| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| This man’s staff doctored photos of Millard Tydings in a smear campaign. Joseph Welch attacked the “cruelty” of this man, who gave a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, where he claimed to hold a list of 205 names. He was censured by the Senate in 1954 shortly after he investigated the Army in unpopular hearings. For the point, name this Wisconsin Senator who aggressively investigated Communists during the 1950’s Red Scare. | Joseph “Joe” McCarthy |
| This man was saved from imminent doom by the death of empress Elizabeth, an event he called the “Miracle of the House of Brandenburg.” Count Kaunitz’s Diplomatic Revolution helped isolate this ruler, whose sole ally became Great Britain after France defected to the side of Maria Theresa. This ruler’s seizure of Silesia violated the Pragmatic Sanction and led to the War of Austrian Succession. For the point, name this “great” ruler of Prussia during the Seven Years War. | Frederick the Great (or Frederick II) |
| This man purged his defense minister at the Lushan Conference, which began his Anti-Rightist movement. His wife struggled for power after his death as part of the Gang of Four. This man called for the production of steel in backyard furnaces during the Great Leap Forward. Participants in the Cultural Revolution quoted this man from a “Little Red Book.” For the point, name this first chairman of the Communist Party of China. | Mao Zedong or Mao Tse-tung |
| This composer’s overture for a play about a rebellious Dutch nobleman was used as a theme song in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. This composer of Egmont wrote four separate overtures for his only opera. His final symphony opens with pianissimo fourths in imitation of the orchestra tuning and whose final movement is the anthem of the EU. For the point, name this composer ofFidelio who used a Friedrich Schiller poem in his Symphony no. 9, in which a chorus sings the “Ode to Joy.” | Ludwig van Beethoven |
| A work by this man begins “I, among the Quadi at Granua” and was written during a campaign in the Marcomannic Wars. With his co-ruler, Lucius Verus, this man was struck down by the Antonine Plague, bringing the era of the Five Good Emperors to an end. For the point, name this Roman emperor who was succeeded by his son Commodus and who discussed Stoic ideas in his Meditations. | Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus |
| The Gjoa [g’yoah] was the first ship to sail through this system, doing so over three years in the early 20th century. Jacques Cartier wrongly believed this system incorporated the St. Lawrence River. Though Roald Amundsen traversed it over a century ago, it wasn’t viable as a trade route until recently. The melting of Arctic ice has helped facilitate the use of, for the point, what long-sought route to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through open Canadian waters? | Northwest Passage |
| This ruler was nearly killed by Edward Oxford, who was deemed not guilty via insanity. This ruler, who lost a personal union with Hanover due to Salic law, was raised with the strict Kensington system and was the first to live in Balmoral Castle. In 1861, this ruler withdrew into deep mourning after the death of her husband, Prince Albert. For the point, name this “grandmother of Europe,” a 19th century Queen of the United Kingdom. | Queen Victoria |
| This poet gave the advice “Be more Irish than Harvard” and “Don’t be afraid of power” to John F. Kennedy at his inauguration, shortly after reading his poem “The Gift Outright.” Justin Trudeau, at his father Pierre’s funeral, referenced this poet’s line “kept his promises and earned his sleep,” from “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” For the point, name this American poet who wrote about how “two roads diverged in a yellow wood” in “The Road Not Taken.” | Robert (Lee) Frost |
| In this city, a troubled Minoru Yamasaki public housing project was demolished on live television in 1972. This city was home to the Pruitt-Igoe project, as well as Forest Park, which hosted the 1904 World’s Fair. This city is also home to the Jefferson Expansion National Memorial, best known for an inverted catenary steel structure designed by Eero Saarinen. For the point, name this Missouri city, the home of the Gateway Arch. | St. Louis |
| A medieval city of this name was likely built by the Shona people and is noted for soapstone bird carvings and a Grand Enclosure. A modern country with this name gained its independence when the Lancaster House Agreement was signed by Ian Smith. Under ZANU party rule, this country’s economy has suffered extreme inflation. For the point, name this successor state of Southern Rhodesia, an African country led from Harare. | Zimbabwe (accept Great Zimbabwe) |
| Prior to this battle, a force created by Operation Cockade targeted Norway while the First US Army Group, commanded by General Patton in Operation Fortitude South, targeted the Pas-de-Calais [pah deh ka-lay]. Specially-modified tanks called Hobart’s Funnies were used during this battle, which also made use of Mulberry harbors. For the point, name this battle over the Atlantic Wall in which the Allies under Dwight D. Eisenhower invaded five Nazi-held beaches in France on June 6, 1944. | D-Day (or Operation Overlord or Battle of Normandy) |
| This conflict began with the confiscation of the Duchy of Aquitaine. A proxy war during this conflict was the War of Breton Succession, and one side won a key naval victory at the Battle of Sluys [sloo-ees]. In this conflict, chevauch´ee [sheh-vo-shay] raids were often used by Edward the Black Prince, who won the 1356 Battle of Poitiers [pwa-tee-ay]. For the point, name this series of wars where English kings attempted to take the French crown over the course of more than a century. | Hundred Years’ War |
| This man became Secretary of State following the death of Abel Upshur in the Princeton disaster. His wife, Floride, organized Cabinet wives against Peggy Eaton in the Petticoat Affair during the Jackson presidency. In an “Exposition and Protest” named for his state, he claimed that states could nullify laws like the so-called “Tariff of Abominations.” For the point, name this Vice-President and longtime Senator from South Carolina who was noted for his staunch advocacy of slavery. | John Caldwell Calhoun |
| As these people rudely invaded one event, the quip “I hope we’ve passed the audition” was said by John Lennon; that occurred at a January 1969 concert on a rooftop, which these people stopped. Fictional examples of these people include James Japp and G. Lestrade, who are bumbling foils for Hercule Poirot [pwa-roh] and Sherlock Holmes, respectively. Jack the Ripper was notably not captured by, for the point, people of what occupation, held by the “Bobbies” of Scotland Yard, who crack down on crime in London? | (British/English)policeofficers (acceptequivalents;acceptBobbiesbeforementioned;accept Scotland Yard before mentioned; prompt on general answers like “English people”) |
| A sculpture found near Kai’s tomb in this country shows a scribe sitting in a cross-legged position. Elongated figures were emphasized in the Amarna period of this country’s art. Mastabas were used as an early funerary structure in this country, where Imhotep designed a later type of tomb found in Saqqara. A monumental sculpture in this country is thought to be the head of Khafre with a lion’s body. For the point, identify this country, home to the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids at Giza. | Egypt |
| In this country, the Wisconsin and Neerlandia treaties ended the Thousand Days War. The assassination of liberal presidential candidate Jorge Eli´ecer Gait´an in 1948 set off a 10 year period of violence in this country. Its current president, Juan Manuel Santos, has worked to establish peace with the guerilla group FARC. La Violencia occurred in this birth country of Nobel-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. For the point, name this South American country with capital at Bogota. | Republic of Colombia |
| This man moved his country towards agricultural sustainability with his Battle for Grain. This head of the Republic of Sal´o had to be rescued by Otto Skorzeny in the Gran Sasso raid. This man signed the Lateran Treaty with the Vatican, as well as the Pact of Steel. His Blackshirts assisted his rise to power during the March on Rome. Il Duce [eel doo-chay] was the nickname of, for the point, what fascist dictator of Italy? | Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (accept Il Duce before mention) |
| A governor during this period, James Alcorn, supported public schools and was an ally of Senator Hiram Revels. The Wade-Davis Bill was a proposed plan for this period that was pocket vetoed by the President. During this period, Senator Thaddeus Stevens and other Radical Republicans supported programs like the Freedmen’s Bureau. The South was rebuilt in, for the point, what historical period that followed the American Civil War? | Reconstruction |
| A figure from this country tried to access Disneyland Tokyo using a fake Dominican passport. A diplomat from this country said that the US made “an effective declaration of war” after its leader was placedonalistofsanctionedindividuals.Reportsthatthiscountry’sleaderhadadaughternamed“Ju-ae” emerged after Dennis Rodman returned from visiting this country. For the point, name this country that has been recently testing nuclear-missile submarines, a concern to its neighbors, China and South Korea. | North Korea (or Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) |
| In this empire, a system of schools called the House of Youths trained commoners in warfare. Guilds of traveling merchants called pochteca operated trade throughout this empire, whose capital city used chinampas, or floating gardens, as an extra food source. This empire, formally an alliance of three city states, was ruled by Montezuma II from Tenochtitlan. For the point, name this civilization conquered for Spain by Hernan Cortes. | Aztec Empire |
| One scientist with this last name developed a proportion comparing the magnetization of a paramagnet to applied magnetic field and temperature. Henri Becquerel shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with a couple with this last name; that prize was earned for their work on radiation. One scientist with this last name discovered radium and an element she named for her home country, polonium. For the point, give this last name shared by scientists Pierre and Marie. | Curie (accept Pierre and/or Marie Curie) |
| Thisempire’snavywastemporarilybasedwiththeFrenchinToulonafteranattackonNice[”niece”]. John Z´apolya contested the throne of Hungary with the support of this empire, whose domination of the Mediterranean ended at the Battle of Lepanto. This empire sieged Vienna twice and drew its janissary corps from Christian families in the Balkans. For the point, name this Muslim empire that conquered Constantinople. | Ottoman Empire |
| This event was halted when a guard noticed tape used to prevent a door from locking. A special prosecutor was fired to hinder the investigation into this event in the “Saturday Night Massacre,” in which Attorney General Elliot Richardson resigned. W. Mark Felt, codenamed “Deep Throat,” helped Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward expose this event for the Washington Post. For the point, name this scandal, begun when five men were caught attempting to break into DNC headquarters. | Watergate scandal (accept descriptions of the Watergate burglary and/or cover-up) |
| The Jesuit priest Prospero Intorcetta translated this thinker’s work into English. This man resigned after his boss was distracted by an opponent’s hundred fine horses and eighty dancing girls. The concepts of li and ren are central to this man’s philosophy, which was popularized after his death by disciples like Menzius and Yan Hui. The Chinese civil service system was based on the works of, for the point, what philosopher who authored the Analects? | Confucius (accept Kong Zi) |
| Large portions of this country’s economy are controlled by non-taxable bonyads, a system invented by a ruler who celebrated the monarchy’s 2,500th anniversary in 1971. This country was led by the freely-elected Mohammed Mossadegh and the Pahlavi dynasty during the 20th century, and it became an Islamic Republic in 1979. For the point, name this Middle Eastern country currently led by President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. | Islamic Republic of Iran |
| The first U.S. Minister to this country was the namesake of the poinsettia, Joel Poinsett. The essay Civil Disobedience described a refusal, on anti-slavery grounds, to pay taxes to support a war with this country. President James Polk advocated for the U.S. to invade this country in a war that was ended by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The U.S. obtained California following a war with, for the point, what neighboring country to its south? | Mexico (or United Mexican States) |
| This man oversaw supply shipments to Belgium as head of the U.S. Food Administration. This president lost an election to a man who used the song “Happy Days Are Here Again.” This President faced protesting World War I veterans in the Bonus Army and was mocked by unemployed citizens who lived in shantytowns named for him. For the point, name this president who served at the start of the Great Depression and was succeeded by Franklin Roosevelt. | Herbert Clark Hoover |
| This treaty’s negotiators included the “Heavenly Twins” and a world leader nicknamed “the Tiger.” The Dawes and Young plans tried to undo some of the damage caused by this treaty, which established Danzig as a free city but forced the Weimar Republic to pay ruinous reparations. Vittorio Orlando, Georges Clemenceau, David Lloyd George, and Woodrow Wilson debated, for the point, what problematic peace treaty that ended World War I for Germany? | Treaty of Versailles |
| To avoid censorship by this religious denomination, The True Christian Religion was written in Latin and published in Amsterdam by Emanuel Swedenborg, the son of a prominent bishop of this faith. This denomination’s belief in sola fide, or justification by faith alone, conflicted with Catholic teachings as determined at the Council of Trent. For the point, name this denomination of Protestant Christianity that follows the theology of a German reformer who posted the 95 Theses. | Lutheranism (accept word forms; prompt on Christianity; prompt on Protestantism before mentioned) |
| In this modern-day state, the “praying Indian” John Alderman killed the tribal leader known as “King Philip.” The British ship Gaspee was burned in what became this state. It boycotted the Constitutional Convention and was the thirteenth state to ratify the Constitution. The colony that became this state was founded by Roger Williams, a religious heretic from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A colony named Providence became, for the point, what smallest U.S. state? | Rhode Island (or State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations) |
| This ruler defeated the Nogai and allowed the first chartered joint stock company to trade between his kingdom and England. His law code was called the Sudebnik, and he founded a parliament with three estates called the zemsky sobor. The disastrous Livonian War occurred under this ruler, who empowered the Stroganov family to conquer Siberia and killed his son in a fit of rage. For the point, name this fearsome tsar of Russia. | Ivan the Terrible (accept Ivan IV or Ivan Grozny) |