Presidents And Wives Trivia Quiz

Answer: Florence Harding

Women's suffrage became part of the Constitution in August 1920, and President Warren Harding was elected a few months later. So, Florence Harding would have been the first first lady with the legal right to vote. She was an outspoken supporter of women's suffrage and was active in the League of Women Voters.

As first lady, Florence was very active both as an advisor to her husband and as the hostess for the White House. Helen Taft was politically brilliant and served as William Taft's greatest supporter and closest advisor. Eleanor Roosevelt was also a powerful lady serving as a diplomat championing civil and human rights.

Answer: Richard Nixon

The first consideration most people have when it comes to Richard Nixon is the Watergate scandal and his resignation as president. As a leader, Nixon was often the champion of the little guy. He hated communism but recognized having dialogue and debate was critical to changing minds, leading him to visit mainland China and the USSR for talks.

As for his epitaph, Nixon was very proud of his Paris Peace Accords that ended the US military involvement in Vietnam. Lincoln's epitaph states, "Now he belongs to the ages" and Kennedy's grave states, "It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped." On Washington's tomb is written, "Within this Enclosure Rest the remains of Gen'l George Washington."

Answer: tobacco

John Washington and Nicholas Spencer were granted 5,000 acres of land in 1674, including Mount Vernon. George Washington's older half-brother Lawrence inherited the land but died young, leaving Mount Vernon to his only surviving daughter, Sarah, who sadly died two years after him.

The land reverted to Lawrence's widow, Anne, who had remarried and was living with her new husband. She agreed to rent Mount Vernon to George for either 15,000 pounds of tobacco or 100 pounds sterling yearly. When Anne died in 1761, George inherited the land. George Washington was an innovative farmer, and by the mid-1760s, he had decided wheat was a better cash crop than tobacco.

Answer: 35

The US Constitution only has three requirements for an individual seeking to be president. They must be a natural-born citizen of the US, be at least 35 years of age, and have resided in the US for 14 years. In 1896 William Jennings Bryan became the Democratic nominee at the age of 36 but he lost to William McKinley on election day.

As for bathrooms, there are 35 bathrooms in the White House to service six floors and 132 rooms. Indoor plumbing was installed in 1833 by Andrew Jackson and the first flush toilet was installed in 1853 by Millard Fillmore. The White House has undergone several restoration projects over the centuries including the entire interior being rebuilt during President Truman's term.

Answer: He was one electoral vote short of a majority, and a commission chose Hayes instead.

For the 1876 election 185 electoral votes were needed for a candidate to claim victory and be officially elected as president. Four states were still undecided, and claims of fraud were running rampant with no apparent resolution. Unfortunately for Tilden at this point, he only had 184 Electoral votes, leaving him one short. Both parties agreed to allow a commission of seven Democrats and seven Republicans with one Independent to select the winner.

The Democrats agreed to let Hayes win if he would remove the troops that had been stationed in the South for reconstruction.

As a result, Rutherford Hayes became the 19th President of the United States.

Answer: She was a former slave.

Scandal does not even begin to cover Grover Cleveland's relationship with Frances Folsom. Her father, Oscar, had died when Frances was eleven years old, and his good friend Grover became her legal guardian. She was beautiful and able to speak French and had been having a secret relationship with the president. Five days before the wedding Cleveland announced the coming wedding.

The president was 28 years her senior which was frowned upon in 1886. The press had a field day with the scandal and as a result, were not invited to the wedding! Frances Folsom was never a slave.

Answer: Eleanor Roosevelt

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the niece of Theodor Roosevelt and the fifth cousin of her future husband Franklin Roosevelt. Eleanor's father, Elliott, was the younger brother of Teddy. Both of Eleanor's parents died while she was a young child and she ended up living with her grandmother.

She adored her uncle Teddy who taught her how to swim when she spent time with his family. In 1905 she married Franklin, and after he contracted polio she increased her political involvement to support his dream. She is often considered one of the greatest first ladies in history. Julia Grant's maiden name was Dent, Barbara Bush's was Pierce, and Ellen Wilson's was Axson.

Answer: Lemonade Lucy Hayes

Lucy Hayes was a huge supporter of the temperance movement that was prevalent in the late 1800s while she was first lady. Lucy was a strong believer that government leaders should be both dignified and discrete and wanted to lead by example. So alcohol was not served at the White House while Rutherford was president. Lucy also focused her energy on supporting disabled veterans from the Civil War and gained the kinder nickname of Mother Lucy from those she helped. I had a bit of fun making up the other three nicknames.

Answer: James Garfield

James Garfield named his black Newfoundlander Veto as a reminder to Congress that he would not just sign any bill they sent to him. While the White House dog, Veto, also managed to warn the staff of a fire in a barn and keep a spooked horse under control. Garfield was a seasoned politician who had spent nine terms in Congress. Sadly, he had few opportunities to exercise his veto powers as he was shot by Charles Guiteau four months into his presidency and died a month later from a surgical infection.

Answer: Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was born in 1782, six years after the Declaration of Independence. Andrew Jackson was born in 1767, while the other two men were born after Van Buren. Raised in a Dutch community in New York, Martin would have grown up speaking Dutch as his first language.

He served as secretary of state and then vice president under Andrew Jackson, who strongly endorsed Van Buren to be the next president. Martin is credited with building and establishing the Democratic Party as distinct from the Republican Party.

As president, Van Buren is often considered below average as he struggled with handling an economic depression in the country. Ironically, his proposed changes ultimately helped stabilize the economy, but they did not get adopted by Congress until after Van Buren was out of the White House.