View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did one reporter categorize elected officials?
(a) That they were gluttons for mental punishment.
(b) That people thought everything they said was untrue.
(c) That they needed to be good public speakers.
(d) That people elected them on their looks.

2. What earned Houston the name of traitor and pro-Abolitionist?
(a) His vote against the Missouri compromise.
(b) His support of President Lincoln.
(c) His friendship with Senator Calhoun.
(d) His vote against the Kansas-Nebraska Bill.

3. Why was it considered a contradiction when Houston supported temperance?
(a) He was a heavy drinker.
(b) His political supporters opposed temperance.
(c) He made his money in rum running.
(d) He owned a brewery.

4. Whom did the Adams family say that the magistrate must serve?
(a) His party.
(b) His god.
(c) His family.
(d) His people.

5. Why did Houston define himself as an old fogy?
(a) Because, he said, I cling devotedly to the principles upon which our government was founded.
(b) Because, he said, I have been around far too long and need to retire.
(c) Because, he said, I don't always practice what I preach.
(d) Because, he said, he had been made a martyr for Texas.

6. What occurred during a duel that gave Benton a reputation as something of a thug?
(a) He killed a U. S. District Attorney.
(b) He threw down his gun and beat the man with his fists.
(c) He rigged the other pistol so it wouldn't fire.
(d) He had a sniper actually shoot the opponent.

7. What is the example of some advice Kennedy received when he first became a Congressman?
(a) The way to go is to make your own decisions.
(b) The way to get along is to go along.
(c) Listen and do what the majority are doing.
(d) Follow the yellow brick road.

8. What well-known military leader had Houston served under?
(a) Robert E. Lee.
(b) George Washington.
(c) Andrew Jackson.
(d) Ulysses S. Grant.

9. What was Benton's characteristic that early on made his constituents love him?
(a) His political favors.
(b) His humble nature.
(c) His sense of humor.
(d) His fearlessness.

10. What does Kennedy see as Webster's moral flaw?
(a) Webster was an alcoholic and often lost track of time.
(b) Webster had many affairs his wife did not know about.
(c) Webster had no compunction against taking money for political favors.
(d) Webster was a compulsive gambler.

11. What was Webster's justification for accepting political gifts and money?
(a) He considered them gifts from God and from voters or constituents who Webster believed were created in God's image.
(b) He shared the gifts with other Senators and Congressmen.
(c) He used everything he collected for his favorite charities.
(d) He published his gifts in the newspaper.

12. What was the dichotomy concerning John Quincey Adams' father?
(a) Adams had raised his son to do what he believed to be right and that meant opposing his father.
(b) Adams was not religious but his son, John Quincey, was a devout Puritan.
(c) Adams raised his son to always do as his father did regardless of what he thought personally.
(d) Adams was a stern father but a political liberal.

13. What metaphoric comparison does Kennedy make to John Quincey Adams' Puritanism?
(a) Kennedy's Catholicism.
(b) The east coast, craggy, rocky, somber and strong.
(c) A conflict of interests.
(d) A mighty ship in a storm.

14. How did Webster view the Compromise of 1850 in terms of his anti-slavery convictions?
(a) He believed that compromise would eventually lead to abolition.
(b) He thought it would give him power to run for President.
(c) He viewed it as a short-term compromise.
(d) He wanted to bring the prospect of Civil War to a head.

15. What metaphor does Kennedy use to describe the relationship between the elected official and the electorate?
(a) A doctor-patient relationship.
(b) A father-child relationship.
(c) A lawyer-client relationship.
(d) A coach-team relationship.

Short Answer Questions

1. What advantage do minority special interest groups have to influence elected officials?

2. For what conflict does Kennedy feel the most empathy?

3. How does Kennedy assess the failure of both Adams presidencies to produce second terms?

4. What is a constant that an elected official must understand?

5. In PROFILES IN COURAGE, what does John F. Kennedy fear the American public has forgotten?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 821 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample