Question 1

Instructions: Identify the following. Be as specific as possible, and include names, dates, and relevant facts as appropriate. Be sure to explain the significance of the person or term. 
Alfred E. Smith

Accepted Answer

Alfred E. Smith was a prominent American politician who served as the Governor of New York from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was also the Democratic Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 1928 election, making him the first Roman Catholic to run for president on a major party ticket.

Smith was known for his progressive policies, including support for labor rights, social welfare programs, and government intervention in the economy. He was also a strong advocate for immigration and urban development.

His significance lies in his role as a trailblazer for Catholic politicians in the United States and his impact on the Democratic Party's platform. Despite losing the 1928 election to Herbert Hoover, Smith's candidacy paved the way for future Catholic politicians and helped shape the modern Democratic Party's stance on social and economic issues.

Question 2

Instructions: Identify the following. Be as specific as possible, and include names, dates, and relevant facts as appropriate. Be sure to explain the significance of the person or term. 
Teapot Dome

Accepted Answer

Teapot Dome refers to a major political scandal in the United States that took place in the early 1920s during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. The scandal is named after the Teapot Dome oil field in Wyoming, which was one of the locations involved in the controversy.

The scandal began when Albert B. Fall, who was the Secretary of the Interior under President Harding, secretly leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and two other locations in California (Elk Hills and Buena Vista) to private oil companies without competitive bidding. In 1921, President Harding had transferred control of these oil reserves from the Navy to the Department of the Interior.

In 1922 and 1923, the leases became the focus of a sensational investigation by the U.S. Senate. It was revealed that Fall had received bribes totaling about $300,000 (equivalent to over $4 million today) from the oil executives, Harry F. Sinclair of Sinclair Oil and Edward L. Doheny of Pan American Petroleum, in exchange for granting the leases.

The scandal was significant for several reasons:

1. It was one of the most notorious examples of government corruption in U.S. history and contributed to the public perception of the Harding administration as corrupt and scandal-ridden.

2. It led to a landmark Supreme Court decision, McGrain v. Daugherty (1927), which affirmed the power of Congress to compel witnesses to testify during investigations.

3. It resulted in the first-ever conviction of a U.S. Cabinet official for a felony committed while in office. Albert B. Fall was found guilty of accepting bribes in 1929 and was sentenced to one year in prison.

The Teapot Dome scandal is often cited as a classic case of governmental abuse of power and the need for oversight and ethical standards in politics. It remains an important example in American history of the potential for corruption in the absence of checks and balances and the importance of vigilant oversight by the press and the public.

Question 3

Instructions: Identify the following. Be as specific as possible, and include names, dates, and relevant facts as appropriate. Be sure to explain the significance of the person or term. 
National Broadcasting Company

Accepted Answer

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is a prominent American commercial broadcast television and radio network that is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. It was established on November 15, 1926, by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), which was itself a joint venture among General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T, and United Fruit Company at the time. NBC is historically known as one of the "Big Three" television networks, alongside CBS and ABC.

NBC's first-ever radio broadcast occurred on November 15, 1926, with a four-hour radio program that was available to a small network of radio stations across the Northeastern United States. The network grew rapidly, and by the 1930s, it had established a nationwide radio network with two separate divisions: the NBC Red Network and the NBC Blue Network, which would later become ABC (American Broadcasting Company) after being sold off in the 1940s due to antitrust concerns.

The significance of NBC extends to its pioneering role in the development of television broadcasting. NBC was the first to regularly broadcast television programs in the United States, starting with experimental broadcasts in the early 1930s and then launching regular programming in 1939. The network made history with events such as the first live televised presidential address by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 and the first American television series, "The Voice of Firestone Televues," in the same year.

NBC's iconic three-note chimes are a famous audio trademark, and the peacock logo, first introduced in 1956 to highlight the network's then-new color broadcasts, has become an enduring symbol of the company.

Throughout its history, NBC has been responsible for producing and broadcasting some of the most popular and influential television programs in American history, including "The Tonight Show," "Saturday Night Live," "Friends," "Seinfeld," and "The Office." It has also been a major broadcaster of sports events, such as the Olympic Games, NFL football, and NHL hockey.

Today, NBC continues to be a major player in the media landscape, offering a wide range of programming, including news, sports, entertainment, and reality television, across its various broadcast and cable channels, as well as through online and streaming platforms.

Question 4

Instructions: Identify the following. Be as specific as possible, and include names, dates, and relevant facts as appropriate. Be sure to explain the significance of the person or term. 
Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney

Accepted Answer