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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What occurred during a duel that gave Benton a reputation as something of a thug?
(a) He had a sniper actually shoot the opponent.
(b) He rigged the other pistol so it wouldn't fire.
(c) He threw down his gun and beat the man with his fists.
(d) He killed a U. S. District Attorney.

2. What is ironic about Texas secession on March 2?
(a) It was the anniversary of the battle of San Jacinto.
(b) It was the day Houston became governor.
(c) It was Houston's brithday.
(d) It was the anniversary of Houston's election to the Senate.

3. What effect did Webster's three-hour-long speech in the Senate have in 1850?
(a) It gave the South the idea of secession.
(b) It helped hold off the Civil War for a good ten years.
(c) It rallied the North to declare war on the South.
(d) It made many political allies for Webster.

4. What was one of Benton's favorite sayings about himself?
(a) Benton and Democracy are one and the same.
(b) Benton is a bull in a china shop.
(c) Benton always knows what is right.
(d) Benton will never compromise.

5. How did Daniel Webster describe and define himself?
(a) As a citizen of the world.
(b) As a debator who loved to take any opposing view.
(c) Not as a Massachusetts man but as an American.
(d) As a free thinker opposed to the Union.

Short Answer Questions

1. What advantage did John Quincey Adams have as a politician?

2. Kennedy sees as a weakness in John Quincey Adams an emotional attachment to whom?

3. After Houston's removal from the Senate, what office did he run for and win as an independent?

4. What is a particular problem on occasion when the electorate presents a desire to the elected official?

5. Besides appearing to be disloyal to his father when he aligned himself with Jefferson's politics, what other problem arose for John Quincey Adams?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Kennedy point out as interesting about letter John Quincey wrote at ages nine and forty-five?

2. How did Sen. Benton get his reputation as a fighter?

3. Write down the epithet that testified to the intelligence of Thomas Hart Benton.

4. Was Houston able to prevent Texas from seceding from the Union?

5. How does the book reflect John Kennedy's admiration for certain former U.S. Senators?

6. What caused Houston to resign as governor of Tennessee and go live with the Indians?

7. If Webster's popularity was an asset, how does Kennedy point out that it was also a liability?

8. What advice was Kennedy given when he first went to Congress?

9. Relate two important firsts for Senator Thomas Hart Benton.

10. What personal weakness does Kennedy point out about John Quincey Adams?

(see the answer keys)

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