Ten Tidbits of American History Quiz

Answer: John Scott Harrison

John Scott Harrison, son of President William Henry Harrison and father of President Benjamin Harrison, was himself a two term Congressman from Ohio and lifelong farmer. Samuel Adams was the cousin of President John Adams and not his brother despite being referred to as such in some publications. President Theodore Roosevelt was the elder, distant cousin of President Franklin Roosevelt. President George H.W. Bush was the father of President George W. Bush and the son of Connecticut Senator Prescott Bush.

Answer: DeWitt Clinton

DeWitt Clinton was Mayor of New York City, Governor of New York state, and a Unites States Senator. His major accomplishment, while governor, was the planning and completion of the Erie Canal, which connected the Hudson River to the Great Lakes. This not only sped up the development of the western United States, it enabled New York to become the commercial heart of America. Tyler was known as "His Accidency", due to the fact that he succeeded to the Presidency upon William Henry Harrison's death. Biddle was known as "Czar Nicholas" because of his heavy-handed tactics with smaller banks from his position as head of The Second Bank of the United States.

Answer: Salutary Neglect

Salutary Neglect was the policy of Sir Robert Walpole (Prime Minister 1721-1742). He decided that since the colonies were growing and Britain was prospering, it was best to leave well enough alone. This probably was a prime reason for the colonies' later anger with British attempts tto impose taxes.

In order to grow, colonies often granted individuals the right to take unoccupied land. This was known as 'Headright'. A Quitrent was an annual fee paid by the Headright holder to the colonies. Impressment was the British law allowing the Royal Navy to force any crown subject into service. That policy was one of the primary causes of the War of 1812.

Answer: NYC Board of Aldermen

The NYC Board of Aldermen were acquired this nickname as a result of their propensity for bribe taking. There had been a street gang of that name, but they were from an earlier era. Congress, even then, had many more than forty members. Standard Oil wasn't established by John Rockefeller until 1870.

Answer: Benjamin Franklin

Though Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were often at odds with each other, it was Benjamin Franklin who made this statement in 1783. A comment attributed to Jefferson regarding Adams is that he was "accurate in his judgment except when knowledge of the world is necessary to form a judgment." In turn, a comment by Adams said of Jefferson that "however wise and scientific as a philosopher, as a politician he is a child and dupe of the party."

Answer: Captain Oliver Perry

Perry's complete quote was, "We have met the enemy and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop." This was after he won the battle of Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie against the British in 1813. This victory protected the Ohio Valley from invasion and opened up a possible attack route into Canada. Lawrence, during another naval battle that year said, "Don't give up the ship," as he lay mortally wounded. Dewey commenced the first action in the Spanish-American War by giving the order, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley," in 1898.

Sherman, while addressing Civil War veterans in 1880 proclaimed,"There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell," which is often misquoted as "war is hell."

Answer: Richard Bland

Missouri's Richard Bland, a member of the House of Representatives from 1873 to 1899, was the head of the silver lobby, who advocated the coinage of free silver. He was responsible for the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, which required the Treasury to purchase at least two million dollars worth of silver per month.

In order to make use of this silver, the Treasury supposedly minted half a billion Morgan Dollars between 1878 and 1904. Former President Nixon was known as "Tricky Dick." Daley was a five-term Mayor of Chicago, suspected of rigging the 1960 Presidential Election. Bonhomme Richard was the name of John Paul Jones' flagship in the War of 1812.

Answer: The attempted assassination of Harry Truman

It was November 1, 1950. Due to renovations at the White House, President Truman resided at Blair House, since then used for housing foreign dignitaries. Collazo and Torresola, Puerto Rican nationalists, frustrated by the recent failure of a revolution on the island, hoped to start an American revolution by killing Truman, which would, they thought, allow Puerto Rico to gain independence.

They might have succeeded had not a mortally wounded guard, Leslie Coffelt, killed Torresola before succumbing himself. Two other guards were seriously wounded. Collazo was wounded, captured, and sentenced to death. Truman commuted the sentence to life in prison, and Collazo was eventually released when President Jimmy Carter pardoned him.

Answer: Speedy O. Long

Speedy tried twice, but he never could win the senate race. He received only five percent of the vote in the 1971 Democratic primary, and one percent in the 1987 open primary. He was a four term congressman, initially gaining his seat by defeating his incumbent cousin, Gillis, in the primary. Huey, a former governor, was shot to death by Dr. Carl Weiss during his first senate term. Rose, Huey's wife, served out the remainder of that term.

Their son, Russell, served eight terms in the senate. Another member of the dynasty, Earl K. Long, brother of Huey, served three times as governor. Speedy was the nephew of Huey and Earl, and cousin of Russell.

Answer: Of Plymouth Plantation

Of Plymouth Plantation was completed by William Bradford, governor of the colony, in 1646. It tells the story of their departure, Mayflower voyage, and founding of the colony. It contained the oldest known copy of the Mayflower Compact. The manuscript disappeared, and was found over two hundred years later in England, finally being published in 1856. "Crisis Papers" was Thomas Paine's collective essays from 1776 to 1783, including the line, "these are the times that try men's souls." The "Notes on Virginia" was produced by Thomas Jefferson in 1785, encompassing the history, geography, economy and social institutions of Virginia. Richard Dana made an account of his sea voyages in 1840, entitled "Two Years before the Mast".