Pardon Me, Mr. President Trivia Quiz

Answer: Whiskey Rebellion

The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a 1794 resistance movement in response to the 1791 federal excise tax on whiskey. In July 1794, 500 armed Pennsylvanians attacked the home of tax inspector General John Neville. Other violent protests ensued. Federal militia responded, and about 20 insurgents were arrested.

In 1795, Washington granted the leaders pardons in the name of "Tom the Tinker," the nom de plume used for anonymous notes and newspaper articles threatening those that complied with the whiskey tax.

Many believe that "real" Tom the Tinker was John Holcroft, a veteran of the Shays Rebellion.

Answer: Richard Nixon

On September 8, 1974 (and just a month into his presidency), President Gerald Ford granted former President Richard Nixon a full pardon of any and all crimes he may have committed while in office. Nixon (and the country) thereby avoided what promised to be lengthy and contentious impeachment (and perhaps criminal) proceedings related to events surrounding the Watergate scandal. Although the pardon was controversial at the time, Ford now has been applauded for "doing the right thing" for the sake of the country.

The "CREEP" reference alludes to the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, a fundraising organization of President Nixon's administration implicated in the Watergate break-in. The "quaking" reference alludes to Nixon's Quaker religious affiliation.

Answer: Patty Hearst

Patty Hearst, the granddaughter of publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst, was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army on February 4, 1974. On April 15, after being subjected to brainwashing and mind control tactics, Hearst joined SLA members in the armed robbery of a Hibernia Bank branch in San Francisco, California.

Despite a rather-convincing Stockholm Syndrome defense, Hearst was convicted of bank robbery on March 20, 1976, and sentenced to 35 years in prison. She was released from jail in 1979 after President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence. President Bill Clinton granted Hearst full pardon in 2001.

Answer: Marc Rich

Mark Rich fled to Switzerland in 1983 just before being indicted by then-U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani for illegal trading with Iran and evading a $48 million tax bill. He was in exile there when President Clinton pardoned him just hours before leaving office on January 20, 2001.

The pardon was conditioned on Rich's dropping all procedural defenses against government civil actions brought against him upon returning to the States. The pardon caused considerable controversy. Some claimed that Rich's pardon had been "bought" by his ex-wife Denise Rich's large donations to the Democratic Party and the Clinton Library. Congressional hearings on the Rich pardon did not confirm that allegation.

Answer: Confederates

President Andrew Johnson was popular in the North, but considered a traitor by those in the South. After becoming President in 1865, he moved forward on reconstruction. He pardoned Southerners in the Confederate States on the condition that they would take an oath of loyalty to the Union. Johnson, however, refused blanket amnesty to several classes of Southerners, requiring leaders and wealthy men to obtain individual presidential pardons. During the summer of 1865, Johnson liberally dispensed pardons to many former high-ranking Confederates.

Answer: Vietnam

Those that dodged the draft for the Vietnam War faced imprisonment or forced military service if they returned home. The U.S. continued to prosecute draft dodgers even after the end of the conflict. In 1974, President Gerald R. Ford issued them conditional amnesty.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter issued unconditional amnesty in the form of a pardon to all remaining draft evaders. This was seen as a "cultural reconciliation" after the end of the controversial and unpopular war. There were, however, those excluded from the pardon: deserters, soldiers with less-than-honorable discharges, and civilians who had protested the war.

Answer: George Steinbrenner

In April 1974, George Steinbrenner (then the owner of the New York Yankees) was indicted on 14 criminal counts and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and conspiring to make illegal contributions to the re-election campaign of President Richard Nixon in 1972. Steinbrenner, a major Republican donor, allegedly knew the money he was donating was not going through regular election procedures. President Ronald Reagan pardoned Steinbrenner in 1989 but only if he admitted to the crime. Steinbrenner died on July 13, 2010 from a heart attack.

Answer: Samuel Mudd

In 1869, Andrew Johnson pardoned Dr. Samuel Mudd. Mudd had been convicted as a co-conspirator in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln for treating the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth (Lincoln's assassin). While serving his sentence, Mudd saved the lives of fellow inmates during a 1867 yellow fever epidemic at the Fort Jefferson prison in Florida. President Andrew Johnson cited this humanitarian work as a reason for the pardon.

Answer: Jimmy Hoffa

Jimmy Hoffa (former head of the Teamsters Union) had been serving a 15-year prison sentence for jury tampering and fraud when President Richard Nixon pardoned him on Dec. 23, 1971. Nixon had one condition: Hoffa should "not engage in direct or indirect management of any labor organization" until at least March 1980. Hoffa agreed and supported Nixon's 1972 re-election bid. Hoffa apparently defied Nixon's requirement and was trying to reassert his power over the Teamsters when, on July 30, 1975, he disappeared from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Township, Michigan.

It is believed that Hoffa was there to meet with two Mafia leaders (Anthony Giacolone and Anthony Provenzano). He was declared legally dead in 1982.

Answer: Caspar Weinberger

Caspar Weinberger (August 18, 1917 - March 28, 2006) had a long career in government. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II (41st Infantry Division in the Pacific), Weinberger became active in politics. His government positions included the 20th Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Nixon (1972-73), the 10th United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under Presidents Nixon and Ford (1973-75), and the 15th Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan (1981-87).

He was heavily criticized for his role in the Iran-Contra Affair (transfer of U.S. anti-tank missiles to Iran). In 1992, a federal grand jury indicted Weinberger on two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice related to Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh's investigation of the matter. Those proceedings were halted by President George H.W. Bush's December 24, 1992, pardon.