| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| The ships Shokaku [[shoh-KAH-koo]] and Zuikaku [[zwee-KAH-koo]] missed this battle due to losses in the Battle of the Coral Sea a month earlier. Tamon Yamaguchi [[tah- MOHN yah-mah-GOO-chee]] was killed during this battle when his ship was scuttled following attacks by aircraft from the Enterprise. One side in this battle lost the carrier Yorktown but, under Chester Nimitz, managed to sink four Japanese carriers. For ten points, name this 1942 naval battle near a namesake atoll, a decisive American victory in the Pacific. | Battle of Midway |
| Some of this country's merchants were swept off their route to Ningbo by a storm, landing in one of the Osumi Islands. An admiral from this country survived the shipwreck of the Flower of the Sea, but lost treasure obtained from the conquest of Malacca. Matchlock guns were introduced to Japan by this country, whose general Afonso de Albuquerque served as the first Duke of Goa. Caravels were developed by, for ten points, what country which was home to Vasco da Gama? | Kingdom of Portugal (accept Reino de Portugal; accept República Portuguesa; accept Portuguese Republic) |
| This man became the first sitting holder of his position to knowingly and openly break the law due to visiting an island belonging to Aga Khan IV. Though not Ralph Northam, this man admitted that he sang “Day-O” while wearing blackface. The SNC-Lavalin affair during this man's administration was investigated by the Mounties and extensively covered by The Globe and Mail. For ten points, name this leader of the Liberal Party, elected prime minister of Canada in 2015. | Justin Trudeau |
| One victory for this man prompted him to exclaim “I’m the big buck of this lick.” This man defeated Jack Armstrong of the Clary’s Grove Boys, who allegedly bullied settlers by rolling them down a hill in a locked barrel. Hank Thompson was the only person to ever throw this man, whom he fought while a soldier in the Black Hawk War. This inductee into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame was noted for his large, six-foot, four-inch frame. For ten points, name this backcountry wrestler and sixteenth U.S. president. | Abraham Lincoln |
| During the 1920s, this country printed posters reading “men for the land” and “women for the home” as part of its “men, money, and markets” campaign. In 1924, voting was made mandatory in this country, in which Walter Burley Griffin won a competition to design the capital. A set of 1907 protests against restrictive bathing suits was held in this country. An Avro 504 biplane was the first aircraft of the Qantas [[KWON-tas]] airline of, for ten points, what country, which hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney? | Commonwealth of Australia |
| The ship La Belle intended to reach this river, though it sank at Matagorda Bay. That attempt to build a colony at this river's mouth resulted in a mutiny and the death of the Sieur [[SYUHR]] de La Salle. The first Europeans to map this river were Louis Jolliet [[zhol- YEH]] and Jacques Marquette, though its first documented crossing by a European was by Hernando de Soto. France founded New Orleans on, for ten points, what river? | Mississippi River |
| On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, this man was portrayed by Christopher B. Duncan. In one internet appearance, this man’s rival says that he is a “stuttering communist" before Abraham Lincoln appears. In a sketch from Key and Peele, Luther serves as this man’s “Anger Translator.” In an Epic Rap Battle of History, this man claims that a rival’s victory would result in a “first, second, and a third lady.” For ten points, name this president, who appeared frequently in popular media during his 2012 campaign against Mitt Romney. | Barack Obama |
| This religious order was highlighted when Athanasius Kircher [[ATH-uh-NAY-shuss KER-shuh]] transcribed the exploits of Johann Grueber, the first European to travel to Tibet. This religious order’s 1767 expulsion from Spain occurred when the Count of Campomanes [[kahm-poh-MAH-nehs]] convinced Phillip III that they instigated the Esquilache [[eh-skee- LAH-cheh]] Riots. Pope Francis was the first person of this order to ascend to the papacy. For ten points, name this Catholic holy order founded by Ignatius of Loyola. | Society of Jesus (accept Jesuit (s) Order; accept Societas Iesu; prompt on "SJ") |
| The Knapp Commission divided this organization's members into "meat eaters" and "grass eaters" following the shooting of Frank Serpico. This organization, which was responsible for the death of Amadou Diallo [[AH-meh-doo dee-AH-loh]], made use of the CompStat program under Commissioner Bill Bratton. A member of this organization, Daniel Pantaleo, used an illegal chokehold that resulted in the death of Eric Garner. For ten points, name this law enforcement agency, based out of Lower Manhattan. | New York City Police Department (accept NYPD; or City of New York Police Department) |
| Intense fighting in this battle took place at Mamayev Kurgan and Railway Station Number One. During this battle, the Romanian and Hungarian flanks supporting the 6th Army Division were targeted by Georgy Zhukov [[ZHOO-kuff]] during Operation Uranus. Leading to the surrender of Friedrich Paulus, this battle reversed the loser's gains made during Operation Barbarossa. For ten points, name this battle, the bloodiest of World War Two, in which the Soviets pushed back the German advance. | Battle of Stalingrad |
| In one work, this man criticizes an opponent’s religious unorthodoxy by claiming “What everybody believes, he alone by his vain reason laughs at.” That work by this man, which was dedicated to Leo X and inspired by the Ninety-Five Theses, prompted a reply from Martin Luther. Thomas Wolsey was shown an unpublished draft of this man’s Defense of the Seven Sacraments, which may have been ghostwritten by the author of Utopia, Thomas More. For ten points, name this “Defender of the Faith," a Tudor king with six wives. | Henry VIII of England |
| Leo X, the Pope who conferred the title "Defender of the Faith" upon Henry VIII, was born into this wealthy family of Florentine bankers. | House of Medici (accept de Medici) |
| An organization founded in this city used the motto "Africa for the Africans, at home and abroad!" and was founded by a Jamaican immigrant. The aforementioned UNIA was founded by Marcus Garvey in this city where one figure gave a speech claiming to “have plowed and reaped and husked” and that she could “eat as much as any man.” That speech was given at this city’s Women’s Rights Convention by Sojourner Truth. The “Ain’t I a Woman” speech was given in, for ten points, what northern Ohio city, the center of a 1936 rubber strike? | Akron |
| A court case named for Akron struck down as unconstitutional several provisions in an Ohio state law regarding this reproductive health procedure. A framework for restricting this procedure was outlined in the decision Planned Parenthood v. Casey. | Abortion (accept descriptive answers involving ending a pregnancy) |
| A party named for this material was led by Governors John Jones and Reinhold Sadler in Nevada. Regulation of this material was eliminated in JFK's Executive Order 11110. William Hope Harvey created a pamphlet called "Coin's Financial School" to support the "Free [this material] Movement." The Carson City Mint primarily minted coins made from this material rather than from gold. For ten points, name this metal, the coinage of which was supported by miners and farmers. | Silver (accept Ag; accept Silver Party; accept Free Silver) |
| Nevada experienced an 1859 silver rush around this major deposit near Reno, which was named for a Canadian miner who sold his interest in the site and never profited from it. | Comstock Lode (accept Henry Comstock) |
| One of these items that was brought to Canton aboard the Empress of China became known as its “Flower” variety. Robert Heft originally received a grade of "B minus" for his design of one of these items, many of which were depicted in the paintings of Jasper Johns. An upholsterer legendarily convinced George Washington to adopt a five-pointed design on one of these objects. That supposed designer of the first of these objects was Betsy Ross. For ten points, name these thirteen-striped, red, white, and blue objects. | Flags of the United States (accept USA or America in place of "United States") |
| The U.S. flag with 50 stars was ordered by this president after the inclusion of Hawai'i into the Union. | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Ravi Batra wrote a 2004 book about this man, who was a member of "The Collective," a group of Objectivists who were given early access to Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. Following Black Monday, this man claimed that his organization was “ready to serve as a source of liquidity.” The Federal funds rate was set at one percent during the tenure of this supporter of privatized Social Security. For ten points, name this longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve, serving from 1987 to 2006. | Alan Greenspan |
| Alan Greenspan considers himself a lifelong Republican of this philosophical persuasion. This political philosophy's official American party nominated Ron Paul for president in 1988 and Gary Johnson in 2012 and 2016. | Libertarianism (accept Libertarian Party; accept Libertarians) |
| This country originated from the kingdom of Lan Xang [[LAHN-SHAHNG]], and had its capital at Luang Prabang [[LWAHNG PAH-BAHNG]]. The Kingdom of Champasak [[KAHM-PAH-SAHK]] was part of this country before it became a French protectorate. This country became independent under Sisavang Vong, and it was ruled by the Communist Party in a regime called the Pathet [this country]. For ten points, name this landlocked country in Southeast Asia which formed part of French Indochina with Cambodia and Vietnam. | Laos (or the Lao People's Democratic Republic) |
| The Pathet Lao took part in the Indochina War to knock France out of Southeast Asia. Following this decisive 1954 battle, a conference was held in Switzerland to partition the French colonies. | Battle of Dien Bien Phu |
| In this country, an anti-Nazi pamphlet that originally read “crush the Fascist vermin” was used extensively under the title Vozhd. A defensive stronghold in this country was given the designation “Hero Fortress” for its valiant defense of Brest. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this country's capital became the administrative capital of the Commonwealth of Independent States. For ten points, name this country in which Alexander Lukashenko was elected president in 1994. | Republic of Belarus (prompt on "White Russia" or "White Ruthenia") |
| Belarus was historically known as White Russia, distinguishing it from "Great Russia," which equates with modern-day Russia, as well as "Little Russia" which corresponds to this country south of Belarus. | Ukraine (or Ukraina) |
| This man signed a Recovery Tax Act to deal with the fallout from the Savings and Loan Crisis. This man somehow obtained his opponent's briefings with the help of James Baker in an event dubbed "Debategate." This man's Attorney General, Edwin Meese, resigned over the Wedtech bribery scandal, and his Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger, was pardoned for an attempt to siphon money from an Iran arms deal to Nicaraguan Contras. For ten points, name this Republican president who governed for most of the 1980s. | Ronald Reagan |
| This staff member of the National Security Council during the Iran-Contra affair took the fall for the scandal, though all charges were dismissed in 1991. He has since become a regular on Fox News and served as head of the NRA. | Colonel Oliver North |
| Industry with several companies, including General Motors, headquartered in the Detroit metropolitan area. | Automobiles (accept Cars) |
| Activist commemorated in Detroit by bus seats reserved with black ribbons. | Rosa Parks |
| Record label which produced the likes of Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson. | Motown Records |
| Structures named Ambassador, Gordie Howe, and MacArthur. | Bridges |
| War in which the Siege of Detroit occurred. | War of 1812 (accept the Second War of Independence) |
| Civil rights activist also known as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. | Malcolm X (accept Malcolm Little; prompt on "Malcolm") |
| "Brown Bomber" who was heavyweight champion for twelve years. | Joe Louis |
| 1763 rebellion named for an Odawa war chief. | Pontiac's War (accept Pontiac's Rebellion; accept Pontiac's Conspiracy) |
| Nazi leader who had all of the leading German Communists arrested in the early 1930s. | Adolf Hitler |
| Region of southern Germany in which Kurt Eisner established a Bolshevik state centered on Munich. | Free State of Bavaria (or Freistaat Bayern) |
| East German General Secretary who was arrested for being a Communist community organizer in the 1930s. | Erich Honecker |
| Female Marxist co-founder of the German Communist Party. | Rosa Luxemburg |
| Revolt which ended with the execution of the KPD's leaders, including Karl Liebknecht. | Spartacist Uprising (accept January Uprising; accept Spartakusaufstand; accept Januaraufstand; accept synonyms for "Uprising") |
| Unit of demobilized veterans, named for Prussian dragoons, which put down Communist revolts. | Freikorps |
| German chancellor who restored order to Prussia after clashes between Communists and the SA. | Franz Von Papen |
| Dutch Communist who was blamed for starting the Reichstag Fire. | Marinus van der Lubbe |
| Country that funds and controls Mossad. | State of Israel (or Medinat Yisra'el) |
| City containing Mossad's headquarters. | Tel Aviv-Yafo |
| Palestinian president Mossad tried to poison in 1976. | Yasser Arafat (Abu Ammar) |
| Nazi SS officer and Holocaust organizer, kidnapped by Mossad from Argentina and executed in 1962. | Adolf Eichmann |
| Prime minister who recommended Mossad's founding in 1949. | David Ben-Gurion |
| Secret police trained by the CIA and Mossad for Shah Pahlavi. | SAVAK |
| Norwegian "affair" in which Mossad killed waiter Ahmed Bouchikhi. | Lillehammer affair |
| Soviet Jews to whom Mossad delivered banned religious items. | Refuseniks (or Otkazniks) |
| One ruler of what is now this country destroyed the forces of the Hadiya people under Amano. A still unbroken stele [[STEE-lee]] dedicated to Ezana is located in this modern country, which is home to rock-cut religious buildings at (*) Lalibela. A book listing kings from a kingdom once found in this modern country, known as the Kebra Nagast, is written in the Ge’ez [[GAI-ehz]] language. The Kingdom of (*) Aksum was an early adopter of Christianity and was located in what is now this country. For ten points, name this Amharic-speaking, East African country. | Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia |
| One advocate for this cause was influenced by Robert King and Michael Henry Pascal and worked with Charles Irving to develop a seawater distilling process. The Zong Massacre helped advance this cause, as did (*) Granville Sharp's work in creating the St. George's Bay Company. Lord Mansfield advanced this cause with legal precedent in the Somerset case. Advocates for this cause included (*) Olaudah Equiano, as well as Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce. For ten points, name this cause which opposed owning other people. | British Abolitionism (accept Abolitionist (s); prompt on answers indicating the "end of the slave trade") |
| While working with the Santa Fe Institute, this author published The Kekulé [[KAY-kuh-lay]] Problem, which explores the human subconscious and the origin of language. In 1965, Albert Erskine discovered this author and facilitated the publication of his first novel, (*) The Orchard Keeper. In 1981, this author was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship, enabling him to move to the Southwest and conduct research for his novel (*) Blood Meridian. For ten points, name this author, whose novel The Road was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize. | Cormac McCarthy |
| This law was opposed by the man who wrote the essay "Why Am I a Heathen?" The Scott Act expanded upon this law, leaving over twenty thousand people stranded. This law extended the (+) Page Act of 1875 and followed the Angell Treaty. In 1892, Thomas Geary added to this law by removing the right to be a witness and adding a (*) residency permit requirement. A reaction to the "Yellow Peril," for ten points, what was this 1882 law which restricted immigration to the U.S. from a certain Asian country? | Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 |
| This artist, previously a mailman, began his career as a central figure in the Chicago folk revival of the late 1960s. A posthumously released work by this musician, who died in 2020, provided the soundtrack to the COVID-19 memorial video at the (*) Democratic National Convention. One of this man's songs, about a Vietnam veteran who dies of a drug overdose, was ranked in Rolling Stone as one of the (*) saddest songs of all time. For ten points, name this singer-songwriter who penned oft-covered hits such as "Paradise" and "Angel from Montgomery." | John Prine |
| This man asked listeners to focus on "the road on which we reached our position... the national habits out of which it sprang." One of this man's speeches inspired the phrase "equal justice under the law." This man urged that (+) "the reputations of many brave men" should "not be imperiled." This man, who had a relationship with Aspasia of Miletus, eliminated Kimon from political contention using ostracism. According to Thucydides, this leader gave a (*) funeral oration for those who died during the Peloponnesian War. For ten points, name this Athenian statesman during its golden age. | Pericles |
| In 1990, Jim Bolger ordered a capital injection into this country's eponymous bank to avoid insolvency, the beginning of this country's "Ruthanasia." Robert (+) Muldoon's Think Big policies attempted to make this country energy self-sufficient. "Rogernomics" led to financial deregulation in this country, exacerbating the effects of (*) Black Tuesday. For ten points, name this country whose economy relies heavily on international trade with China, Canada, and Australia. | New Zealand (accept Aotearoa) |
| This man criticized "Urselines [[UR-seh-leens]], Capuchines [[KAP-oo- cheens]], Benedictines" as well as "lazy nuns and friars" in his pamphlet Truth Exalted, which criticized organized religions. After being imprisoned in the Tower of London, this man clarified that he did not deny the (*) Trinity in a tract apologizing for his work, The Sandy Foundation Shaken. After working out a deal with Charles II, this man became the largest, non-royal, private (*) landholder in the world. For ten points, name this early member of the Quaker faith who established a namesake colony. | William Penn |
| Confusingly, this archipelago has two different inlets named for the Spanish ship San Carlos, which visited in 1768. This archipelago's plains region is located on the Lafonia Peninsula, named for a British-born, (+) Uruguayan merchant, which was the site of the Battle of Goose Green. A failed invasion of this archipelago resulted in the collapse of Leopoldo (*) Galtieri's government, despite initially capturing Stanley. For ten points, name this South American archipelago, the subject of a 1982 war between the United Kingdom and Argentina. | Falkland Islands (accept the Falklands; accept Islas Malvinas; accept Falklands War) |
| This 16th century French apothecary became a popular astrologer among wealthy European patrons but is best-known today for his prophetic quatrains collected in his work, Les Prophéties [[leh-proh-feh-TEE]]. | Michel de Nostradame (or Nostradamus) |