U.S. PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY

The first president born in the 20th century, John Fitzgerald Kennedy ushered in a new generation of leaders and propelled the United States into the Space Age. News coverage of the dashing president, his fashionable wife and their young children helped shape the “Camelot” story of the Kennedy presidency as a magical moment in American history, but a darker narrative emerged as the convulsions of Cold War and civil rights shook the country. When Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, the unprecedented news coverage of the shocking event brought the nation together and elevated the 35th president to a place of legend.

This quiz is sponsored by Washington D.C.’s Newseum (newseum.org).

The first president born in the 20th century, John Fitzgerald Kennedy ushered in a new generation of leaders and propelled the United States into the Space Age. News coverage of the dashing president, his fashionable wife and their young children helped shape the “Camelot” story of the Kennedy presidency as a magical moment in American history, but a darker narrative emerged as the convulsions of Cold War and civil rights shook the country. When Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, the unprecedented news coverage of the shocking event brought the nation together and elevated the 35th president to a place of legend.

This quiz is sponsored by Washington D.C.’s Newseum (newseum.org).

1. True or False: Before his election as president, John F. Kennedy represented the state of New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate.

True

False

2. How old was John F. Kennedy when he was elected president?

40

43

47

49

51

3. All of the following events happened during Kennedy’s presidency, except:

Kennedy deploys U.S. Special Forces to train South Vietnamese soldiers to fight communist North Vietnam.

John Glenn becomes the first American and human being to step foot on the Moon.

The Soviet Union erects a wall dividing East and West Berlin to prevent East Berliners fleeing to the West.

Martin Luther King delivers his famous “I Have a Dream Speech” in Washington D.C. as part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Kennedy and the leaders of the Soviet Union and Great Britain sign the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, prohibiting the testing of nuclear weapons under water, in the Earth’s atmosphere, and in outer space.

4. The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis led to what?

The United States allowed the missiles to remain in Cuba.

The Soviet Union agreed to cut in half the number of its nuclear missiles in Cuba.

The Soviet Union removed its nuclear missiles from Cuba while the United States agreed to bring its nuclear weapons stockpile in balance with that of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union removed its nuclear missiles from Cuba while the United States secretly agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey.

The Soviet Union kept all its nuclear missiles in Cuba, but four years later removed the missiles as part of a nuclear arms agreement with the United States.

5. Jack Ruby was the name of the man who shot and killed John F. Kennedy’s accused assassin two days after JFK was killed.

True

False

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