Don't Stop Conceding Trivia Quiz

Answer: Samuel Tilden

Although other presidents have been elected while losing the popular vote, none had a majority like Samuel Tilden; he received 51.0% of the vote. The first election in which the winner of the popular vote was not elected president occurred in 1824 when Andrew Jackson was denied the presidency but he only had 41.3% of the vote. In 1888, Grover Cleveland carried the popular vote 48.6% to Benjamin Harrison's 47.8%, but Harrison won in the Electoral College. Then there was 2000 when Gore had 48.4% vs. Bush's 47.9%.

Basically the vote in 1876 boiled down to three disputed states - Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Disputed results from these three states were sent to Washington with delegations supporting both Hayes and Tilden coming from all three states. A commission was formed which voted along party lines and gave the disputed states to Hayes. Thus he won 185 to 184 in the Electoral College.

Tilden's first speech on the subject came about three months after Hayes had taken office. He said, "Everybody knows that, after the recent election, the men who were elected by the people President and Vice President of the United States were 'counted out', and men who were not elected were 'counted in' and seated." He went on to explain his view of the election.

Answer: Shanghai

In 1849, the French Concession was established in Shanghai as a settlement for the French in the city. There were other concessions in China established both with France and with other countries. These were mainly treaty ports inside major cities that allowed foreign powers access to China.

They were different than colonies like Hong Kong and Macau. In 1943, the Vichy French government turned over control of the Concession to the Wang Jingwei government, the Japanese controlled Chinese government.

After the war it was turned over to the Nationalist government of Chaing Kaishek. The French Concession is one of the best known concessions and is now a tourist destination in the city of Shanghai. The area still maintains much of the architecture and culture from the time of the French.

Answer: Adlai Stevenson

Adlai Stevenson uttered those words after he lost to Eisenhower in the 1952 US presidential election. As a war hero, Eisenhower won a resounding victory over Stevenson by carrying 39 states and 55.2% of the popular vote. Stevenson's call for unity after the election is still viewed as one of great character.

He said, "I urge you all to give General Eisenhower the support he will need to carry out the great tasks that lie before him. I pledge him mine. We vote as many, but we pray as one." Stevenson would again take on Ike in 1956 and would lose by an even wider margin.

This time Eisenhower carried 41 states and won 57.4% of the popular vote.

Answer: Jack Nicklaus

At the 1969 Ryder Cup, the teams were tied at 16 with one match left to play between Jack Nicklaus, aka 'The Golden Bear', and Tony Jacklin. On the 17th hole Jack was up by one but Tony made his eagle putt and Jack missed his meaning the match was tied. On the final hole both players made it onto the green in two with Jack putting first.

He sank his five foot putt and instead of making Tony sink his two foot putt, he picked up Tony's marker and conceded the putt. This meant that for the first time in the history of the Ryder Cup, the teams ended in a tie but the US kept the cup because they had won it in the last Ryder Cup.

The gesture is considered one of the greatest shows of sportsmanship ever and from it blossomed a great friendship between the two. Together they designed the golf course at Bradenton and named it after the memorable event.

Answer: Nixon

Richard Nixon made it seem like he was quitting politics after losing the race to be governor of California in 1962, but that was far from the truth. He campaigned relentlessly for Republicans in the 1964 and 1966 congressional campaigns and then won the nomination for president again in 1968.

He would go on to win the White House. Interestingly, in 1960 Nixon had lost the most closely contested presidential election of the 20th century to JFK and even though there were rumors of voter fraud that he could have contested he chose not to in order to spare the country. Kennedy won 49.7% of the popular compared to Nixon's 49.6%.

But Kennedy won bigger in the Electoral College where he won by 303 to 219. Nixon hinted at a concession at 3 AM the night of the election but did not actually concede until Wednesday afternoon.

Answer: Facebook

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss had originally sued Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder, in 2004. Facebook countersued and both lawsuits were settled in 2008 for a reported value of $20 million cash and $45 million in Facebook stock. In 2010, the twins sought to have the settlement reopened, accusing Facebook of undervaluing it stocks at the time of the deal. By 2010 the settlement value had gone up from the original $65 million to be worth about $120 million because of the rise in the stock price but the twins wanted the value of the original stock offered in the settlement adjusted so that in effect it would be worth $466 million.

The twins lost in appellate court so they petitioned the Supreme Court to hear their case. Finally in June of 2011, the twins conceded defeat and withdrew their appeal to the Supreme Court.

Answer: He was losing his voice from the long campaign

The months of campaigning had finally caught up to President Ford and his voice was giving out. At the press conference, he spoke a few words but said his "voice wasn't up to par and I shouldn't be making very many comments." He made a few more remarks before turning the podium over to Betty to deliver the prepared remarks conceding the election to Jimmy Carter. Carter had won 50.1% of the popular vote to Ford's 48%.

He won in the Electoral College by 297 to 240. Ford was the first man to become president without ever having been elected either president or vice president. Vice President Agnew had resigned on October 10, 1973 and Ford was nominated to take his place under the provisions of the 25th Amendment.

He was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 92 to 3 and by the House by a vote of 387 to 35.

Answer: Chrysler

Lee Iacocca began his career in the automotive industry with Ford but in 1978 he was fired from Ford and then hired by Chrysler. Chrysler was about to fail as a company so Iacocca went to Congress to get a loan guarantee to keep this from happening. Congress agreed and Chrysler was saved. Part of the deal was the worker's union, the UAW, agreed to over $200 million in concessions to keep the company from going under. Iacocca turned the company around faster than anyone expected and paid off the loan seven years ahead of schedule.

Answer: Ted Kennedy

The fight for the Democratic nomination in 1980 went all the way to the convention even though Jimmy Carter was a sitting president. Kennedy trailed by a few thousand votes and finally conceded on the convention floor. But he considered his candidacy to be a victory because he felt it brought the Democratic Party back to its liberal roots. He closed with these words:

"And may it be said of us, both in dark passages and in bright days, in the words of Tennyson that my brothers quoted and loved, and that have special meaning for me now:

'I am a part of all that I have met
Though much is taken, much abides
That which we are, we are --
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.'

For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end.

For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

Answer: No

In American elections, the vote count is the only legally binding determiner of an election. Concession speeches are optional but are usually delivered when there is no doubt about the outcome. A concession is rarely withdrawn once offered, but it has happened in the past.

A prime example is the 2000 presidential election when Al Gore had called G.W. Bush to concede and then before delivering a speech called Bush back to retract when the results in Florida became unclear.