloree Ganes, an attorney, was at Hampton Park with her husband and 15-month-old son, who kept wanting to go near the water. She knew why we celebrated July Fourth but got confused on a tough question about what order George Washington gave to his army on July 9, 1776. "I would think it would be to return home to your families," she said. "I thought it would be to take up arms," her husband said. Neither. It was to listen to a reading of the Declaration of Independence. The war didn't end until 1783. As we parted ways, she confided, "I wasn't going to tell you this, but I have a history degree." That's OK. We don't judge. Thanks for being a good sport, Elloree. Daniel Whitt, a student at the University of South Carolina, was killing some time before the Dave Matthews Band concert by playing soccer with a friend. He got a little mixed up about what George Washington was called during the Revolutionary War. "Colonel," he said. Nope. He was General, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. "Those were some pretty tough questions," he said. "It's a good thing I'm a science major and not a history major." Have fun at the concert, Daniel. Bob Royal agreed to take the test after buying some fireworks for his grandchildren. He confessed later that he was a former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania. Although he got a number of questions correct, he wasn't sure what Great Britain did by signing the Peace of Paris. "It was something to do with the Statue of Liberty," he said. Or something to do with recognizing the independence of the American colonies. "If I didn't pass, I'm in trouble," he said. We're not here to give grades, Bob. But if we were, the average of the group that we surveyed was 50 percent. That's a little worse than how college seniors nationwide fared on a similar test covering the Declaration of Independence. They earned an average score of 62, according to a survey commissioned by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. So who did the best here in the Lowcountry? Senior Police Officer Matt Wojslawowicz, who (like us) had to work on a holiday. He would've ruined the class' curve by missing only two questions. But, if it makes anyone feel any better, he has a master's degree in history. Happy Fourth of July! Here's the quiz that we gave to Lowcountry residents. Answers are at the bottom. 1. July 4, 1776 is known as Independence Day. What happened that day? A. Pilgrims arrive B. Boston Tea Party held C. Declaration of Independence adopted D. Constitution adopted 2. Which U.S. president was born on the fourth of July? A. Abraham Lincoln B. Calvin Coolidge C. William Howard Taft D. John F. Kennedy 3. The Declaration of Independence took place during what war? A. Revolutionary War B. War of 1812 C. Spanish-American War D. World War I 4. Which future U.S. president drafted the Declaration of Independence? A. George Washington B. John Adams C. Thomas Jefferson D. James Madison 5. How many future U.S. Presidents signed the Declaration of Independence? A. One B. Two C. Three D. Four 6. Where did the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence take place? A. New York B. Washington, D.C. C. Williamsburg, Va. D. Philadelphia, Pa. 7. What was George Washington called during the Revolutionary War? A. Officer B. Colonel C. General D. President 8. Washington gave an order to his army on July 9, 1776. What was it? A. Cross the Delaware River B. Listen to the reading of the Declaration of Independence C. Set up camp at Valley Forge D. Wash their uniforms 9. What did Great Britain do by signing the Peace of Paris? A. Recruit French troops B. Declare war against the American colonies C. Trade supplies with France D. Recognize the independence of the American colonies 10. Two U.S. presidents died on July 4, 1826, 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Who were they? A. George Washington and John Adams B. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson C. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison D. James Madison and James Monroe Answers: 1. C 2. B 3. A 4. C 5. B 6. D 7. C 8. B 9. D 10. B |
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Comments
This article has 29 comment(s)
Posted by ForPnC on July 5, 2008 at 4:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Okay, I'll be the first one to be honest.
Do ya ever feel like a dumbass? I don't even remember studying most of this much less know the answers.
Posted by belovedbliff on July 5, 2008 at 5:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This quiz makes no sense--what is the relevance of knowing some of these answers.
Posted by Neponset on July 5, 2008 at 6:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I did well on this quiz, but it is only because I like history and have read a lot about this period and some of the folks who were key players. Your right - the test proves nothing of the metal of a good citizen, but is very interesting (at least to me). For example, Washington marries well and was very successful where as Jefferson lived high on the hog and was not - he died broke and his estate had to be sold to pay off his debts. We won’t get into Sally or some of the other women in his life.
Posted by Tulane75 on July 5, 2008 at 6:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why didn't you ask what the 4th of July means to them? In my family, it meant (and still does) that you can educate your children and work, without a threat of pogroms.
On July 4th, I think about my grandparents, four immigrants from Poland and Russia, who came to this country for a better life, which they found in Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC.
Maybe I should have know which two presidents died on July 4th, but I didn't. On the other hand, I understand what we commemorate on July 4th and I'm sure the people you tried to embarrass know more about Independence Day than it would appear.
Posted by Neponset on July 5, 2008 at 6:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tulane
Good comment. My folks also came from Poland, became good citizens and found a better life.
Posted by amylrod on July 5, 2008 at 7:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It does seem more like trivia - I liked the quiz they had online for those wanting to become U.S citizens - much more realistic with 20 (or 25) questions that most everyone could or should have scored 85% or better.
Posted by echo on July 5, 2008 at 7:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That's right. Dumb down the information so EVERYONE can pass. Do you work for CCSD?
Posted by squez58 on July 5, 2008 at 7:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i do not like to read but all the answer to these questions were in the Mini series John Adams.
Posted by Brant on July 5, 2008 at 8:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I guess I've watched way too many documentaries (and having a degree is History helps), but I got 7 out of 10. It's too bad that we think History is boring and unimportant. We're making it now, people, if you'd only wake up!
Posted by lowcountrydawg on July 5, 2008 at 9:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it!!"
We've made the 4th of July holiday just another day...another day off, another day to get drunk, another day to do whatever. How many of us actually thought about those men and women currently serving our country in the 120-plus degree heat in Balad, Baghdad, or Bagram??
Very sad we trivialize our proud country's history by saying "it's not important" or "why should I know??" No wonder the rest of the world knows us as "the ignorant Americans"
Be pround of your country, learn its' history, fly your US flag in your yard, help your brother and sister regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation or what college football team they cheer for.
And if you have your freedom this weekend, thank a veteran for putting their "six" on the line and checking ours for you and me so we can have days like this!! ;-)
Posted by PalmettoHawk on July 5, 2008 at 9:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I took the Citizenship Test offered on another website and scored 80%, only 80%, 85% is required for a passing grade. Had I not rushed a bit (a bad habit from elementary school days) faster than I should have I might have gotten one more correct that would have pushed me above 85%.
Why are these questions important? If you have to ask it is no wonder why the country is in the shape it is in and that the same officials get re-elected even when we are not satisfied with their perfomance of obligations.
If we fail to learn from history we are doomed to make the same mistakes of the past.
I could expound on the issues that were created in the Middle East during and after WWI that we are today reaping the consequences but that wouldn't be exciting enough for most of the PnC readers.
Posted by Eye_on_You on July 5, 2008 at 9:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
PalmettoHawk, since you failed, then get out here
Posted by UrGatorbait on July 5, 2008 at 9:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Golf clap to Lowcountrydawg. Well said.
Posted by waterbug on July 5, 2008 at 9:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
very good comment dawg. couple of these comments were right on the verge of utter ignorance.
Posted by Smart_Enough_2_Know_Better on July 5, 2008 at 10:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
P&C, while you're judging people on how much they remember from school, how about taking a look at your own staff for their grammar?
"The Declaration of Independence took place during what war?" Um, I believe that should be "took place during WHICH war".
Careful where you throw those stones, P&C. :)
Posted by farfallaspeaks on July 5, 2008 at 10:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Funny how people think the 4th is the end of a war.
I hope one day we will have another holiday to celebrate.
The end of the Bush war(s).
Better yet, the day Bush was impeached.
I'll drink to that!
Posted by moonpie on July 5, 2008 at 10:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
July 4th I think about the illegals here that are desecrating our constitution(if anyone remembers we have one). This is why these things are allowed to happen because yes most Americans are dumb asses WITH very short memories! You should have to take a test to be allowed to vote! They have no clue as was apparent here and it's obvious that if an 8th grader didn't know what happened on this day and why we even bother to celebrate then it isn't getting taught in the schools either!(my 7yr old did because I TELL HIM)
Boy we are in freaking trouble.
Posted by bkeelin on July 5, 2008 at 11:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's hard for a lot of people to remember something they never learned. Most schools these days don't teach the real history of America, they teach the politically corrected revisionist versions that have completely gutted the intent and moral character of the founding fathers. These liberal revisionists insist religion was not an important part in the lives of the signers and that these men didn't believe in individual rights or absolute morals.
Everyone should visit the website wallbuilders.com. David Barton has 100,000's of actual documents or copies of the original documents from history. Letters by John Adams, George Washington, declarations made by Congress and other governoring bodies across the early USA. I am teaching my kids history based on the actual history and not from the revisionist textbooks that are in todays schools. My children will learn the truth.
www.wallbuilders.com has a great section on black history during and after the revolutionary war, that's right the revolutionary war, not just the civil war. There are many great black people in our history and they weren't all slaves. It's a great resource to learn the truth.
Posted by Tulane75 on July 5, 2008 at 11:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Are you saying that if someone asks you a question cold and you do not know the answer, you are unpatriotic. That's why we have Google. You see, the problem is often not memory, but retrieval.
Stop judging others! I like flag displays and I loved when Rick Monday (4.25.76-Go Cubs!) rescued the flag from two protesters who were trying to burn it in centerfield, but I do not have my own flag. Are you going to send somebody to take me away?
Don't be so quick to criticize others and accuse them of being unpatriotic. Learning for most of us is a "work in progress." I am embarrassed to say that I had never heard about the murders that occurred in Colfax, LA, in 1873 and the relevance it has today, until someone recommended, The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction by Charles Lane. We can all stand some improvement.
On more thing for the "more patriotic than everybody else" posters above. Most of us think about the soldiers in Iraq every day, not just on holidays like Veterans Day, Memorial Day and July 4th. I love Team USA, but the "gameplan" can only be described as a cluster----. The ironic thing is that I wish I were wrong on this point, but I don't think I am.
Posted by farfallaspeaks on July 5, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
bkeelin, you say
These liberal revisionists insist religion was not an important part in the lives of the signers
God was important to them, not religion. This country was founded on the idea of separation of church and state.
moonpie, if you're concerned with the desecration of the constitution, you should vote to impeach Bush.
Posted by amylrod on July 5, 2008 at 12:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Echo, take the test - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13442226/ then tell us all how well you did...nothing dumbing down with these questions - and for your info - I missed two on the P&C test and two on the citizenship test - maybe some of us are well read and take an active part in keeping up with our history!!!
Posted by wonderdog on July 5, 2008 at 12:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Great points, lowcountrydawg.
way to go, Officer Wojslawowicz!!!
Posted by FindingMyself on July 5, 2008 at 1:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
moonpie,
to have to take a test to vote would be just a step back towards segregation and Jim Crow. The people *making* the tests would fudge it up to exclude the socio-economically poor and uneducated. This would indeed prevent illegal immigrants from voting(actually I doubt they would be voting anyways, don't you have to have some sort of legal documents proving your residence in order to register?), but it would also prevent the participation of the "legally here but barely making ends meet and too poor to go to school". Besides, if most people so far didn't seem to pass this IN GOOD SPIRITS, FUN quiz by P&C, how would they pass a test in order to be able to vote? What kind of test would it be?
I don't see why people are getting so worked up. I didn't interpret this article to be throwing stones or making attacks. I just thought it was simple, enjoyable holiday trivia.
Posted by amylrod on July 5, 2008 at 1:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Couldn't agree with you more, findingmyself.
Posted by STREETLAW on July 5, 2008 at 7:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
One of the things overlooked about the Declaration of Independence is that unlike Hitlers plan for a 1000 year empire, our forefathers invisioned a perpetual nation that "will not perish from this earth."
Almost makes you want to be around a million years or so from now and see how we make out.
Posted by moonpie on July 5, 2008 at 10:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"farfallaspeaks"
oh really then whom would you suggest I vote for after he (Bush) is impeached?
Posted by skeeter on July 6, 2008 at 3:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Too easy.
Posted by farfallaspeaks on July 6, 2008 at 9:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
moonpie, vote for whoever you want. it won't matter, because your vote won't count anyways. mccain will be our next president, and that is already decided.
However, if you vote for Nader, that will really throw a big monkey wrench into the corrupt system.
Posted by lou9 on July 7, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
They should have gone down to the corner of Stall and Ashley Phosphate roads and asked someone what the 4th of July means. Oh, wait, that would be Cinco de Mayo to them. No matter, most people just think of the 4th as a day off and another excuse to get drunk. I guess even college educated people can't answer history questions probably because they learned their history in public schools.
If our government doesn't crack down on illegal immigrants soon there is going to be a new independence day - the day when the illegals take over our country.
Lowcountry dawg - well said brother.