# U.S. History trivia quiz **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 26, 2007, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091 "2007-10-26T12:09:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [October 26, 2007, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/1 "2007-10-26T12:09:22Z")
The Rules: Ask about any person, place, thing or event since 1492. You must completely rely on your own memory - you can’t consult any book, teh internets, or ask someone else, either in formulating or answering a question. Number your question(s) (no more than five at a time, please), sequentially after those which came before. You can’t post questions of your own until you’ve correctly answered at least one earlier question. I’ll start the ball rolling: 1. Abigail Adams described which Founding Father as “modest, wise and good”? 2. George Washington went out and commanded troops in the field, as President, during the Whiskey Rebellion. Who is the only other president to actually command troops in the field during a time of war? 3. Helen Keller was from which state? 4. This East Liverpool, Ohio-born composer wrote the hymn “Softly and Tenderly,” so popular there are still dozens of versions available on iTunes (including by Elvis Presley, k.d. lang and Garrison Keillor)? 5. This general was named to command the non-existent army created to keep Hitler guessing about where the D-Day invasion would land. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/2 "2007-10-26T12:52:39Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 1. Abigail Adams described which Founding Father as “modest, wise and good”? [/quote] Thomas Jefferson > [@](#): > > 1. George Washington went out and commanded troops in the field, as President, during the Whiskey Rebellion. Who is the only other president to actually command troops in the field during a time of war? I take it you mean a sitting president? If not, then I’d have to say Andrew Jackson. > [@](#): > > 1. Helen Keller was from which state? Georgia. > [@](#): > > 1. This general was named to command the non-existent army created to keep Hitler guessing about where the D-Day invasion would land. Patton. I saw the movie. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/3 "2007-10-26T13:04:57Z")
Looks like I can’t modify my answers. #2. I revise my answer to James Madison during the War of 1812. Marc ---
**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:** [October 26, 2007, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/4 "2007-10-26T13:15:22Z")
1. No 2. Yes, Madison 3. No 4. (Unanswered) 5. Yes You’re in the game, **MGibson**! Ask some questions, if you like. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/5 "2007-10-26T14:03:20Z")
1. John Adams 2. Indiana 3. Duke Ellington Wild guesses all, but what the hey! ---
**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:** [October 26, 2007, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/6 "2007-10-26T14:07:35Z")
All wrong, alas. Try again! ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/7 "2007-10-26T14:17:52Z")
Helen Keller was from Alabama, no? ---
**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:** [October 26, 2007, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/8 "2007-10-26T14:25:59Z")
Correct! Ask some questions, if you like, **Freddy**! ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/9 "2007-10-26T14:26:38Z")
(4) Will Lamartine Thompson. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2007, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/10 "2007-10-26T14:30:23Z")
I didn’t know Will Thompson’s middle name, but correct. (How did you _know_ that?) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/11 "2007-10-26T14:34:43Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] I didn’t know Will Thompson’s middle name, but correct. (How did you _know_ that?) [/QUOTE] From the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Lamartine_Thompson) (which is currently vandalised, so that the place of birth is obscured there). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/12 "2007-10-26T14:38:03Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] From the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Lamartine_Thompson) (which is currently vandalised, so that the place of birth is obscured there). [/QUOTE] Ahem…there’s a flag on the play! (Perhaps “teh internets” was too obscure wording for some). ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/13 "2007-10-26T14:39:53Z")
Who is the only president buried in Washington, DC? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/14 "2007-10-26T14:50:04Z")
[QUOTE=JKellyMap] Ahem…there’s a flag on the play! (Perhaps “teh internets” was too obscure wording for some). [/QUOTE] I withdraw my comment if Giles happened to have read that Wikipedia article before this game began. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/15 "2007-10-26T14:54:33Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] Who is the only president buried in Washington, DC? [/QUOTE] Woodrow Wilson. For my question: Which president was the first to have a presidential library in his honour? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/16 "2007-10-26T14:57:08Z")
[QUOTE=JKellyMap] Ahem…there’s a flag on the play! (Perhaps “teh internets” was too obscure wording for some). [/QUOTE] Sorry – I didn’t read that preamble. But I knew about Woodrow Wilson from visiting his tomb, in Washington National Cathedral, as well as his birthplace, in Staunton, Virginia. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/17 "2007-10-26T15:03:55Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] Who is the only president buried in Washington, DC? [/QUOTE] Read the OP, please, folks. This would be question 6. Woodrow Wilson is correct. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/18 "2007-10-26T15:05:00Z")
[QUOTE=Giles] …Which president was the first to have a presidential library in his honour? [/QUOTE] This would be question 7. I believe the answer is FDR. 1. What was John Marshall’s job just before he became Chief Justice? 2. What was Sacagawea’s son’s name? 3. What state did Gettysburg hero Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain hail from? 4. What notorious sweatshop fire scandalized the nation? 5. Who was the only President to serve nonconsecutive terms? (an easy one) Question 1 is still unanswered. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2007, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/19 "2007-10-26T15:08:11Z")
Abraham Lincoln actually did direct troops during the Civil War while President, though only once, mostly to get a few twits moving in the absence of capable commanders, and he didn’t do much with the actual battle-plans or get in the fight. He did, however, personally give orders to advance and take specific ground near Norfolk, VA while nearby, and stayed to make sure the troops were able to do so. ---
**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:** [October 26, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/20 "2007-10-26T15:11:36Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] Abraham Lincoln actually did direct troops during the Civil War while President, though only once, mostly to get a few twits moving in the absence of capable commanders, and he didn’t do much with the actual battle-plans or get in the fight. He did, however, personally give orders to advance and take specific ground near Norfolk, VA while nearby, and stayed to make sure the troops were able to do so. [/QUOTE] Good point. I read that story in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s _Team of Rivals_ not long ago. Most historians only credit Washington and Madison with actual in-the-field presidential command of troops, however. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091.md?page=2)