The Age of Treason Trivia Quiz

Answer: West Point

Arnold was a successful businessman who dealt in medicines and books. He became opposed to the British acts of taxation that harmed his business. Eventually this led to a military commission in the Continental Army. He held Commands at Fort Ticonderoga, Quebec City, Montreal, Lake Champlain, and Philadelphia. His request for West Point was honored but by this time he was discontented with being passed over for promotion and with others making claims on his successes. He conspired with Major Andre who was captured and the plot exposed.

However, the British thought Arnold might be a valuable person and awarded him 6000 pounds and a commission as a brigadier general in the British Army. From there he conducted various raids into Continental territory. When the war ended, he immigrated to England where he was welcomed by the British nobility but basically shunned by Whigs. He and his sons went into the land speculation business.

In context it is to be remembered that the Tories (Americans opposed to the Revolutionary War) were a vocal minority who felt strongly about British culture and traditions. Arnold was once court-martialled and acquitted of conspiring with Tories. At West Point Military Academy there are plaques commemorating heroes of the Revolutionary War. One plaque reads "Major General born 1740" and no name.

Answer: False

No one really knows what Caesar's last words were. Caesar had come to power by a combination of military prowess, cagey politics, and personal charisma. No soothsayer accosted him on his way to the forum but Trebonius or Brutus Albinus were sent to delay him. Casca struck the first blow but called on others to help him. Perhaps as many as sixty senators participated with twenty-three actual stab wounds. Anthony fled in panic. Neither Plutarch nor Eutropius report any *last words* although Eutropius reported being told that Caesar said "You too, child". Of the conspirators, Brutus had the most to gain as Caesar had made him next in line to power after his nephew, Octavian.

Shakespeare took poetic licence.

Answer: Judas

Judas Iscariot is biblically condemned as the betrayer of Jesus. Theologians have postulated that if Judas had not betrayed Jesus, the prophecy of the Messiah could not have been fulfilled. Theologian Hugh J. Schonfield in his book "The Passover Plot" postulates that Judas was part of the plot but it was planned that Jesus was to be taken down from the cross before his death.

Even more intriguing is the apopcryphal "Gospel of Barnabas", which claims that it was Judas, transformed to look like Jesus, who was crucified and that Jesus had already ascended to Heaven but returned to earth to make his presence known to the disciples and his family, and then ascended again to Heaven.

Answer: Rosenberg

The trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg has long been debated. First, the Cold War was a war of threats and not one of armed conflict. The Grand Jury's decision to indict the Rosenbergs was based on the testimony of persons also indicted who were seeking to avoid the death penalty. Not only was the hysteria created in part by Joe McCarthy and his reckless probing into alleged communist activities, the House Un-American Activities Committee activities, but also a heavy layer of anti-semitism.

The sharing of atomic energy secrets may have aided the Soviets to achieve parity with the United States but the extent is debatable. The prosecution tried to bully Julius Rosenberg into revealing the names of others by also indicting his wife Ethel, who was alleged to have typed up Julius' notes. Neither Julius nor Ethel relented and called the prosecution's bluff resulting in both of their deaths.

Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Einstein, Nelson Algren, Bertolt Brecht, Jean Cocteau, Dashiell Hammett, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Pablo Picasso all protested the death sentences. Pope Pius XII appealed directly to President Eisenhower to spare the couple, but Eisenhower refused.

The Rosenbergs were sent to Sing Sing Prison in New York as the federal system did not have an electric chair at the time. Julius died during the first try but Ethel had to be processed three times.

Answer: Pierre Laval

"Time" magazine lauded Laval for his efforts at international disarmament and his willingness to negotiate with other countries and thought his policies were a breath of fresh air in an era of derision. Laval was four times prime minister of his country and was known as the 'man with the white tie'.

In and out of French government several times, he began his political career as a communist but moderated his positions with the swinging tides of the times. During World War Two he and Marshal Petain collaborated with their Nazi conquerors and tried to maintain a semblance of French-run government.

However, after World War Two, both were tried for treason, and Laval was executed. He conspired to allow the Germans to exterminate Jews and betrayed French freedom fighters.

Answer: Harper's Ferry

Brown's plan was to attack Harper's Ferry and with that victory, county by county, plantation by plantation, slaves would be awakened by the promise of freedom, and join Brown in freeing the nation of the domination of slavery. Most abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, tried to discourage Brown from the plan. Hoping for a force of 4500, Brown settled for a ragtag group of 21 (16 white and 5 black--3 free blacks, 1 freed slave, and 1 fugitive slave).

Although the initial part of the raid was successful, they were subdued by a military force of marines lead by Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart. Justice was swift and Brown and most of his followers were hanged.

In modern terms Brown would be labeled a terrorist but he brought the issue into focus and the raid was a prelude to a bloody civil war in 1861.

Answer: Adolf Hitler

The event is known as the Beer Hall Putsch. Neither the police nor the army supported Hitler in this effort as he had hoped. He was eventually captured, tried and sent to prison at Landsberg. He spent his time dictating a book that he called "Four and a Half Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice" which was later shortened to "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle").

He was released after a mere nine months of his five-year sentence although prosecutors objected. The presiding judge at the trial said that in view of Hitler's "German outlook" there was no question of deporting him to Austria. "Mein Kampf" became a kind of Nazi "bible".

Answer: Vidkun Quisling

Vidkun Quisling was a Nazi opportunist in Norway. He paved the way for Nazi aggression in Norway by staging a Nazi backed coup d'etat and welcoming the Germans into Norway without a shot. He actively participated in the 'final solution'. In 1945 he was arrested and tried and was executed by firing squad in October 1945.

Answer: Lord Haw-Haw

The term Lord Haw-Haw was coined before Joyce began his broadcasts (referring generally to all propaganda broadcast emanating from Germany) but he brought the term into popular use. Other English voices would join him from time-to-time.

Joyce was captured while trying to gather firewood by British soldiers. They asked him for identification and when he reached in his pocket for his passport (fake), the soldiers believed he was reaching for a weapon and shot him in the buttocks. The wound was not fatal and he was turned over to British authorities. After a complicated trial, he was found guilty of treason and was hanged January 6, 1946. Though not actually a British subject, he had obtained a British passport on false pretences. He therefore implicitly claimed the protection of Britain while abroad and was legally bound to loyalty).

Joyce was unrepentant. His final words were:

"In death as in life, I defy the Jews who caused this last war, and I defy the power of darkness which they represent. I warn the British people against the crushing imperialism of the Soviet Union. May Britain be great once again and the hour of the greatest danger in the West may the standard be raised from the dust, crowned with the words - you have conquered nevertheless. I am proud to die for my ideals and I am sorry for the sons of Britain who have died without knowing why."

Answer: John Anthony Walker

Walker, as a Chief Warrant Officer in communications, had access to valuable data that the Soviet Union found useful. He was placed on a retainer estimated at about $1,000 a week. To keep his network working he enlisted friends and his family to help him, all of whom eventually paid for their indiscretions. What was his excuse? First, he needed the money; second, "KMart has better security than the Navy".