# 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:** 25
**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:** [November 12, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/481 "2007-11-12T21:48:52Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] … 252. May be venturing into opinion here, but there are at least 3 pieces of landmark legislation passed by Congress during the Civil War. Generally speaking, these bills had held up by Southern interests for a number of years. [/QUOTE] 1. Oh, jeez, there was a bunch. Off the top of my head, I’d say the transcontinental railroad authorization, the land-grant colleges act, the banning of slavery in the District of Columbia, and ultimately of course the 13th Amendment, which banned slavery throughout the country. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/482 "2007-11-12T21:51:36Z")
252: wasn’t the Homestead Act one of them? Seems that passed about 1862. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/483 "2007-11-12T22:12:53Z")
The Big Three that I was thinking about were: transcontinental railroad, Morrill Act [land-grant colleges], and the Homestead Act. Oh, and Dred Scott was decided at The Old Courthouse [Federal] in St Louis. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/484 "2007-11-13T03:19:22Z")
[QUOTE=denquixote] 247. Who invented white-out? [/QUOTE] This one sounds awfully familiar, and I’m certain it was a president’s mother. Was it FDR’s? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/485 "2007-11-13T03:34:56Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] This one sounds awfully familiar, and I’m certain it was a president’s mother. Was it FDR’s? [/QUOTE] Michael Nesmith’s? President? Monkee? It’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/486 "2007-11-13T03:38:21Z")
Wait! I think that’s it! Michael Nesmith’s mother. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/487 "2007-11-13T07:22:45Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] 241. Who was the first Catholic bishop in the U.S.? Hint: A university was later named after him. **John Carroll** 1. George Washington regularly attended religious services of what denomination? **Anglican/** 2. In late 1960, candidate John F. Kennedy spoke to a group of ministers in what major city to confront anti-Catholic prejudice? **Houston** 3. Who was the first Jewish justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court? **Benjamin Cardozo** 4. This famous bandleader did not invent the blender but he was the money man behind it and it bears his name, who was he? **Fred Waring** [/QUOTE] 5. Correct ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/488 "2007-11-13T07:24:54Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] Michael Nesmith’s? President? Monkee? It’s all good. [/QUOTE] Assuming “Michael Nesmith’s” refers to his mother you are 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:** [November 13, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/489 "2007-11-13T14:55:22Z")
Anchors aweigh… 1. The U.S. Naval Academy wasn’t established until the year \_\_\_\_; before that, midshipmen were trained entirely at sea. 2. This Civil War hero was the first American officer ever given the rank of admiral. 3. The victor of the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War, he originally hailed from Vermont. 4. This admiral won the Battle of Midway during WW2. 5. This Chief of Naval Operations committed suicide after questions were raised about the medals he was entitled to wear. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/490 "2007-11-13T15:51:24Z")
1. This Civil War hero was the first American officer ever given the rank of admiral. **David Farragut** 2. The victor of the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War, he originally hailed from Vermont. **George Dewey** 3. This admiral won the Battle of Midway during WW2. **Chester Nimitz** ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/491 "2007-11-13T17:29:35Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 253. The U.S. Naval Academy wasn’t established until the year \_\_\_\_; before that, midshipmen were trained entirely at sea. 257. This Chief of Naval Operations committed suicide after questions were raised about the medals he was entitled to wear. [/QUOTE] 1. I’m thinking it’s 1854. IIRC it was after the incident where the captain of one of the trainee vessels hanged a midshipman for mutiny, with only a field court-martial. (The _Somers_ or _Somerset_ Incident, I think it’s known as.) 2. Mike Boorda. I don’t recall his rank at the time of his death. The questions were about a Medal of Honor he’d been awarded while he was still enlisted, and it came out that it seemed to have been the result of someone in his chain of command pushing to make him look better to subsequent promotion boards when it was known he was going to go mustang. While he was obviously complicit in the fraud (at the very least he’d agreed to let it continue) I really think that the lion’s share of the blame for the medal inflation should have been going to his superiors, at the time, who manufactured the medal citation. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2007, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/492 "2007-11-14T01:35:23Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] 254. This Civil War hero was the first American officer ever given the rank of admiral. **David Farragut** 255. The victor of the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War, he originally hailed from Vermont. **George Dewey** 256. This admiral won the Battle of Midway during WW2. **Chester Nimitz** [/QUOTE] 1. Correct. 2. Correct. The first, and only, “Admiral of the Navy.” 3. Well, he was the top admiral in the Pacific at the time, but the USN commander on the scene was another guy. That’s who I’m thinking of. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2007, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/493 "2007-11-14T01:36:56Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] 253. I’m thinking it’s 1854. IIRC it was after the incident where the captain of one of the trainee vessels hanged a midshipman for mutiny, with only a field court-martial. (The _Somers_ or _Somerset_ Incident, I think it’s known as.) 1. Mike Boorda. I don’t recall his rank at the time of his death. The questions were about a Medal of Honor he’d been awarded while he was still enlisted, and it came out that it seemed to have been the result of someone in his chain of command pushing to make him look better to subsequent promotion boards when it was known he was going to go mustang. While he was obviously complicit in the fraud (at the very least he’d agreed to let it continue) I really think that the lion’s share of the blame for the medal inflation should have been going to his superiors, at the time, who manufactured the medal citation. [/QUOTE] 1. You’re right about the Somers, but incorrect as to the date. 2. Correct as to his name. It wasn’t _the_ Medal of Honor, though, but another medal. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/494 "2007-11-14T14:41:51Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] [Smithsonian Magazine had a nice article on George Thomas a while back](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/slowtrot.html) (spoke- said, boldly transgressing the prohibition on links). [/QUOTE] Thanks for the link. That was very interesting. I knew the nickname “Rock of Chickamauga” but nothing about the man. With all due respect to the OP, this thread would be a lot better if participants had to supply links to back up their questions. It would give readers all kinds of interesting and educational material. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/495 "2007-11-14T15:25:54Z")
Then that would be another thread, wouldn’t it? As it happens, I’m a big fan of Gen. Thomas and am glad he’s getting more attention nowadays. But I’m afraid that changing the thread rule as you suggest would lead to folks asking new questions inspired by what they just read, rather than relying on their own knowledge. As I wrote earlier, this isn’t a test of Googling or research skills, but of what we all know. May I respectfully suggest you just jot down a note for later research if you’d like to learn more about a historical topic which arises here? In any event, thanks for your feedback. ---
**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:** [November 14, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/496 "2007-11-14T21:32:04Z")
Turning to the Air Force… 1. This man is the only person ever to hold five-star rank in two armed services. 2. The Air Force Academy’s mascot is this animal. 3. The plane which, in various incarnations, flew 24/7/365 throughout the Cold War to conduct the U.S. retaliatory response to any overwhelming first strike, was codenamed \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. 4. This Air Force general ran for vice president in 1968 but lost. 5. The Air Force accidentally bombed the embassy of what country during the NATO air war against Serbia in the late 1990s? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/497 "2007-11-14T21:37:38Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Turning to the Air Force… 1. The Air Force accidentally bombed the embassy of what country during the NATO air war against Serbia in the late 1990s? [/QUOTE] 2. China ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/498 "2007-11-14T22:29:59Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 1. Well, he was the top admiral in the Pacific at the time, but the USN commander on the scene was another guy. That’s who I’m thinking of. [/QUOTE] Spruance. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/499 "2007-11-14T22:57:34Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Turning to the Air Force… 1. This man is the only person ever to hold five-star rank in two armed services. 2. The Air Force Academy’s mascot is this animal. 3. The plane which, in various incarnations, flew 24/7/365 throughout the Cold War to conduct the U.S. retaliatory response to any overwhelming first strike, was codenamed \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. 4. This Air Force general ran for vice president in 1968 but lost. 5. The Air Force accidentally bombed the embassy of what country during the NATO air war against Serbia in the late 1990s? [/QUOTE] 6. Curtis LeMay ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/500 "2007-11-14T23:36:17Z")
1. This man is the only person ever to hold five-star rank in two armed services. **"Hap" Arnold Army Air Force during WWII, and then the Air Force itself after it split off?** 2. The Air Force Academy’s mascot is this animal. **Eagle** 3. The Air Force accidentally bombed the embassy of what country during the NATO air war against Serbia in the late 1990s? **China** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091.md?page=26)