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Hannibal Hamlin Trivia Quiz

A quiz on Abraham Lincoln's first vice-president, Hannibal Hamlin.

A multiple-choice quiz by AdmiralShark. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
AdmiralShark

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
211,258

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
213

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In what year was Hamlin born? Hint

1807

1811

1805

1809

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Question 2 of 10

2. What was the name of Hamlin's first wife? Hint

Frances Anne

Sarah Jane

Mary Burch

Jennifer Margaret

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Question 3 of 10

3. When Hamlin began his political career, what political party did he belong to? Hint

Whig

Democrat

Federalist

American/Know-Nothing

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Question 4 of 10

4. Who did Hamlin defeat to win election to the U.S. House in 1843? Hint

John Holmes

Elisha Allen

Sam Fessenden

Sterling Livingston

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Question 5 of 10

5. Did Hamlin supported the U.S. entry into the war with Mexico in the 1840's?

Yes

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Question 6 of 10

6. In 1848, Hamlin was elected to the U.S. Senate, replacing a senator who had died in office. Who was that senator? Hint

Anson Howard

John Fairfield

Lot Merrill

William Brownlow

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Question 7 of 10

7. What event took place that ultimately caused Hamlin to join the Republican Party? Hint

Compromise of 1850

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Collapse of the Whig Party

Election of James Buchanan as president

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Question 8 of 10

8. Who was Hamlin's major opponent for the 1860 Republican nomination for vice-president? Hint

Henry Stanbery

Gideon Wells

Cassius Clay

Simon Cameron

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Question 9 of 10

9. Where was the National Union Party (as the Republican Party was known during the Civil War) convention held in 1864 that saw Hamlin replaced on the ticket by Andrew Johnson? Hint

Baltimore

Philadelphia

New York City

Boston

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which of the following does not apply to Hamlin after leaving the vice-presidency? Hint

Served in President Grant's cabinet

Re-elected to the U.S. Senate

Appointed Minister to Spain

Named collector of the port of Boston

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In what year was Hamlin born?

Answer: 1809

Hamlin was born on August 27, 1809 in Paris Hill, Maine to Cyrus and Anna Hamlin.

2. What was the name of Hamlin's first wife?

Answer: Sarah Jane

Hamlin married Sarah Jane Emery, daughter of attorney Judge Stephen Emery, on December 10, 1833. Sarah Jane Hamlin would die in 1855 and Hamlin would marry her half-sister, Ellen Vesta Emery, in September 1857.

3. When Hamlin began his political career, what political party did he belong to?

Answer: Democrat

Hamlin was an ardent Jacksonian Democrat at the beginning of his political career in the late 1820's. He would stay in the Democratic party till the mid 1850's.

4. Who did Hamlin defeat to win election to the U.S. House in 1843?

Answer: Elisha Allen

Hamlin lost his first run for the House against Allen in 1840 by a small margin. However, in the 1843 rematch, the district had been reapportioned and Hamlin won election easily.

5. Did Hamlin supported the U.S. entry into the war with Mexico in the 1840's?

Answer: Yes

Hamlin supported the war effort completely but also considered the war as an effort by southern states to expand slavery, which he opposed, into new territories.

6. In 1848, Hamlin was elected to the U.S. Senate, replacing a senator who had died in office. Who was that senator?

Answer: John Fairfield

Fairfield (1797-1847) was a former governor of Maine, who was in his first term in the U.S. Senate when he died in Washington D.C. on December 24, 1847.

7. What event took place that ultimately caused Hamlin to join the Republican Party?

Answer: Kansas-Nebraska Act

Hamlin opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which called for the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. Hamlin opposed the act because he felt it would open up new territories to slavery. When the Democratic Party endorsed the Kansas-Nebraska Act at it's 1856 national convention, Hamlin left the Democrats to join the Republican Party.

8. Who was Hamlin's major opponent for the 1860 Republican nomination for vice-president?

Answer: Cassius Clay

Clay (1810-1903) was a Kentucky abolitionist (and whom Muhammed Ali's father was named after) and cousin of Henry Clay. He was generally considered too radical to be vice-president and lost the nomination on the 2nd ballot. Hamlin did not want the nomination, considering the vice-presidency to be a dead end job with no power.

However, since Hamlin had already been selected as the nominee, he felt he had no right to refuse the selection.

9. Where was the National Union Party (as the Republican Party was known during the Civil War) convention held in 1864 that saw Hamlin replaced on the ticket by Andrew Johnson?

Answer: Baltimore

While Hamlin hated the office of vice-president, he fully expected to be nominated for another term. However, President Lincoln felt that the ticket would be strengthened by having a Southern War Democrat on the ticket with him. Therefore, Hamlin was replaced by Johnson.

10. Which of the following does not apply to Hamlin after leaving the vice-presidency?

Answer: Served in President Grant's cabinet

Hamlin was appointed collector of the Port of Boston by President Johnson in 1865 but he resigned the position in 1866. Hamlin won election in 1869 to return to the U.S. Senate, where he remained till 1881, when he was appointed as minister to Spain, where he served till 1882. Hamlin died in 1891 and is buried in Bangor, Maine.

Source: Author AdmiralShark

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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