Q 01/05

Massachusetts' official name uses which word instead of 'State'?

A) Commonwealth

B) Republic

C) Province

D) Dominion

Answer · why

A) Commonwealth

Commonwealth: Massachusetts is formally the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, so even its criminal charges are brought in the name of the Commonwealth.

Q 02/05

Which state nickname belongs to Massachusetts?

A) The Granite State

B) The Bay State

C) The Ocean State

D) The Constitution State

Answer · why

B) The Bay State

The Bay State: the nickname runs so deep that state law makes 'Bay Staters' the official name for its citizens.

Q 03/05

Massachusetts takes its name from an Indigenous people whose name is often translated as what?

A) Land of many waters

B) Where the river bends

C) Near the great hill

D) People of the first light

Answer · why

C) Near the great hill

Near the great hill is one of several renderings, pointing to Great Blue Hill near Boston; an epidemic around 1617 had devastated the Massachusett bef...

Q 04/05

Before stepping ashore in 1620, the Pilgrims signed which agreement to govern themselves?

A) The Fundamental Orders

B) The Articles of Confederation

C) The Mayflower Compact

D) The Body of Liberties

Answer · why

C) The Mayflower Compact

The Mayflower Compact: they had landed outside the Virginia territory they were bound for, and some passengers argued that no one had power to command...

Q 05/05

Which Wampanoag chief made a peace treaty with Plymouth Colony in 1621?

A) Massasoit

B) Metacom

C) Squanto

D) Chickatawbut

Answer · why

A) Massasoit

Massasoit: he kept that alliance, yet his son Metacom, known to the English as King Philip, later led a war against the colonists.