| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| At one point in this war, a force of 950 troops were sent westward, but gradually lost men due to a cholera outbreak, so only about 350 men were left when they disembarked their steamboat. An early loss for the winners in this war involved Major (+) Isaiah Stillman’s men retreating to Dixon’s Ferry. During this conflict, Henry Dodge led the Michigan Mounted Volunteers and William Durley was killed by a group of Ho-Chunks. This war began when the (*) “British Band” crossed the Mississippi River, and it featured a young Abraham Lincoln serving as a captain. It culminated in tribal losses at the Battles of Wisconsin Heights and Bad Axe. For the points, name this 1832 war in Illinois named for a leader of the Sauk people. | Black Hawk War |
| A 1953 Disney short claims this man’s accomplishments were partially the work of a mouse named Amos. In a television show, this man employs the youngsters Sarah, James, Henri, and Moses, and is voiced by (+) Walter Cronkite. Along with two future presidents, this man performs the song “The Egg” in a musical. This person is the namesake of a historian and treasure hunter played by Nicolas (*) Cage in the National Treasure film series and employs youthful apprentices in his shop on the cartoon show Liberty’s Kids. In the musical 1776, he says the turkey should be the national bird. For the points, name this founding father frequently depicted in popular culture as flying his kite in a lightning storm. | Benjamin Franklin |
| While working as a servant to the religious leader “Prophet Matthias,” this person was accused of killing evangelist Elijah Pierson. This person lived for over 25 years near Battle Creek, Michigan, and worked from there as a recruiter for the (+) Union Army during the Civil War. After converting to Methodism, this person changed her name, and she earlier won a historic 1828 court case granting her custody of her son. This person may be best known for speaking at the 1851 Ohio (*) Women’s Rights Convention, during which she said “I could work as much and eat as much as a man” before repeatedly asking a rhetorical question. The speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” was delivered by, for the points, what former slave? | Sojourner Truth [or Isabella “Belle” Baumfree] |
| This person referred to frequent target Carl Schurz as “the most adroit liar I ever knew.” This author personally sent every member of Congress a book documenting events like the (+) Conestoga Massacre. This writer’s best known fiction book features the title character, an orphan girl in southern California, marrying a sheep shearer named Alessandro, only for the couple to face abuse and (*) racism. This author was prompted to write that book after learning about her government’s misdeeds from talking to a man named Chief Standing Bear. For the points, name this author whose books Ramona and A Century of Dishonor describe the government’s mistreatment of American Indians. | Helen Hunt Jackson [or Helen Maria Fiske; or Helen Hunt] US History Bee 2018-2019 Playoff Round 2 - JV Finals, V Semifinals |
| Of this man’s children, one married James G. Blaine’s son, and one married John D. Rockefeller’s daughter. Edwin Stanton and Abraham Lincoln served as lawyers against this man when he sued a rival in 1855. This man faced off against (+) Obed Hussey and John Henry Manny in patent infringement cases involving a product that his slave, Jo Anderson, had helped him perfect on a Virginia plantation. In 1847 this man and his brother moved to Chicago to begin producing a product he had first patented in 1834, which was (*) pulled by horses and was largely bought by western farmers. For the points, name this founder of a namesake “Harvesting Machine Company,” who is frequently credited as the inventor of the mechanical reaper. | Cyrus Hall McCormick |
| The first word in the original name of this law, “Economic,” was changed during debate by Congressman Frank Buck. The Wisconsin reformer Edwin (+) Witte is sometimes called the “father” of this law, portions of which were ruled constitutional in 1937’s Steward Machine Co. v. Davis case. This law was described as “a teeny-weeny bit of socialism” by a senator talking to Frances Perkins. This law did not originally apply to such occupations as (*) government employees and agricultural laborers, and it first paid out a grand total of seventeen cents to Ernest Ackerman, a retiring Cleveland motorman. For the points, name this 1935 law that established an old age pension. | Social Security Act |
| A scandal involving documents supposedly about this politician led to the firing of Mary Mapes. Those documents, which featured Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Killian complaining about this man receiving preferential treatment, were later repudiated by (+) Dan Rather. This man founded PEPFAR, a five-year strategy for global emergency AIDS relief. This president controversially dismissed eight U.S. attorneys, which led to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigning. This man was mocked for giving a speech under a (*) banner reading “Mission Accomplished.” During a State of the Union address, this man denounced an “axis of evil.” For the points, name this president during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. | George Walker Bush [prompt on “Bush”] |
| A Supreme Court case involving this industry originated from a failed corporate takeover led by Edward Henry Harriman. It’s not steel, but this industry was the subject of a (+) J.P. Morgan-backed attempted merger led by James J. Hill. That merger in this industry was declared an illegal monopoly in a 1904 Supreme Court case named for Hill’s Northern Securities Company. Another case involving this industry was an 1886 decision that reversed the (*) Munn v. Illinois decision and directly led to the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission the following year. The Wabash Supreme Court case affected, for the points, what transportation industry? | railroads [or railways; or trains] US History Bee 2018-2019 Playoff Round 2 - JV Finals, V Semifinals |
| An early roadblock for this treaty’s negotiators was the fact that one side demanded a circular table, while the other wanted a rectangular one. Reportedly, a politician used Anna (+) Chennault as a secret channel of communication to a participant in this treaty. The final version of this treaty was immediately preceded by the attacks of Operation Linebacker II. Many historians believe that early attempts at negotiating this treaty were sabotaged by (*) Richard Nixon. The negotiating of this treaty led to a Nobel Peace Prize for Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, although it did nothing to stop the actual war. For the points, name this January 1973 peace treaty which ended formal U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. | Paris Peace Accords [or Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam; do not accept “Treaty of Paris”] |
| When this man joined the Supreme Court, his son had to resign as Solicitor General. This man wrote the majority opinion in the freedom of the press case Near v. Minnesota, but became more famous for conservative opinions like (+) Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, which struck down the NIRA. He and Owen Roberts were seen as the key swing votes in between the “Three Musketeers” and (*) “Four Horsemen” factions. In between this man’s two stints on the Supreme Court, he ran for president against Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and was Warren G. Harding’s Secretary of State. For the points, name this Chief Justice who succeeded William Howard Taft and served in that office for almost all of the 1930s. | Charles Evans Hughes |
| Early news reports about an incident at this institution speculated the perpetrator was acting after a romantic dispute with Emily Hilscher and also thought the perpetrator was inspired by the film Oldboy. The (+) Massengill Report criticized this institution’s response to an incident in which Holocaust survivor Liviu Librescu died. NBC News was criticized for airing the videotaped manifesto of a killer who targeted this institution. An event at this institution carried out by (*) Seung-Hui Cho led to President Bush strengthening the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. For the points, name this university, the site of a 2007 shooting that killed 32 people. | Virginia Tech [or Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University] |
| While serving in this country, General John P. Lucas was relieved of command for appearing too passive, although he was later defended by Harold Alexander. Operation (+) Shingle took place in this country, where General Mark Clark was rebuked for choosing to seize the capital rather than crush an army that ended up rejoining Field Marshal Albert Kesselring. Lady Astor supposedly popularized the sarcastic term “D-Day Dodgers” for soldiers fighting in this country. Operation (*) Husky was an amphibious invasion of an island belonging to this country. For the points, name this European country where, during World War II, American troops fought the Battle of Anzio and staged the invasion of Sicily. | Kingdom of Italy US History Bee 2018-2019 Playoff Round 2 - JV Finals, V Semifinals |
| This man is the subject of the Harry Markopolos book No One Would Listen, in which he claims to have first warned the government about this man in 1999. This man was based out of the 19th floor on the (+) Lipstick Building. His son, Mark, hung himself two years after this man told his family that they were living “just one big lie.” The Lappin Foundation was temporarily forced to close due to the actions of this man, who tended to target (*) Jewish charities. This man is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2009 to charges that he had defrauded clients out of almost 65 billion dollars. For the points, name this financier who ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history. | Bernard Lawrence “Bernie” Madoff |
| Former U.S. Army officer Edwin Walker was arrested for organizing a riot at this institution, which led to the Attorney General putting him in a mental institution. Jukebox repairman Ray (+) Gunter and French journalist Paul Guihard were shot execution-style at this institution. A man who became famous for his actions at this institution later was wounded in 1966 during his March Against Fear that started in Memphis. Robert F. Kennedy sent 500 U.S. (*) Marshals to this institution after negotiations with staunch segregationist Ross Barnett. For the points, name this Southern university where a 1962 riot started protesting the enrollment of African-American James Meredith. | University of Mississippi [or Ole Miss] |
| After leaving Boston, Benjamin Franklin’s brother, James, went to this city to publish almanacs using the alias “Poor Robin.” A colonial governor who lived in this city was named Benedict Arnold, an ancestor of the future traitor. In 1790, George Washington wrote a letter to a man in this city, saying the U.S. government (+) “gives to bigotry no sanction.” Businessmen in this city named Jacob Rodriguez Rivera and Aaron Lopez helped introduce the manufacture of sperm oil and candles to the colonies. Both men were (*) Portuguese Jews, and the Touro Synagogue they attended in this city is the oldest synagogue in the U.S. For the points, name this city on Aquidneck Island that was replaced by Providence as the capital of Rhode Island. | Newport |
| The only Republican in the House or Senate not to vote for this law was Wisconsin’s Steve Gunderson. The author of this law, Bob Barr, apologized for it while speaking at the 2008 Libertarian National Convention. Section Three of this law was struck down in the 2010 case United States v. (+) Windsor. Bill Clinton defended signing this law as a way to head off conservative pressure for a constitutional amendment, an idea challenged by representatives of groups like (*) Lambda Legal. Other provisions of this 1996 law were struck down in Obergefell v. Hodges. For the points, name this now-defunct law defining a certain institution as between “one man and one woman.” | Defense of Marriage Act [or DOMA] US History Bee 2018-2019 Playoff Round 2 - JV Finals, V Semifinals |
| While working in this city, John Alexander Kennedy was attacked and suffered over 70 knife wounds but still survived. University of Glasgow graduate James McCune Smith’s pharmacy was destroyed in this city, which was where Henry Jarvis Raymond manned a (+) Gatling gun to protect his newspaper. In 1861, its mayor, Fernando Wood, threatened to declare its independence and receive support from the southern states. Violence in this city involving groups like the Blood Tubs and Plug Uglies resulted in the burning of the Colored Orphan Asylum and the lynching of African-Americans, who were blamed for the (*) Conscription Act. For the points, name this city where July 1863 riots violently protested the Civil War-era draft. | New York City [or NYC] |
| The appointment of a member of this family to a captain’s position in the Air Corps prompted the derisive slogan “I Want to Be a Captain, Too!” That member of this family was accused of corruption for urging the Army to purchase (+) Howard Hughes’ experimental D-2 plane, and also wrote a tell-all book about his father’s affair with Lucy Mercer. This family’s members included soldiers James and Elliott, the sons of a woman who wrote the column “My Day” and was the first chair of the (*) UN Commission on Human Rights. That matriarch of this family resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution to protest the treatment of black singer Marian Anderson. For the points, name this family of First Lady Eleanor. | Roosevelt family |
| A series of murders in this state known as the “Reign of Terror” and widely believed to be the work of William Hale were documented in the recent book Killers of the Flower Moon. About 10,000 people were left homeless in this state after the community of (+) Greenwood was devastated. A black shoeshiner in this state was accused of assaulting a white elevator operator, leading to an attack on a black community in which planes dropped explosives. In the 1920s, a series of murders against (*) Osage Indians took place in this state, which is where the fictional Joad family migrates from in John Steinbeck’s Dust Bowl novel The Grapes of Wrath. For the points, name this state where the 1921 Tulsa race riot took place. | Oklahoma |
| Despite being from the same party, this man feuded with a fellow newspaper editor known as “Peter Porcupine” after the latter advocated allying with Britain. Scholars believe a work by this man is what Emily (+) Dickinson called her “only companion.” This founder of the newspaper American Minerva was a key lobbyist for the passage of the Copyright Act of 1831. This man enjoyed success writing educational books like the (*) “Blue-Backed Speller.” The rights to this man’s most famous work were later purchased after his death by George and Charles Merriam. For the points, name this man who compiled and published An American Dictionary of the English Language. | Noah Webster Jr. US History Bee 2018-2019 Playoff Round 2 - JV Finals, V Semifinals |
| A 2007 panel led by former Secretary of State James Baker blasted this company’s weak safety culture. It’s not a car company, but attorney Kenneth Feinberg administered a 20 billion dollar fund this company established called the (+) GCCF, which sought to compensate those it wronged. After a 2005 incident, OSHA imposed the largest fine in its history on this company, which had 15 of its workers die during an explosion in (*) Texas City. This company was assessed a record-setting 4.525 billion dollar fine, the largest criminal resolution in U.S. history, after a 2010 incident in the Gulf of Mexico. The Deepwater Horizon accident resulted in massive fines levied against, for the points, what oil company? | B.P. p.l.c. [or British Petroleum] |
| In 1919, the Pulitzer-winning author William Sims blasted the perceived deficiencies of this institution. A consulting board that provided advice to this institution was headed by Thomas (+) Edison in 1916. A controversial head of this institution was former newspaper editor Josephus Daniels, who slowed building and declined to send observers to Europe. Franklin D. Roosevelt served as the assistant secretary of this American institution, which was heavily influenced by the writings of (*) Alfred Thayer Mahan. In the early 1900s, Teddy Roosevelt sent a “Great White” portion of it on a worldwide tour. For the points, name this military institution which dispatched the Great White Fleet. | United States Navy [prompt on “United States military”] |
| The performer in this work joined CIA director Michael Hayden to appear in an anti-Donald Trump commercial in the 2016 election. Jack Valenti claimed this work was intended to only be used once in an attempt to seem “gallant.” Near the end of this work, a speaker seems to quote (+) W.H. Auden by saying “We must either love each other, or we must die.” At one point in this work, the camera zooms in on the pupil of a person’s right eye, as a countdown can be heard in the background. This work is the most well-known of a series of pieces attacking the temperament of (*) Barry Goldwater. For the points, name this 1964 political ad for Lyndon Johnson, in which a young girl picking flowers appears to be consumed by a nuclear explosion. | Daisy advertisement [or Daisy Girl; or Peace, Little Girl] |
| This man married wealthy widow Eliza Jumel who later divorced him after discovering he was blowing her money on land speculation. In preparation for one event, this man storied supplies at (+) Blennerhassett Island but was betrayed by possible Spanish double agent James Wilkinson. In an 1807 trial presided over by John Marshall, this man’s lawyers were allowed to subpoena (*) Thomas Jefferson, whom this man had earlier served as Vice President. For the points, name this politician who was tried for treason after allegedly trying to seize land in Louisiana. | Aaron Burr Jr. US History Bee 2018-2019 Playoff Round 2 - JV Finals, V Semifinals |
| While owned by James Freeman Clarke, this location became an army training post called Camp Andrew during the Civil War. People at this place published a newspaper called The (+) Harbinger and ate at a farmhouse called “The Hive.” An 1846 fire destroyed the never finished “Phalanstery” building that residents of this place began constructing after accepting Charles Fourier’s principles. A book based on this place features (*) Zenobia, a character possibly inspired by Margaret Fuller. That book, The Blithedale Romance, fictionalized Nathaniel Hawthorne’s experiences living at this place. For the points, name this utopian community founded by George Ripley in Massachusetts. | Brook Farm [or Brook Farm Institute of Agriculture and Education or Brook Farm Association for Industry and Education] |
| This man sued Pete McCloskey after the latter claimed this man mostly served as a “liquor officer” in the Korean War, a desk job obtained for him by his senator father. This man’s 1991 book The (+) New World Order was accused of being anti-Semitic. He placed his son in charge of the CBN during his 1988 bid for the Republican presidential nomination. In 2010, former Liberian president Charles Taylor testified that this man was his chief political ally in America. This man’s charity, (*) Operation Blessing, has been linked to illegal diamond mining operations. Jerry Falwell and this man blamed the 9/11 attacks on the ACLU. For the points, name this Southern Baptist minister and longtime host of The 700 Club. | Marion Gordon “Pat” Robertson |
| In this state, police officers were attacked in an incident jokingly called “The Battle of Bulls Run.” Harry Bennett’s security force brutally attacked Richard (+) Frankensteen in this state while the latter was posing for a photo. During a labor dispute in this state, Governor Frank Murphy refused to order the National Guard to suppress strikers. The Battle of the Overpass in this state took place in 1937 at a company’s (*) River Rouge Plant complex, which was owned by the author of a racist text called The International Jew. In 1937, a sit-down strike in this state helped put the United Auto Workers on the map. For the points, name this state where the Ford Motor Company was founded. | Michigan |
| A member of this group who served as its “bard” was the poet Thomas Rowley. After supposedly becoming angry at being tasked with guarding wheat, future congressman Matthew (+) Lyon joined this group. Its leader and several members were captured after a bungled attack at Longue-Pointe in modern-day Quebec. The leader of this group once demanded the enemy surrender “in the name of the (*) Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!” and was assisted by two of his cousins, Remember Baker and Seth Warner. Henry Knox transported cannons to Boston after Benedict Arnold and this group captured Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. Ethan Allen led, for the points, what colorfully named Vermont militia? | Green Mountain Boys US History Bee 2018-2019 Playoff Round 2 - JV Finals, V Semifinals |
| A leader of this country sent a letter to George W. Bush saying “we are at a crossroads” and that “a time comes when...nations part.” The only presidential veto override of the Obama presidency was the 2016 (+) JASTA, which effectively allowed Americans to sue this country. The first deceased person to be counted among Time magazine’s Persons of the Year was from this foreign country. Donald Trump wrote that “the world is a very dangerous place” in a 2018 statement claiming this country agreed to (*) invest 450 billion dollars in the U.S. The majority of the 9/11 hijackers hailed from this country. For the points, name this Middle Eastern country which ordered the killing of reporter Jamal Khashoggi. | Kingdom of Saudi Arabia |
| Two answers required. One of these men, while campaigning against the other, wrote the “Alabama Letter,” reversing his views to gain support from slave owners. During the campaign between these men, the incumbent president briefly revived (+) Thomas Jefferson’s “Democratic-Republican Party” to run as a third party candidate. These two men squared off in the only presidential election featuring two former Speakers of the House. James G. Birney and the abolitionist (*) Liberty Party sapped votes from one of these men, who lost votes to the other for “waffling” on the issue of Texas annexation. For the points, name these two men, one a Whig leader who lost to the other, a “dark horse” known as “Young Hickory,” in the election of 1844. | Henry Clay and James Knox Polk [both answers required] |
| A Garry Wills biography of this man is titled for this man’s last name followed by the word “Agonistes.” A book about this man included a controversial scene in which, while sobbing, he asks an adviser to kneel and pray with him, before getting on the floor and beating the carpet with his fist. This author of the memoir (+) Six Crises was president when Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote the book The Imperial Presidency. The book The (*) Final Days is set during this man’s presidency and is by two Washington Post reporters. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein wrote the book All the President’s Men about the Watergate scandal during, for the points, what man’s presidency? | Richard Milhous Nixon |
| Of the first 16 gubernatorial terms in this colony, 15 of them were between John Haynes and Edward Hopkins replacing each other. Much important business in this colony was carried out at Jeremy Adams’ inn and tavern. John (+) Fiske claimed this colony’s founder was the “father of American democracy,” as he founded it partially out of protest that his original colony only let “freemen” vote. According to legend, Edmund Andros was foiled when this colony’s (*) royal charter was hidden in a large oak tree. Some historians have argued the first written constitution was this colony’s “Fundamental Orders.” For the points, what colony officially began when Thomas Hooker founded a settlement at Hartford? | Connecticut Colony [or Connecticut River Colony] US History Bee 2018-2019 Playoff Round 2 - JV Finals, V Semifinals |
| A man who went to prison for violating this law was the author of The Prospect Before Us, James T. Callender. The only person elected to Congress while in jail was a Vermont congressman who had violated this law. That man who broke this law earlier brawled in Congress with (+) Roger Griswold and was named Matthew Lyon. Many observers believed this law was meant to shut down Benjamin Franklin Bache’s Philadelphia Aurora newspaper. Thomas Jefferson (*) pardoned all American citizens still serving prison sentences because of this law. For the points, name this 1787 law that criminalized making false statements critical of the government and which is frequently paired with the Alien Acts. | Sedition Act [prompt on “Alien and Sedition Acts”] |