Q 01/05

Which political rival fatally shot Hamilton in a pistol duel at dawn on July 11, 1804?

A) James Monroe

B) Aaron Burr

C) George Clinton

D) Albert Gallatin

Answer · why

B) Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr was charged with murder in two states, but neither case ever reached trial. Their feud dated to 1791, when he took a Senate seat from Hamil...

Q 02/05

Which US banknote has carried Hamilton's portrait on its front since a redesign in the late 1920s?

A) $5 bill

B) $10 bill

C) $20 bill

D) $50 bill

Answer · why

B) $10 bill

The $10 Federal Reserve Note showed Andrew Jackson until the Series of 1928 put Hamilton on every $10 bill. His is the only portrait on a circulating ...

Q 03/05

Which cabinet post did Hamilton become the first person to hold, serving under George Washington from 1789?

A) Secretary of State

B) Attorney General

C) Postmaster General

D) Treasury Secretary

Answer · why

D) Treasury Secretary

Treasury Secretary is the post that made Hamilton's name: despite his portrait on the currency, he was never president. He served from 1789 to 1795.

Q 04/05

Hamilton was born out of wedlock in Charlestown, the capital of which small Caribbean island?

A) Barbados

B) Antigua

C) Nevis

D) Grenada

Answer · why

C) Nevis

Nevis was then part of the British Leeward Islands. Hamilton's mother later moved her two sons to St. Croix, where she kept a small store in Christian...

Q 05/05

Which natural disaster did the teenage Hamilton describe so vividly in 1772 that local leaders paid for his schooling?

A) A hurricane

B) An earthquake

C) A volcanic eruption

D) A tidal wave

Answer · why

A) A hurricane

A hurricane devastated Christiansted on August 30, 1772. Hamilton's account of it so impressed community leaders that they raised a fund to send him t...