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Election 1972 Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Election 1972 Quizzes, Trivia

Election 1972 Trivia

Election 1972 Trivia Quizzes

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Let's take a trip back to a pivotal moment in American electoral history. In 1972, the stage was set for an election that would shape the nation's course. So, dust off your bell-bottoms and get ready to relive the drama and intrigue of the U.S. election of '72!
7 Election 1972 quizzes and 75 Election 1972 trivia questions.
1.
  John Dean and Watergate   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
John Dean was White House counsel from 1970 to 1973 and a key member of the Watergate political scandal. Please take this fun quiz about Dean. Good luck!
Average, 10 Qns, mrgrouchy, Sep 15 10
Average
mrgrouchy
513 plays
2.
  The President's Men   popular trivia quiz  
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Match the people to the jobs they held during the Watergate era in America.
Average, 10 Qns, nyirene330, May 18 17
Average
nyirene330
246 plays
3.
  Nixon's Enemies List    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
During the 1973 Senate Watergate Hearings, it was revealed that President Nixon maintained an "Enemies List", consisting of 20 Americans who opposed his policies. This quiz deals with this 20-member list, and not the larger "Master List".
Average, 10 Qns, chessart, Jun 05 18
Average
chessart gold member
Jun 05 18
689 plays
4.
  Remember Watergate?    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Watergate was a while ago - but the legend lives on.
Average, 10 Qns, robert362, Nov 05 14
Average
robert362
2676 plays
5.
  Watergate--The Fall of Richard M. Nixon    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Ready for another look at America's greatest (or worst) political scandal? This is a pretty tough one, so good luck!
Tough, 15 Qns, scipio23, Jul 10 17
Tough
scipio23
1888 plays
6.
  Nixon and the Watergate Scandal    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
During 1972-1974, the Nixon administration was destroyed by the infamous Watergate scandal.
Average, 10 Qns, holysheep, Feb 26 13
Average
holysheep
1587 plays
7.
  Those Behind the Watergate Scandal    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Here is a quiz on the scandal that destroyed the presidency of Richard Nixon.
Average, 10 Qns, gtafan, Dec 29 09
Average
gtafan
516 plays
trivia question Quick Question
Early in his career, Nixon made a speech in which he described being given a pet dog. This dog's name was:

From Quiz "Background on Tricky Dick"




Related Topics
  Nixon, Richard [World] (4 quizzes)


Election 1972 Trivia Questions
1. Which witness before the Senate Watergate Committee revealed the existence of Nixon's "Enemies List"?

From Quiz Nixon's Enemies List

Answer: John Dean

The Senate Watergate Hearings were indeed high drama. Dean revealed the existence of the Enemies List, and it was Butterfield who revealed the existence of the White House taping system. Dash and Thompson were the chief lawyers for the Democrats and Republicans, respectively, who did much of the questioning of the witnesses.

2. For which U.S. federal agency did John Dean work before he was hired as the White House counsel?

From Quiz John Dean and Watergate

Answer: Justice Department

John Dean worked in the U.S. Justice Department from 1969 to 1970, serving as Associate Deputy at the office of the Attorney General, John Mitchell. In May 1970, Dean was contacted by White House aide Bud Krogh to become a successor to John Ehrlichman as White House counsel. Initially, Dean had mixed thoughts about taking the White House position, but he eventually accepted the job; he began to work for the White House in July 1970.

3. The five Watergate burglars were caught on June 17th of which year?

From Quiz Those Behind the Watergate Scandal

Answer: 1972

1972 was election year between President Nixon, and Senator McGovern. Nixon won by a landslide. The Watergate Hotel was the Democratic Headquarters.

4. Where did the name 'Watergate' come from?

From Quiz Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

Answer: The hotel and office complex where the burglary took place

The Democrats' campaign headquarters were located in the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. and this is where the break-ins took place.

5. At the time of the Watergate break-in, the apparent front-runner for the democratic candidacy was who?

From Quiz Remember Watergate?

Answer: George McGovern

6. What ex-FBI man was in charge of planning and executing the Watergate break-in?

From Quiz Watergate--The Fall of Richard M. Nixon

Answer: G. Gordon Liddy

Liddy had gained notoriety previously by busting ex-Harvard professor Dr. Timothy Leary. He is now a radio talk-show host.

7. Alexander Barkan, Leonard Woodcock and Samuel M. Lambert were on Nixon's "Enemies List" because of their activities in which field?

From Quiz Nixon's Enemies List

Answer: Labor unions

Nixon was certainly no friend of labor. Barkan was an AFL-CIO official, Woodcock was president of the United Auto Workers, and Lambert was with the National Education Association.

8. Which powerful man was John Dean's supervisor in the White House from July 1970 to April 1973?

From Quiz John Dean and Watergate

Answer: H.R. Haldeman

H.R. "Bob" Haldeman was the chief of staff in the Nixon Administration and the second most powerful man in the White House. Haldeman hired John Dean as White counsel in July 1970 to replace John Ehrlichman, who had been promoted to Chief Domestic Advisor. Richard Kleindienst was the U.S. Deputy Attorney General in July 1970; Charles Colson and Donald Segretti were White House aides involved with White House political campaign activity.

9. In 1972, Nixon stated that a White House counsel conducted an investigation and found that no one from the White House was involved in the scandal. Who was that counsel?

From Quiz Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

Answer: John Dean & Dean

Dean was later dismissed from his position and testified to Nixon's involvement in the cover-up.

10. The head of the Committee for the Re-election of the President - appropriately called 'CREEP' - was:

From Quiz Remember Watergate?

Answer: John Mitchell

It was Attorney General Mitchell.

11. What presidential election year was the Nixon team preparing for when the break-in occurred?

From Quiz Watergate--The Fall of Richard M. Nixon

Answer: 1972 & 72 & Nineteen Seventy-Two

12. Which CBS newsman was number seventeen on Nixon's "Enemies List"?

From Quiz Nixon's Enemies List

Answer: Daniel Schorr

Schorr discovered he was on the list along with the rest of the country when he was reading the list live on the air during a break in the Watergate hearings. It was one of the most dramatic events of the whole Watergate saga.

13. The Watergate break-in took place on June 17, 1972. Where was John Dean when the burglars were caught and arrested?

From Quiz John Dean and Watergate

Answer: in the Philippines

John Dean was taking a vacation in the Philippines when the Watergate burglary occurred. After Dean had returned to the U.S. on June 19, 1972, he was informed by his assistant Fred Fielding of the break-in. Dean spent most of his first day back in the White House attempting to assess the damage which the break-in had caused. John Mitchell and Jeb Magruder, alleged architects of the break-in, were at a Nixon campaign function in Los Angeles on June 17; President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman were in Key Biscayne when news of the Watergate arrests was announced.

14. When the five Watergate burglars were caught it was the second time they had broken in. In which month of 1972 had they previously broken in?

From Quiz Those Behind the Watergate Scandal

Answer: May

They had broken into the Watergate Hotel in May of 1972 to install bugging equipment. In June they were attempting to remove them, but got caught.

15. On October 20 1973, Nixon pressured his Attorney-General and deputy Attorney-General to fire Archibald Cox, the Special Watergate Prosecutor. Both men refused, and lost their job as a result. What were these events later known as?

From Quiz Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

Answer: The Saturday Night Massacre & Saturday Night Massacre

Robert Bork, the Solicitor-General acting as Attorney-General fired Cox.

16. This individual warned Nixon that there was 'a cancer on the Presidency'.

From Quiz Remember Watergate?

Answer: John Dean

Dean was the man.

17. Who was the target of the break-in?

From Quiz Watergate--The Fall of Richard M. Nixon

Answer: Lawrence O'Brien

Nixon thought O'Brien, the chairman of the DNC, had ties to reclusive millionaire Howard Hughes, which if revealed would damage the Democrats.

18. Which African-American member of Nixon's "Enemies List" served for 27 years in Congress as the representative of a northern California district?

From Quiz Nixon's Enemies List

Answer: Ron Dellums

Dellums was first elected to Congress in 1970, after being recruited to run by activists opposed to the Vietnam War. He was known during his time in Congress for his opposition to the Vietnam War, his opposition to South African apartheid, and his opposition to wasteful military spending.

19. The Watergate Hotel was being used by the Democratic National Committee. Who supposedly had ties with the DNC?

From Quiz Those Behind the Watergate Scandal

Answer: Howard Hughes

In 1977 Frank Sturgis told the "San Francisco Chronicle" that the motive for the Watergate break-in was to see if Howard Hughes had supplied finances to the DNC.

20. Who was the judge who presided over the trials of the Watergate burglars?

From Quiz Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

Answer: John Sirica

He was later named Time Magazine's Man of the Year. The other three men were burglars.

21. The disclosure that Nixon kept tapes was made by whom?

From Quiz Remember Watergate?

Answer: Alexander Butterfield

Butterfield's claim to fame.

22. How many men were arrested by D.C. police for breaking into the Democratic National HQ?

From Quiz Watergate--The Fall of Richard M. Nixon

Answer: 5

Though seven were indicted in the original Watergate trial, the five burglars plus Hunt and Liddy.

23. There was a second African-American member of congress on Nixon's "Enemies List". Who is this Michigan congressman who was first elected in 1964, and who continued to serve well into the 21st century?

From Quiz Nixon's Enemies List

Answer: John Conyers

John Conyers was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1965, and in 2015 he became the Dean of the House, a title given to the longest-serving current member. The other choices are all noteworthy Michigan Senators.

24. During the summer of 1972, John Dean handed over sensitive White House documents to L. Patrick Gray. For which federal agency did Gray work?

From Quiz John Dean and Watergate

Answer: the FBI

Louis Patrick Gray III was the acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation during the summer of 1972. John Dean and Gray met secretly on several occasions to exchange information and documents. Gray kept Dean apprised of the FBI's progress in the Watergate burglary case. In 1973, during Gray's Senate confirmation hearing to become permanent head of the FBI, he revealed that John Dean was heavily involved in the Watergate cover-up. On April 27, 1973, Gray resigned from the FBI.

25. Who was the judge who presided over the Watergate trials?

From Quiz Those Behind the Watergate Scandal

Answer: John Sirica

Sam Ervin was the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate Watergate. Mark Felt was "deep throat", an informant of the "Washington Post". Larry O'Brien was the guy the five Watergate burglars were trying to record.

26. During the Watergate investigations, Vice-President Spiro Agnew resigned because of what charges facing him?

From Quiz Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

Answer: Bribery and Tax Evasion

He was replaced by Gerald Ford.

27. Nixon's loyal secretary offered a bizarre explanation for the disappearance of 18 and a half minutes of material on one of the tapes. Her name was:

From Quiz Remember Watergate?

Answer: Rose Mary Woods

She claimed to have "accidentally" erased part of one of the tapes, but to do so would have required her to press buttons simultaneously that were several feet apart. Not very convincing.

28. Who was Nixon's first Chief of Staff?

From Quiz Watergate--The Fall of Richard M. Nixon

Answer: H.R. Haldeman

Haldeman was probably the most powerful and influental Chief of Staff in presidential history.

29. Which member of Nixon's "Enemies List" was a physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb?

From Quiz Nixon's Enemies List

Answer: Bernard T. Feld

Feld regretted his role in the development of the atomic bomb, and he later became a staunch opponent of nuclear weapons. His famous quote is that "I was involved in the original sin, and I have spent a large part of my life atoning for it."

30. After the Nixon election victory in November 1972, which Watergate defendant put the most pressure on John Dean to receive "hush money"?

From Quiz John Dean and Watergate

Answer: E. Howard Hunt

E. Howard Hunt, a former CIA employee, worked in the White House Special Investigations Unit, the "Plumbers." Documents found on the Watergate burglars linked Hunt to the break-in, and he was subsequently arrested. Hunt agreed to remain silent before his upcoming trial, but at a high cost. Hunt demanded huge sums of cash or he would reveal his involvement in "seamy" White House activity prior to the Watergate break-in, such as the illegal break-in at Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office. In early 1973, Hunt pressured John Dean to come up with cash- and quickly. Dean recognized this pressure as blackmail and even asked President Nixon for help. Because of Hunt's threats, Dean began to weaken, and the White House cover-up eventually crumbled.

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