Could You Pass a School Exam From the 1800s?
Tests are rarely enjoyable, but imagine taking one in the late 1800s, long before multiple-choice options or standardized curricula. Back then, school exams could be long, demanding, and startlingly wide-ranging. You might be asked to diagram sentences, explain the circulation of the blood, name the capitals of ancient empires, or sketch a map — all before lunch.
One window into this world is The New Common School Question Book, compiled by Wisconsin superintendent Asa H. Craig. Published in 1899 with earlier versions dating back to 1872, this question book was used by candidates preparing for teacher exams, teachers writing tests for students, and common school (public school) students of various ages — common school was generally grades 1 through 8 — studying for those tests.
The book’s thousands of questions, which are available in the Library of Congress archive, span a dizzying list of subjects — U.S. history, geography, English grammar, letter writing, written arithmetic, bookkeeping, drawing, inventions, government, physiology, and more.
The result is a vivid snapshot of what 19th-century Americans considered essential knowledge. Some questions still feel familiar, while others reflect a considerably different world.
So, could you pass a school exam from the 1800s? Let’s find out. Note: The questions and answers below are verbatim and may reflect the knowledge or biases of the time.
You may also like
More from our network
Q. Which of the states border on Canada?
A. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington.
Q. How great is the earth’s annual motion?
A. About 68,000 miles an hour.
Q. What is essential in every syllable?
A. A vowel.
Q. Which are the five largest islands in the world?
A. Australia, Greenland, Borneo, New Guinea and Madagascar.
Q. What do the words per cent mean?
A. By the hundred.
Q. What nations explored the country now known as the United States?
A. The Spaniards, English, French and Dutch.
Q. What state is the geographical center of the United States?
A. Kansas, if we do not include Hawaii in the United States. It is also the center of population.
Q. What is the meaning of “sargasso”?
A. It is a Spanish name, meaning grassy.
Q. What part of North America is in the same latitude as England and Ireland?
A. The southern part of Canada.
Q. How are the teeth set in the jaw?
A: With long fangs, so that they may not easily be started from their places.
Q. How and by whom was alcohol discovered?
A. It is said that Paracelsus, a chemist of the fourteenth century, accidentally discovered alcohol, and upon testing its power boasted of having found the essence of life, the power to cure the weak, and the great benefactor of mankind.
Q. Define a fibre.
A. It is a thread of exceeding fineness, and may be round or flattened.
Q. Where and when was the first white child of English parents born in America? What was her name?
A. At the temporary settlement on Roanoke Island in 1587. Virginia Dare.
Q. Who said “I would rather be right than President” and why did he say it?
A. It was an expression of Henry Clay when his friends insisted that to advocate the compromise would lessen his chances for the Presidency. This step demanded great moral courage, as it required a partial surrender of his cherished theories of protection and an open breach with many political friends.
