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This collection of 259 trivia questions on politics will keep your brain humming while you learn a thing or two about the history of policies, presidents, prime ministers, and more.
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A military program announced by President Reagan in March 1983 promoted funding for lasers and particle beam weapons and was formally known as the Strategic Defense Initiative. However, what two-word name was the program (somewhat mockingly) nicknamed by the public?
Answer: Star Wars
What ancient man wrote a work titled "Politics" which included the idea that "Every community established with a view to some good"?
Answer: Aristotle
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246 Politics Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated For 2024)
- The 2000 U.S. presidential election was officially decided by a controversial Supreme Court decision following a recount of votes in what state? The recount determined that George W. Bush had defeated Al Gore in that state by a mere 537 votes.
Answer: Florida
- The ANZUS Agreement of 1951 is a non-binding security agreement between Australia, the United States, and what guessable island nation?
Answer: New Zealand
- On August 17, 2020, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that her country's national election would be delayed by four weeks. The cause? A new cluster of coronavirus cases after the country had previously gone months without a case of local transmission. What is this country?
Answer: New Zealand
- Repping social and political scientists, the national honor society Pi Sigma Alpha's headquarters are on New Hampshire Avenue in what guessable U.S. city?
Answer: Washington D.C.
- What is the political and legal term for the act in which one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction over to their law enforcement? A proposed change in this process sparked massive June 2019 protests in Hong Kong.
Answer: Extradition
- What nation has the world's highest minimum wage, at $21.38 AUD per hour (or a little more than fifteen U.S. dollars)?
Answer: Australia
- At first count, over 60% of California voters rejected a September 2021 recall of what current governor?
Answer: Gavin Newsom
- What is the full name of the US Department focused on ensuring access to shelter? The department was founded as a Cabinet department in 1965, and Carla Anderson Hills was its first female head.
Answer: Housing and Urban Development
- What "O" term simply means government by the few, but is most often used to describe corrupt rule of a nation by a small and self-interested group?
Answer: OIigarchy
- In 1917, Woodrow Wilson famously declared that "the world must be made safe for" what form of political system?
Answer: Democracy
- As of 2018, the highest-ranking Asian-American in US history was the man who served as President pro tempore of the Senate from 2010 to 2012. What state did this man represent? Although he was a native son, the state he represented was not yet a state when this man was born. We're looking for a state, not a man's name.
Answer: Hawaii (Daniel Inouye)
- Just like the sports analytics of "Moneyball," Nate Silver uses sabermetrics to balance political polling on what website named for the number of electors in the U.S. Electoral College?
Answer: FiveThirtyEight
- In April 2019, who became the first African American woman to serve as Chicago's mayor?
Answer: Lori Lightfoot
- J. Warren Keifer, Nicholas Longworth, and John Boehner were all U.S. Congressmen from Ohio that held what powerful position in the House of Representatives?
Answer: Speaker of the House
- A metonym is a figure of speech in which a thing is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing. Cool, with that definition out of the way, K Street is typically a DC metonym for what industry?
Answer: Lobbying
- In the 2020 election cycle, the two Super PACs that raised the money were named "______ Leadership Fund" and "______ Majority PAC." Both of these organizations are missing the same word from their name. What is that word?
Answer: Senate
- As of July 15, 2020 which of the nine Supreme Court justices is the oldest?
Answer: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- In Article IV, the U.S. Constitution requires that convicted criminals caught in one state can be sent back to the state where the crime occurred. What is the "E" term for this type of legal action?
Answer: Extradition
- What man served as the 26th United States Secretary of Defense from January 2017 until January 2019 before resigning over policy differences with President Donald Trump?
Answer: Jim Mattis
- What multisyllabic "G" word is used to describe the practice establishing a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries?
Answer: Gerrymandering
- The No Child Left Behind Act was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and was signed into law by what U.S. President?
Answer: George W Bush
- First used all the way back in the 1800s, and coming from the Dutch term "free booter," what is the common political term for a delaying tactic?
Answer: Filibuster
- The Fifth Party System in the United States, which hosted relative Democratic dominance with their New Deal Coalition, began with which president's 1932 election?
Answer: Franklin D Roosevelt
- Olaf Scholz heads the Social Democratic Party that narrowly edged out the Christian Democratic Union in the 2021 elections of what EU nation?
Answer: Germany
- "Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow" was a Super PAC founded by what US comedian who raised awareness of Super PACs in his late-night television program during 2012?
Answer: Stephen Colbert
- 10 Downing Street is an address that has been in the news for much of 2019 as it nears an internationally-important deadline. What man currently holds the seat of most power at this address?
Answer: Boris Johnson
- A 2016 referendum in Switzerland rejected what would have been a first-of-its-kind UBI program for Swiss citizens. What do the letters "UBI" stand for?
Answer: Universal Basic Income
- Which of the three branches of government in the United States is made up of courts to uphold the law in the name of the states?
Answer: Judiciary
- In the Republican party's common party abbreviation "GOP," what does the letter G stand for?
Answer: Grand
- If you'd recently committed regicide, what important person did you just kill?
Answer: Monarch (King, Queen)
- What current Prime Minister was born on Christmas Day 1971 in Ottawa?
Answer: Justin Trudeau
- As of 2018, there are 338 seats in the lower house of Canada's national government which is officially known by what three-word phrase?
Answer: House of Commons
- Although Washington has had a locally-elected mayor and a 13-member council since 1973, technically what political body maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws?
Answer: Congress
- This president resided in his mansion at Monticello and was a famed inventor. He controversially enforced the Embargo Act, but also successfully led a raid against Barbary pirates. Who was this president?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson
- Deriving from a Hindi phrase meaning “learned one”, what six-letter “P” word describes a broadcaster, commentator, or writer who specializes in analyzing politics?
Answer: Pundit
- "Informal cyber security adviser" and personal attorney are two of the latest titles for what famous New Yorker that has been officially registered as a Democrat, Independent, and Republican in his multi-decade political career? This man served as the 107th Mayor of New York City.
Answer: Rudy Giuliani
- NATO headquarters are a short bike ride from the Atomium statue in what Belgian city?
Answer: Brussels
- Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was an Indian independence activist that served as the first holder of what central role in Indian politics? Nehru served in this role from 1947 to 1964.
Answer: Prime Minister
- What "J" word is a Spanish, Greek and Portuguese term for a civil deliberative or administrative council? In English, the term takes on a slightly more ominous meaning, frequently referring to a military-led authoritarian state.
Answer: junta
- Which president has their presidential library located in Atlanta, Georgia in a facility that features a replica of the oval office?
Answer: Jimmy Carter
- Ralph Bunche received his doctorate in political science from Harvard University in 1934. In 1950, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work mediating the Arab crisis in what newly formed Middle Eastern country?
Answer: Israel
- What are the two Washington DC colleges that came in the top 5 for the best schools in the US for Political Science in a report by College Factual in 2021?
Answer: Georgetown, George Washington
- The results of two different 2010 court cases ultimately led to the creation of "Super PACs." One was Speechnow.org v. FEC, and the other more famous case was ______ ______ v. FEC. What two words fill in the blanks?
Answer: Citizens United
- What country's bicameral legislature includes the Rajya Sabha, which represents the states, and a lower house, the Lok Sabha which represents the people of the country as a whole?
Answer: India
- What nine-letter term serves as a noun or adjective that refers to the current holder of a political office?
Answer: Incumbent
- The 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties guaranteed the transfer of control of the Panama Canal from which country back to Panama after 1999?
Answer: U.S.
- What Howard University alumna and former California attorney general and senator was sworn in as the new President of the Senate on January 20, 2021?
Answer: Kamala Harris
- Since 1952, what international organization has had its headquarters in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan at a complex that stretches more than six blocks?
Answer: United Nations
- Comedian Beppe Grillo is the cofounder of the Five Star Movement, a populist political party in what country?
Answer: Italy
- The first televised U.S. presidential debate was broadcast from Chicago's CBS Studios. With one guess, name either of the two men participating in the debate as a presidential candidate.
Answer: John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon
- William Rehnquist was a 20th century American most famous for his long-serving role in which of the three branches of the federal government?
Answer: Judicial
- Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison used the pen name "Publius" to publish what set of 85 essays in New York newspapers in 1787 and 1788?
Answer: The Federalist Papers
- Instant-runoff voting and single transferable vote are the two specific types of a more general voting system that is used in various jurisdictions in the United States. As of November 1, 2020, Maine is the only U.S. state which uses this voting system in all state primary, congressional, and presidential elections. What is the name of this system?
Answer: Ranked-choice voting
- What is the four-letter name for a fragment sometimes created when holes are made in a paper or card? The "hanging" variety of this common noun became a hot topic during the 2000 U.S. Presidential election in the state of Florida.
Answer: Chad
- Often attributed to a 1980 Virginia newspaper article as the source, the common acronym NIMBY holds what meaning related to local politics and anti-development tendencies?
Answer: Not in my backyard
- In the United States, what process must began with the lower house of a legislature bringing charges against a civil officer of government and is an analogous process to a grand jury bringing an indictment?
Answer: Impeachment
- In 1997, David Wolf became the first American to vote from where? A Texas state law enabled him to do so.
Answer: Space
- What document from 1215 exhibited a strong influence on the drafting of the U.S. Constitution? Eighteenth-century understanding of this document spurred concepts such as representative government, the idea of a supreme law, and judicial review.
Answer: Magna Carta
- What form of government was referred to by Winston Churchill as "the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried?"
Answer: Democracy
- What was the unsurprising surname of the 1915-born politician who became the first mayor of DC in more than a century after winning the District's 1974 mayoral election?
Answer: Walter Washington
- Named for Judiciary Chairman Andrew Volstead, the 1919 Volstead Act overrode President Woodrow Wilson’s veto to what national act that was later repealed by the 21st amendment?
Answer: Prohibition
- A military program announced by President Reagan in March 1983 promoted funding for lasers and particle beam weapons and was formally known as the Strategic Defense Initiative. However, what two-word name was the program (somewhat mockingly) nicknamed by the public?
Answer: Star Wars
- In 2019, the U.S. Department of State issued more than 20 million of what type of document whose design now includes quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. and astronaut Ellison Onizuka?
Answer: Passport
- Alex Azar is an American attorney and former pharmaceutical lobbyist that has been serving as the Secretary of what US Cabinet since 2017? He also served as the Chairman of the Coronavirus Task Force until replaced by Mike Pence in February 2020.
Answer: Health and Human Services
- Despite not running in the 2016 election, a retired Secretary of State earned three electoral votes for president from "faithless electors" in Washington. This man inadvertently became the first black Republican to earn electoral votes. Who is this man?
Answer: Colin Powell
- Passing free-rein leadership and decision-making to subordinates is a leadership style that shares what French name with a non-interventionist economic system?
Answer: Laissez-faire
- Alexis de Tocqueville is a famous European political scientist who famously wrote a 19th century treatise titled "Democracy in America." What nationality is de Tocqueville?
Answer: French
- What "meaty" term is used to refer to the act when a politician appropriates government spending for localized projects? This is often considered a legal method for bringing money to a representative's district.
Answer: Pork barrel
- Ajit Pai was the chairman of what federal organization when it repealed "Net Neutrality" rules in 2017?
Answer: Federal Communications Commission
- What “A” term refers to, in a political sense, to a renunciation of a high office, usually by a monarch? A famous example is Edward VIII giving up his role as King of England in 1936.
Answer: Abdication
- What four-word phrase spoken by Ronald Reagan in Europe in 1987 received relatively little media coverage at the time but exploded into ubiquity two years later when the phrase became reality? The phrase eventually became shorthand for an entire speech and foreign policy achievement.
Answer: Tear down this wall
- Political theorist John Rawls is most famous for his 1971 book A Theory of ___, where the blank is filled with what word? (In the U.S. it can also refer to one of a group of nine people.)
Answer: Justice
- Carlos Danger was the infamous alias of what former congressman whose political career evaporated after a sexting scandal led to a federal prison sentence?
Answer: Anthony Weiner
- A politician once said "I would have loved to have been in a band but sadly I just wasn't good enough." Instead, this man ended up spending eight years as the Prime Minister of the UK. Who is he?
Answer: Tony Blair
- In 1921 the black flag flew at the funeral of Peter Kropotkin, philosopher of what government-negating ideology?
Answer: Anarchy
- Obviously coming after FDR's 3+ terms as the head of the US, what president introduced and secured the passage of the legislation that establishes a two-term limit for US Presidents?
Answer: Harry Truman
- What famous document begins: "When in the course of human events..."?
Answer: The Declaration of Independence
- Before his stints as Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack served two terms as governor of what corn-fed state?
Answer: Iowa
- What President allowed his six children to bring their pets to the White House which included a small bear, a lizard, guinea pigs, a snake, a hyena, a rabbit, and more?
Answer: Teddy Roosevelt
- 48 U.S. states are divided into counties. Alaska is instead divided into boroughs. What other state has unique intra-state division by using a system of 64 parishes?
Answer: Louisiana
- What "K" man served as the Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford? He was a Jewish refugee who fled Nazi Germany with his family in 1938 and he later received a controversial Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 after negotiating a ceasefire in Vietnam.
Answer: Henry Kissinger
- Since 1993, Russia has technically been a democracy, but before that government was put in place the country was known by another name. What does U.S.S.R stand for?
Answer: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
- 2360 Massachusetts Avenue NW, 2306 Massachusetts Avenue NW, 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, and 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW are all addresses of what type of building in Washington, DC?
Answer: Embassies
- As of March 3rd 2019, John Bolton serves as the 27th National Security Advisor of the US. Under George W Bush, Bolton served as an ambassador, although he was not an ambassador to a specific country. Rather, he represented the interests of the US in front of what polity?
Answer: The United Nations
- Rod Blagojevich, George Ryan, Dan Walker, and Otto Kerner have all been governors of the same state in the past 70 years. Coincidentally, each man has also served a prison term since leaving public office. Over what state did all of these men govern?
Answer: Illinois
- What "B" word signifies a legislative body that has two bodies or chambers?
Answer: Bicameral
- Intel might dip into making their products in Ohio if Congress passes a semiconductor funding bill with what five-letter acronym that was also the name of an early '80s California motorcycle cop show?
Answer: CHIPS
- The U.S. National Cyber Security Division opened for the first time in 2003 and is currently housed within what Federal Department? John Kelly, Kirstjen Nielsen, and Kevin McAleenan all served as Secretary of this Department during the Trump administration.
Answer: Department of Homeland Security
- In January 2019, a former Obama Cabinet Secretary announced his 2020 Presidential campaign. What Cabinet department did this man oversee from 2014-17?
Answer: Housing and Urban Development
- Sarah Palin was mayor of which city, the fourth largest by population, before her election as the first female Governor of Alaska?
Answer: Wasilla
- Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution kicked off a wave of early-2011 Middle East protests now known by what two-word name that sounds like a pretty decent soap?
Answer: Arab Spring
- The first African-American female major-party gubernatorial nominee in the United States occurred during the 2018 election. What is this woman's name? Note, we are looking for the woman's name, not the name of the state where she (unsuccessfully) ran.
Answer: Stacey Abrams
- Margrethe II has been the reigning monarch of what European country for 47 years? She succeeded Frederick IX and before him Christian X.
Answer: Denmark
- Popular from the 16th to the 18th centuries, what "M" trade system is based on the principle that the world's wealth was static, and nations should use protectionism to gain the greatest share of that wealth?
Answer: Mercantilism
- Which social system, common in Medieval Europe, is simply defined as a system in which people worked and fought for nobles who gave them protection and land in return?
Answer: Feudalism
- Kentucky-based Falls City Brewing Company capitalized on the 1977 political climate by releasing “Billy Beer.” The beer was named after and heavily promoted by the brother of what sitting U.S. president?
Answer: Jimmy Carter
- Born and raised in the Texas-Arkansas border town of Texarkana, what U.S. businessman was the founder of Electronic Data Systems and later ran two of the most successful third party presidential campaigns in U.S. history?
Answer: Ross Perot
- Economists Clément Juglar and later Joseph Schumpeter suggested four stages for an economic cycle: Expansion, Crisis, Recession, and what fourth stage?
Answer: Recovery
- In January 2021, Janet Yellen became the first woman to serve as the United States Secretary of the Treasury. From 2014-18, she was the first woman to serve in which role?
Answer: Chair of the Federal Reserve
- The 24th Amendment prohibited them. Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections ruled them unconstitutional. What two-word type of payment are we talking about?
Answer: Poll tax
- What senator, first elected in the 1974 senatorial elections, is the only Democrat to ever be a Senator from Vermont?
Answer: Patrick Leahy
- What American polling company, named for its 1935 founder, conducts telephone 500 interviews a day for its famous political and economic survey?
Answer: Gallup
- The close results of the 1948 election created the unusual scenario in which Harry Truman won the election, but the Chicago Tribune speculated that what Republican governor of New York was victorious? A celebratory Truman held up this headline while celebrating his win.
Answer: Thomas Dewey
- Passed by Congress in 1798, a set of four laws restricting foreigners' activity in America was known by the Alien and ___ Acts. What word goes in the blank?
Answer: Sedition
- Hattie Wyatt Caraway holds a place in Arkansas and US history as the first woman to serve a full term in what role?
Answer: US Senator
- The origin of the word politics is adopted from the Greek title of a famous philosopher's book on affairs of state. Who is this Greek philosopher?
Answer: Aristotle
- There's a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan administration typically referenced with a well-known two-word phrase. However, in the other country who was party to the event, it is known as the McFarlane affair. What is this event?
Answer: Iran-Contra Affair
- Despite a bellicose reputation, what US President won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as a peacemaker in the Russo-Japanese War?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
- Established by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth, Tiger Woods and Rush Limbaugh received what prestigious medal by President Donald Trump during his presidential term?
Answer: Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Who was the only U.S. president to have a PhD in political science? He earned it from Johns Hopkins University in 1886.
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- Although the term was initially coined on the London Stock Exchange in the 18th century for a stockbroker who defaulted on his debts, it's now commonly used to refer to office-holders headed out the door. What is this fowl two-word term?
Answer: Lame duck
- Although it continued to lack voting representation in Congress, the 23rd amendment to the US Constitution was ratified in 1961 and granted how many Electoral College votes to the District of Columbia?
Answer: 3
- James Edward Oglethorpe was the founder of the colony of Georgia in 1732. He was also a soldier, public servant, and philanthropist. What nationality was Oglethorpe?
Answer: British
- As I write this, the US and North Korea are preparing for their second summit during the Trump presidency, scheduled for February 2019 in Vietnam. In what country was the first summit held in June 2017?
Answer: Singapore
- The 2nd President of the US belonged to 3 different political parties during his life. Name 1 of them.
Answer: Pro-Administration or Federalist or Democratic-Republican
- Degrees from Stanford, Oxford, and Yale. Former Mayor of Newark. Vegetarian since 1992. Which former contender for the Democratic 2020 Presidential nomination does this describe?
Answer: Cory Booker
- What U.S. federal employee penned "Madam Secretary: A Memoir" as her only book along with some other political science writings?
Answer: Madeleine Albright
- Prior to Harry Truman's re-branding of the Department of Defense in the 1940s, what was the agency previously known as?
Answer: The Department of War
- As of 2018, two countries in the world use the title Sultan for the nation's head of state. Name one of these countries. Hint: one country is 6 letters and in Southeast Asia. The other is 4 letters and in the Middle East.
Answer: Oman and Brunei
- The longest-serving US Senator from Montana had initials MM. He also served as a professor of history and political science at the University of Montana. Who was this man?
Answer: Mike Mansfield
- Written as a Socratic dialogue in the 4th century BC, "The Republic" is a treatise on what makes a just city-state, by what ancient Greek philosopher?
Answer: Plato
- From the name of a fictional character who was deeply devoted to Napoleon, what 10-letter word often associated with sexism is used in political science to mean excessive patriotism?
Answer: chauvinism
- Written around 375 BC, what Socratic dialogue about the character of the just city-state, and the just man, is one of the classic texts of Greek philosophy?
Answer: The Republic
- What is the two-word title of the 1859 essay by political philosopher John Stuart Mill, which applied his theory of utilitarianism to societies and governments?
Answer: On Liberty
- What 20th-century political scientist and University of Michigan professor wrote such books as “Political Representation In France”, “Dynamics Of Party Support”, and the “American Social Attitudes Data Sourcebook?” His last name is the same as a shoe company that makes Chuck Taylors.
Answer: Philip Converse
- Complete the expression introduced by political philosopher and Holocaust survivor Hannah Arendt: “the banality of ______.” The missing word can be defined as profoundly immoral and wicked.
Answer: Evil
- What “S” Irish political scientist worked for Dublin’s Economic and Social Research Institute, and regularly appeared on Irish television to analyze elections?
Answer: Richard Sinnott
- From the 1972 album "Sail Away," "Political Science" is a lesser-known tune by what singer-songwriter who also wrote the "Toy Story" theme song, "You've Got a Friend in Me?"
Answer: Randy Newman
- Which term is used for the tax or duty a country puts on imports and exports from another country (typically as a way to make money and regulate trade)?
Answer: Tariff
- The Communist Manifesto was co-authored by Karl Marx and which other German political theorist?
Answer: Friedrich Engels
- Which term is used for a form of government where just a few powerful people are running the show? (Hint: A historical example might be Sparta, while Russia could be a more modern example)
Answer: Oligarchy
- The separation of powers—that is, the three branches of the U.S. government—is also referred to as checks and ______?
Answer: Balances
- A person running for office can benefit financially from a super PAC, which sounds like a video game power-up but it’s actually an acronym for what?
Answer: Political Action Committee
- Which C-term describes powers that are shared by federal and state governments?
Answer: Concurrent
- Political scientist John Mearsheimer is credited with the theory of _____ realism, in which great power states aim to dominate international politics. The blank is filled by what word, more often seen in the context of team sports?
Answer: Offensive
- What is it called when a person loses their nationality in the country they’ve been living in—for example, because they’ve renounced it or become a naturalized citizen somewhere else?
Answer: Expatriation
- ____ ____ Decides is the name of an influential 2008 book by American political scientists Marty Cohen, David Karol, Hans Noel, and John Zaller that argues that who, as per the title, ultimately determines a nominee for the U.S. presidency?
Answer: The Party
- What political movement of the 20th century is ultimately named for the image of a bundle of rods tied around an axe, an ancient Roman symbol of authority?
Answer: Fascism
- What does the common American slogan "E pluribus unum" mean when translated from Latin to English?
Answer: Out of many one
- Which amendment to the United States Constitution coincidentally (fitting) establishes a limit of two terms for the office of presidency?
Answer: 22nd Amendment
- About one third of the U.S. government's revenue came from liquor and alcohol until a 1913 Constitutional amendment allowed for a tax on what?
Answer: Income
- What new economic program did China's Mao Zedong announce in 1958?
Answer: The Great Leap Forward
- Al Gore sought the Democratic nomination for US President in 1988 as the junior senator from which state?
Answer: Tennessee
- The 17th amendment to the U.S. Constitution enabled the direct election of what type of public official?
Answer: Senators
- Put into effect in 2018, the European Union's GDPR is considered one of the world's toughest privacy laws. GDPR stands for "General Data [BLANK] Regulation." What word goes in the blank?
Answer: Protection
- In early analytics, punch card readers helped make processing efficient for what recurring project? The Tabulating Machine Company successfully trimmed 5 ½ years off processing the data. It originally took seven years.
Answer: Census (1890)
- What ancient man wrote a work of political philosophy titled simply "Politics"? Admittedly that's a translated title. The work is divided into eight books and ranges from discussing the instability of tyrannies to pontificating on marriage and children.
Answer: Aristotle
- The Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in the U.S., was passed more than 40 shameful years after the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled explicitly against early women suffragettes. Who was president when the Nineteenth Amendment passed?
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- What is the minimum age to serve in the US House of Representatives?
Answer: 25
- Manufacturer supply chain audits are one of many things in the 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, commonly known by the hyphenated last names of what two U.S. senators?
Answer: Dodd-Frank
- What 20th century U.S. President escaped two assassination attempts within 17 days in September 1975?
Answer: Gerald Ford
- The Minnesota DFL is a political party in its namesake state affiliated with the US Democratic Party. The D stands for Democratic. The L stands for Labor. What does the F stand for?
Answer: Farmer
- In October 2019, what country's ruling Law and Justice Party expanded their power by taking a majority in the lower house of parliament? The leader of the party is Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Answer: Poland
- USGS is a bureau within the US Department of the Interior with the motto "science for a changing world." What do the initials of this organization stand for? The group is headquartered in Reston, Virginia and is a fact-finding organization with no regulatory responsibility.
Answer: United States Geological Survey
- What famous sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty became famous for his titular "code" which importantly shifted law codes from compensating victims to physical punishment of perpetrators?
Answer: Hammurabi
- What political term can mean either a meeting at which local members of a political party register candidate preferences or a conference of members within a legislative body that belong to a particular faction?
Answer: Caucus
- Inspired by similar wording in the English Bill of Rights from the 1600s, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishments inflicted" is the text of which amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
Answer: Eighth
- According to the US Constitution, what is the minimum age requirement to be president of the United States?
Answer: 35
- What is the four-word phrase that completes this passage from Article Two of the U.S. Constitution? "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other ____________."
Answer: High Crimes and Misdemeanors
- 48 US states are divided into Counties. Two are not, using either Boroughs or Parishes as the term to delineate state regions. Name one of the 2 non-County states.
Answer: Louisiana (parish) and Alaska (borough)
- Thomas Barclay negotiated a treaty in 1786 that was then signed by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Muhammad III. This treaty is now the longest-standing US treaty. What nation (besides the US) was part of this "Treaty of Friendship"?
Answer: Morocco
- Who is the only US President to have a PhD? It was in Political Science at Johns Hopkins.
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- As of December 2018, Michelle Bowman, Lael Brainard, Randal Quarles, and Richard Clarida all serve with Jerome Powell on the Board of what governing body?
Answer: Federal Reserve
- What 1651 Thomas Hobbes book, named after a Biblical monster, argues for a social contract and rule by an absolute sovereign?
Answer: Leviathan
- What phrase common in international politics was coined in 1952 by French writer Alfred Sauvy to describe a "tiers monde" that was aligned neither to the U.S. nor the Soviet Union?
Answer: Third World
- After losing 49 states in the 1984 presidential election and then a last-minute Minnesota Senate race in 2002, what man became the first and, so far, only person to lose a statewide election in every U.S. state?
Answer: Walter Mondale
- What 13-letter "P" word typically means a greater or weightier part? It is often used in civil lawsuits when determining the amount of evidence required for conviction.
Answer: Preponderance
- What country's 1978 constitution was the culmination of the nation's transition to democracy after decades of dictator rule? The document was formally approved by Cortes Generales, officially sanctioned by Juan Carlos, and was overwhelmingly approved by the public with over 90% of votes cast in favor.
Answer: Spain
- Gracie Mansion is the official name of the home of what political office? Past holders of the office have included John Lindsay, Abraham Beame, and David Dinkins.
Answer: NYC Mayor
- David Malpass, Kristalina Georgieva, and Jim Yong Kim are the three most recent leaders of what international financial institution formed in 1945 with a current stated goal of "reduction of poverty?"
Answer: The World Bank
- Aside from Donald Trump, who was the only other U.S. president who had been divorced?
Answer: Ronald Reagan
- A landmark moment in the history of electronic voting in U.S. elections was when the Reform Party used "I-Voting" (internet voting) to select their presidential candidate in 1996. Unsurprisingly, they selected what man who had founded the party one year prior?
Answer: Ross Perot
- In 1958, high school junior Robert Heft designed an iconic American item that was later accepted by congress in 1959. His teacher upgraded his grade on the design assignment from a B- to an A. What item did young Mr. Heft design?
Answer: The 50-star American flag
- Looking to stimulate a stagnant Soviet economy in the '80s, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced what P-word political movement that's just Russian for "reconstruction" or "restructuring"?
Answer: Perestroika
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was formed in 1944 by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes with objectives to secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. In what American city is the IMF headquartered?
Answer: Washington
- What country has the longest-standing treaty with the U.S.? This "Treaty of Friendship" with an African nation was negotiated by Thomas Barclay, and signed by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Muhammad III in 1786.
Answer: Morocco
- Name the only person to be a United States President and Supreme Court Justice. He was even Chief Justice! He was the 27th president and the tenth chief justice.
Answer: Taft
- What is the term for a Senate aide appointed and sponsored by a senator with a role that primarily consists of delivering correspondence and legislative documentation? These aides must be at least sixteen years old and attend school.
Answer: Page
- Pioneer of political economy Adam Smith, best known for his work “The Wealth of Nations,” was born in which country of the U.K?
Answer: Scotland
- In October 1884 in Washington, U.S. President Chester Arthur hosted an international conference to discuss the choice of "a ______ to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time reckoning throughout the world". What word fills in the blank?
Answer: Meridian
- What ancient man wrote a work titled "Politics" which included the idea that "Every community established with a view to some good"?
Answer: Aristotle
- Disappointed office seeker Charles Guiteau shot what US President (and native Ohioan) in 1881? Although the wound was not immediately fatal, its subsequent infections resulted in this man's death.
Answer: James Garfield
- What country held its first democratic elections on January 30, 2005?
Answer: Iraq
- In February of 1945, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt met for a conference in what Crimean city to discuss the post-war organization of Germany and Europe?
Answer: Yalta
- Strasbourg, France is home to the parliament of what ginormous international organization with a main HQ in Belgium?
Answer: European Union
- In 2003, John Ashcroft sang “Let The Eagle Soar” while serving what non-musical role in the administration of George W. Bush?
Answer: Attorney General
- Often lauded as an example of "ends justify the means" political behavior, what 1532 Niccolo Machiavelli book was written in Italian as an instruction guide for new royalty, replete with historical and classical examples?
Answer: The Prince
- Political thinker Hannah Arendt introduced the concept of "the ____ of evil" in her book Eichmann in Jerusalem. What word, meant to emphasize Eichmann's normality, fills in the blank?
Answer: Banality
- The Pittsburgh native Edith Spurlock Sampson was a lawyer and judge who served as the first Black U.S. delegate to what body in August 1950?
Answer: United Nations
- In the 1912 election, which presidential incumbent became the only major party (Democrat or Republican) candidate in US in the 20th century to finish third in both the electoral vote and popular vote?
Answer: Taft
- What is the "B" term that can be used to describe the Australian government (along with many other democracies) in which the legislature has legislators in two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses?
Answer: Bicameralism
- The British cabinet meets with the prime minister at what famous residence?
Answer: 10 Downing Street
- What J-word means extreme nationalism, often expressed by pursuing a belligerent foreign policy?
Answer: Jingoism
- Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987, what building lives at 1 First Street, NE, in the block immediately east of the United States Capitol?
Answer: The Supreme Court Building
- Following his political career, Al Gore achieved meme infamy status when he claimed to invent the internet. However, he is widely credited with coining what 2-word automotive phrase for the internet?
Answer: Information Superhighway
- Carole Pateman wrote about a "Sexual" one, and Charles W. Mills a "Racial" one, according to the titles of their published works. Rousseau wrote about a "Social" one in 1762. What word completes all these phrases from political philosophy?
Answer: Contract
- The United Kingdom was the first country on which the U.S. formally declared war. What was the second?
Answer: Mexico
- Which song by "The Who" contains the lyrics 'Hope I die before I get old'
Answer: My Generation
- What type of government is formed by members of competing parties since neither has a majority?
Answer: Coalition Government
- How many members are on the Supreme Court of Canada?
Answer: Nine
- When JFK decided against running for his House of Representatives seat in 1952 in order to run for the U.S. Senate, fellow Massachusettsan Tip O'Neill said "All politics is ______" and subsequently won and kept the seat for over 30 years. What word fills in the blank?
Answer: Local
- In 2008 Canada officially established a TRC with the purpose of documenting the history and lasting impacts of the Canadian Indian residential school system on indigenous students and their families. Other well-known TRCs include post-apartheid South Africa and multiple in Latin America. What does TRC stand for?
Answer: Truth and Reconciliation Commission
- From 1789 to 1807, how many justices sat on the US Supreme Court? Admittedly, this number may have made reaching clear decisions difficult.
Answer: Six
- Which term that originated in Sweden broadly applies to a person who is appointed look into complaints made against the government by the public?
Answer: Ombudsman
- African American track star Ralph Metcalfe was born in Atlanta in 1910. After holding the world records for the 100m and 200m races and racking up Olympic medals, he became a politician. In Congress he helped create what three-lettered group that aims to "achieve greater equity for persons of African descent?"
Answer: Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)
- In presidential elections, Washington DC receives three electoral votes due to what numbered constitutional amendment, ratified in 1961?
Answer: Twenty-third
- Analyzing American politics from a foreign perspective, what 19th-century work by Alexis de Tocqueville covers topics like judicial power and local government?
Answer: Democracy in America
- What new economic program did China's Mao Zedong announce in 1958?
Answer: The Great Leap Forward
- There's a certain type of "problem" popularly referenced in both political science and economics in which agents are motivated to act in their own best interests, which are contrary to those of either shareholders or citizens. This example of a moral hazard is typically referred to as the "______-agent problem." What word fills in the blank?
Answer: Principal
- Which later-assassinated president was the only sitting member of the House of Representatives to be elected to the presidency?
Answer: James Garfield
- In 2020, what North Carolina incumbent senator defeated challenger Cal Cunningham in the most expensive senate election in history up to that point?
Answer: Thom Tillis
- There was a treaty signed in Versailles that stripped Germany of colonies, gave the Polish Corridor to Poland, placed the Saar Territory under French administration, and placed the Rhineland under Allied occupation. In what year was this treaty SIGNED? The actions did not take place until the subsequent year.
Answer: 1919
- What co-founder of the NAACP was also the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard?
Answer: W. E. B. Du Bois
- What political scientist, formerly of Yale University, wrote such political science texts as “On Democracy”, and “Who Governs?” He shares a last name with the children’s author of “The BFG.”
Answer: Robert Dahl
- In 2008, Richard Thaler and Obama administration employee Cass Sunstein published what bestseller about how individuals and governments can push people towards better decision-making?
Answer: Nudge
- An 1886 degree in Political Science from John Hopkins University made what man the only U.S. president to date to hold a PhD?
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
- What equine term refers to the theory that the far right and far left of the political spectrum substantially resemble one another?
Answer: Horseshoe Theory
- Still lying in state, what world leader defined "politics" as "the most concentrated expression of economics" in 1903?
Answer: Vladimir Lenin
- In 1924 she was born in Brooklyn to Caribbean immigrant parents. In 1968 she became the first black woman elected to the United States Congress. Who is this woman? She served seven terms in Congress, was the first woman to appear in a Presidential debate, and most recently had a namesake state park opened in Brooklyn in 2019.
Answer: Shirley Chisholm
- "Seward's Folly" was the contemporaneous nickname for The Alaska Purchase in 1867, which was technically a treaty with the Russian Empire later signed by what president?
Answer: Andrew Johnson
- Anthony Downs' theory of which groups has them habitually moving toward the middle to win elections?
Answer: Political Parties
- Consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, G7 is short for what international intergovernmental organization comprised of seven of world’s largest developed economies?
Answer: Group of Seven
- The United States Secretary of Education is sixteenth in the line of succession to the presidency, just behind the secretary of what department that was created in 1977?
Answer: Energy
- Created in January 1993 by Executive Order 12835, what government body coordinates economic policy with the White House and is currently overseen by its Director Larry Kudlow?
Answer: National Economic Council
- What 11-letter K-word is defined by Merriam-Webster as "government by those who seek chiefly status and personal gain at the expense of the governed?"
Answer: Kleptocracy
- Francis Fukuyama's 1992 book about the rise of liberal democracy is titled The End of _____, where the blank is filled with what broad concept?
Answer: History
- Which amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted D.C. citizens 3 electoral college votes?
Answer: 23rd
- Which U.S. state was the first which granted women the right to vote? When women were enfranchised, it was not yet a state but a territory. Suffrage came in 1869 and statehood in 1890.
Answer: Wyoming
- The Bretton Woods Conference, formally known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the gathering of hundreds of delegates from 44 Allied nations at the end of World War II to regulate international finances and development. In what U.S. state was the Bretton Woods Conference hosted?
Answer: New Hampshire
- What former financial analyst and television host was named as the Director of the National Economic Council under President Donald Trump in 2018, replacing Gary Cohn?
Answer: Larry Kudlow
- In the 2016 Presidential election, the state of Minnesota had the highest share of voter turnout (from the eligible voting population) of any of the 50 states. What was the % turnout in Minnesota? Answers accepted if within 4% of the actual voter turnout.
Answer: 75% (71 - 79 accepted)
- NASA was, unsurprisingly, established when an American president signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act. Which American president was this?
Answer: Dwight Eisenhower
- What Roman historian with an “L” name wrote about the wars of Hannibal, among other historical recountings? Macchiaveli later wrote “Discourses” on his writing, providing a more modern point of view on his Roman stories.
Answer: Livy
- Led by Doug Logan, what Floridan firm used “kinematic markers” to audit ballots in Arizona’s Maricopa County from the 2020 U.S. presidential election starring in April 2021?
Answer: Cyber Ninjas
- What word for a political activity can trace its origin back to the name of the agent of an absentee Irish landlord of the 19th century, who was shunned and isolated by his neighbors?
Answer: Boycott
- What numeric term, coined during the Spanish Civil War, refers to an imagined group of residents who seek to undermine a state from within, often in alliance with outside forces?
Answer: Fifth Column
- While working as a lawyer in Illinois in 1858, Abraham Lincoln produced what two-word manual to prove that the witness testimony of seeing a crime in the moonlight could not have been true? Lincoln ultimately won the case.
Answer: Farmers Almanac
- What scandal-ridden early 20th century president uttered this incomprehensible sentence "I would like the government to do all it can to mitigate, then, in understanding, in mutuality of interest, in concern for the common good, our tasks will be solved”?
Answer: Warren Harding
- On July 21, 2022, what former European Central Bank president resigned his post as Prime Minister of Italy, throwing the country's politics into chaos?
Answer: Mario Draghi
- What Italian saint differentiated between four kinds of law (eternal, divine positive, natural, and human law) in his 13th century "Treatise on Law?"
Answer: Thomas Aquinas
- What two-word "medical" term was first used to describe advisors speaking to the press after a 1984 presidential debate between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale?
Answer: Spin Doctor
- Considered one of the innovators of creative nonfiction via New Journalism, what American author's best-known work "The Executioner's Song" won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for fiction? This "postal" author also ran in the Democratic primary for NYC's mayoral race of 1969 with a platform including the secession of New York City as the 51st US state.
Answer: Norman Mailer
- What author famously proposed the concept of the "Veil of Ignorance" in his most famous work titled "A Theory of Justice"?
Answer: John Rawls
- Kentucky changed its voting age requirement to 18 in 1955, over twenty years before what numbered constitutional amendment was ratified to do that nationally?
Answer: 26
- What British statesman and Whig MP wrote "A Vindication of Natural Society" and "Reflections on the Revolution in France", and is considered by many to be the philosophical founder of conservatism?
Answer: Edmund Burke
- President Obama says he most often drinks how many cups of coffee per day?
Answer: zero
- Thomas Piketty proposes progressive wealth taxes as a way to reduce income inequality in what 2013 book that was translated into English the following year?
Answer: Capital
- What American comedian from a famed troupe of brothers noted that "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies."?
Answer: Groucho Marx
- 16 years apart, two Minnesotan politicians ran a losing campaign as the Democratic nominee for US President. Both men were a former US Vice President. Name the man who preceded the other.
Answer: Hubert H Humphrey
- Which US President was a fashion model in his youth? Unsurprisingly, we're talking about a 20th-century president here.
Answer: Gerald Ford
- What was the common name of the American nativist political party that operated nationally in the mid-1850s, began as a secret society, and held hostile views towards immigration and many different minority groups?
Answer: Know Nothing Party
- Focusing on wealth and inequality in Europe and the United States, "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" is a widely-discussed 2013 work by what French economist?
Answer: Thomas Piketty
- In the 2019 United States Congress, how many of the 50 U.S. states have only 1 Representative elected to represent the entire state?
Answer: 7
- What “d” is defined as the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration?
Answer: Devolution
- In April 2019, Kirstjen Nielsen resigned as the 6th Secretary of Homeland Security. Nielsen has two degrees from east coast schools that are 113 miles apart. With one guess, name either of these schools.
Answer: Georgetown and University of Virginia
- The dominating source of international conflict will be cultural, according to what influential 1996 nonfiction book by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington?
Answer: The Clash of Civilizations
- What was the most populous city in the Confederate States of America?
Answer: New Orleans
- Kenneth Arrow's famous "impossibility theorem" holds that no form of what political activity can produce a truly successful result according to several criteria, including universality and Pareto efficiency? Gibbard's theorem concerns the "strategic" form of this activity.
Answer: Voting
- Clay Henry III is the third non-human mayor of Terlingua, Texas since the 1980s. What type of animal is he?
Answer: Goat
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.