Pursuit of Rigor (Mortis?)

I've always struggled with the trivia model of knowledge. Yes, knowledge is "knowing" many things. Yes, we should know some of the trivia of US History--dates, people, elections, names, places. But you can drill down to infinite layers of trivia. The Vietnam War itself, for example, could easily fill a semester of study, and without too much trouble be expanded to fill an academic year. Students would have knowledge of the Vietnam War in great detail. Is that essential? Let me provide an example of a released multiple choice "trivia" question from the AP® exam.

The national road was constructed primarily for the purpose of
a. demarcating the southwestern boundary of the Louisiana purchase
b. promoting trade and communication with the Old Northwest
c. opening the southwest to ranchers
d. assisting the movement of settlers to the Oregon Country
e. relieving overpopulation and crowding in the Northeast

How important is knowing this in terms of "knowing" or "understanding" US History? How much of these facts do we spend time memorizing? How much should be details within context, versus cramming information? How long will that information last, and what is its overall contribution to being "educated"? What is the meaning of rigor or rigorous?

Generally when educators and politicians speak of "rigor" we are talking about high expectations and richness of content. There is no question that AP® courses are "rigorous" on some level. But, I remain unconvinced that the trivia knowledge expectation has much to do with rigor. How many of us, high functioning, professional adults could answer the question above without a refresher? Have we used that knowledge for anything than trivial pursuit or our secret at-home competition with Jeopardy contestants? Would we be satisfied with science students who can rattle off all the data from the periodic table--in order--but can't manage their way through an experiment? Should we be with history?

Rigor, defined as strictness or severity, harsh circumstance, cruel act, rigidity, doesn't seem to be the best approach to knowledge. Perhaps a new word, a synonym, would help rethink what we are after, perhaps "thoroughness." Don't we want thorough, competant historians? That's my beginning point for rethinking and recreating a US History experience that I believe is far more "rigorous" than Advanced Placement®.

It's worth a shot.