Q 01/05

The state's official name uses which word instead of 'State'?

A) Commonwealth

B) Republic

C) Province

D) Dominion

Answer · why

A) Commonwealth

John Adams likely chose the word for the 1780 constitution because it carried the connotation of a republic.

Q 02/05

What is Massachusetts' nickname, from the large bays that shape its coast?

A) The Cod State

B) The Bay State

C) The Ocean State

D) The Pilgrim State

Answer · why

B) The Bay State

It is only the seventh-smallest state by land area.

Q 03/05

The state's name comes 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

The 'great hill' is the Great Blue Hill on the boundary of Milton and Canton.

Q 04/05

How many passengers did the Pilgrims' ship carry across the Atlantic in 1620?

A) 66

B) 150

C) 220

D) 102

Answer · why

D) 102

A second ship, the Speedwell, proved unseaworthy and was left behind in England.

Q 05/05

Which Wampanoag chief signed a treaty with Plymouth Colony that helped ensure its survival?

A) Massasoit

B) Metacom

C) Squanto

D) Chickatawbut

Answer · why

A) Massasoit

Squanto, a Patuxet man, acted as go-between.