25 Questions about US Presidents Quiz

Answer: William McKinley

McKinley was the 25th US president. Four other high-denomination US bills still in existence (primarily as collectors' items) are the $1,000 (Grover Cleveland), $5,000 (James Madison), $10,000 (Salmon P. Chase-Treasury Secretary under Abraham Lincoln, never a US president) and $100,000 (Woodrow Wilson). The need for these large denominations decreased substantially once check writing and electronic fund transfers became commonplace. If you would like to see pictures of these bills, search for: Large denominations US currency.

Historical note:
Benny Binion, former owner of the Horseshoe casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, used to display 100 of the $10,000 bills behind thick glass (as an attraction for potential gamblers in his casino). In the late 1990s the Binion family ran into tax problems and auctioned off the display to private collectors, with current values per bill of well over $100,000 each!

Answer: James Monroe

This painting supposedly shows Lieutenant James Monroe (future 5th US president) as the soldier standing next to Washington, holding the flag. However, this painting alone would not confirm that fact (since it has so many historical inaccuracies), but other records confirm Monroe's crossing (although there is no record to indicate Monroe crossed in Washington's boat). Other well-known figures in US history that also crossed that night include future Chief Justice John Marshall and future Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

Historical note:
The famous painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze was painted in 1851, which is 75 years after the event. One of the many reasons this painting is historically inaccurate is that the flag Monroe is holding is the original flag of the United States (the "Stars and Stripes"), but that flag did not exist until September 1777-well after Washington's crossing in December 1776.)

Answer: John Adams

Although John Adams (2nd US president) was technically the first, his single term was mostly over before he moved into the not-completely-finished Executive Mansion. Adams spent the first 3-1/2 years of his one term living in the President's House in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He moved to the not-completely-finished Executive Mansion on Saturday, 1 November 1800, and then lost his reelection bid to Thomas Jefferson (3rd US president) the following Tuesday!

Historical note:
Although the Executive Mansion has been referred to informally as the "White House" since at least 1811 (because of the color of the exterior sandstone), it wasn't until the presidency of Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (26th US president) that the name became the official name for the president's house. Roosevelt started the practice (in 1901) of having that name printed on the White House stationery. An untrue myth is that the name White House originated after the mansion was painted with white paint to mask the burn damage it had suffered in the War of 1812.

Answer: All of those listed

Teddy Roosevelt (26th US president) won it in 1906 for helping to end the Russian-Japanese War (not in 1905, as many sources erroneously state). Woodrow Wilson (28th US president) won it in 1919 for his efforts in establishing the League of Nations. Jimmy Carter (39th US president) won it in 2002 (not while he was in office) for his decades of untiring humanitarian efforts.

In addition, Barack Obama (44th US president) won it in 2009 for "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." VP Al Gore (the only VP to have won a Nobel Prize) won it in 2007 for his efforts on reducing global warming and promoting strict environmental standards (he shared his award with the United Nation's "Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change").

Answer: James Monroe

The British Army set the mansion on fire in 1814, during the War of 1812. In fairness to the Brits, this burning was after the Americans sacked and burned the city of York (in Canada) in 1813. One of the few things Dolley Madison (wife of then-president James Madison) was able to save from the burning mansion was the famous Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington. (Washington's head from this portrait is on the US $1 bill.) Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817.

Historical note:
In 1834, the city of York, Canada, changed its name back to Toronto (its original name).

Answer: George Washington

These were issued in 1847 and were the first two stamps issued by the new United States. Franklin was on the 5-cent issue and Washington was on the 10-cent issue. Although Franklin is widely known as a statesman, Founding Father and inventor, he was also the country's first Postmaster General. My personal favorite of all of Franklin's inventions is the musical instrument Glass Armonica. If you would like to hear the heavenly sound it makes, search for: Glass Armonica and choose the YouTube results.

Answer: Calvin Coolidge

Charles G. Dawes was the VP who served with President Calvin Coolidge (30th US president). Before he was elected vice president, Dawes wrote the tune "A Melody in A Major" as a piano and flute song. After lyrics were added by Carl Sigman (whose long list of co-written hits includes "Ebb Tide" and "What Now My Love"), it became a 1958 number-one hit for Tommy Edwards with the title "It's All in the Game."

Historical note:
Coolidge was a man of few words and was often referred to as "Silent Cal." A great story (which may or may not be true) has it that a woman said to him, "Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you." His supposed reply was, "You lose."

Answer: Thomas Jefferson

The feud between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr had been simmering for years before their famous duel, but the presidential election of 1800 greatly increased the bad blood between them. In that election, front runners Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied for first place in the Electoral College vote. That threw the election into the House of Representatives for a tie-breaking vote, but after 35 votes over six days they were still tied! At that point Hamilton asserted his influence. He had different political views than Jefferson, but detested Burr and thought Jefferson would be a better choice to be president. His influence resulted in Jefferson winning on the 36th vote (Burr became his vice president according to the rules at that time). But it was the 1804 New York gubernatorial race (in which Burr was a candidate) that really was Burr's final straw. Hamilton wrote letters to a newspaper defaming Burr's character, and Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel. The duel took place in Weehawken, New Jersey on 11 July 1804 (although dueling was illegal in both NY and NJ at the time). Burr fatally shot Hamilton (he died the next day), and Burr was indicted for murder in both NY and NJ (the charges were later dropped or dismissed by the court). Nixon's first VP (Spiro Agnew) was also formally charged with a crime, but that was for accepting bribes while governor of Maryland, not murder.

Historical note:
The 1800 election led to adoption of the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, which required Electors to designate their votes for president and vice president on separate ballots. After the election of 1868, presidential election procedure was changed again. The vice president and president would run for office on the same ticket, in order to avoid having the two of them being from different parties.

Answer: 2

John Adams (2nd US president) and Thomas Jefferson (3rd US president) were the only signers of the Declaration who later became US presidents. George Washington didn't sign the Declaration because at the time he was busy with his duties of commanding the Continental Army. Elbridge Gerry (a signer of the Declaration) was chosen by James Madison (4th US president) as his vice presidential running mate in 1812, but he was never a US president himself. Benjamin Harrison V (a signer of the Declaration) was never a US president himself, but his son William Henry Harrison and great-grandson Benjamin Harrison both were elected US presidents (9th and 23rd, respectively).

Answer: 2

George Washington (1st US president) and James Madison (4th US president) were the only signers of the U.S. Constitution who later became US presidents. Madison composed the first drafts of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution) and earned the nickname "Father of the Constitution."

Answer: 0

Only six Founding Fathers signed both documents, and none of them became US presidents. Benjamin Franklin was one of the six, and he also signed the "Treaty of Paris" in 1783 (which officially ended the American Revolutionary War). Although Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his many efforts in helping to form the new United States, his age probably prevented him from becoming a US president (he was age 83 when George Washington first took the oath of office as the first US President in 1789).

Answer: All of them

Although Adams and Jefferson had different political views and feuded or didn't speak to each other during much of their working lives, at the end they patched things up. Adams' final words just before dying on 4 July 1826 at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts were, "Thomas Jefferson survives," not knowing that Jefferson had actually died hours earlier that same day at Monticello, Virginia. James Monroe also died on July 4th (in 1831).

Answer: Andrew Jackson

Francis Scott Key prosecuted Richard Lawrence in a trial for attempted murder of 67-year-old Andrew Jackson in 1835. Lawrence was a 35-year-old English-born unemployed house painter who was mentally unbalanced (he thought he was an heir to the British throne and that Jackson had conspired to keep him from his position). His two pistols misfired (both were flintlocks and it was later determined the humidity that day was probably the cause). An enraged Jackson beat Lawrence with his cane, and onlookers tackled him. Lawrence was convicted and spent 26 years in insane asylums, where he died.

Answer: All of those listed

Andrew Jackson (7th US president) is perhaps best known as the US army general who defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 (just after the peace treaty ending the War of 1812). Zachary Taylor (12th US president) was one of the US commanding generals who led American troops to victory in the Mexican-American War (along with Winfield Scott). William Henry Harrison (9th US president) gained national fame for leading U.S. forces against Indians at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. He campaigned for president with slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" (referring to his VP running mate John Tyler).

Answer: between 65 and 74

Tyler (10th US president) was 70 years old when his daughter Pearl was born (she was his 15th child). He was first U.S. president to assume the office when the previous president died in office. Tyler was vice president to 9th president William Henry Harrison, who died of pneumonia or pleurisy after just 32 days in office. Tyler had eight children with his first wife (Letitia Christian Tyler, who died in the White House in September 1842), and seven children with his second wife (Julia Gardiner Tyler).

Historical note:
Tyler is credited with asserting himself as a full-fledge president, and not just a caretaker of the office until a new president could be elected. His detractors called him "His Accidency" or "Acting President." When he received mail addressed to something other than "President John Tyler," he returned it unopened.

Answer: James Buchanan

Buchanan's administration (15th US president) occurred in a very difficult time. His presidency was viewed as a compromise between the increasingly-acrimonious pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions, and it often seemed like no one was satisfied. When he left the presidency on 3 March 1861, he remarked to incoming president Abraham Lincoln, "If you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland [Pennsylvania], you are a happy man."

Historical note:
Shots fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina on 12 April 1861 are generally considered to be the first shots fired in the US Civil War. However, earlier that year the steamship "Star of the West" was sent to Fort Sumter, carrying reinforcements and supplies. On 9 January 1861 South Carolina state batteries opened fire on the ship, causing it to withdraw and return to New York. Thus, it could be argued that these were the first shots fired in the Civil War.

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

In the approximately 30 years prior to the mid-1860s, the two major parties in the US were the Whigs and the Democrats. The Republican Party was what we would call a "third party" (created in 1854 in Ripon, Wisconsin). The first presidential candidate they ran (in the 1856 election) was the explorer and pathfinder John C. Fremont, but he lost. The second (in the 1860 election) was Abraham Lincoln, who was elected the country's 16th president.

Historical note:
There were four presidents from the Whig Party: William Henry Harrison (9th), John Tyler (10th), Zachary Taylor (12th), and Millard Fillmore (13th). However, only Harrison and Taylor were elected. Tyler and Fillmore were VPs who became presidents when their presidents died in office. In addition, presidents Abraham Lincoln (16th) and Rutherford B. Hayes (19th) were Whigs earlier in their political careers before switching to the Republican Party. When George Washington started his first term in 1789, there were no political parties. Shortly thereafter, his Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, started the Federalist Party. John Adams joined, but although Washington was broadly sympathetic to the Federalist program, he decided to remain independent.

Answer: U.S. Grant

Grant reluctantly attended the US Military Academy at West Point (largely because his father ordered him to), where he was just an average student. Even though he had no intention of pursuing a military career, events forced his hand and he rose to become the commanding general for the Union during the US Civil War. After the war ended he was elected the 18th US president, but his administration was filled with scandal and corruption. Even though he himself was an honest man, he either was a poor judge of character or defended bad eggs to the bitter end! Hayes reached the rank of Brevet Major General and Garfield reached Major General. Andrew Johnson was Lincoln's VP in his second term, and became the 17th US president when Lincoln was assassinated.

Historical note:
In the early years of the US Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln was plagued by one ineffectual commanding general after another. When advisors in his administration wanted Lincoln to fire Grant because of his excessive drinking (despite his battlefield successes), Lincoln said, "Tell me what brand of whiskey that Grant drinks. I would like to send a barrel of it to my other generals."

Answer: Rutherford B. Hayes

Although it was his wife Lucy who got this nickname (for not serving alcohol in the Executive Mansion), it was actually President Rutherford B. Hayes (19th US president) who instituted the ban. (Secretary of State William Evarts quipped that at the White House dinners, "Water flowed like wine.") The famous nickname "Lemonade Lucy" apparently only came into use after she had left the mansion (some sources say it was after she died).

Answer: William Howard Taft

The story that William Howard Taft (27th US president) got stuck in a White House bathtub is commonly told but is not true. It is true, however, that Taft was a very big man. Even though he exercised frequently, he had an enormous appetite, and as an adult frequently weighed over 300 pounds. Just weeks after Taft's 1908 election, a super-sized bathtub capable of holding someone his size was custom-built for him. It was more than seven feet long, 41 inches wide and weighed a ton - literally. A photograph in the February 1909 issue of the journal "Engineering Review" showed the enormous tub with four men sitting comfortably inside. If you would like to see a picture of this tub with the four men in it, search for: Taft bathtub and select "Images."

Historical note:
After Taft left the presidency, he was appointed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President Warren G. Harding (29th US president), which is the job he really wanted all along. He is the only person (so far) to have served in both offices. During his term he gave the oath of office to both Calvin Coolidge (in 1925, 30th US president) and Herbert Hoover (in 1929, 31st US president).

Answer: Grover Cleveland

Grover Cleveland was elected the 22nd and 24th US president, but lost his reelection bid in the 1888 election to Benjamin Harrison (23th US president). Nasty campaigning is nothing new in today's political elections. Cleveland was accused of fathering an illegitimate child, and his detractors would chant, "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?" After he was elected in the 1884 election, his supporters would chant back, "Gone to the White House, Ha, Ha, Ha."

Answer: Jimmy Carter

Although swamp rabbits are capable of swimming, they are not normally known for attacking people. However, President Carter (39th US president) reported that while on a 1979 fishing trip in Georgia, he encountered a particularly vicious one that swam toward his boat, "hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared." He had to fight it off with a paddle. When the press ran this story, cartoonists and comedians had a field day!

Answer: Ronald Reagan

In a 1984 pre-election debate, incumbent President Ronald Reagan (40th US president) debated former VP Walter Mondale, one of his challengers. In this election Reagan was age 73 and some critics said he was too old to be president. At the time Mondale was 56, and had been a VP (under Carter) and a US Senator (representing Minnesota). When Reagan said this, questioner Henry Trewhitt cracked up. If you would like to see this debate classic, search for: Reagan age and choose the You Tube video in the results.

Historical note:
Mondale's running mate was US Rep. Geraldine Ferraro (NY), who was the first woman VP candidate on a major-party ticket.

Answer: Woodrow Wilson

The suffragettes who fought for this goal endured some pretty horrific treatment, including beatings, kicking, choking, jailing, hunger strikes and forced feedings! President Woodrow Wilson (28th US president) had a history of lukewarm support for women's suffrage (despite having taught at a women's college and being the father of two daughters who considered themselves suffragettes). However, he did change his position as the years went by. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was finally passed by Congress in May 1919, and then ratified by the 36th state legislature in August 1920, making it the law of the land.

Historical note:
These four western US territories/states all gave women the right to vote before 1900 in order to encourage females to settle there: Wyoming Territory (1869), Utah Territory (1870), Colorado (1893), and Idaho (1896). The Washington Territory legislature twice gave women the right to vote (in 1883 and 1888), but that was rescinded both times by Washington's Territorial Supreme Court.

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt

A fault in the granite mountaintop influenced where Jefferson's head is carved. He was originally supposed to be to Washington's right, but after his head was started, a weakness in the rock was discovered and he was carved instead on Washington's left (where he is now). The partially-completed Jefferson was blasted off the mountain. From time to time, proposals are made to add a fifth face, but sculptor Gutzon Borglum felt not enough rock remained that was strong enough to be carved.