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Martin Van Buren Trivia Quiz

A quiz on the 8th president of the US, Martin Van Buren.

A multiple-choice quiz by AdmiralShark. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
AdmiralShark

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
180,085

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
7 / 15

Plays
510

Last 3 plays: Guest 174 (15/15), Guest 216 (15/15), Guest 174 (15/15).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. Van Buren's ancestors came to America from what country? Hint

Prussia

England

Netherlands

Ireland

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Question 2 of 15

2. Martin Van Buren is a third cousin, twice removed, of what future US president? Hint

Richard Nixon

Theodore Roosevelt

Grover Cleveland

Harry Truman

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Question 3 of 15

3. Van Buren had four kids. What was their gender? Hint

four girls

four boys

two boys, two girls

three girls, one boy

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Question 4 of 15

4. In the presidential election of 1824 who did Van Buren support? Hint

John Qunicy Adams

William Crawford

Andrew Jackson

Henry Clay

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Question 5 of 15

5. How long did Van Buren serve as Governor of New York? Hint

1 year

never

2 years

3 months

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Question 6 of 15

6. Van Buren was nominated by Jackson to be minister to what country, only to have the nomination voted down by the US senate. Hint

Prussia

Portugal

France

Great Britain

7. In the presidential election of 1836, separate parts of the Whig Party each nominated a man for president to oppose Van Buren, who was the Democratic nominee. Which of the following was not a nominee that year? Hint

Henry Clay

Daniel Webster

William Henry Harrison

Hugh White

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Question 8 of 15

8. An undeclared candidate received electorial votes for president in 1836, the year Van Buren was elected president. Who was he? Hint

John C. Calhoun

Willie Magnum

John Tyler

Francis Granger

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Question 9 of 15

9. This state's electors refused to cast their votes for Richard Johnson, Van Buren's running mate, throwing the election for vice-president to the US senate. Hint

New York

Virginia

Pennsylvania

North Carolina

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Question 10 of 15

10. What was Van Buren's marital status when he entered the White House in 1836? Hint

bachelor

divorced

widower

married

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Question 11 of 15

11. Van Buren had three attorneys general during his administration. Which of the following was NOT one of them? Hint

Henry Gilpin

Benjamin Butler

Joel Poinsett

Felix Grundy

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Question 12 of 15

12. A border dispute between Canada and the US that took place during Van Buren's presidency in 1839 is better known as what? Hint

Caroline Affair

Aroostook War

Second Seminole War

Navy Island War

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Question 13 of 15

13. The Amistad incident, which took place during the Van Buren administration, was made into a movie in the 1990's. In the movie, who played Van Buren? Hint

Anthony Hopkins

Kevin Kline

George C. Scott

Nigel Hawthorne

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Question 14 of 15

14. In 1848, which political party nominated Van Buren for president? Hint

Democratic

Free Soil

American/Know-Nothing

Constitution

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Question 15 of 15

15. During whose administration did Van Buren die? Hint

James Buchanan

Franklin Pierce

Millard Fillmore

Abraham Lincoln

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 06 2024 : Guest 174: 15/15
Oct 22 2024 : Guest 216: 15/15
Oct 20 2024 : Guest 174: 15/15
Oct 02 2024 : mulligas: 9/15
Oct 02 2024 : Guest 174: 14/15

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Van Buren's ancestors came to America from what country?

Answer: Netherlands

Van Buren's great great grandfather, Cornelius Maesen, hailed from Buurmalsen in the Netherlands.

2. Martin Van Buren is a third cousin, twice removed, of what future US president?

Answer: Theodore Roosevelt

Truman is a distant relative of John Tyler. Nixon is a distant relative of both William Howard Taft and Herbert Hoover. Cleveland was a 6th cousin, once removed of Ulysses S. Grant.

3. Van Buren had four kids. What was their gender?

Answer: four boys

The names of Van Buren's children were: Abraham, John, Martin Jr., and Smith.

4. In the presidential election of 1824 who did Van Buren support?

Answer: William Crawford

Crawford was considered the likely winner of the 1824 election until he suffered a stroke. Even after suffering the stroke, Van Buren still supported him for the office.

5. How long did Van Buren serve as Governor of New York?

Answer: 3 months

Van Buren only ran for Governor of New York to improve Andrew Jackson's chances of winning the state in the election of 1828. Van Buren was sworn in as governor in January 1829 and resigned the office in March to become Jackson's secretary of state.

6. Van Buren was nominated by Jackson to be minister to what country, only to have the nomination voted down by the US senate.

Answer: Great Britain

This was during a period when Jackson was fighting with the Congress on a regular basis.

Answer: Henry Clay

Harrison was the nominee of the Whig Party of the West. Webster was the nominee of the Whig Party of the Northeast and White was the nominee of the Whig Party of the South.

8. An undeclared candidate received electorial votes for president in 1836, the year Van Buren was elected president. Who was he?

Answer: Willie Magnum

Willie Magnum was the US senator from North Carolina. Hugh White had originally won the electorial votes of South Carolina but the electors refused to support him because of his stand during the nullification crisis.

9. This state's electors refused to cast their votes for Richard Johnson, Van Buren's running mate, throwing the election for vice-president to the US senate.

Answer: Virginia

Johnson was a controversial man at this period in history. He claimed that he was the one that killed Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames and Johnson had taken a slave as his common-law wife. The senate elected Johnson vice-president by a vote of 33-16 over Francis Granger.

10. What was Van Buren's marital status when he entered the White House in 1836?

Answer: widower

Van Buren's wife, Hannah, died February 5, 1819 from tuberculosis. He never remarried.

11. Van Buren had three attorneys general during his administration. Which of the following was NOT one of them?

Answer: Joel Poinsett

Butler served in the office from 1837-1838. Grundy served from 1838 to 1839 and Gilpin served from 1839-41. Poinsett served as secretary of war in Van Buren's administration.

12. A border dispute between Canada and the US that took place during Van Buren's presidency in 1839 is better known as what?

Answer: Aroostook War

In dispute was 12,000 square miles of land on the Aroostook River between Maine and New Brunswick. The dispute was settled as part of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842.

13. The Amistad incident, which took place during the Van Buren administration, was made into a movie in the 1990's. In the movie, who played Van Buren?

Answer: Nigel Hawthorne

Hopkins played former president John Quincy Adams in the movie. George C. Scott played fictional president Samuel Tresch in the 80's Fox series "Mr. President" and Kline played the president in "Dave".
Hawthorne received an Oscar nomination for playing another world leader, England's King George III, in "The Madness of King George" in the mid 90's.

14. In 1848, which political party nominated Van Buren for president?

Answer: Free Soil

Van Buren was the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in 1844 but his opposition to the annexation of Texas eventually cost him the nomination. In 1848, the Free-Soil Party, meeting in Buffalo, nominated him and Charles Francis Adams, the son of John Qunicy Adams, for vice-president.

They won no electorial votes but drew enough votes away from Democratic nominee Lewis Cass to give the election to the Whig candidate Zachary Taylor.

15. During whose administration did Van Buren die?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln

Van Buren died July 24, 1862, during Lincoln's first term. Until the election of Bill Clinton in 1992, Lincoln's election in 1861 was the only time in US History that five ex-presidents were still alive. Alive at the time of Lincoln's first election were Van Buren, Tyler, Fillmore, Pierce and Buchanan. Alive at the time of Clinton's first election were Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush.

Source: Author AdmiralShark

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor thejazzkickazz before going online.
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