10 Question World Quiz: Facts About Our Early Presidents | Presidential Trivia

Answer: he could have assumed the title 'King'

What to call the new leader of the new nation came under much debate. Since monarchies were the common form of government at the time, there was a strong movement to crown Washington 'King of America' (reigning as a constitutional monarch of {course);} Washington's lack of vanity prohibited this plan.

Answer: Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson's proposal regarding the elimination of slavery in all future states was defeated by just one vote. The bitter Jefferson wrote, 'The voice of a single individual would have prevented this abominable crime from spreading itself over the new country. Thus we see the fate of millions of unborn hanging on the tongue of one {man;} even Heaven was silent at that awful moment.'

Answer: James Monroe

Monroe was also a prolific author and statesman, but found himself virtually poverty-stricken and was forced to repeatedly petition the government for funds that he claimed were due him for his years as a public servant. After losing his ancestral home, he moved in with a married daughter where he eventually died a bitter and lonely old man.

Answer: James Madison

Madison assumed the presidency at a time of {crisis;} both Great Britain and France were riding roughshod over American rights as they fought the Napolenic Wars. Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war against Great Britain on June 1, 1812, which narrowly passed. The Treaty of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814, ended the war as Madison approached the end of his second term.

Answer: John Quincy Adams

Despite Adams' long career in foreign service, he showed little tact in his dealings with his government peers. As he wrote, 'I am a man of reserved, cold, austere and forbidding manners; a gloomy misanthropist, an unsocial savage.'

Answer: Andrew Jackson

In spite of, or perhaps because of, such beginnings, Jackson ultimately combined the art of a seasoned politician with the decision making ability of a successful general. He was adored by the 'common man', and '...his whole being conveyed an impression of energy and daring.'

Answer: Martin van Buren

All prior presidents were born British subjects and, since his family was first generation from the Netherlands, Dutch was spoken at home. Interestingly, his family emigrated as indentured servants.

Answer: Wiliam Henry Harrison

President Harrison faced a cold, rainy inauguration day and stood bare-headed on the Capitol steps despite his 68 years (he was the oldest man elected president to that point). He read a long, meandering inaugural address, caught a cold, and died in the White House one month later. (Why does this sound like a plot of a Mel Brooks movie?)

Answer: James Polk

During his presidency, Polk offered Spain {$100} for Cuba on two separate {occasions;} each offer was refused by Spain.

Answer: Franklin Pierce

These sad events so affected the First Lady that she did not participate in her husband's inaugural, nor any other event in the White House for the next two years. Pierce began his inaugural address as follows: 'It is a relief to feel that no heart but my own can know the personal regret and bitter sorrow over which I have been borne to a position so suitable for others rather than desirable for myself.'