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Quiz about John F Kennedy  The Journey to Texas
Quiz about John F Kennedy  The Journey to Texas

John F. Kennedy - The Journey to Texas Quiz


I've always been intrigued by the life and times of one of the most famous US presidents in recent history, but how much do you know about him? Along the way you can top up your knowledge of this period of history if you're a bit rusty. Have fun!

A multiple-choice quiz by atomic32. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
atomic32
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
201,992
Updated
Dec 27 22
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Very Easy
Avg Score
14 / 15
Plays
3830
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Murdox (12/15), rainbowriver (15/15), Guest 98 (15/15).
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Question 1 of 15
1. Where was John F Kennedy born? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. What does the 'F' in John F Kennedy's name stand for? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. John F Kennedy had been a sickly child most of his life, but this did not stop him from entering the Navy in WWII. While he was there, he suffered a terrible back injury. Due to his injury, he was later found to have a particular condition. What is that condition called? Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. John F Kennedy studied at Harvard and during his senior year he wrote a thesis called 'Why England Slept', which later was published as a book. This was not his only book. Whilst recovering from a back operation, he wrote another book, for which he received a Pulitzer Prize. What was this book called? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. What was his wife's name, before she became Mrs Kennedy? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. In what year did John F Kennedy win the presidential election? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. Who did he beat when he won the presidential election? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. One of the first problems Kennedy inherited from his predecessor was the trouble with Cuba. What is the name of the failed invasion mission that occurred in 1961? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. There were still issues to be dealt with in Cuba. In October 1962, the world came to the brink of nuclear warfare, following a discovery of offensive weapons in Cuba. The threat lasted 13 long tense days. What was this dilemma known as? Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. In Kennedy's inauguration speech, he pledged to help those countries who were in need. Kennedy tried to keep this promise and set up a new organisation to give aid and man power to desperate countries. Volunteers were required for this. What was the organisation called? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. There was another problem that Kennedy faced. After WW2, the Soviet Union and America had major issues with each other. Although there was no combat between these two nations, it was a very famous war. What was it called? Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. One major issue during Kennedy's presidency was in a European city that was divided between Communism and Capitalism. What was this city? Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. It took Kennedy a while to deal with domestic issues during his presidency. Many people have criticised Kennedy for this. But in 1963, he finally acknowledged the rising tensions for African-Americans and started to initiate a law to help. Unfortunately, he died before he could pass the law through, but Lyndon Johnson finally pushed the law through in 1964. What was this law called? Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. In 1963, Kennedy was preparing for re-election and whilst on a trip, he was brutally assassinated. Where was he visiting when he was shot? Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. Despite the many controversies surrounding Kennedy's assassination, a formal investigation into the shooting of the president was ordered. It was investigated by many of America's finest agencies, including the CIA and the FBI. The investigation was headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren. What was the investigation known as? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Where was John F Kennedy born?

Answer: Brookline, MA

He was born to Rose and Joseph Kennedy on May 29th 1917. He was a Roman Catholic of Irish descent. The Kennedy family were very wealthy and had many other homes, including the large summer house in Cape Cod. He actually lived at 83 Beals Street, Brookline, Ma.
2. What does the 'F' in John F Kennedy's name stand for?

Answer: Fitzgerald

His full name is John Fitzgerald Kennedy. He was actually named in honour of his grandpa, John Francis Fitzgerald (a.k.a Honey Fitz). Honey Fitz was already well known in politics and could have influenced young John into this line of work.
3. John F Kennedy had been a sickly child most of his life, but this did not stop him from entering the Navy in WWII. While he was there, he suffered a terrible back injury. Due to his injury, he was later found to have a particular condition. What is that condition called?

Answer: Addison's Disease

Addison's Disease is a failure to produce particular hormones. He did not have either Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Alcoholism or Anemia (which is a low red blood cell count).

JFK suffered Scarlet Fever as a child, which could have been life-threatening and also suffered with terrible Colitis (a bowel disorder). After taking steroids to control the Colitis, it could have accounted for his weak back that was a further problem after his accident in the Pacific during World War 2. It was when he returned that doctors assumed he had Malaria from the war, but it turned out that it was Addisons, which accounted for his difficulty to gain weight as a youngster.

In the Navy, he was the commander of a PT boat, and whilst in action the boat was struck by a Japanese Destroyer which badly damaged his back. Nevertheless, he was still able to save some of his crew and return a hero.

His older brother, Joe Jr., wasn't as fortunate and died when his plane exploded near England during a highly dangerous and delicate mission.

Throughout his shortened life, JFK was on a concoction of medication, including Testosterone, and if it had been known how dreadfully ill he was, it may have been unlikely he would have become POTUS (President of the United States).
4. John F Kennedy studied at Harvard and during his senior year he wrote a thesis called 'Why England Slept', which later was published as a book. This was not his only book. Whilst recovering from a back operation, he wrote another book, for which he received a Pulitzer Prize. What was this book called?

Answer: Profiles in Courage

'Why England Slept' was given the name as it was published after Churchill's 'While England Slept' was published. Kennedy really admired Churchill. The book aimed to criticize England's military unpreparedness at the onset of World War 2, and criticized the 'appeasement' policy towards Nazi Germany at the Munich Conference in 1938.

In 1957, he won the Pulitzer Prize in Biography for his book called 'Profiles in Courage'. He did write 'The Strategy of Peace', but this was in 1960. As you can tell, the other 2 books are made up...
5. What was his wife's name, before she became Mrs Kennedy?

Answer: Jacqueline Bouvier

John F Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953 at the age of 36. Jackie was 24 at the time. They had 2 surviving children, John Jr and Caroline. John Jr died tragically in 1999.
6. In what year did John F Kennedy win the presidential election?

Answer: 1960

JFK ran for the presidency as a member of the Democratic Party and won the election in 1960. Prior to this he had served 6 years in the House of Representatives and was elected to the US Senate in 1952. He actually ran for vice-president in 1956 but was defeated. After several offers, Lyndon B Johnson was put on the ticket as vice-president.
7. Who did he beat when he won the presidential election?

Answer: Richard M Nixon

He defeated Richard Milhous Nixon for the presidency by a narrow margin in 1960. Dwight D Eisenhower could not have run against Kennedy as he had served the maximum 8 years term during the 1950s. Nixon finally won election in 1968.

Harry S Truman in fact had no middle name. In order to sound more prestigious, he adopted the S. Truman served as president from 1945 to 1953. Johnson was actually Kennedy's vice-president and served from Kennedy's death in 1963 until 1968.
8. One of the first problems Kennedy inherited from his predecessor was the trouble with Cuba. What is the name of the failed invasion mission that occurred in 1961?

Answer: The Bay of Pigs

The Bay of Pigs: the CIA had trained Cuban exiles to invade the small country of Cuba to try and overthrow Fidel Castro. Kennedy gave the go ahead for the invasion to take place in April 1961, but Castro had received information regarding the invasion, which led to the capture of the Cuban exiles. Kennedy refused to give them air support as he did not want America to 'be involved'.

He later confessed to the disaster and made a public apology.
9. There were still issues to be dealt with in Cuba. In October 1962, the world came to the brink of nuclear warfare, following a discovery of offensive weapons in Cuba. The threat lasted 13 long tense days. What was this dilemma known as?

Answer: The Cuban Missile Crisis

It was the Cuban Missile Crisis. In October 1962, a U2 Spyplane photographed nuclear installations in Cuba. Kennedy could not invade Cuba for fear of a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine (or 'blockade') and finally an agreement was made. Khrushchev (the Soviet leader) agreed to remove the missiles if Kennedy agreed not to invade Cuba and missiles in Turkey were also removed. Kennedy agreed never to invade Cuba, but refused to remove missiles in Turkey as part of the deal. However, the missiles in Turkey were obsolete and were going to be removed anyway, so with this knowledge in hand, Khrushchev removed the missiles in Cuba. The world breathed a little easier...

Dean Rusk, the Secretary of State, famously said "We were eyeball to eyeball, and the other guy just blinked!". What a perfect quote!
10. In Kennedy's inauguration speech, he pledged to help those countries who were in need. Kennedy tried to keep this promise and set up a new organisation to give aid and man power to desperate countries. Volunteers were required for this. What was the organisation called?

Answer: The Peace Corps

The Peace Corps were set up by Kennedy in 1961 to provide skilled man power to countries in need. They are still running to this day.
11. There was another problem that Kennedy faced. After WW2, the Soviet Union and America had major issues with each other. Although there was no combat between these two nations, it was a very famous war. What was it called?

Answer: The Cold War

The Cold War was a psychological war between the two dominant superpowers, the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The war finally dissolved in the late 1980s when the Soviet Union ran into economic difficulties and could no longer maintain the arms race.

There was a Winter War during 1939 and 1940, but this was between Finland and the Soviet Union. America did not get involved.
12. One major issue during Kennedy's presidency was in a European city that was divided between Communism and Capitalism. What was this city?

Answer: Berlin

After WW2, the division of Germany was a HUGE source of conflict between America and the Soviet Union. Half the country was divided between east and west, east being Communist and west being Capitalist, but the important city of Berlin was torn between the two.

The Soviet Union in 1961 then built the Berlin Wall to protect its land and stop its citizens from escaping to the West. Many citizens died trying to get over to the west of Berlin. The wall finally came down in 1989 following the break up of the Soviet Union. Germany is now re-united!
13. It took Kennedy a while to deal with domestic issues during his presidency. Many people have criticised Kennedy for this. But in 1963, he finally acknowledged the rising tensions for African-Americans and started to initiate a law to help. Unfortunately, he died before he could pass the law through, but Lyndon Johnson finally pushed the law through in 1964. What was this law called?

Answer: The Civil Rights Act

Kennedy claimed he was a supporter of the Civil Rights campaign, yet neglected to make major changes during his first two years as president. It was after the University of Alabama riots in June 1963 that Kennedy made his famous Civil Rights speech and put the Civil Rights Act through Congress. One reason for delay could have been the opposition within his own party to the Civil Rights law.

Although the Civil Rights Act gave African-Americans more legal rights and abolished segregation in the southern states, many African-Americans still faced a lot of racism. In 1965, a further bill was passed called the Voting Rights Act. This still did not stop further demonstrations from African-Americans.
14. In 1963, Kennedy was preparing for re-election and whilst on a trip, he was brutally assassinated. Where was he visiting when he was shot?

Answer: Dallas, TX

He was in a limousine driving through Dallas, Texas. Three shots rang out and the fatal shot hit President Kennedy in the back of the head.
15. Despite the many controversies surrounding Kennedy's assassination, a formal investigation into the shooting of the president was ordered. It was investigated by many of America's finest agencies, including the CIA and the FBI. The investigation was headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren. What was the investigation known as?

Answer: The Warren Commission

The Warren Commission investigated the shootings, and found that Lee Harvey Oswald shot the president from the Book Depository Store. He was seen leaving the scene, got on a bus to his apartment, walked to the movie theatre, on the way shooting and killing a Dallas policeman, and was finally caught in the movie theatre. After spending days in prison being questioned, he was shot outside in the underground car park of the prison by Jack Ruby. Oswald never did confess to the crime.

This tragic event will never be far from the minds of all people.
God rest his soul, RIP John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963, aged 46).
Source: Author atomic32

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