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Bizarre 1970s U.S. History Trivia Quiz

Archibald Cox. Muskie and the "Canuck" letter. Ellsberg's shrink. Gemstone. The pardon. Executive privilege. Butterfield's testimony. Grits & Fritz. The good old days.

A multiple-choice quiz by coolupway. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
coolupway

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
90,002

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
9112

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 38 (6/10), Guest 73 (7/10), Guest 209 (10/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Chief minority counsel to the Senate Watergate committee in 1973-1974, this southerner later went on not only to the U.S. Senate, but also to major roles in such films as "Cape Fear" and "Class Action."
Hint

Sen Hillary Clinton

Sen. Fred Thompson

Sen. Alfonse D'Amato

Sen. Bob Packwood

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Question 2 of 10

2. This legendary CREEP operative, famous for (among other things) once having eaten a rat, had previously worked as an assistant District Attorney in New York's suburban Dutchess County, where he not only gave anti-drug lectures to high schoolers, but also organized and participated in an extensive raid on the premises of drug guru Timothy Leary, in lovely Millbrook, New York. Hint

E. Howard Hunt

Donald Segretti

John Dean

G. Gordon Liddy

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Question 3 of 10

3. This onetime CIA man, an undying favorite of conspiracy theorists, was not only one of the infamous "Plumbers", but was also involved in the Bay of Pigs invasion, and much later brought suit against a right-wing publication that alleged that he might have been involved in the JFK assassination. Hint

James Jesus Angleton

E. Howard Hunt

Larry Devine

Charles Colson

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Question 4 of 10

4. Nixon's Chief of Staff, this man was long considered a plausible candidate for the identity of "Deep Throat"; more recently, it has been suggested that he, rather than Kissinger or Nixon, arranged for immediate US military aid to Israel during the '73 Yom Kippur War. Hint

Alexander Haig

John Dean

John Mitchell

William Rogers

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Question 5 of 10

5. Haynsworth and Carswell. What was it or who were they? Hint

Key members of the Church comittee, which investigated CIA abuses.

According to Nixon, "two of the finest public servants it has ever been my privilege to know."

New York law firm at which Atty-General John Mitchell had previously been a senior partner.

Nixon appointees to the Supreme Court, both rejected by the Senate.

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Question 6 of 10

6. What supposed campaign gaffe by Jimmy Carter did some mistakenly think would cost him the presidency? Hint

He said he found nothing intrinsically wrong with brother Billy's relationship with Qaddafi.

He enthusiastically supported the annexation of Puerto Rico.

He referred to the Prime Minister of India as "Mrs. Mahatma Gandhi."

He told a Playboy interviewer that he had "committed adultery" in his "heart".

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Question 7 of 10

7. By what frightening animal was President Jimmy Carter attacked near the end of his term ? Hint

A menacing rabbit

A rabid dog

A wild boar

An enraged lamprey

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Question 8 of 10

8. Carter, though a candidate without broad appeal, was aided in his run for the presidency when his Republican rival made this amusing assertion during a debate: Hint

"Richard Nixon was one of the finest public servants it was my privilege to know."

"There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe."

"Inflation is when there's too much money out there."

"Spiro Agnew was the victim of a vast, left-wing conspiracy."

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Question 9 of 10

9. Who were Tom Eagleton and R. Sargent Shriver? Hint

McGovern's two picks for Vice-President.

Reporters who broke the 'Pentagon Papers' story.

Unindicted Watergate co-conspirators.

CIA station chiefs in Tehran and Beirut, respectively.

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Question 10 of 10

10. Who, in 2005, emerged as the real Deep Throat? Hint

A composite of several characters, Haig among them

Probably a composite of several characters, Pat Buchanan among them.

Mark Felt

Maurice Stans

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Sen. Fred Thompson

Thompson, of Tennessee, was touted early on a Republican possibility for the 2000 presidential race. In both films he plays lawyers -- a southerner in "Cape Fear", and a "hillbilly" house counsel for an auto manufacturer in "Class Action". If they remake "To Kill a Mockingbird", he's gotta be the odds-on pick for Atticus Finch.

Answer: G. Gordon Liddy

Leary beat the case. The county seat of Dutchess, and hence the place where Liddy prosecuted his cases, was Poughkeepsie, which has earned its place in trivia annals in myriad ways: apart from being Liddy's turf for a while, it was claimed to be the ancestral home of Our Gang's Miss Crabtree, and it is home to Vassar, a "7 Sisters" college.

Answer: E. Howard Hunt

Hunt, who was also a successful mystery writer, hit the paper for a big libel judgment, but a retrial resulted in a defendant's verdict. The claim (or at least one of them) is that Hunt was one of the three tramps found in a boxcar in a rail yard behind the grassy knoll shortly after the assassination. One of the tramps does bear a passing resemblance to Hunt. Study the blown-up "comparison" photos -- available all over the 'net-- and make your own judgment.

Answer: Alexander Haig

Of course, he did botch that key presidential-succession question on his Constitutional Law exam during the Reagan administration. (Maybe he should've listened to his mom, who wanted him to become a lawyer). The Yom Kippur war scoop is in Loftus and Aarons' "The Secret War Against the Jews" -- an interesting read.

5. Haynsworth and Carswell. What was it or who were they?

Answer: Nixon appointees to the Supreme Court, both rejected by the Senate.

Both Southerners, both apparently reactionary. Nixon ultimately found a comparatively unassailable judge from a northern state, Harry Blackmun of Minnesota, to fill the seat left open by Fortas' resignation. Tricky Dick was knocked for bad judicial nominations, but has to be given some points for putting Powell and Rehnquist on the Supreme bench.

6. What supposed campaign gaffe by Jimmy Carter did some mistakenly think would cost him the presidency?

Answer: He told a Playboy interviewer that he had "committed adultery" in his "heart".

What 70's are we talking about -- the 1370's? It didn't cost him the presidency, of course, and compared to what the American public ignored to re-elect Clinton in '96, it seems downright ridiculous. Brother Billy's Libyan connection was doubtless an embarassment, but popped up near the end of Carter's single term.

7. By what frightening animal was President Jimmy Carter attacked near the end of his term ?

Answer: A menacing rabbit

No one under the age of 25 will ever believe that this actually happened. It did.

8. Carter, though a candidate without broad appeal, was aided in his run for the presidency when his Republican rival made this amusing assertion during a debate:

Answer: "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe."

The Poles were of course very happy to find this out. The fateful words were uttered by Gerald Ford (formerly of Yale Law School!) He was tainted by the Nixon pardon, and this blunder didn't exactly resurrect his chances.

9. Who were Tom Eagleton and R. Sargent Shriver?

Answer: McGovern's two picks for Vice-President.

Poor George McGovern, who probably would've lost no matter what he did, did not run a great campiagn against Nixon in '72. After he picked Eagleton, the story broke that Eagleton had had shock treatments for depression. McGovern first said he would stand by Eagleton, then dumped him in favor of Kennedy in-law Shriver. McGovern carried only Dem stronghold Massachusetts, which probably would've voted for Joe Stalin before it went for a right-wing ideologue like Nixon. Beantowners are still proud of this fact.

10. Who, in 2005, emerged as the real Deep Throat?

Answer: Mark Felt

Nixon (among many others) had suspected Mark Felt as Deep Throat all along ...

Source: Author coolupway

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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