US History Trivia: Which of these men never ran for President?

Countless elected officials in American history have, at some point or another, taken a stab at running for President of the United States.  The highest office in the land is also the most difficult to achieve, and at point it does seem like most every prominent American elected official publicly thinks about running at some point or another.  But, of these four prominent American politicians, one of them never actually ran for President.  So, off of Pocket Trivia: US History - Which of these four men never ran for President?  Dick Cheney, Strom Thurmond, Bill Bradley or George Wallace?

US Presidents Trivia: Who is the only President to never be elected Vice President or President?

Nine times in our nations history, the Vice President of the United States became the President following the death or resignation of the sitting President.  In either of the circumstances where this occured, the Vice President had been elected along side the President in the most recent election.  However, in one of those circumstances, that wasn't the case.  So, off of our Pocket Trivia: US Presidents game:  Who is the only President to never be elected Vice President or President?   Was it Nelson Rockefeller, Millard Filmore, Gerald Ford or Lyndon Johnson?

US History Trivia: Which state has a non-partisan, unicameral legislature?

With a new Congress officially taking office today, I thought it was only appropriate to have a legislative-oriented question.  Of course, all fifty U.S. States have legislative branches.  They all vary significantly in size, professionalism, rules and make-up, but at least 49 of them have one thing in common: each has an upper and a lower house.  One state, however, has a unicameral and non-partisan legislature.  So, from our Pocket Trivia: US History game: Which state has a non-partisan, unicameral legislature?  Is it Oklahoma, Washington, Nebraska or Kansas?  Answer after the jump:

What is the 4th most populated city in the U.S.?

As you may have caught within the past few weeks, the U.S. Census recently released its estimates of what areas of the U.S. have seen the largest population growth.  Of course, this included city size estimates.  So, from Pocket Trivia: US History:  What is the 4th most populated city in the U.S.?  Is it Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia or Chicago?  The answer after the jump:

What is the worst natural disaster, in terms of lives lost, to occur on U.S. soil?

Few things capture the hearts and minds of Americans more than disasters - and in a YouTube age where pictures and cameras are ubiquitous, this tendency has only grown.  The history of America is certainly replete with natural disasters, so its only fair that we included at least one question on the powerful subject.  This question comes off of our Pocket Trivia: US History game - What is the worst natural disaster, in terms of lives lost, to occur on U.S. soil?  Is it Hurricane Katrina, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, the Okeechobee Hurricane or the 1900 Galveston Hurricane?

Believe it or not, it is not Hurricane Katrina - a confirmed 1,836 people died as a direct or indirect result of Katrina, but it is not the "leader" in terms of all-time deaths. 

Not the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 - over 3,000 people died there, however, and it is the worst natural disaster in California history.

The Okeechobee Hurricane of 1928 killed 300 people and was the 2nd Category Five hurricane to ever be recorded - but it is not the worst in terms of death toll.

No, that "honor" belongs to the 1900 Galveston Hurricane.  This hurricane killed between 6,000 - 12,000 and utterly destroyed the city of Galveston.  The city was close to sea level and was hits with winds of over 100 mph (though that estimate is likely low, as the weather bureau's low as the weather bureau's measurement tools were blown away in the storm).  Thankfully, this record has stood for over 100 years.  Here's to hoping it won't be broken!

What papers, published by the New York times, revealed the systematic deception of the American people in regards to the Vietnam War?

Given all of the recent controversy over Wikileaks, I can think of few questions that would be more appropriate than this one right here.  This one comes off of our Pocket Trivia: U.S. History game: What papers, published by the New York times, revealed the systematic deception of the American people in regards to the Vietnam War?  Was it The Kissinger Compilation, The Defense Report, The Pentagon Papers or The Dreyfuss Report?

The correct answer would be The Pentagon Papers.  The Papers, published by the New York Times, was actually a Defense Department study of U.S. involvement in Vietnam from 1945-1967.  The study was put together by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.  It was leaked by Daniel Ellsberg, who had once worked on the report, to the New York Times.  It showed that four Presidential administrations had actually lied to the American public about the war and had expanded the war greater than was previously known, among other accusations.

The Nixon administration sued to stop the publication of the Pentagon Papers, fearing that its publication would set a bad precedent for future National Security leaks (sound fimiliar?).  The Nixon Administration obtained an injunction to stop the Papers publication, but the decision was overturned 6-3 in a U.S. Supreme Court decision, allowing the publication of the Papers to continue.

Others in the Nixon administration would later admit that the report was a classic example of "overclassification" and that there was never a threat to national security, so the parallel to Wikileaks is unclear - but nonetheless, certainly makes you think, doesn't it?

Which of these countries has the United States never declared war on?

Ahh, foreign policy.  War, trade, tariffs, sanction, mental evaluations of foreign leaders health...wait, what?  Let's just move on.  We don't deal with foreign policy much in either of our games, but this is one of those questions that does, and it's on a big subject: war.  So, from our Pocket Trivia: US History game:  Which of these countries has the United States never declared war on?  Britain, France, Spain or Hungary?  


This one isn't too hard if you know your foreign history.

The U.S. declared war on Britain in 1812 during the appropriately named War of 1812.  I didn't count the revolutionary war since that wasn't necessarily the "United States" declaring war (at least as the United States exists today), but the War of 1812 was the first time that the United States ever actually declared war.

The U.S. declared war on Spain in 1898 during the Spanish-American war.  The war lasted a mere four months and saw the U.S. bushwhacking the Spanish and annexing Puerto Rico, the Philippians and Guam.

The U.S. declared war on Hungary during World War II.  The U.S. actually made three separate declarations of war during World War II - on December 8, 1941, the U.S. declared war on Japan, then followed up three days later by declaring war on Nazi Germany.  A third and final declaration of war was issued on June 5, 1942, against Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.  That is the last time that the U.S. has declared war on anyone.

That leaves France - yes, despite the advent of Freedom Fries, the U.S. has never declared war on France - in fact, were it not for their assistance during the Revolutionary War, the U.S. may not be a country to this day.

Above: An Undeclared War?

What is the only part of the constitution that cannot be amended?

This one is a fascinating one.  The Constitution, as we all know, is an amendable document - every part of it can be amended - except one.  There is one part of the Constitution - and only one part - that its authors felt was so important that it could never be changed.  So, from our Pocket Trivia: US History Game: What is the only part of the Constitution that cannot be amended?  The ability of the federal government to print money, the repeal of prohibition, freedom of speech or each state having equal representation in the Senate?

The correct answer to this one is the provision requiring that every state in the United States have equal representation in the Senate.  This provision is found in Article Five of the Constitution.  The exact text is as follows:

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

There you have it.  States can, if they chose, allow themselves to be deprived of their Senate seat, but no state can have their Senate seat removed without their consent.  It is interesting that this is the only section of the Constitution that is written as such.

Who was Bob Dole's running mate in 1996?

I'm watching football as I type this question, so this seems like a good one.  Not sure what I mean?  Then you may not get the answer right.  The question, off Pocket Trivia: U.S. History, is as follows: Who was Bob Dole's running mate in 1996?  Was it Dan Quayle, Lamar Alexander, Jack Kemp or Pat Buchanan?

Not Lamar Alexander.  Alexander ran for the Republican nomination in 1996 and 2000 - he had previously served as U.S. Secretary of Education  and Governor of Tennessee.  Alexander never won the nomination, but was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, then reelected in 2008, where he still serves.

No, not Quayle.  The former Vice President, perhaps best known for his infamous quotes and spelling ability, (potatoe, anyone?), was V.P. from 1988-1992, but did not run with Dole in 1996.

It wasn't Pat Buchanan either.  The conservative activist ran for President in 1992 (he actually scored a stunningly high 38% in the New Hampshire primary against incumbent President George H. W. Bush) and 1996 (this time winning New Hampshire against Bob Dole), but did not run on a ticket with Dole.

The correct answer is Jack Kemp.  The one-time Bills Quaterback and seven-time all-star made a transition to politics in 1970, when he was elected to Congress from New York.  Kemp ran unsuccessfully for President in 1988, ultimately losing to George H.W. Bush, but he was appointed as Secretary for Housing & Urban Development in the Bush Administration.  Kemp was picked to run with Bob Dole as his V.P. nominee in 1996, an election that they ultimately lost.  Kemp retired from politics after the unsuccessful run.  Kemp died of cancer in 2009.

We are done until Thanksgiving is over - so, Happy Thanksgiving, and we'll see you on Monday!

Who was the second man to walk on the moon?

Ahh the moon.  Made of pure swiss cheese and populated completely by gnomes.  When the Soviets aren't invading it.

Wait, what?

Above:  Not really under Soviet control...we think.

Well, not that the goofy stuff is out of the way, let's get on with the question of the day, this one off of our U.S. History game.   Who was the 2nd man to walk on the moon?  Neil Armstrong, Gus Grissom, Pete Conrad or Buzz Aldrin?


Not Neil Armstrong:  He was the first man to walk on the moon.  Interestingly enough, Armstrong actually botched his preplanned quote when he first stepped on the moon.  What he said was, "One strong step for man, one giant leap for mankind."  What he meant to say was, "One strong step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."  He walked on the moon.  We'll forgive him.

It wasn't Gus Grissom: One of the original Mercury astronauts, Grissom was the 2nd man to fly in space and the 1st to fly in space twice - Grissom, however, was tragically killed when the Apollo 1 caught fire during a routine test.

It wasn't Pete Conrad either, though that's close - Conrad was the third man to walk on the moon.  

The correct answer is Buzz Aldrin.  This was apparently due to the physical positioning of Aldrin in the spacecraft, as well as NASA's desire to have the first man on the moon be a civilian.

What Speaker of the House-designate had to step down after he admitted having an extra-marital affair?

This one comes to us courtesy of U.S. History Trivia.  It's one of those fun, scandal ones too.

What Speaker of the House-designate had to step down after he admitted having an extra-marital affair?  Was it Newt Gingrich, Roy Blunt, Dennis Hastert or Robert Livingston?

Correct Answer:  Robert Livingston

Some of these guys were just plain boring.  Roy Blunt was never Speaker of the House - don't worry though, it worked out for him, he was elected to the United States Senate last week.  Dennis Hastert was Speaker of the House from 1999-2007 - he only left office when the Republican Party was booted from power after the 2006 elections.  Hastert resigned in November 2007.

Newt Gingrich isn't boring, but he wasn't booted by a sex scandal either.  After leading the Republican Revolution if 1994, Gingrich served as Speaker from 1994 - 1998 and had many high profile controversies with President Clinton.  After the Republican Party took a beating in the 1998 elections, Gingrich stepped aside as Speaker, yielding eventually to Hastert.

Ahh, and here is where Mr. Livingston comes in.  After the 1998 elections, Livingston rounded up supported was was nominated as Speaker by the Republicans without opposition.  However, during this time period, Hustler Magazine (yes, that Hustler) discovered evidence of an extra-marital affair that Livingston had.  This was at the height of the Clinton impeachment trials, during which Clinton had admitted he had an affair with Monica Lewinsky.  Subsequently, Livingston announced his resignation, not only as Speaker but from Congress.  

How many Vice Presidents have resigned?

This question appears on our U.S. History Trivia game.  Here's the question:  How many Vice Presidents have resigned?  0, 1, 2, or 4?


Alright, so we're asking the question here, and this would be a pretty lame blog entry if the answer was 0.  Anyway, the correct answer is 2.  Who were they, and where'd they go?

Well, the first V.P. to resign was John Calhoun.  Calhoun was a hero of the south: Congressman, Secretary of War and two-time Vice President.  It was in his 2nd go-round as VP that Calhoun resigned.  A crisis developed between Calhoun and the President, Andrew Jackson.  In response to the Tariff of 1828 (the Tariff of Abominations), Calhoun believed that any state could impose nullification, a doctrine which held that a state could nullify a law it believed was unconstitutional.  Jackson opposed the doctrine.  This disagreement ultimately lead to Calhoun resigning as Vice President.  He was immediately appointed as Senator from South Carolina, where he became a states-rights leader.  The conclusion came to a head with the adoption of the Compromise Tariff of 1833 - however, the crisis ended Calhoun's national ambitions.

V.P. #2 to resign was good old Spiro Agnew.  Agnew was selected to be Nixon's Vice President in 1968 and was a favorite of the "law and order" types of the country.  Formerly the Governor of Maryland and Baltimore County Executive, Agnew developed a large base of conservative supporters who appreciated Agnew's tough, controversial statements.  Agnew resigned in scandal in 1973 - but this scandal was unconnected to Watergate.  Instead, Agnew found himself in trouble after being accused of accepting $29,500 in bribes from his time as Governor.  He ultimately plead no contest to charges of tax evasion from unreported income (you know, that bribe money).

Sources:

• James Calhoun
• Spiro Agnew

How many Presidents met with Martin Luther King Jr.?

So, as promised, here is the first of a "look behind the question."  Our first question comes from our U.S. Presidential Trivia Game.  Here it is:  How many Presidents met with Martin Luther King Jr.?  0, 1, 2 or 3?


The correct answer would be three.

So, which three?  Dr. King met with President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958.  He did so with other black activists, including Roy Wilkins, A. Phillip Rudolph and Lester Grange.

In August of 1963, Johnson met with Kennedy and other civil rights leaders.

Last up, in 1966, Dr. King met with President Lyndon Johnson.  King had previously endorsed Johnson's bid for the Presidency.



















Sources:

• Timeline of Events in Martin Luther King Jr.'s Life
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Kennedy meets with King, other civil rights leaders

Great U.S. History Trivia Sites

Being a self-admitted trivia nerd, I went digging for other U.S. History Trivia Sites.

1.  Fun Trivia:   Best thing about this site?  The many, many quizzes.  Even better?  They are in tons of different categories.  There are 253 on the Civil War alone.  Wowzers.

2.  History.Com:  It doesn't get much better than a trivia quiz from the History Channel.  The one is one of the most technically appealing of all the sites I visited.  Alas, it isn't exclusively U.S. History.  But the site is so awesome I had to include it.

3.  Trivia Champ:  I like this one for its simplicity.  You just hold your mouse over the question mark and the answer pops up.  It's stripped down, and frankly, that isn't a bad thing!

4.  Patriotic Trivia Quiz:  Also stripped down, but this one has 110 questions, and they are good ones.

Random difficulty, but one of the problems that I had when designing Pocket Protector's two games were that I noticed that a lot of trivia questions repeated themselves.  The trick was not only to research new facts, but to craft questions in unique ways.

Until next time!