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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who said that he would rather be in his grave than in the presidency?
(a) John C. Clahoun.
(b) John Adams.
(c) George Washington.
(d) Thomas Jefferson.

2. What unwanted praise did Norris and his group receive after the filibuster?
(a) Praise from the German press.
(b) Praise from the French who also opposed the war.
(c) Praise from the Mexican government.
(d) Praise from Lenin in Russia.

3. What opinion did Taft share with Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas?
(a) That the Axis war crimes trials went against every principle of American justice.
(b) That the Constitution of the USA allowed for ex post facto prosecutions.
(c) That the Axis war crimes trials did not try the real offenders.
(d) That the Axis prisoners should not be allowed representation by lawyers.

4. What senator dashed his presidential hopes by speaking out against the Ku Klux Klan?
(a) Sen. Lucius Lamar of Mississippi.
(b) Sen. Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri.
(c) Sen. Sam Houston of Texas.
(d) Sen. Oscar W. Underwood of Alabama.

5. What did Lamar say about his vote against the Matthews Resolution?
(a) I believe that statesmanship is dead in the South.
(b) My vote was unimportant in a Senate populated with Radical Republicans and Democrats.
(c) If I had voted for it as directed I should have cast my first vote against my conscience.
(d) The directions for how I should vote arrived after the vote had already been taken.

6. Of the 54 Senator in Congress, how many were openly opposed to the impeachment?
(a) Only the twelve Democrats in the Senate.
(b) Thirty-six radical Republicans.
(c) Six Republicans and twelve Democrats.
(d) About half of the Republicans and all of the Democrats.

7. What did Robert A. Taft have in common with John Quincey Adams?
(a) They both went to the same university.
(b) They were both Quakers.
(c) They both went on to serve on the Supreme Court.
(d) Both of their fathers had served as President of the USA.

8. What position did Lamar take after the Civil War?
(a) The way to end the South's suffering was compromise and reconciliation with the North.
(b) That those who supported the Union should be tried as war criminals.
(c) That people should save their confederate money.
(d) That laws needed to be enacted to punish carpetbaggers.

9. How did Ross describe his feelings just before he cast his not guilty vote?
(a) I felt the chill of fear on my spine.
(b) I had a great lump in my throat.
(c) I was afraid I could not speak.
(d) I looked down at my open grave.

10. How did journalist William Preston Johnson describe the intellectual atmosphere of the Lamar family?
(a) There was a black thread of moodiness in all the family.
(b) The Lamars had amassed a huge library.
(c) The fatal dowry of genius was upon the house.
(d) They were self taught but not uneducated.

11. Prior to the Civil War, what notable action did Lamar undertake with Jefferson Davis?
(a) Walking out of the Democratic Convention.
(b) Writing the Articles of Confederation.
(c) Speaking out against secession.
(d) Designing the Confederate flag.

12. After Lamar toured Mississippi to discuss his reasons for voting the way he did, how did the people react?
(a) No one came out to hear the traitor.
(b) They recalled him from Congress.
(c) They held rallies against him.
(d) They changed their opposition to Lamar and supported him.

13. What disease cut short Lamar's military career?
(a) Apoplexy.
(b) Dyptheria.
(c) Polio.
(d) Laryngitis.

14. How was Lamar similar to author Joel Harris?
(a) Lamar had a pet named Br'er Rabbit.
(b) Lamar wrote a book called Tunes of the South.
(c) Lamar, like Harris, told tales about the South.
(d) Lamar, like Harris, was a graduate of Oxford.

15. What does Kennedy identify as the personal tragedy and national greatness about Sen. Robert A. Taft?
(a) That his father had been President but he had no such ambitions.
(b) That he would always speak out in such a way that appeared to compromise his beliefs.
(c) That he got his party's nomination three times but never won a Presidential election.
(d) That he aspired to be President but his uncompromising sense of right prevented that from happening.

Short Answer Questions

1. What high office did Lamar hold at the end of his career?

2. Who was the Democratic majority leader in the Senate who later became Vice President?

3. How did Norris attack Joe Cannon's power?

4. Why did Taft speak out against the War Crimes Trials and the Nuremberg Trials?

5. What nickname was given to Joe Cannon because of his power?

(see the answer keys)

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