The Tragedy of the Cult at Jonestown Quiz

Answer: 918

All information was gathered at http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/ -a very informative website designed to humanize this terrible event with pictures, recordings and discussion. "There were 918 people who died in Guyana on November 18. The death toll at Jonestown was 909, with two confirmed gunshot deaths and the balance dying by cyanide poisoning. Five people - including Congressman Leo Ryan, three members of the media who accompanied his party, and one Jonestown defector - were shot to death at the Port Kaituma airstrip. Finally, four Temple members died at the group's Georgetown house when a mother herded her children into an upstairs bathroom, slit their throats, and then took her own life with the knife." -an excerpt from the aforementioned website.

Answer: Guyana

Brazil, Suriname, and Venezuela all border Guyana.

Answer: Jim Jones

James Warren Jones born 5/13/1931 founded and led the People's Temple to Jonestown and then to their deaths. Stephen Jones, Jim Jones' biological son with his legal wife, a teen at the time, survived because he was participating in a basketball tournament in Georgetown at the time of the massacre.
Kimo Prokes, born 31 January 1975, was Jim Jones' son with Carolyn Layton, died the day of the tragedy at the age of 3.

John Stoen born 25 January 1972 was Jim Jones' son by Grace Stoen, who was married at the time to Timothy Stoen. Timothy was originally proud that his wife gave birth to Jim Jones' son, but later defected, as did his wife separately, both leaving little John with Jones and the cult. Later still, the separated couple united to regain custody of the child and the legal battle that ensued may have helped spark the events that occurred November 18, 1978. John Victor Stoen died in Jonestown at the age of 6.

Answer: The People's Temple

While they certainly considered themselves united, those of Jonestown called their church The People's Temple at the time of the tragedy.
Unrelated, many Branch Davidian's died in a fire after a siege on their cult's compound in 1993 outside of Waco, Texas.
Members of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Movement, which occured at about the same time as Jonestown, were frequently referred to as Moonies.

Answer: cyanide

Cyanide kills by inhibiting hemoglobin from passing oxygen to the body's cells, thus asphyxiating the victim though they still try to breathe. They added it to Fla-vor-aid and gave it to their children first.

Answer: November 18, 1978

November 18, 1978 was surely a very sad day for many relatives of the cult members.
I was born 2 months later on January 18, 1979.

Answer: Leo Ryan

A henchman of Jones, who claimed was acting without orders, murdered California Congressman Leo Ryan as he tried to assist defectors. Ryan had previously been denied access to the compound but came anyway.

Answer: Christine Miller

Christine Miller was known in the community to frequently have a dissenting opinion, and may have been chosen by Jones as the 'representative' opposition because he knew that people were less likely to ally with her because of that. Though she did argue, eventually she gave in and died with her commune.
Marceline Jones was Jim Jones legal wife, and is not heard on the tape, but it is noted that she had to be restrained while the children were poisoned, and only when all 294 children were doomed to die did she willingly take the poison herself.
Rondell Carroll, born 6 August 1971, was 7 years old at the time and too young to effectively protest, as were his 3 younger brothers and 2 infant cousins that also perished.

Answer: All of these reasons

The members of the People's Temple that followed Jones to Jonestown did so to escape racism, embrace communism, and raise their children in what they hoped would be a utopian environment. Jones introduced the idea that they would sacrifice themselves to protect this ideal long before they migrated to Guyana.

It is known that the people of Jonestown actually rehearsed the event several times in the years leading up to the tragedy. They called them "White Nights" and at least some of the time did not know that it was a rehearsal till after they had drunk the supposed poison. Jones told them he was testing their loyalty. There are claims that some of the people did not go willingly; this is evident by the observation that some of the dead may have had what appeared to be injection marks.

It should also be noted that it is estimated that more than 100 people escaped to the surrounding jungle when the call to assemble, shortly after Congressman Ryan's departure with the defectors, was announced.

But however easier to comprehend it may make it for us to believe that most of those that died were murdered by a small minority, the recording of the event shows that a great many believed in Jim Jones and were willing to follow him to their graves for the cause.

Answer: False

Jim Jones died of a gunshot wound to the head. It is unknown whether he shot himself or had someone else shoot him. The only other suicide by gunshot in the actual compound was Annie Moore, 24, a nurse who may have been the last one to die.