Question of the Week

Each week I will ask a question relating to history, government, politics or current events. You can e-mail me the answer to get extra credit. Try your luck at guessing the answers to this week's question. Answers will be posted after I have given the answer in class.

Go to this week's answer

Week of August 17 - 24

Eight presidents are descended from passengers on the Mayflower. Name them.

John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, James Garfield, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush

Week of August 24 - 31

President Obama is only the third president to have been elected directly from the Senate. Name the other two. And there has been only one president elected directly from the House of Representatives. Name him.

Presidents Warren G. Harding and John F. Kennedy were the other two senators elected directly to the White House. James Garfield was elected directly from the House of Representatives.

Week of August 31 - September 7

Having served for 46 years, 9 months, and 19 days, Senator Edward Kennedy was the third longest serving senator in history. Name the six other senators who have served for more than 40 years.

Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Carl Hayden of Arizona, John Stennis of Mississippi, and Ted Stevens of Alaska.

Week of September 7 - 14

This week the Supreme Court, in a rare September session, will hear what could turn out to be a landmark case on campaign finance regulation. What is the name of the case and what is the name of the movie at the foundation of the case?

Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission

Hillary: The Movie

Week of September 14 - 21

In his first annual message to Congress and the shortest State of the Union, what state did George Washington welcome into the Union?

North Carolina

Week of September 21 - 28

Which North Carolinian who signed the Constitution was later expelled from the United States Senate? This answer may be of interest to Raleigh Charter students because of his connection to a RCHS landmark.

William Blount after whom Blount Street is named

Week of September 28 - October 5

Name this grandson of a famous American. The grandson, like his illustrious grandfather, was a newspaper editor. In his newspaper The Aurora, he viciously attacked the Federalists, particularly George Washington and the Jay Treaty. He was arrested under the Sedition Act but died before the trial.

Benjamin Franklin Bache, Benjamin Franklin's grandson, was the editor of the Aurora.

Week of October 5 - 12

The Supreme Court opens this week, so it's time for a question on the Court. President Obama recently appointed Sonia Sotomayor to the Court. There is only one president who served at least a full four-year term and didn't get the opportunity to make any Supreme Court nominations. This is not including presidents who died before they could serve for four years. Name this president.

Jimmy Carter

Week of October 12 - 19

With the news of President Obama's being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, it is time to look back at other American winners of the Peace Prize. While many of the stories have mentioned the three other American presidents who have been awarded the prize, there have been other American political leaders who were Peace Prize recipients. Name the five American Secretaries of State who have been awarded the prize.

Elihu Root (1912), Frank Kellogg (1929), Cordell Hull (1945), George Marshall (1945), and Henry Kissinger (1973)

Week of October 19 - 26

In honor of both Columbus Day from last week and the opening of the State Fair, identify this event which commemorated the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the New World. Westinghouse illuminated the fair with electricity thus demonstrating the superiority of alternating current. It was also notable for the first Ferris Wheel, and the introduction of Cracker Jack, Juicy Fruit and Wrigley's Spearmint gum, as well as a host of other products. It was also the setting of one of America's first serial murders as well as the assassination of the city's mayor.

The 1893 World's Fair, also known as the Columbian Exhibition

Week of October 26 - November 2

The Secret Service traditionally assigns code names to United States presidents and their families. Who had these nicknames:

Deacon Jimmy Carter

Lace Jacqueline Kennedy

Rawhide Ronald Reagan

Starlight Pat Nixon

Week of November 2 - 9

Since 1840, three former presidents have run unsuccessfully for the presidency as third-party candidates. Name those

1) three presidents

2) the years they ran as third-party candidates

3) the names of the parties whose tickets they ran on.

1. Martin Van Buren in 1848 for the Free Soil Party

2. Millard Fillmore in 1856 for the Know-Nothing or American Party

3. Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 for the Progressive or Bull Moose Party

Week of November 9 - 16

Of the 55 men who attended the Constitutional Convention, several returned home before the Constitution was finished. Of those remaining, three men present refused to sign. Name those three men. Two were from Virginia and one was from Massachusetts.

Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts and George Mason and Edmund Randolph of Virginia

Week of November 16 - 23

Although Rudy Giuliani's quest to become president was a dismal failure, three other former mayors have become president. Name these three former mayors who became president. One was mayor of Greeneville, TN, one of Northampton, MA, and the third was mayor of Buffalo, NY.

Andrew Johnson was mayor of Greeneville, TN

Calvin Coolidge was mayor of Northampton MA

Grover Cleveland was mayor of Buffalo, NY

Week of November 23 - 30

The Constitution specifies two methods of proposing an amendment and two methods of ratifying an amendment. We have only used the method of an amendment being proposed and approved by 2/3 of both houses of Congress. There is only one amendment that was ratified by state conventions instead of by the state legislatures. Which one was it?