Capitol Quiz

Capitol Quiz: Facts You Should Know About The U.S. Capitol

1 / 25

When did the first African American serve in Congress?

1954

1870

1964

1789

1901

2 / 25

What is a pocket veto?

When a bill fails in the Senate because it only has simple majority support, not 2/3 majority support.

A procedural process in which the Senate Majority Leader declines to take up a bill passed by the House.

When the President vetoes a bill supported by their party. The term alludes to a President not working, with their hands in their pockets.

When a bill is vetoed because Congress adjourns within 10 days of it reaching the President’s desk without his/her signature.

A procedural process in which the Speaker of the House declines to take up a bill passed by the Senate.

3 / 25

Who gives a tiebreaking vote in the Senate?

The Senate Majority Leader

The Senate Pro Tempore

The Senator with the most seniority

The Vice President

Nobody. A tie means a bill doesn’t pass.

4 / 25

How many years can the president serve in office?

8 years total

10 years total

12 years total, non-consecutively

Infinite, but only 8 years consecutively

12 years total

5 / 25

How is an amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed?

A 3/4 vote in the House, a 3/4 vote in the Senate, a 3/4 vote by the states.

A 2/3 vote in the House, a 3/4 vote in the Senate, and the president’s signature.

A 2/3 vote in the Senate and a 3/5 vote by the states.

A majority in the House, a 3/4 vote in the Senate, a 3/4 vote by the states, and the president’s signature.

A 2/3 vote in the House, a 2/3 vote in the Senate, and a 3/4 vote by the states.

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What were the Federalist Papers?

James Madison’s scrupulous notes during the Constitutional Convention capturing delegate speeches and debates.

Alexander Hamilton’s and Thomas Jefferson’s published letters debating America’s monetary system.

Thomas Paine’s viral pamphlet calling for American Independence that inspired the colonies to revolution.

A series of broadsides that John Adams wrote in opposition to British tax policies.

Essays written by John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton advocating for the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

7 / 25

Which offices are first, second, and third in the line of presidential succession?

Vice President, Speaker of the House, Senate Majority Leader.

Vice President, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader.

Vice President, Speaker of the House, Senate President Pro Tempore.

Vice President, Senate Majority Leader, Speaker of the House.

Vice President, Speaker of the House, President of the Senate.

8 / 25

What are the age requirements for a U.S. President, Senator, and Representative, respectively?

40, 35, and 30.

35, 30, and 25.

28, 28, and 28.

30, 30, and 25.

42, 35, and 27.

9 / 25

Which is not guaranteed under the 1st Amendment?

The right to petition.

The right of assembly.

The right of a free press.

Free speech.

The right to privacy.

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Which state(s) has/have the fewest Members of Congress?

Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming

Rhode Island and Hawaii

North Dakota, South Dakota, and Alaska

Delaware

Hawaii

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Which state(s) has/have the most Members of Congress?

Texas, New York, and California

Texas

California

Texas and New York

California and Texas

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What is the primary way to end a filibuster?

3/5 vote of those present in the Senate.

2/3 vote of those present in both the House and the Senate.

3/4 vote of those present in both the House and the Senate.

3/5 vote of those present in the House.

An act of God.

13 / 25

What does impeachment mean? Which body impeaches?

To accuse of wrongdoing. The U.S. Justice Department.

To accuse of wrongdoing. The U.S. House of Representatives.

To convict of wrongdoing. The U.S. Senate.

To convict of wrongdoing. The U.S. Supreme Court.

To commit an act of wrongdoing. The Executive Branch.

14 / 25

What formally abolished slavery in the United States?

The North’s victory over the South in the Civil War

A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court

The Emancipation Proclamation

The 13th Amendment

The Civil Rights Act of 1865

15 / 25

Why are Congressional term lengths 6 years for Senators and 2 years for Representatives?

People died younger in the 18th Century and the Founding Fathers worried that two chambers with longer terms would keep older, more experienced Americans from pursuing higher office.

Before the Connecticut Compromise, smaller states wanted a body of equal representation serving 6-year terms while larger states wanted a body of proportional representation serving 2-year terms. These numbers carried over.

James Madison suggested two years for all Members of Congress while Hamilton suggested six. As a compromise, President of the Constitutional Convention George Washington suggested six for the upper chamber and two for the lower chamber.

The Founding Fathers modeled Congress after the Ancient Roman Republic in which some Senators served longer terms and others shorter terms.

The Founding Fathers intended the Senate to be a slower, more deliberative body while the House would be reactive to popular opinion.

16 / 25

How long is a U.S. Representative’s term?

4 years

2 years

6 years

8 years

3 years

17 / 25

How long is a U.S. Senator’s term?

4 years

2 years

6 years

7 years

5 years

18 / 25

Why was Washington, D.C. chosen as our nation’s capital?

Because it was about halfway in between the Northern states and Southern states.

Because it placed the capital in the South in return for the Federal government’s assumption of mostly Northern state’s debts from the Revolutionary War.

Because it helped resolve a land dispute between Virginia and Maryland.

Because George Washington, a wealthy landowner from Virginia, owned property he was willing to donate to be the U.S. capital.

Geographically, the Founding Fathers knew it was important for commerce and diplomatic travel that a nation’s capital be in a warm climate near a major body of water.

19 / 25

How many votes are currently cast by the electoral college?

538

435

270

535

100

20 / 25

What are the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution called?

The Articles of Confederation

The Preamble

The Federalist Papers

The Enumerated Powers

The Bill of Rights

21 / 25

What is the electoral college and why was it created?

Electors who select the American president. To confuse future Americans.

Electors who select the two major party nominees for president. Early Federalist and Anti-Federalist leaders wanted to ensure control of their parties.

Electors who select the American President and until the 17th Amendment, U.S. Senators. The Founding Fathers didn’t want senior government officials beholden to the masses in the same way U.S. representatives were intended to be.

Electors who select the American president every four years. A compromise between the Founding Fathers who wanted a lifetime appointment for the President and those who wanted a new president every year to keep the Executive Branch from becoming too powerful.

Electors who select the American president. A compromise between the Founding Fathers who wanted voters to directly elect the president and those who wanted other elected officials to do so.

22 / 25

The West Front Expansion of the U.S. Capitol was built in the 1960s. When did the Capitol originally finish its construction?

1789

1800

1787

1820

1860

23 / 25

Who presided over the Constitutional Convention?

John Hancock

George Washington

John Adams

Benjamin Franklin

Gouverneur Morris

24 / 25

Who was not present at the Constitutional Convention?

Benjamin Franklin

Thomas Jefferson

James Madison

George Washington

Alexander Hamilton

25 / 25

What was the significance of the Connecticut Compromise of 1787?

During the Constitutional Convention, it was the brokered deal that appeased delegates who wanted state Congressional representation determined by population and those who wanted equal representation.

During the Constitutional Convention, it was the brokered deal that barred the federal government from abolishing the slave trade for 20 years to appease slaveholders while not eliminating the possibility that slavery could be abolished in the future.

During the Constitutional Convention, it was the brokered deal that established Washington, D.C. as the future U.S. Capitol because it was about halfway in between the northern New England states (like Connecticut) and the Southern states.

During the Constitutional Convention, it was the brokered deal that established the President’s right to negotiate treaties with foreign nations as long as 2/3 of the Senate approves, thus appeasing those who feared a powerful executive branch.

During the Constitutional Convention, it was the brokered deal that allowed the president two 4-year terms in office to appease those who wanted a longer 16-year term and those who wanted shorter two-year terms.

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1 / 9

Which educator and civil rights activist founded a college in Daytona in 1904 and founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935?

Frances E. Willard

Mary McLeod Bethune

Rosa Parks

Dorothy Height

In 1904, determined to support her son, Dr. Mary Jane McLeod Bethune opened a boarding school, the Daytona Beach Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls. Eventually, Bethune’s school became a college, merging with the all-male Cookman Institute to form Bethune-Cookman College in 1929. It issued its first degrees in 1943.

A champion of racial and gender equality, Bethune founded many organizations and led voter registration drives after women gained the vote in 1920, risking racist attacks. In 1924, she was elected president of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, and in 1935, she became the founding president of the National Council of Negro Women. Bethune also played a role in the transition of Black voters from the Republican Party—“the party of Lincoln”—to the Democratic Party during the Great Depression. A friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, in 1936, Bethune became the highest ranking African American woman in government when President Franklin Roosevelt named her director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration, where she remained until 1944. She was also a leader of FDR’s unofficial “black cabinet.” In 1937 Bethune organized a conference on the Problems of the Negro and Negro Youth, and fought to end discrimination and lynching. In 1940, she became vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Persons (NAACP), a position she held for the rest of her life. As a member of the advisory board that in 1942 created the Women’s Army Corps, Bethune ensured it was racially integrated. Appointed by President Harry S. Truman, Bethune was the only woman of color at the founding conference of the United Nations in 1945. She regularly wrote for the leading African American newspapers, the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender.

Source: National Women’s History Museum

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mcleod-bethune

Source: National Women’s History Museum

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mcleod-bethune

2 / 9

Who was the first woman to run for President of the United States?

Margaret Chase Smith

Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood

Victoria Claflin Woodhull

Shirley Chisholm

Victoria Claflin Woodhull was one of the 19th century’s most colorful characters. She was a women’s rights and suffrage advocate, a popular public speaker, a newspaper publisher who introduced American audiences to the works of Karl Marx, the first woman to operate a Wall Street brokerage firm, and the first female presidential candidate in 1872.

Source: National Park Service

https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-first-woman-to-run-for-president-victoria-woodhull.htm

Source: National Park Service

https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-first-woman-to-run-for-president-victoria-woodhull.htm

3 / 9

Who was the first black Congresswoman?

Cardiss Collins

Yvonne Brathwaite Burke

Shirley Chisholm

Ida B. Wells

On January 3, 1969, Shirley Chisholm made history as the first African-American woman elected to the United States Congress when she was sworn into the 91st Congress and took her seat in the House of Representatives. She was the first African-American woman to win a seat in the New York State Assembly from Brooklyn, and in 1972 she became the first African American to campaign seriously for the presidential nomination of a major political party.

4 / 9

In what year did women in the United States earn the right to vote?

1776

1917

1920

1965

Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote.

The 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest.

Source: National Archives

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment#:~:text=Passed%20by%20Congress%20June%204,decades%20of%20agitation%20and%20protest.

Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote.

The 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest.

Source: National Archives

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment#:~:text=Passed%20by%20Congress%20June%204,decades%20of%20agitation%20and%20protest.

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What was the name given to the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which guaranteed women’s right to vote in the United States.

American Women's Vote Act

Susan B. Anthony Amendment

Women's Suffrage Amendment

National Woman Suffrage Amendment

Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified that the Nineteenth Amendment—extending the vote to women—was ratified as part of the Constitution. The State of Tennessee ratified the amendment on August 18, 1920. More than a year earlier, the House voted to approve the amendment on May 21, 1919. Introduced by Woman Suffrage Committee Chairman James R. Mann of Illinois, the Susan B. Anthony Amendment was successfully pushed by suffrage lobbyists who tied U.S. defense of democracy abroad to the extension of democracy at home. The bill gained momentum as the U.S. mobilized to fight World War I with the help of many women.

Credit: History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “The Nineteenth Amendment,” https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1901-1950/The-19th-Amendment/ (March 15, 2023)

6 / 9

Which female lawyer worked for equal rights and suffrage, co-founded the ACLU in 1910, and helped write the Equal Rights Amendment?

Crystal Eastman

Jeannette Rankin

Alice Paul

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Crystal Eastman was a labor lawyer, suffragist, socialist and journalist who authored model legislation and helped create political organizations that survived this century's turmoil. In 1917, Eastman, Baldwin and Norman Thomas, together with other supporters, established the National Civil Liberties Bureau, an organization that would later become the ACLU, to fight government suppression of dissenters' rights during World War I.

In 1920, the NCLB was reconstituted as the ACLU, the suffrage movement triumphed, and Eastman continued her activities in support of women's rights. As one of the four authors of the Equal Rights Amendment, she was also one of the few socialists to endorse it when it was introduced in 1923.

Source: ACLU

https://www.aclu.org/other/crystal-eastman#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%2D%2DAmerican%20Civil,Saturday%2C%20the%20ACLU%20announced%20today.

Source: ACLU

https://www.aclu.org/other/crystal-eastman#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%2D%2DAmerican%20Civil,Saturday%2C%20the%20ACLU%20announced%20today.

7 / 9

Where did the first Women’s Rights Convention take place in the U.S.?

Seneca Falls, NY

Washington, DC

Mount Laurel Township, NJ

Rochester, New York

The park commemorates women's struggle for equal rights, and the First Women's Rights Convention, held at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, NY on July 19 and 20, 1848.

An estimated three hundred women and men attended the Convention, including Lucretia Mott and Frederick Douglass.

At the conclusion, 68 women and 32 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the M'Clintock family.

Source: National Park Service

https://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/the-first-womens-rights-convention.htm#:~:text=The%20park%20commemorates%20women's%20struggle,July%2019%20and%2020%2C%201848.

The park commemorates women's struggle for equal rights, and the First Women's Rights Convention, held at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, NY on July 19 and 20, 1848.

An estimated three hundred women and men attended the Convention, including Lucretia Mott and Frederick Douglass.

At the conclusion, 68 women and 32 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the M'Clintock family.

Source: National Park Service

https://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/the-first-womens-rights-convention.htm#:~:text=The%20park%20commemorates%20women's%20struggle,July%2019%20and%2020%2C%201848.

8 / 9

Which Congresswoman was the only member to vote against World War II?

Rebecca Latimer Felton

Jeannette Rankin

Mary T. Norton

Ruth Hanna McCormick

Jeannette Rankin voted against United States entry into World War I in 1917 and did not run for reelection to the House of Representatives in 1918. Ever since, historians have assumed that Rankin’s “no” vote cost the Congresswoman her seat in Congress.

Some of her contemporaries certainly believed it did. “I knew she couldn’t be elected again if she did vote against the war,” her brother Wellington Rankin said. “I didn’t want to see her destroy herself.” The formidable head of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Carrie Chapman Catt, charged that Rankin’s vote lost the woman suffrage cause “a million votes.” At the time, Catt announced, “Miss Rankin was not voting for the suffragists of the nation.”

Credit: History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “Jeannette Rankin: “I Cannot Vote for War”,” https://history.house.gov/Blog/2017/April/4-5-Rankin-War/ (March 15, 2023)

9 / 9

When were women first allowed to serve in Congress?

1920

1917

1919

1850

Since 1917, when Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman to serve in Congress, a total of 423 women have served as U.S. Representatives, Delegates, Resident Commissioners, or Senators.

Credit: History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “Women in Congress,” https://history.house.gov/Education/Fact-Sheets/WIC-Fact-Sheet2/ (March 15, 2023)

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