Senator Ted Kennedy - "The Lion of the Senate" Quiz

Answer: He was expelled, and readmitted two years later

Ted had always preferred sports to studying. Football was his game, and he joined the Harvard freshman team, playing with fierce competitiveness, a Kennedy family requirement. In 1951, concerned that poor grades might affect his football eligibility, he had a friend take a Spanish exam in his place. Both young men were caught and expelled, but were told readmission would be possible if they stayed out of trouble. Ted joined the Army, served two years, and went on to graduate from Harvard.

Answer: He was too young

A U.S. senator must be at least 30 years old at swearing-in time. Ted wasn't eligible to fill the vacancy until February 22, 1962, his thirtieth birthday. The Massachusetts Governor designated Kennedy family friend Benjamin Smith to finish out JFK's term, and hold the seat for Ted. In 1962, a special election was held, which Ted won. He was elected to a full six-year term in 1964.

Answer: No

The Ted-Joan marriage was troubled almost from the beginning, and after years of tabloid headlines and speculation, they finally divorced in 1982. Joan was a tragic figure, a reserved young woman who had seemingly had trouble fitting in with the rowdy Kennedy clan. She struggled with alcoholism for many years.

Answer: Their plane crashed in bad weather

Ted Kennedy's back was broken, and he barely survived. Indiana Senator Birch Bayh, a passenger on the plane, pulled Kennedy from the wreckage. Ted was in the hospital for several months, and never completely recovered from his back injury. Poignant photos were published of Ted with his brother Robert at his bedside. In addition to the loss of his brothers John and Robert by assassin's bullet, Ted's eldest brother Joe Jr and his sister Kathleen were killed in separate plane crashes in Europe during World War II.

His nephew, John F Kennedy Jr, was also killed in a plane crash off Martha's Vineyard. His sister Rosemary, who was born mildly retarded, was the victim of a botched lobotomy. The heavy burden of high family expectations fell to Ted.

Answer: Hubert Humphrey

Vice President Humphrey was the eventual nominee, after a chaotic Democratic Convention which included brutal beatings of demonstrators by Chicago police. Humphrey entered the presidential race late, and didn't participate in any primaries. He received the support of labor unions and moderate groups who were troubled by the vociferous demonstrations of the anti-war left. Many people felt Humphrey had the nomination handed to him on a silver platter, especially after the hard-fought campaigns of Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy.

Upon seeing Ted directly after his brother Robert's death, family friend and Kennedy aide Frank Mankiewicz said, "I have never, ever, nor do I expect ever, to see a face more in grief." Ted Kennedy spoke the eulogy at Robert's funeral, which included these words:
"My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it." It was a devastating time for the country as well.

Answer: Chappaquiddick

Chappaquiddick Island is a small strip of land off the larger island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. It's reachable only by ferry.
On the night in question, and apparently confused, Kennedy drove off a small bridge, and his car fell into a channel. The car sank, but Kennedy was able to escape and swim to safety. Mary Jo Kopechne died in the car. Senator Kennedy left the scene of the accident and didn't call the police until the next day, after Kopechne's body was found. By that time it was too late to determine if the Senator had been intoxicated while driving.
Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and was given a suspended sentence of two months in jail. The Senator's actions were widely criticized, and have never been forgotten.
An inquest into the matter concluded that "negligent driving appeared to have contributed to the death of Mary Jo Kopechne" and that Senator Kennedy had been less than truthful about what happened that night.

Answer: Jimmy Carter

Senator Kennedy fought hard, but Chappaquiddick still clouded his image, and incumbent president Jimmy Carter was the nominee for the Democrats. Ronald Reagan won the 1980 election with 50.7 percent of the popular vote to Carter's 41 percent. Many people blamed the Iran hostage crisis for Carter's lack of popularity at the time of the election. Jimmy Carter has gone on to become one of the most active ex-presidents in U.S. history, both in diplomatic and humanitarian matters.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Answer: He met his second wife, Victoria

After his divorce, and after many years of scandalous behavior and tabloid headlines, Ted met and eventually married Victoria Reggie, a Washington attorney. She is credited with bringing stability to his personal life, and has been considered a great asset to his political career as well.

Answer: Health care

Although he was involved in all of those issues, Kennedy was a driving force behind the issue of comprehensive health care for all Americans. Many landmark laws have been enacted under his sponsorship, including the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act, and the creation of the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Answer: Brain tumor

Doctors announced that Kennedy had a cancerous brain tumor. When the Senator was told the tumor was inoperable, he searched for other options, and finally chose an aggressive approach of treatment. However, he passed away on August 25, 2009.
Kennedy was known as "The Lion of the Senate", having served in the Senate for many years, and having passed a great amount of beneficial legislation. At 47 years, he was one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history.