Nineteenth Century U.S. Vice-Presidents Quiz

Answer: George Clinton

George Clinton, a native of New York, served as the vice-president for two U.S. presidents: Thomas Jefferson (1805-1809), and James Madison (1809-1812). Apparently, Clinton did not have an especially good relationship with either one of these famous Virginia politicians. Clinton died of a heart attack in April 1812 before he could complete his term as vice-president in the Madison Administration. George Clinton thus became the first U.S. vice-president to pass away while in office.

Answer: Dallas, Texas

The city of Dallas, Texas, was named after George Mifflin Dallas, the 11th Vice-President of the USA. George M. Dallas was born in Pennsylvania, and he served as the vice-president in the James Polk Administration (1845-1849). As the vice-president, Dallas enthusiastically supported President Polk's policy of expansionism across the North American continent.

In particular, Dallas staunchly approved of the annexation of Texas into the United States. In gratitude, the leaders of this new state named the city of Dallas after the U.S. vice-president.

Answer: Hannibal Hamlin

Hannibal Hamlin of Maine served as President Lincoln's first vice-president. This 15th Vice-President of the USA was an outspoken critic of slavery, and he developed a good working relationship with Lincoln. The president, however, chose Andrew Johnson as his running mate in the 1864 presidential election- probably because of Johnson's Southern background.

The other politicians mentioned in this question never became the U.S. vice-president.

Answer: Martin Van Buren

Vice-President Martin Van Buren managed to complete his full term during the second Andrew Jackson Administration (1833-1837). Van Buren was widely considered as Jackson's protege for the White House; indeed, Van Buren won the 1836 U.S. presidential election for the Democratic Party. John Tyler (1841) and Chester Arthur (1881) served less than one year as the vice-president. Millard Fillmore completed about two years as the vice-president (1849-1850) before the death of President Zachary Taylor in 1850.

Answer: John C. Breckinridge

John Cabell Breckinridge of Kentucky served as the vice-president during the James Buchanan Administration (1857-1861). Breckinridge was incredibly young- only 36 years of age- at the time of his inauguration. Breckinridge ran as a pro-slavery candidate in the 1860 U.S. presidential election, but he lost to Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War, Breckinridge rose to the rank of major general in the Rebel army; he was wounded in the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.

The other Confederate generals mentioned in this question never served as the U.S. vice-president.

Answer: Daniel Tompkins

Daniel Tompkins served as the sixth Vice-President of the United States from 1817 to 1825. This New Yorker was the governor of New York State from 1807 to 1817, and he then worked in the James Monroe Administration from 1817 to 1825. Tompkins did not have a very successful term as vice-president: he fell into financial ruin and reportedly drank large quantities of alcohol.

The other three politicians mentioned in this question never served as the vice-president of the United States.

Answer: Richard

Richard Mentor Johnson was the ninth Vice-President of the USA, serving in the Martin Van Buren Administration from 1837 to 1841. Johnson hailed from Kentucky, and he had extensive legislative experience prior to becoming the vice-president. Johnson, a Democrat, supposedly did not enjoy a close working relationship with Van Buren

Answer: William Wheeler

Vice-President William Wheeler of New York completed his full term in the Rutherford Hayes Administration- 1877 to 1881. Wheeler and Hayes supposedly had an extremely cordial working relationship. The other three vice-presidents mentioned in this question were not lucky enough to complete their terms of office. William Rufus King (1853) died after only 45 days as the vice-president; Thomas Hendricks (1885) passed away after only a few months in office; and Henry Wilson (1873-1875) died of a stroke.

Answer: Grover Cleveland

Vice-President Adlai Ewing Stevenson served in the second Grover Cleveland Administration, from 1893 to 1897. Stevenson was born in Kentucky, but he represented the state of Illinois for many years in the U.S. Congress. Cleveland and Stevenson maintained an outwardly cordial relationship, although Cleveland seldom consulted with his vice-president about pressing matters of state. Stevenson briefly considered running for the presidency in 1896, but the Democrats chose William J. Bryan instead.

Answer: Garret Hobart

Garret Augustus Hobart was the 24th Vice-President of the USA and the last man to serve as the vice-president during the nineteenth century. Hobart worked in the first William McKinley Administration, from 1897 to 1899; unfortunately, he died of heart failure in November 1899.

Theodore Roosevelt did not take over as McKinley's second vice-president until March 1901. Levi Morton was the U.S. vice-president from 1889 to 1893. James Blaine, a prominent diplomat, never served as the U.S. vice-president.