American Politics

Question 1

Who served two terms as the first United States president from 1789 to 1797?

Answer 1

George Washington

Question 2

Serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865 who was the first president from the Republican Party?

Answer 2

Abraham Lincoln

Question 3

Who was born William Jefferson Blythe III in Hope Arkansas in 1946 and served as the 42nd president?

Answer 3

Bill Clinton

Question 4

What is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution?

Answer 4

Bill Of Rights

Question 5

Killed in a duel and now the subject of a musical who was the first Secretary of the Treasury whose portrait appears on the $10 bill?

Answer 5

Alexander Hamilton

Question 6

In which country was Barack Obama’s father born?

Answer 6

Kenya

Question 7

The United States Senate has comprised how many senators since 1959 when Hawaii became the 50th state?

Answer 7

100

Question 8

Who served as the second President of the United States and as the first Vice President?

Answer 8

John Adams

Question 9

What was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution and ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment?

Answer 9

Prohibition

Question 10

In 1868 who became the first president to be impeached by the House of Representatives?

Answer 10

Andrew Johnson

Question 11

Who is remembered for his large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence so much so that his name has become in the United States a synonym for a signature?

Answer 11

John Hancock

Question 12

Since 1845 presidential elections have always been held in November on which day of the week?

Answer 12

Tuesday

Question 13

Which Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery?

Answer 13

Thirteenth

Question 14

Who is the only president to resign from office?

Answer 14

Richard Nixon

Question 15

Introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt what name was given to the series of social liberal programs enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1938?

Answer 15

New Deal

Question 16

In 1898 Theodore Roosevelt joined the First US Volunteer Cavalry Regiment which was known by what nickname?

Answer 16

Rough Riders

Question 17

A speech by George H. W. Bush at the 1988 Republican National Convention included a six-word sound bite beginning with “Read my lips:”. What were the following three words?

Answer 17

No New Taxes

Question 18

Who assassinated President James Garfield at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington D.C. in 1881?

Answer 18

Charles Guiteau

Question 19

Which former Governor of Alaska has five children – Track Trig Bristol Willow and Piper?

Answer 19

Sarah Palin

Question 20

In 1850 Millard Fillmore became the last of the four presidents to represent which party?

Answer 20

Whig

Question 21

Which state has the most members (53) in the House of Representatives?

Answer 21

California

Question 22

Who was the Republican Party’s nominee for President in the 2012 election?

Answer 22

Mitt Romney

Question 23

A person must be at least how many years old to be President or Vice President?

Answer 23

35

Question 24

In what year did the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington D.C take place?

Answer 24

1972

Question 25

Which state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern states were enacted after the Reconstruction period and continued in force until 1965?

Answer 25

Jim Crow Laws

Question 26

Who was both the 22nd and 24th President and is the only President in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office?

Answer 26

Grover Cleveland

Question 27

John Adams Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe all died on what day of the year?

Answer 27

43650

Question 28

Who was the Democratic Party nominee for President in 1896 1900 and 1908 and the 41st Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson?

Answer 28

William Jennings Bryan

Question 29

Which process by which electoral districts are drawn with the aim of aiding the party in power is named after a governor of Massachusetts who became the fifth Vice President?

Answer 29

Gerrymandering

Question 30

What was the name of the series of thirty evening radio addresses given by Franklin D. Roosevelt to the public between 1933 and 1944?

Answer 30

Fireside Chats

Question 31

Named after the location of oil reserves in Wyoming what is the name of the bribery scandal that took place from 1921 to 1922 during the administration of President Warren G. Harding?

Answer 31

Teapot Dome

Question 32

What was the name of the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in controlling New York City politics and helping immigrants (most notably the Irish) rise up in American politics from the 1790s to the 1960s?

Answer 32

Tammany Hall

Question 33

Who was the only president to remain a lifelong bachelor and the last president born in the 18th century?

Answer 33

James Buchanan

Question 34

Which member of the ‘Manson family’ tried to assassinate Gerald Ford in Sacramento in 1975?

Answer 34

Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme

Question 35

Who became President in 1841 at the age of 68 but died on his 32nd day in office serving the shortest tenure in United States presidential history?

Answer 35

William Henry Harrison

Question 36

In 1984 who was selected by Walter Mondale to be the first female vice presidential candidate representing a major American political party?

Answer 36

Geraldine Ferraro

Question 37

What was the name of the group of Republican political activists who supported the Democratic candidate in the presidential election of 1884? They switched parties because they rejected the financial corruption associated with Republican candidate James G. Blaine.

Answer 37

Mugwumps

Question 38

Who received the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 1952 and 1956 but was defeated by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower in both elections?

Answer 38

Adlai Stevenson

Question 39

What is Barack Obama’s Secret Service codename?

Answer 39

Renegade

Question 40

In 1789 John Jay became the first person to hold which office?

Answer 40

Chief Justice

Question 41

President from 1837 to 1841 who was known as the “little magician” and was the first president to be born as a United States citizen?

Answer 41

Martin Van Buren

Question 42

Ronald Reagan was twice elected president of which labour union in 1947 and 1959?

Answer 42

Screen Actors Guild

Question 43

Who was Secretary of State during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Answer 43

Dean Rusk

Question 44

Known as “The Great Compromiser” who was Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829 and played a significant role in leading the nation into the War of 1812?

Answer 44

Henry Clay

Question 45

Serving from 1933 to 1941 who said that the vice-presidency was “not worth a bucket of warm spit”?

Answer 45

John Garner

Question 46

John F Kennedy and which other president are buried at Arlington National Cemetery?

Answer 46

William Howard Taft

Question 47

Which newspaper printed the erroneous headline “Dewey Defeats Truman” before all the returns were in for the 1948 presidential election?

Answer 47

Chicago Tribune

Question 48

The Nullification Crisis ensued after which state declared that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within the sovereign boundaries of the state?

Answer 48

South Carolina

Question 49

Which president’s wife was known as “Lemonade Lucy” due to her staunch support of the temperance movement?

Answer 49

Rutherford B Hayes

Question 50

Gary Hart was considered a frontrunner for the 1988 Democratic nomination until news organizations reported that he was having an extramarital affair with which fundraiser and campaign aide?

Answer 50

Donna Rice