# Can You Guys Please Participate in this Survey, Regarding US History. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 22, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618 "2009-06-22T17:45:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/61 "2009-06-23T15:39:30Z")
Off the top of my head, no googling. Some are probably wrong. 1. **Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate?** Yes. 2. **The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army?** Presumably, the first time the US Army was “defeated.” Closer to the truth, I think, is that this was the first time the US Army had come up against ever-changing guerrilla tactics that command wasn’t expecting and didn’t adjust tactics to quickly enough. 3. **What did President Truman allow that ended World War II?** The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 4. **How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court?** 9 5. **What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President?** Hmmm - I’m not sure about this one. Overreacting to Cuba’s communism, maybe? Total WAG. (Not my era, and I really don’t know much about JFK’s administration, other than the obvious.) 6. **How many Senators Serve each State?** 2 7. **"Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll" is a slogan that belongs to which era?** 1960s. 8. **Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank.** Supposedly “smaller,” but I think the argument could be made that government was anything but smaller under his administration. 9. **Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War?** The Soviet Union. 10. **What was the “New Deal”?** Roosevelt’s plan to drag the US out of the depression by various stimulus methods. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/62 "2009-06-23T15:50:31Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Nobody has commented on the First to put the war on television response to Vietnam. That was the one I was thinking of. All my answers were already given. > [@Dogberry](#): > > I did. So did I, back in Post #28. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/63 "2009-06-23T16:07:28Z")
**1) Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate?** Yes. **2) The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army?** I suppose the first time the US had definitively lost a war. **3) What did President Truman allow that ended World War II?** The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki **4) How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court?** Nine **5) What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President?** The Bay of Pigs fiasco **6) How many Senators Serve each State?** Two **7) “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era?** The 70’s. **8) Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank.** Limited **9) Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War?** The Sovet Union **10) What was the “New Deal”?** FDR’s plan to alleviate the Great Depression through social welfare programs and government make-work projects. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/64 "2009-06-23T16:25:49Z")
You seem to have way more than 10, but I’ll play anyway. I haven’t looked at any of the other answers. 1. Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate? Yes 2. The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? I’m not sure what this question is referring to. 3. What did President Truman allow that ended World War II? The use of the atomic bomb. 4. How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court? 9 5. What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? Bay of Pigs 6. How many Senators Serve each State? 2 7. “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era? Late 1960s to early 1970s 8. Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. Hands-off 9. Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War? The USSR 10. What was the “New Deal”? A group of programs put in place by FDR in order to get the country out of the Great Depression. These programs began to be implemented within the first 100 days of his inauguration in January, 1933. One of the fundamental concepts of the New Deal is that you had to put people to work to get the economy moving again. As such, the government took an unprecendented role in job creation. The most well-known programs are probably the major infrastructure projects such as the Tennesee Valley Authority, but the New Deal also had some programs that you wouldn’t have expected, including “hiring” creative people to write, paint, etc. The New Deal was very successful, and very quickly started improving the economy. Among the legacies of the New Deal are many of our social welfare programs, enormous improvements in our infrastructure, the idea that the government should take a more active role in planning and regulating the economy, and the concept of ‘the first 100 days’ of a new presidency. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/65 "2009-06-23T16:32:24Z")
1. Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate? Sure, maybe it should have happened. 2. The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? Engaged in a major conflict without a formal declaration…? 3. What did President Truman allow that ended World War II? Nukes 4. How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court? Nine 5. What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? Not advancing civil rights legislation 6. How many Senators Serve each State? Two, supposedly 7. “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era? '70s 8. Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. limited 9. Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War? CCCP 10. What was the “New Deal”? Legislation introduced at FDR’s lead to energize the US economy (bank reform, jobs programs, etc…) ---
**Author:** ![wonder9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c57346/32.png) [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/66 "2009-06-23T19:30:55Z")
1. Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate? Yes, although I think he should have charged with a crime as well. 2. The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? no idea what you’re looking for here 3. What did President Truman allow that ended World War II? the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagisaki 4. How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court? None 5. What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? Bay of Pigs 6. How many Senators Serve each State? 2 7. “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era? 60’s 8. Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. smaller 9. Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War? USSR 10. What was the “New Deal”? Package of legislation designed to alleviate, mitigate or resolve the Great Depression ---
**Author:** ![wonder9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c57346/32.png) [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/67 "2009-06-23T19:37:21Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > 1. What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? > **Bay of Pigs (unless there was some kind “difficulty” with Marilyn Monroe that I don’t know about).** 😃 > [@](#): > > 1. Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. > **ruthlessly pro-corporate, theocratic and interventionist** double 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/68 "2009-06-23T19:45:28Z")
1. Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate? Yes 2. The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? Yes (although I’m not sure I understand the question) 3. What did President Truman allow that ended World War II? 1. The use of atomic weapons 2. The retention of the Japanese emperor 1. How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court? Nine 2. What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? Bay of Pigs (At least if we limit it to failures within his term of office. Vietnam is probably a better long-term answer.) 3. How many Senators Serve each State? Two 4. “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era? Eighties 5. Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. American? Limited? Big? State? National? The man could say one thing while doing another. 6. Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War? Soviet Union 7. What was the “New Deal”? A series of economic recovery programs instituted by the Roosevelt administration in response to the Great Depression. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/69 "2009-06-23T22:26:50Z")
1. Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate? Yes. 2. The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? Did not win. 3. What did President Truman allow that ended World War II? Atomic bombing of Japan 4. How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court? Nine 5. What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? Bay of Pigs disaster. 6. How many Senators Serve each State? Two. 7. “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era? 70’s. 8. Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. Small. 9. Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War? USSR 10. What was the “New Deal”? FDR’s plan to create jobs after the Great Depression by initiating huge public works projects. ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/70 "2009-06-23T22:54:28Z")
**1) Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate?** No \*\*2) The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? \*\* Youngest soldiers. on average, deployed \*\*3) What did President Truman allow that ended World War II? \*\* Enola Gay \*\*4) How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court? \*\* 9 \*\*5) What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? \*\* Being publicly assassinated **6) How many Senators Serve each State?** 2 \*\*7) “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era? \*\* 70s **8) Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. \*\* a hands-off 9) Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War? Russia \*\* 10) What was the “New Deal”?** FDR’s catch phrase ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/71 "2009-06-24T04:34:57Z")
1. Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate? It would have been. 1. The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? Draft lottery 1. What did President Truman allow that ended World War II? He allowed bombers to follow his orders to drop atomic boms on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan. 1. How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court? Nine (Eight Justices and one Chief Justice) 2. What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? The Bay of Pigs debaucle 3. How many Senators Serve each State? Two at a time normally. (Not so fast, Minnesota.) 4. “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era? It started with the 1960s and seems to have served reasonably well ever since. 5. Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. Too vague a question. One could say “Democratic,” “American,” “our,” “running,” “Conservative,” “vigilant,” “solvent,” “small,” 1. Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War? “USSR” 2. What was the “New Deal”? FDR’s plan to get the economy back on its feet during the Great Depression. Again, thanks so much for participating. Oh and no cheating! (As if you guys need to) ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/72 "2009-06-24T05:33:15Z")
Quoting myself: > [@](#): > > 1. The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? > > Draft lottery I am curious about my answer. Had there been a draft lottery before? I remember the night of the lottery. The tension was so thick in the air that it was hard to breathe. If we had to have just a draft again, I think the government would be hard pressed not to have gender equality in that draft. > [@](#): > > \*\*gigi: I’d like a ruling on this question. I thought 70s because The Pill was essential to the “sex” part running wilder I think you have a good point about the pill playing an essential role. But the pill was first available in the 1960s. > [@](#): > > **BigT** : Nobody has commented on the First to put the war on television response to Vietnam. That was the one I was thinking of. All my answers were already given. I had forgotten how heavily censored it was though. In 1972 I went to Denmark and watched the most horrific battle scenes on Danish TV. I commented at the time that we didn’t see anything like that on American television. We did at least see the flag-draped coffins coming home. I don’t even think there were movies about Vietnam right away. I may be wrong, but the first ones that I remember were _The Deerhunter_ and _Apocalypse Now_. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/73 "2009-06-24T08:37:04Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > What I want to know is, have you asked strangers in the street? Yes, I don’t understand why you are putting this “survey” on a website, especially since you admit to expecting the users of this message board to know the answers anyway, and all someone who doesn’t know has to do is scroll down the page. Do your homework yourself and do a _real_ survey. Why don’t you choose numbers at random from the phone book and experience _that_. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/74 "2009-06-24T14:39:29Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > If we had to have just a draft again, I think the government would be hard pressed not to have gender equality in that draft. The Selective Service Act still only requires males to register. It’d take a while to process the ~10-20 million registrations of women aged 18-25 all at once. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/75 "2009-06-24T17:01:18Z")
1. Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate? Yes. 2. The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? It didn’t win. 3. What did President Truman allow that ended World War II? Nuking Japan. 4. How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court? 1. 1. What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? [del]The assassination.[/del] The Bay of Pigs. 2. How many Senators Serve each State? Two. 3. “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era? The 60s. 4. Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. Smaller 5. Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War? The Soviet Union. 6. What was the “New Deal”? FDR’s programs for fighting the Depression. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/76 "2009-06-25T00:41:32Z")
1. Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate? yes. though resignation was better. 2. The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? Lost a war. 3. What did President Truman allow that ended World War II? use of nuclear weapons. 4. How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court? 8 ( 1 is a Chief Justice). oh alright-9. 5. What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? Bay of Pigs. 6. How many Senators Serve each State? 2 7. “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era? 60s 8. Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. smaller 9. Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War? USSR 10. What was the “New Deal”? Government programs to support the population and the economy. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/77 "2009-06-25T00:46:33Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > I’m really curious about this popular perception that the Vietnam War represented the first time the U.S. Army had ever been “beaten.” The U.S. Army has suffered a lot of defeats throughout history, but has never actually been “defeated.” > > An Army is beaten when it can no longer effectively fight the enemy, a country is beaten whenever they sue for peace or withdraw from the war in failure. I would argue the U.S. Army has never been defeated. > > Examples of Armies truly being “defeated”: > > Franco-Prussian War – After the victory at Sedan the French army no longer had the ability to defend France, the military effectiveness of France had essentially been “destroyed” and the civilian government was left in a position of having to sue for peace on terms favorable to the Prussians because they had no military with which to fight. > > American Civil War – Major defeats left the Confederate military _unable_ to defend their capital city, through repeated defeats in the field and inability to replace casualties the Confederate military had been reduced to a point where it could no operate with any real effectiveness. > > World War II – Lots of examples, the Polish military was essentially wiped out by the Germans, the German military was reduced to extreme ineffectiveness by outright destruction in the field et cetera. > > As a person who has studied a lot of military history I’ve always distinguished between a defeat in war which is because of the government’s unwillingness to continue fighting versus one in which one side’s military was essentially so completely defeated they could no longer effectively operate in the field. > > I’m not at all someone who is saying these are cases in which the civilian government “lacked the will to fight” and thus “lost” a winnable war, I’m not saying that at all. I’m just saying there is a big difference between a war where one side realizes it is going badly and decides to cut its losses, versus one where one side outright destroys the military of the other side. There is a big difference typically in how these wars end. > > When one side has outright eliminated the opponent’s military there is a true possibility of actual conquest of the vanquished enemy’s country, at the very least there is usually deep territorial and other concessions made. In a war where one side simply has a slight upper hand, and the other side sues for peace, usually you see very minor concessions made or sometimes a return to the _status quo ante bellum_ due to the fact that the superior side is not willing to invest any more resources in trying to continue the fight and gain more in peace. > > Depending on the goals of the engaged parties, some types of wars can only end in victory for one side by outright destruction of the enemy’s military forces. For example in the American Civil War it became obvious that until the South lost the ability to field armies it was not going to accept willingly a return to the Union. Lincoln and his Generals thus had to pursue a strategy aimed at destroying the military effectiveness of the Confederacy to such a degree that they could no longer field armies. As a different example in the Korean War the original goals of the United States was to keep South Korea from falling to North Korea and becoming part of the Communist bloc. As happens in war, sometimes goals change. After initial dramatic successes against the North Koreans the United States decided to try and push its advantage and take North Korea out of the equation entirely (well, there is debate about this–we know MacArthur wanted to do this at least.) This worked initially but then the U.S. was pushed back, at this point the United States either could have continued fighting or accepted a return to the pre-war boundaries–which would wholly satisfy the _original_ reason for getting involved in Korea while not satisfying the new goal that had arisen during the war itself. > > Anyway, there was nothing unique about the Vietnam war in terms of American history to be honest. Probably the one aspect of it that was unique is that we actually did amazingly well militarily but still withdrew due to political concerns. (And I’m not someone who thinks the Vietnam War was winnable given the geopolitical realities, however from a strictly military perspective we essentially always performed very well, we consistently defeated the North Vietnamese in the field and effectively routed the Viet Cong. The problem was there was no real possibility of “permanence” to any of our military victories.) In other incidents in American history where things haven’t gone our way we’ve at least actually lost real battles in the field (several times in Canada, for example.) you are, in my opinion, quite correct. But the “lost” answer is in keeping with the very casual nature of the questions. Better questions would generate better answers. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/78 "2009-06-25T00:58:54Z")
1. Do You Believe impeachment was a proper way to deal with Nixon in Watergate? Absolutely. Far more so than for either Andrew Johnson or Bill Clinton. 2. The Vietnam War was the first time that what happened to the US Army? Widespread use of helicopters. Television broadcasts from the war zone. Lost the war. 3. What did President Truman allow that ended World War II? Well, he didn’t “allow” it, he authorized it: the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (this was the topic of my high school U.S. history senior thesis). 4. How Many Justices serve in the US Supreme Court? One chief justice, eight associate justices. 5. What was John F. Kennedy’s most embarrassing failure as a US President? The failed Bay of Pigs invasion. 6. How many Senators Serve each State? Two. 7. “Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll” is a slogan that belongs to which era? Sixties and Seventies. 8. Ronald Reagan was a big believer in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ government. Fill in the blank. “Limited” - or so the rhetoric went. Federal spending and the ballooning deficit indicated otherwise. 9. Which country was the United States main “opponent” in the Cold War? The Soviet Union. 10. What was the “New Deal”? President Franklin Roosevelt’s economic-recovery program during the Great Depression. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/79 "2009-06-25T01:19:23Z")
Incidentally, we had draft lotteries in the Civil War, I believe in WWI also, and then from just before WWII through the Nixon Administration. Since the Carter Administration, young males have had to register with Selective Service but no one has actually been drafted here since the early 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618/80 "2009-06-25T01:31:38Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Among the legacies of the New Deal are many of our social welfare programs, enormous improvements in our infrastructure, the idea that the government should take a more active role in planning and regulating the economy, and the concept of ‘the first 100 days’ of a new presidency. SOCIALISM!!!1!!1!! ISTM that being assassinated is a tragic mistake (if it’s a mistake at all), not an embarrassing one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-guys-please-participate-in-this-survey-regarding-us-history/500618.md?page=5)