History in the Making Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Nullification Crisis

The Tariff of 1828, nicknamed the Tariff of Abominations, put a large tax on imported goods from Europe. The intention of the tariff was to protect the North's manufacturing industry because goods coming in from Europe were cheaper. However, the tariff put a considerable strain on the South as the tariff made it more difficult for Europe to buy the South's cotton and other goods.

The tariff caused an uproar in the South and led to the Nullification Crisis where South Carolina declared the tariff void in the state. This led to a constitutional crisis since federal law supersedes state law. Vice President John C. Calhoun resigned partly because of this and ran for the Senate where he would have more influence over tariffs. The Nullification Crisis exacerbated the tensions between North and South and is one of the major events leading up to the U.S. Civil War, which would be fought decades later.

Answer: Teapot Dome Scandal

Albert Fall was the Secretary of the Interior during the administration of Warren Harding. Fall had leased several oil field reserves in Teapot Dome, Wyoming to oil companies at very low rates and without competition. This was legal, however, in exchange for these contracts, Fall accepted bribes in the form of large loans from the wealthy oilmen who received the contracts.

The scandal caused a complete collapse of the public trust regarding President Warren. Because of this scandal, Congress received subpoena power and increased oversight authority of the executive branch. Fall became the first Cabinet member to serve prison time.

Answer: Petticoat Affair

During the administration of Andrew Jackson, one of the biggest scandals was the Petticoat Affair or the Peggy Eaton Affair. Peggy Eaton was the wife of John Eaton, the Secretary of War. Peggy had previously been married and she married John after her first husband died.

Although nothing was suspicious about his death, the other Cabinet wives began circling rumors that Peggy was having an affair with Eaton while she was still married and her husband killed himself in grief. The rumor mill was led by Second Lady Floride Calhoun who repeatedly denied to invite Peggy Eaton to social affairs.

When President Jackson demanded Peggy be included and the wives still refused, Jackson fired his entire Cabinet except for Martin Van Buren whom he elevated to Vice President following his reelection.

Answer: Iran-Contra Affair

The Iran-Contra Affair was a political scandal in the mid 1980s that rocked the Reagan Administration. Iran was subject to an arms embargo at the time. In Lebanon, a group affiliated with Iran took Americans hostage. Allegedly, the secret sale of arms to Iran was part of a deal to free these hostages.

However, Oliver North took some of the money from the sale and sent it to Contra rebels in Nicaragua. Funding of the Contras was also illegal and this was allegedly the goal of the sales all along and not as a measure to free hostages.

The focus of the scandal shifted to what President Reagan knew. Reagan denied having any involvement in the scheme but correspondence produced by others in the administration casts a cloud over that claim.

Answer: Credit Mobilier Scandal

The Credit Mobilier Scandal happened in 1867 but was not made public until 1872. The Union Pacific Railroad Company opened a fake company called Credit Mobilier which charged the Union Pacific Railroad almost twice as much to build part of the First Transcontinental Railroad than it actually cost.

The difference was divvied up between several honchos in both companies. Many members of Congress were bribed heavily to turn their backs on the scandal. The scheme worked for years and several famous politicians were implicated, including future President James Garfield who denied the charges and was not seriously effected by the scandal.

Answer: Watergate Scandal

The Watergate Scandal is among the most famous scandals in American history. During the Election of 1972, burglars were caught attempting to break into the Watergate Complex where Democrats had their headquarters. The burglars were traced to Nixon's reelection campaign. Allegedly, the burglars were either going to steal documents or plant wiretaps in the phones.

While that was a scandal in and of itself, the bigger problems for Nixon involved his coverup of the incident. Impeachment proceedings began in the House of Representatives against Nixon on various charges including obstruction of justice and abuse of power. Nixon resigned in disgrace and dozens of administration officials were convicted because of their involvement. Nixon was pardoned by Gerald Ford in 1974.

Answer: Johnson Impeachment

After President Lincoln was assassinated, his Vice President Andrew Johnson ascended to the presidency. Johnson was not well received by Congress. Although he remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War, Johnson was a Southern Democrat and Lincoln had selected him as his running mate in an unifying attempt. Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act in 1867 to protect Lincoln's Cabinet members, specifically War Secretary Edwin Stanton. Johnson vetoed the bill but Congress overrode the veto. Johnson fired Stanton anyway and was impeached by the House of Representatives.

He was acquitted by the Senate by one vote. Historians widely believe Congress did not intend to remove Johnson from office but used the impeachment process as a show of force against him.

Answer: Whiskey Ring

The Whiskey Ring was one of many scandals that rocked the Grant Administration. Whiskey taxes were high after the war but distillers would pay only half the tax and would then bribe federal politicians money as part of the scheme. This went on for years but it was revealed in 1875 and became a symbol of corruption in the Grant Administration.

Many politicians saw their careers end but many were also acquitted in court. The press at the time was heavily Republican-influenced and the trials were presented as shams to the public and did little to hurt Grant's popularity overall.

Answer: XYZ Affair

The XYZ Affair was an international scandal that occurred in 1797 and 1798 during John Adams' presidency. Three American diplomats were sent to France to negotiate a peace. The French diplomats repeatedly tried to bribe the Americans, who were insulted at the prospect.

The peace talks broke down and two of the three Americans left France. Elbridge Gerry stayed behind to further negotiate (the French appeared only interested in dealing with him). A loose deal was made but it failed. When this information was revealed to the public, it caused a huge scandal that was named the XYZ Affair because the names of the French diplomats were censored with the letters X, Y and Z.

Answer: Corrupt Bargain

The Corrupt Bargain ended the contested Election of 1824. No candidate received the majority of electoral votes needed to win so the election was thrown to the House of Representatives. Andrew Jackson won the popular vote by a wide margin but the House elected John Q. Adams.

Henry Clay, a member of the House who was very influential, rallied support around Adams who promised to make Clay his Secretary of State. This was called a corrupt bargain by Jackson and his supporters and was a major factor in Jackson's defeat of Adams four years later.