USA in the 20th Century Trivia

1. What was the average life expectancy in the U.S. in 1905?

From Quiz Life in America (1905)

Answer: 47 years

In the next 100 years, the life expectancy had increased by 30 years. Medical advances, healthier lifestyles, and proper eating have given Americans (and people throughout the world) much longer, healthier lives.

From Quiz American History by Decade: The 1950s

Answer: Capo di tutti capi

The Kefauver Committee on Organized Crime interviewed an all-star list of American criminals including Mickey Cohen, Frank Costello, and Meyer Lansky, and was fictionalized in a scene in "The Godfather Part II". The American public first learned the term "capo di tutti capi" (boss of all bosses) during the hearings to denote the head of the New York mafia families.

From Quiz American History by Decade: The 1940s

Answer: Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker, and Tom & Jerry

In a strange coincidence, four extremely popular American cartoon characters made their first shorts in 1940: Bugs Bunny for Warner Brothers, Woody Woodpecker for Universal, and Tom & Jerry for MGM. Mel Blanc provided the original voice for both Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker.

From Quiz American History by Decade: The 1920s

Answer: The first presidential election in which women could vote

The 19th Amendment allowing women the right to vote had passed Congress in 1919. Harding won popular vote 60% to 34% which is the largest margin in U.S. Presidential election history.

From Quiz American History by Decade: The 1910s

Answer: It was the last in which one of the top two finishers was neither a Republican nor Democrat

During the Taft presidency, a rift had developed between fellow Republicans Taft and Roosevelt. Roosevelt broke away to form his Bull Moose party with other progressive Republicans and came in second in the 1912 election to Wilson. American political parties came and went throughout the 19th century, but after the 1912 election, the U.S. settled into the current Republican-Democrat two party system.

From Quiz American History by Decade: The 1900s

Answer: Destroy three saloons with a hatchet

Although saloons were illegal in Kansas, the law was rarely enforced. Radical Temperance activist Carrie Nation received a vision from God telling her to "take something in your hands" and smash the saloons in Kiowa. Nation continued her path of destruction throughout Kansas despite being frequently jailed. The Temperance movement was gaining steam at the turn of the century and would culminate in the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1919.

From Quiz Back to Twentieth Century USA

Answer: Louisiana Purchase Exposition

The event ran from the end of April 1904 until the beginning of December, with exhibitors from 62 countries and nearly all of the then forty-three US states. The exposition was linked to the centenary of the Louisiana Purchase, in 1803. On display were the then new-fangled telephone, X-ray machine and automobiles.

From Quiz Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Answer: 1933

President Franklin Roosevelt had established a similar program while governor of New York. On April 5, 1933 it was passed by voice vote by Congress. Robert Fechner of the machinist union was appointed as the first director. It seemed that its complicated structure might be a deterrent to its success since it required cooperation among four cabinet divisions--War, Labor, Agriculture, and Interior--but the CCC Advisory Council had overall supervision. The only opposition to the CCC came from unions that feared that the program would replace needed job training programs. They were assured that the CCC would only require basic manual labor skills.

From Quiz Living in the Past

Answer: Blackout

A blackout was mandated every time the air raid siren went off. The idea was to prevent enemy planes from having a lighted target to bomb. When the alarm sounded, my father would put on a white helmet and go to his station as an Air Raid Warden. Another siren signaled the end of the blackout. As a small boy, all of this was frightening, as it must have been for adults, because each drill could have been for real.

From Quiz The Swingin' Sixties

Answer: Francis Gary Powers

The plane was downed on May 1, 1960 when Eisenhower was President. Eichmann was captured in Argentina ("don't cry for him"). Kennedy beats Nixon. Fraser beats Laver at Wimbledon. A first class stamp is four cents. Paul Tibbets was the pilot of the Enola Gay in 1945. Charles Sweeney piloted Bock's Car over Nagasaki in 1945. Wiley Post was the first pilot to fly solo around the world in 1933.

From Quiz Violet Crimes

Answer: Jewish

The Purple Gang put the "Mispucha" in the mob. The founders of the group were four brothers: Abe, Joe, Raymond and Izzie Bernstein.

From Quiz D B Cooper, Where Are You?

Answer: Northwest Orient

The Northwest Orient flight was a Boeing 727 originating in Portland, OR with Seattle as its destination.

From Quiz 20th Century U.S.

Answer: New Mexico

Scientists had been hard at work developing the bomb at nearby Los Alamos, New Mexico. The test blast was detonated on July 16, 1945 and code-named "Trinity." This date is considered the beginning of the atomic age.

From Quiz Incident at Oglala

Answer: Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota is in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border and covers 3,468 square miles larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. This reservation is among the poorest in the nation. The population of Sioux Indians is estimated at less than 40,000, most of whom live in small settlements and about 120 miles from the nearest city, Rapid City. Both the Mount Rushmore Memorial and the Crazy Horse Memorial are tourist attractions. In 2011 economic development still lagged. For instance, there are no banks or discount stores on the reservation.

From Quiz OMG! It's Hells Angels (U.S)

Answer: Harley-Davidson

Hells Angels have been associated with Harley-Davidson motorcycles (also called "Hogs") since their inception. Harley started making motorcycles in 1903. A proud American company, it hasn't always been happy about its association with the Angels, since they are seen by most people as criminals.

From Quiz America in the Roaring Twenties

Answer: Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge was president of the U.S. from 1923-1929, a total of six years. He was vice president for Harding who had a heart attack and died, making Coolidge the president in 1923. He was reelected president in 1924 with the slogan "Keep cool with Coolidge." Wilson had served as president till 1921, Harding served from 1921-1923, and Hoover was elected in 1928.

From Quiz Major 20th Century American Riots

Answer: Detroit

In 1943, the US Army was called in and put an immediate stop to the racial rioting. Detroit at the time was the "Arsenal of Democracy" and the riot brought war material production to a halt. In 1967, once again the army was called in as the level of violence had reached a point where martial law was seriously considered. Of all the urban riots that occurred in the 60's, the 1967 Detroit riot was unique in that it was not a true race riot; blacks and whites rioted side by side. It was also 'number one' for the level of sniper incidents. At times, entire sections of the city were pinned down by snipers, and at one point, 400 National Guardsman were pinned down at Henry Ford Hospital. It has been estimated that over one million bullets were fired over the course of the riot by all sides. Incidentally, the US Army was never called in any other 20th century riot.

From Quiz 1960s: UC Berkeley

Answer: Telegraph Avenue

Telegraph Avenue during the 1960 was a compact four block area full of students, compatible shops with a proximity to Oakland and the Bay Bridge to San Francisco. This was a time when one could run across Joan Baez shopping or see Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters. It was a center point of the student movement and the emerging core of counter culture.

From Quiz Collect the Century 1900-1909

Answer: John Muir

John Muir (1838-1914) was originally from Scotland and his writings are said to be the inspiration behind the development of our National Park System by President Theodore Roosevelt. William Bartram (1739-1823) was the first, great American-born naturalist and author of "Bartram's Travels" a book that Muir pronounced "interesting". Charles Sargent (1841-1927) was an American botanist and the first director of Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University. James Harkin (1875-1955) served as Canada's first commissioner of National Parks and helped establish the world's first park service.

From Quiz Police Investigator II : Case Review

Answer: the four officers were killed in the same gun battle

This tragic episode in California law enforcement history unfolded on a Sunday evening, April 6, 1970, in the small community of Newhall, about 35 miles north of Los Angeles. Case Particulars: Two California Highway Patrol officers, Walt Frago and Roger Gore, were on routine patrol when they monitored a broadcast on their police radio, of a vehicle traveling in their area that possibly contained an occupant who had been seen brandishing a firearm. The officers spotted a vehicle matching the description given, radioed for assistance (back-up), and proceeded to initiate a "traffic stop" of the vehicle in the parking lot of "J's Coffee Shop and Standard Station", just off of the Interstate 5 freeway. Once stopped, the officers approached the vehicle, one officer on each side of the vehicle. The door on the passenger side unexpectedly swung open, and the passenger exited the vehicle, pointed a gun at Officer Frago, and fired two shots, point blank, striking him in the chest. Frago was killed instantly. Officer Gore, who was on the drivers side of the vehicle, surprised by the sound of the gun shots, pulled his service weapon, and fired one shot at the suspect. At the same time, the driver of the vehicle fired two shots at Gore, mortally wounding him. Within seconds, the back-up police unit arrived. Not seeing either the suspects or the fallen officers, the two responding officers, James Pence and George Alleyn, immediately found themselves under gunfire. Officer Pence was able to radio what would be his last radio message, "11-99" (officers need help) "shots fired". Following a brief, violent gun battle, both officers were killed, and the two suspects escaped. The two gun battles lasted less than five minutes total. Law enforcement officers in the area flooded the location and launched a massive dragnet. Some eight hours later, the suspects were located, barricaded in a house, nearly four miles from the original shooting scene. Officers from the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department quickly surrounded the house. When a sheriff's department tactical team breached the house, one suspect, Jack Wright Twining, committed suicide by placing the muzzle of the shotgun he had taken from Officer Frago under his chin, and pulling the trigger. The second suspect, Bobby Augustus Davis, surrendered, and was taken into custody. Final outcome/Disposition of Case: * Bobby Davis, was convicted of four counts of murder, and sentenced to die in the California Gas Chamber. In 1972, the California Supreme Court ruled the death penalty to be "cruel and unusual" and Davis' sentence, along with those of all other inmates on California's death row, was commuted to a "life sentence". * A thorough investigative review of the incident resulted in sweeping changes in law enforcement procedures, especially regarding the stopping and approaching of hi-risk or felony subjects, the use of bulletproof vest, and methods used to place suspects under arrest. * CHP Officer James E. Pence was killed in the line of duty. (gunshot wound) * CHP Officer Roger D. Gore was killed in the line of duty. (gunshot wound) * CHP Officer Walt C. Frago was killed in the line of duty. (gunshot wound) * CHP Officer George M. Alleyn was killed in the line of duty. (gunshot wound) * Jack Wright Twining, suspected killer of four CHP Officers, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to avoid capture by law enforcement officers.

From Quiz Early 20th Century U.S.

Answer: Charles Curtis

Kansas Senator and Republican Majority leader in the Senate, this Topeka citizen's mother was a Kaw Indian. He was Vice President under Herbert Hoover (March 4, 1929 till March 3, 1933).

From Quiz It Happened in the 30s

Answer: The stock market crashed

On October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed. Americans became very worried about money, so they stopped spending it. That means they didn't buy cars, which means the car companies had to go out of business. The men who worked in the car companies didn't have jobs, so they couldn't pay the doctors, so the doctors had to go out of business, and so on.

From Quiz 1950s All American History

Answer: Scientology

Celebrity followers of Sceintology include John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Leah Remini, Kirstie Alley, Isaac Hayes and, most famously, Tom Cruise.

From Quiz After World War II

Answer: veterans

This Bill also allowed them to take out low-interest loans.

From Quiz 20th Century U.S. : One Question per Decade!

Answer: Hay-Herran Treaty

Colombia turned down the Hay-Herran Treaty, hoping for the U.S. to submit a better deal. Instead, the U.S. helped Panamian revolutionaries rebel, and then made a deal with the revolutionaries.

From Quiz From the 1970s

Answer: Kent State University, Ohio

On May 4, 1970, National Guardsmen opened fired on students at Kent State killing four students and injuring nine others. Shortly after this Neil Young wrote a song which is a protest song about the killings and has become an anthem of the generation. He was with the group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

From Quiz 1940s All American History: 2

Answer: No one - there was no vice-president until after the 1948 election

The office of vice-president remained unfilled until the 1948 election. President Harry Truman's vice-president was Kentucky Congressman Alben Barkley. They were sworn into office in January, 1949. Barkley has the distinction of being the first vice-president to marry while in office.

From Quiz 1940s All-American History 1

Answer: Henry Wallace

The US declared war on Japan immediately following the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and war with Germany and Italy followed within a few days. Henry Wallace had succeeded John Nance Garner as vice-president in January, 1941. He was replaced on the 1944 Democratic ticket by Missouri Senator Harry Truman because party leaders feared for President Roosevelt's health and felt Truman was a more neutral choice should he succeed Roosevelt as president.

From Quiz Symbionese Liberation Army

Answer: Donald Defreeze

Dondald DeFreeze escaped from Soledad State Prision and then hid in San Francisco with various leftist revolutionaries; two of these were Willie Wolf and Russ Little who would later join the S.L.A. He then met and fell in love with another future member, Patricia Michelle Soltysik, and these two lived together while he wrote the S.L.A. manifesto. DeFreeze believed in the S.L.A. as a black group intent on over throwing a white dominated America. This black group accepted people of all races to achieve its goals that would at first require violence.

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