# 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:** 39
**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:** [December 11, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/761 "2007-12-11T17:20:07Z")
[QUOTE=movingfinger] 468. Seward? [/QUOTE] Nope. The other SecWar/SecDef answers 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:** [December 11, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/762 "2007-12-11T17:25:15Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] …What do I know about Secretaries of the Interior. [/QUOTE] OK, I’m game: 1. This SecInt and former senator resigned in disgrace during the Teapot Dome scandal. 2. This conservative SecInt ordered that the buffalo on the Department of the Interior’s seal be turned to face to… the right (yes, he was heraldically correct, but people still snickered). 3. This Kennedy SecInt came from a prominent Western political family. 4. This Bush SecInt was embarrassed when an article she wrote several years earlier, expressing support in principle for the Confederacy, came to light. 5. This well-regarded Clinton SecInt was a former presidential candidate. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2007, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/763 "2007-12-11T17:42:50Z")
1. This SecInt and former senator resigned in disgrace during the Teapot Dome scandal. **Albert Fall** 2. This conservative SecInt ordered that the buffalo on the Department of the Interior’s seal be turned to face to… the right (yes, he was heraldically correct, but people still snickered). **James Watt** 3. This Kennedy SecInt came from a prominent Western political family. **Udall, Stewart**? 4. This Bush SecInt was embarrassed when an article she wrote several years earlier, expressing support in principle for the Confederacy, came to light. :smack: **blanking on her name-from Colorado I think, not sure that I will be able to recall it** **On preview-Gale Norton?** 5. This well-regarded Clinton SecInt was a former presidential candidate. **Bruce Babbit** So, next time they have open tryouts, you should go here [http://www.jeopardy.com/contestants\_searchinfo.php](http://www.jeopardy.com/contestants_searchinfo.php) I’ll give you a recommendation. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/764 "2007-12-11T17:44:49Z")
All correct. Damn, you’re good! I qualified for _Jeopardy!_ once while I was in law school, c. 1991, but they never called me to be on the show. Bastards. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/765 "2007-12-11T17:48:43Z")
You have to be patient and persistent, I was on the waiting list three times before they finally called. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/766 "2007-12-11T17:51:02Z")
Okay, I have to ask - **why** would it have been heraldically correct to change the way that the buffalo faces on the Seal of the Department of the Interior? ---
**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:** [December 11, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/767 "2007-12-11T17:56:15Z")
Misc Secretaries 476. This SecAg from Indiana’s big mouth got him fired. 1. This SecAg from Idaho was famous for potatoes. 2. This SecAg under Eisenhower answered a higher calling later in life? 3. The first SecVA? 4. The second Cabinet Secretary to become President? ---
**Author:** ![Petey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f1d935/32.png) [@Petey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petey)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/768 "2007-12-11T18:54:57Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] 480. The second Cabinet Secretary to become President? [/QUOTE] Madison was the second Secretary of State to become president. Jefferson was first. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/769 "2007-12-11T20:36:10Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] Misc Secretaries 476. This SecAg from Indiana’s big mouth got him fired. … 478. This SecAg under Eisenhower answered a higher calling later in life? … [/QUOTE] 1. Earl Butz, fired by Ford for making an astonishingly racist remark during the '76 campaign. 2. Ezra Taft Benson, who became the top Mormon dude (presiding bishop?). ---
**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:** [December 11, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/770 "2007-12-11T20:39:46Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Okay, I have to ask - **why** would it have been heraldically correct to change the way that the buffalo faces on the Seal of the Department of the Interior? [/QUOTE] Under the classical rules of heraldry, an animal should face to its right on a seal or coat of arms (as the bald eagle does on the Great Seal of the U.S.). The buffalo on the Department of the Interior’s seal faced to its left for many years, which wasn’t quite kosher, heraldically speakin’. Watt took some flak for seeming to indicate that the buffalo, too, had been caught up in the Reagan Revolution. ---
**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:** [December 11, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/771 "2007-12-11T21:11:29Z")
All correct so far. Earl Butz’ "loose shoes . . " remark was made in the presence of & subsequently reported by john Dean of Watergate fame. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/772 "2007-12-12T14:28:26Z")
**5 time** , why was John Dean hanging out with Earl Butz? That would have been after Watergate. Next… what is the significance of these dates in American history? 1. Feb. 22, 1732 2. Sept. 17, 1787 3. July 4, 1826 4. March 9, 1862 5. Jan. 20, 1981 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/773 "2007-12-12T14:53:36Z")
Hmm… > [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > Next… what is the significance of these dates in American history? > > 1. July 4, 1826 > 2. Jan. 20, 1981 1. I believe this is the date upon which both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died. 2. This is the date that John Hinkley Jr. attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan. Answering expired questions: > [@](#): > > 1. Why did the Whydah become a name known to people outside of the circle of history buffs in the 20th century? 1. Because the wreck was found in the 1980s and it became the first wreck of a pirate vessel to be examined using modern archaeologic techniques. (And I believe still the only known wreck of a pirate vessel.) > [@](#): > > 1. Who said this after the Battle of Bunker Hill: “Another three such victories and we will have lost the colonies.”? 1. Gen. Thomas Gage, who was relieved by Lord Howe after the Battle of Bunker Hill. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/774 "2007-12-12T17:07:43Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Jan. 20, 1981 Two events: Ronald Reagan was inaugurated and the Iran hostages were released. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/775 "2007-12-12T17:23:05Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] … 483. I believe this is the date upon which both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died. 1. This is the date that John Hinkley Jr. attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan… [/QUOTE] 2. Correct. Also the 50th anniversary of the public release of the Declaration of Independence (many but not all members of the Continental Congress signed it on the 2nd, but some didn’t for months or even years later, IIRC). 3. Incorrect. **Want2know** has it, though. ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/776 "2007-12-12T17:48:44Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Feb. 22, 1732 George Washington’s date of birth. ---
**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:** [December 12, 2007, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/777 "2007-12-12T23:17:31Z")
1. Sept. 17, 1787 **Adoption of the US Constitution** 2. March 9, 1862 **Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation**? ---
**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:** [December 13, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/778 "2007-12-13T16:12:25Z")
[QUOTE=want2know] [481. Feb. 22, 1732] George Washington’s date of birth. [/QUOTE] 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:** [December 13, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/779 "2007-12-13T16:17:00Z")
[QUOTE=5 time champ] 482. Sept. 17, 1787 **Adoption of the US Constitution** 1. March 9, 1862 **Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation**? [/QUOTE] 2. Yes, that was the day the Constitutional Convention voted to adopt it; it was ratified in 1788 by the requisite states. 3. Incorrect. Let’s turn to unsuccessful presidential candidates… 1. This newspaper editor was defeated by Grant, and died soon afterwards. 2. This candidate cried when she announced she was withdrawing from the 1988 race. 3. This 1916 GOP nominee narrowly lost to Wilson, and later went on to serve as Chief Justice. 4. This vainglorious general was defeated by Lincoln in 1864, but went on to serve as governor of New Jersey. 5. This Maine Democrat ran for VP, then President, and eventually served as Secretary of State. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091/780 "2007-12-13T16:59:04Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 486. This newspaper editor was defeated by Grant, and died soon afterwards. 488. This 1916 GOP nominee narrowly lost to Wilson, and later went on to serve as Chief Justice. 490. This Maine Democrat ran for VP, then President, and eventually served as Secretary of State. [/QUOTE] 1. Horace Greely? 2. Ex-President Taft? 3. Edmund Muskie. Here are a couple more I thought of: 1. Who was the last president born in a log cabin? 2. Who was the first president born in a hospital? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091.md?page=38) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-history-trivia-quiz/424091.md?page=40)