Q 01/05

Which president used his 1796 Farewell Address to warn Americans about the dangers of political parties?

A) John Adams

B) George Washington

C) James Madison

D) John Quincy Adams

Answer · why

B) George Washington

George Washington issued the address as a newspaper letter, not a speech, and warned that party rivalry could end in the absolute power of one man.

Q 02/05

Which animal became the Democratic Party's mascot after opponents used it to mock an 1828 candidate?

A) Donkey

B) Goat

C) Raccoon

D) Turkey

Answer · why

A) Donkey

The donkey started as ridicule: enemies of the party's candidate called him a jackass, and decades later newspaper cartoons turned the animal into a l...

Q 03/05

What nickname did Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party earn during his 1912 run for president?

A) Rough Rider

B) Big Stick

C) Bull Moose

D) Trust Buster

Answer · why

C) Bull Moose

The Bull Moose name came from Roosevelt's boast that he felt as strong as one. He won 88 electoral votes, eleven times the sitting president's total.

Q 04/05

What practice of drawing oddly shaped districts to favor one party is named after an 1812 Massachusetts governor?

A) Logrolling

B) Filibustering

C) Pork-barreling

D) Gerrymandering

Answer · why

D) Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering blends Governor Elbridge Gerry's name with salamander, the creature one of his contorted Boston-area districts was said to resemble.

Q 05/05

What title, borrowed from British hunting, goes to the party official who keeps lawmakers voting together?

A) Whip

B) Beater

C) Marshal

D) Herald

Answer · why

A) Whip

Whip comes from the whipper-in, the hunt assistant who keeps hounds from straying from the pack; lawmakers were being called that by 1772.