Presidential Blunders Trivia Quiz

Answer: Whiskey Tax

President George Washington tried to raise money to help pay for the national debt. The whiskey tax affected small farmers the most, and they rebelled against it. They felt they could not pay the tax on their limited income and that the federal government was treating them unfairly.

Answer: The Embargo Act of 1807

President Thomas Jefferson's Embargo act was intended to protect US ships from entanglement in the war between England and France. However, it ruined the US economy. People lost their income and businesses and were angry with the government. According to Thomas C. Craughwell in his book "Failures of the Presidents, Jefferson never clearly communicated the reasons for the Embargo Act to his constituents.

Answer: It neither improved American livelihoods nor US relationships with European powers

The War of 1812 was to stop Britain from attacking US ships at high seas, taking the ships' cargo, and using the seized ships in the war against France while forcing American sailors to fight for Britain. By the end of the war none of these goals had been accomplished.

It had cost many American lives, its cost had worsened the economy, and created great national debt. Based on information found in Thomas C. Craughwell's book "Failures of the Presidents".

Answer: It was a humanitarian disaster that involved misguided views and politics

President Andrew Jackson believed that native tribes (in this case the Cherokee) and white settlers could not coexist and share land. He thought removing Cherokees to land west of the Mississippi would protect state rights and protect the natives' way of life as well. Thousands of native people were forced to leave.

Many, possibly thousands died. It betrayed an earlier treaty and was a humanitarian disaster that caused shame for the US government for ever. Based on information found in Thomas C. Craughwell's book "Failures of the Presidents".

Answer: He sent 200 federal soldiers to end the strike

Pullman was a railroad king, who was accused of building railroads for the rich and mistreating his laborers. The Pullman Strike was intended to rectify working conditions and raise pay. It escalated into a violent riot in which federal troops fired on civilians. Based on information found in Thomas C. Craughwell's book "Failures of the Presidents".

Answer: World War I

Mexico had a lot of revolutionary leaders at the time, and Germany and England favored a different Mexican leader than the US. The political tension and intrigues caused by these differences helped prepare the ground for the US eventually backing backing Britain, France and their allies against Germany in the First World War. Based on information found in Thomas C. Craughwell's book "Failures of the Presidents".

Answer: He thought they were communists and criminals threatening law and order

In 1932, homeless and impoverished veterans and their families built a shantytown near the White House. They wanted government help during the Great Depression, and Congress granted them financial help. However, the president vetoed it, mistakenly believing them to be communists and criminals threatening the American way of life.

He sent troops into the shantytown to clear out the occupants and burn down the dwellings, and civilian casualties and injuries ensued. Based on information found in Thomas C. Craughwell's book "Failures of the Presidents".

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt

In 1942, after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, prejudice against Japanese increased drastically, especially on the west coast of the USA. People feared disloyalty and espionage. About 120,000 Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps. President Gerald Ford and other presidents that followed him in office apologized for the injustice done to these citizens. Based on information found in Thomas C. Craughwell's book "Failures of the Presidents".

Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson and George W. Bush

President Johnson distorted a report on a military skirmish in the Gulf of Tonkin to justify the Vietnam War. President George W. Bush distorted facts about weapons of mass destruction to justify a war against Iraq. In both wars there was no true victor.

Answer: James Buchanan

President FDR found himself estranged from his wife and attracted to his secretary. JFK has been rumored to have had multiple affairs, one of which is supposed to have been with actress Marilyn Monroe. Bill Clinton was caught in a questionable relationship with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. James Buchanan was a bachelor.