1960s All American Politics Trivia Quiz

Answer: Illinois

According to the book "Perfect Heros, Imperfect Villains" by Ronald Goldfarb, Joseph Kennedy forged connections with the Chicago "mob" and its "godfather" Sam Giancana, specifically, during Prohibition. He goes on to state that Kennedy leaned on Giancana's influence with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to perpetrate massive voter fraud in Cook County.

It is fact that at least three people were convicted of voter fraud in connection with the 1960 election, while more than 600 were acquitted by a judge crony of Mayor Daley's.

Answer: Did you kill today?

Lyndon Johnson's reputation may be undergoing a renaissance. His biographer, Robert Caro wrote in an op-ed piece after the 2008 Democratic Convention that his war policy was a tragedy, yet he felt trapped in Vietnam. "He couldn't win, but was afraid to lose, so he ran out the clock while it was still a draw ... we're all afraid to give him the credit for his great work on the civil rights issues of his day.

He did so at great political risk and without a strong consensus in his favor."

Answer: Dwight Eisenhower

President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960 on May 6, 1960. Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson (D-Texas) called off the filibuster, invoking the ire of many of his senatorial colleagues from the Deep South.

Answer: Huey Newton

Many feel the downfall of the Black Panther organization in the late 70s was due to the unrelenting undermining activities of the FBI that had been started by its megalomaniac director, J. Edgar Hoover.

Answer: The amateur photographer who filmed the assassination of President Kennedy

The images that have defined the Kennedy assasination in the minds of more than one generation were captured on what is now known as the "Zapruder film." Abraham Zapruder was a Dallas businessmen who unwittingly filmed the shooting of the President using a top-of-the-line Bell & Howell camera.

It is said (but not substantiated) that he was so traumatized by the event that he never filmed anything again.

Answer: Eugene McCarthy

It was only after McCarthy took on the sitting president (and the wrath of the Democratic party) that Kennedy and Humphrey declared their own candidacies. McGovern, also an anti-war advocate, was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1972.

Answer: The New York Times published the Pentagon Papers

The Pentagon Papers weren't published until 1971. The document was a multi-thousand page report given to the "Times" by military analyst Daniel Ellsburg which layed out the timeline of US planning and policy of the Vietnam War. President Nixon reportedly authorized a break-in of the offices of Ellsburg's psyciatrist in an attempt to discrdit the former CIA employee and thus defuse the information contained in the report.

Answer: George Wallace

Wallace later renounced his segregation stand and claimed to be a moderate. In his last term as governor in the mid-80s he appointed several African Americans to government positions.

Answer: Succession of President and Vice-President

Just six years after its passage, the 25th Amendment got a heavy work-out as it set the rules of how the successor to Spiro Agnew (Gerald Ford) would be chosen after his resignation, as well as the 1974 resignation of President Richard Nixon and the succession of then Vice-President Ford.

In 1985 President Reagan briefly turned over the reins of office to the vice-president (GHW Bush) to undergo a medical procedure, as did President George W. Bush in 2002 and 2007.

Answer: Shirley Chisholm

Chisholm (D-NY) was a founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus who was a member of Congress until 1983. Abzug was also a New York Congresswoman (1971-77). Braithwaite Burke and Jordan were Democratic Congresswomen from 1973-1979 representing California and Texas, respectively.