President John Adams and His Times Trivia Game | World

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. John Adams was born in Braintree, Norfolk County, Massachusetts in 1735. As Norfolk County developed, the Adams home in Old Braintree was incorporated into a different town in 1792. Which is the name of the modern "City of Presidents"?

Answer: Quincy

The town of Quincy was named after Colonel John Quincy, maternal grandfather of Abigail nee Smith Adams. The sixth US President, John Quincy Adams, was born in Braintree in 1767 and named after his great-grandfather.

The town of Brookline, to the north of Quincy, is the birthplace of the 35th President John F. Kennedy.

The town of Milton, adjoining Quincy to the west, is the birthplace of the 41st President George H. W. Bush.

Norfolk County, Massachusetts is the birthplace of 4 US Presidents.

2. Which of the following documents, written by John Adams, is often cited as a formative influence in the development of both federal and state United States constitutions?

Answer: "Thoughts on Government"

Thomas Paine wrote "Common Sense" in 1776.

Adam Smith wrote "The Wealth of Nations" in 1776.

John Adams wrote "Discourses on Davila". The newspaper Gazette of the United States published a series of essays from Discourses in 1790. The essays gave Adams' thoughts concerning the French Revolution and its implication for the United States.

Adams wrote "Thoughts on Government" in 1776 as a pamphlet.

Many of the colonies had asked Adams to provide counsel to them as they developed structures for their individual governments. His response was the pamphlet "Thoughts on Government" - whose contents are often cited in the development of early state constitutions and are evident in the US federal Constitution.

3. From 1778 until 1788 Adams served as a diplomatic envoy of the United States to several international posts. To which country was Adams not appointed as a US envoy?

Answer: Spain

The Continental Congress appointed Adams as representative of the United States in various posts from 1778-1788:

Envoy to France (1778-1785); Envoy to The Netherlands (1780-1783); Ambassador to Great Britain (1785-1788).

While in the Netherlands, Adams purchased a building at Fluwelen Burgwal 18 in The Hague on April 19, 1782. On that same day, The Netherlands recognized the United States as an independent nation and Adams displayed the US flag on his building in celebration. The building is said to have been the first US Embassy in the world.

4. As Vice-President, Adams cast an unequaled 29 tie-breaking votes as President of the Senate. Which of the following policies was not affected by an Adams tie-breaker?

Answer: The salaries of United States congressmen

In July, 1789 the vote of Adams denied congress the right to remove presidential appointees from office.

In September, 1789 the vote of Adams decided in favor of the location of the new capitol at the District of Columbia (and against location along the Susquehannah River in Pennsylvania).

In April, 1794 the vote of Adams defeated a proposal to embargo trade with Great Britain.

5. Even though Adams was re-elected Vice-President in 1792, there was technically no official Vice-President for the first 9 months of Washington's second term.

Answer: True

Washington took his oath of office on March 4, 1793 at Philadelphia.

However, Adams waited until the Senate of the 3rd Congress met in session on December 2, 1793 in Philadelphia to take his oath of office.

Technically, the United States had no Vice-President for the first 9 months of Washington's second term.

6. John Adams was a reluctant member of which political party?

Answer: Federalist Party

Adams called the establishment of political parties "the greatest political evil under our Constitution."

7. Although no states entered the union, the US extended its jurisdiction to two territories during the Adams administration. Which two territories were added?

Answer: Indiana and Mississippi Territories

Mississippi (1798) from territory ceded to the US from Spain in the 1795 Treat of Madrid; Indiana (1800) from the old Northwest Territory.

Michigan Territory (1805) and Minnesota Territory (1849).

Dakota Territory (1861) - including North and South Dakota.

Territory of Hawaii (1900) and Territory of Alaska (1912).

8. An iconic decision of John Adams was the appointment of John Marshall as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1801. Marshall's tenure from 1801-1835 is the longest in US history. Of the more than 1,000 constitutional court decisions issued during his tenure, how many times did John Marshall vote in the "minority" of judges dissenting from the Court's opinion?

Answer: 1 time

John Marshall originated the judicial standard of issuing a single statement of the Court's opinion on behalf of the majority of justices (individual justices could also issue "concurring" or "dissenting" opinions).

Only once in his 34-year tenure did John Marshall disagree with the majority: - in the case of Ogden v. Saunders in 1827.

9. From 1794-1800, six sea-faring frigates were constructed to form the initial fleet of US Navy vessels. Only 1 of these vessels survives today in Boston harbor. Which ship "still lives?"

Answer: USS Constitution

USS United States launched as the 1st vessel of the fleet in 10 May 1797.

USS Constellation launched as the 2nd vessel of the fleet 7 September 1797.

USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) launched as the 3rd vessel of the fleet 20 September 1797 and was twice rescued from destruction by the American public (1835 and 1905).

The poem "Old Ironsides" written in 1830 by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. was instrumental in saving the ship from dismantling.

10. "May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof." These words were written by Adams to his wife Abigail after his arrival at the new Executive Mansion (today's White House) in November, 1800. In which room of today's White House are these words now engraved on the fireplace mantle?

Answer: The State Dining Room.

In 1944 President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the words carved into the fireplace mantle of the State Dining Room.

Source: Author socalmiguel

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

President John Adams and His Times Quiz

"Always an honest man; often a great one, but sometimes absolutely mad."...........Thomas Jefferson in a letter July 29, 1789 to James Madison paraphrasing Benjamin Franklin's opinion of Adams.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>