Here is a quiz that should entertain and educate around the feasting table today.

 

1. When and where was the first Thanksgiving held in America?

A. Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts, 1621.

B. Berkeley Plantation, Virginia, 1619.

C. Jamestown, Virginia, 1607.

D. Williamsburg, Virginia, 1620.

2. What was the name of the Native American leader of the Wampanoag Indian tribe who forged an alliance with the English settlers and attended the Plymouth Plantation feast with 90 of his men?

A. Massasoit

B. Powhatan

C. Sacagawea

D. Geronimo

3. The Pilgrims arrived at what would become Plymouth Plantation aboard the Mayflower. The ship on which they originally set sail was taking on water so the passengers and crew transferred to the Mayflower. What was the name of the ship on which the Pilgrims originally sailed?

A. Mary Celeste

B. RMS Carpathia

C. Mary Rose

D. Speedwell

4. Which president was asked by the U.S. Congress to establish a day of Thanksgiving, and when?

A. Abraham Lincoln, 1863.

B. George Washington, 1789

C. Thomas Jefferson, 1803.

D. Andrew Jackson, 1829.

5. Which president made Thanksgiving a national holiday?

A. Theodore Roosevelt

B. James Madison

C. Abraham Lincoln

D. Ulysses S. Grant

6. What is the name of the author and editor who led the national campaign to have Thanksgiving declared a national holiday?

A. Sarah Josepha Hale

B. Walt Whitman

C. Jacob Riis

D. Nellie Bly

7. Which common Thanksgiving food likely was not served at the Plymouth Thanksgiving?

A. Turkey

B. Ham

C. Pumpkin

D. Corn

8. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that Thanksgiving would be moved up an entire week, at the request of Fred Lazarus Jr., whose family owned F&R Lazarus in Columbus, Ohio, and the national Federated Department Stores chain.

This was done to make the Christmas shopping season longer and more profitable for businesses. What company did Federated eventually own?

A. Lord & Taylor

B. Sears, Roebuck and Company

C. F.W. Woolworth Company

D. Macy’s

9. Which of America’s Founding Fathers wanted the turkey to be America’s national bird, rather than the eagle?

A. George Washington

B. Samuel Adams

C. Benjamin Franklin

D. Thomas Jefferson

10. Which president first pardoned a turkey at the urging of his son who had taken a liking to the bird and given it the name “Tom”?

A. Theodore Roosevelt

B. Abraham Lincoln

C. Ulysses S. Grant

D. Grover Cleveland

E. William Henry Harrison

Answers: 1-B, 2-A, 3-D, 4-B, 5-C, 6-A, 7-B, 8-D, 9-C, 10-B

Quiz composed by:

Roger L. Beckett Beckett is executive director of the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio.