When Georgia was founded in 1733 as a buffer between South Carolina and Spanish Florida, its idealistic trustees ran it like no other colony in America. Which of these did Georgia's founders actually prohibit? Rum and hard liquor Slavery Lawyers All three None In 1681, King Charles II granted William Penn a massive tract of American land to settle a debt owed to Penn's late father. Penn wanted to call it simply "Sylvania" — woodland. Why did the name become Pennsylvania, over Penn's own objections? The king insisted on honoring Penn's father A mapmaker misspelled it and the error stuck Parliament required proprietors' names on charters Penn's investors demanded the family brand None Before New York was New York, it was New Amsterdam — a Dutch trading town on Manhattan that England seized in 1664 without firing a shot. When the two nations made peace in 1667, the Dutch let England keep Manhattan. What did the Dutch hang onto instead? Barbados and its sugar fortunes A tiny Indonesian island covered in nutmeg trees Fishing rights off Newfoundland A ransom of one million guilders None One colony governed itself for more than two decades under a homegrown document adopted in 1639 — often called the first written constitution in America — before it ever held a royal charter. Which colony was it? Virginia Massachusetts Connecticut Maryland None Rhode Island — founded by Roger Williams after Massachusetts banished him — was the last state to ratify the Constitution, holding out until May 29, 1790, and passing it by just two votes. What finally pushed the stubborn little state to say yes? George Washington personally toured the state The Senate moved to cut it off as if it were a foreign country Congress promised to assume its war debts A hurricane destroyed Newport's harbor defenses None Stumper. Delaware loves its "First State" bragging rights — first to ratify the Constitution, on December 7, 1787. But for most of the colonial era, Delaware occupied a legal position unlike any of the other thirteen colonies. What was it? It never had a colonial charter of its own It was legally part of Maryland until 1776 It was ruled directly by the king with no assembly It was leased from Sweden until the Revolution None Time's up
