Q 01/05

The political terms 'left' and 'right' come from where members sat in which body?

A) The French National Assembly of 1789

B) The Roman Senate under Augustus

C) The English Long Parliament of 1642

D) The US Continental Congress of 1776

Answer · why

A) The French National Assembly of 1789

In the French National Assembly of 1789, supporters of the king sat to the president's right and revolutionaries to his left, a seating split that nam...

Q 02/05

Which animal did the Boston Gazette liken Elbridge Gerry's twisted 1812 district to?

A) A lizard

B) A snake

C) A dragon

D) A salamander

Answer · why

D) A salamander

The Boston Gazette likened a contorted district drawn to help Elbridge Gerry's party to a salamander, coining 'Gerry-mander' in 1812; Gerry lost the g...

Q 03/05

Which senator filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours 18 minutes?

A) Huey Long

B) Robert Byrd

C) Strom Thurmond

D) Rand Paul

Answer · why

C) Strom Thurmond

Strom Thurmond spoke for 24 hours 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the longest solo filibuster in Senate history at the time, reading ...

Q 04/05

The Watergate scandal began with a 1972 break-in at the headquarters of which organisation?

A) The Democratic National Committee

B) The Washington Post newsroom

C) The CIA's Langley headquarters

D) The Republican National Committee

Answer · why

A) The Democratic National Committee

Five burglars were caught inside the Democratic National Committee's offices at the Watergate complex in June 1972, and were soon linked to Nixon's re...

Q 05/05

Which US president is the only one to have resigned from office?

A) Andrew Johnson

B) Richard Nixon

C) Warren Harding

D) Bill Clinton

Answer · why

B) Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon resigned on 9 August 1974 rather than face near-certain impeachment over the Watergate cover-up; no other US president has resigned.