Q 01/05

Which neighbor became a state in 1818, two years after Indiana?

A) Illinois

B) Ohio

C) Michigan

D) Kentucky

Answer · why

A) Illinois

Illinois. It had been split off from the Indiana Territory in 1809, so the two neighbors shared one territorial government before either became a stat...

Q 02/05

Which Indiana poet wrote 'Little Orphant Annie' and gave his name to Indianapolis's children's hospital?

A) Booth Tarkington

B) Lew Wallace

C) Meredith Nicholson

D) James Whitcomb Riley

Answer · why

D) James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley. He meant the title to be 'Little Orphant Allie', after an orphan who had lived with his family, but a typesetter's slip made her...

Q 03/05

Which town was Indiana's first state capital, before the seat of government moved in 1825?

A) Vincennes

B) Madison

C) Corydon

D) Fort Wayne

Answer · why

C) Corydon

Corydon. The delegates who wrote the 1816 constitution escaped the June heat by working under a huge elm, and its trunk still stands in town as the Co...

Q 04/05

What is Indiana's state motto?

A) Gateway to the West

B) The Heart of It All

C) America's Dairyland

D) Crossroads of America

Answer · why

D) Crossroads of America

Crossroads of America. Lawmakers made it the state motto by resolution in 1937, and Indianapolis, a hub where rail lines and main roads met, claims th...

Q 05/05

Which bird is Indiana's state bird?

A) Eastern bluebird

B) American robin

C) Northern cardinal

D) Baltimore oriole

Answer · why

C) Northern cardinal

Northern cardinal. Seven states chose it, more than any other bird, and in 1977 Amtrak named its Cardinal train for the state bird of every state then...