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PRESIDENT’S DAY TRIVIA CHALLENGE The Presidents of the United States of America, from George Washington to Barack Obama GEORGE WASHINGTON As the first President of the United States, he established precedents for all who would follow him. During his two terms in office, he saw the Bill of Rights created, signed the Judiciary Act into law, put down the Whiskey Rebellion, and delivered his famous “Farewell Address” to shape American foreign policy for years to come. JOHN ADAMS The second President of the United States, John Adams was a Federalist concerned with protecting American interests and securing the nation’s government. The Alien and Sedition Acts, passed during his Presidency, probably violated the Constitution, and were steadfastly opposed by the emerging rival party of the day, Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans. THOMAS JEFFERSON Although he was the creator of the Statute of Religious Freedom in Virginia, the author of the Declaration of Independence, and the President of the United States; an accomplished architect, political philosopher, scientist, and writer; and the man who bought the Louisiana Territory, sent the Corps of Discovery and Lewis & Clark to explore it’ and double the size of the United States – despite all of this – his proudest accomplishment was that he founded the University of Virginia. JAMES MADISON For a tiny, diminutive, and squeaky-voice little President, this man did all right: He was considered “The Father of the Constitution” for his contributions and note-taking at the Constitutional Convention. He was the author of many of the Federalist Papers. His efforts were largely responsible for the passage of the Bill of Rights. He was President of the United States for two terms, and during the War of 1812, also known as “Mr. Madison’s War.” JAMES MONROE Monroe was the President of the United States during the so-called “Era of Good Feelings” – there was only one political party: The DemocraticRepublican Party. During his time in office, though, politicians began to form two distinct parties: The Whigs and the Democrats. His is probably most famous for his famous “Monroe Doctrine”, a warning to European nations that the Western Hemisphere, including all of North and South America and the Caribbean, was no longer available for colonization. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS He was the son of a President, and earned the hatred of Andrew Jackson by conspiring with Henry Clay to win the Presidency during the Election of 1824. John Quincy Adams, though, was a devoted and patriotic American President and legislator. He is the only American President to, after having served in the White House, run for election to the House of Representatives. He continued to serve there throughout the 1830s. ANDREW JACKSON He was the hero of the Seminole Wars in Florida and the leader of American forces at the Battle of New Orleans at the end (technically, after the end…) of the War of 1812. As President, he destroyed the National Bank, established the “Spoils System”, assured the Cherokee Nation of their fate by refusing to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision in Cherokee Nation V. Georgia, and threatened to invade South Carolina after South Carolina threatened to secede over the “Tariff of Abominations” during the Nullification Crisis. He is photographed to the right in his old age. MARTIN VAN BUREN He was known as the “Little Magician” because he was such a capable political manager during the 1800s. He was Andrew Jackson’s campaign manager and best political advisor, and he ran for President successfully to succeed Jackson in office. After serving as president from 1837 to 1841, he was re-nominated to run for President in 1848 by the Free-Soil party, which was pledged to abolishing slavery. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON After giving a lengthy inaugural address in extremely cold weather, William Henry Harrison passed away of pneumonia within a month of taking office. His campaign slogan had been “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too!”, since he had been a war hero at the Battle of Tippecanoe. The “Tyler, too!” part of his slogan became very important. JOHN TYLER He was an afterthought during the Election of 1840 – the “Tyler” part of “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too!” When William Henry Harrison died, he took steps to ensure that he would take over the office of a President – a procedure which, at the time, was of questionable Constitutionality. During his time in office, the United States officially annexed Texas – which had been an independent republic previously. A Virginian, he was strongly pro-slavery. JAMES K. POLK “Young Hickory”, a president who considered himself a follower of Andrew Jackson’s “common man” Democracy, was the President most responsible for securing the United States “Manifest Destiny” – controlling the North American continent from “sea to shining sea” by taking the Oregon Country and the Mexican Cession during his Presidency. ZACHARY TAYLOR He was one of only a handful of Whig Presidents, and he was elected more as a war hero than as a politician. During the MexicanAmerican War he had risen to fame. Sadly, he passed away in the year 1850, as Congress attempting to solve the growing troubles of sectionalism and slavery by crafting the Compromise of 1850. MILLARD FILLMORE When Zachary Taylor passed away in 1850 Millard Fillmore served out the remainder of his term. He was the President of the United States when the Compromise of 1850 was passed. During his time in office the United States opened relations with the Empire of Japan – forcing them to sign the Treaty of Kanagawa. FRANKLIN PIERCE Elected President of the United States during the troubled 1850s, this “doughfaced” President did little to solve the problems of sectionalism and slavery which would soon tear the United States apart. Franklin Pierce was probably best known for his insistence upon enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act and his failure to prevent the collapse of the Union. JAMES BUCHANAN He was a largely ineffective President who served from 1857 to 1861. As the sectional crisis and concern over slavery turned violent in “Bleeding Kansas” Buchanan was unable to improve the situation or even negotiate compromise. He hoped for the Supreme Court to resolve the issue of slavery with its decision in Dred Scott V. Sanford. When the nation balked at the ruling, he was hapless. ABRAHAM LINCOLN Widely considered the greatest of all American Presidents, Lincoln led the nation through the Civil War. His Emancipation Proclamation freed all of the enslaved people of the South, and he insisted that in order for the nation to be reunited, Southern States would have to pass the 13th Amendment, banning slavery. His sense of compassion and his eloquence, as evidenced by the Gettysburg Address, helped Americans to survive the most troubling years in our History. He was assassinated in April of 1865 by John Wilkes Booth, just days after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, VA. ANDREW JOHNSON A Southerner and a Democrat, Andrew Johnson became the first President of the United States to be impeached – put on trial by the Radical Republicans in Congress following the Civil War for an accused crime. In fact, the charge was rather contrived, and he was never removed from office – but he was probably the President most hated by Congress during his lifetime! ULYSSES S. GRANT Although he is frequently condemned as a poor President due to the corruption and graft of his administration, Ulysses S. Grant was genuinely devoted to the cause of Civil Rights for African-Americans and Reconstruction. He continued to support Freedmen during the Reconstruction by funding the Freedman’s Bureau and keeping up the military occupation to the end of his time in office. His own memoirs are probably a more accurate account of his life than the group of Southern historians that disparaged him after his death. RUTHERFORD B. HAYES The man who stole the Presidency from Samuel Tildon. He lost the popular vote in 1876, but when no candidate managed to win a majority of the Electoral College, he was placed in office thanks to the Compromise of 1876. He became President, but was forced to end the Reconstruction of the American South, thereby undoing most of the gains African-American citizens had made following the Civil War. Hayes was a miserable President, and left exslaves without the protection of the Union Army or the federal government. JAMES GARFIELD James Garfield was killed by an angry office seeker in 1881. He had pledged to bring an end to the so called “Spoils System” – which awarded government jobs to men and women who were the friends, families, and political supporters of victorious candidates. After Garfield’s death, Congress passed the Pendleton Act – requiring government employees to pass competency tests before they would be eligible for government jobs. CHESTER ARTHUR He became President upon the death of James A. Garfield by assassination in 1881. The most significant accomplishment of his Presidency was the passage of the Pendleton Act in 1883. He was an accidental President. GROVER CLEVELAND Cleveland is the only President to be elected to two non-consecutive terms. He was a devoted Anti-Imperialist. When American planters overthrew Queen Lilioukalani in Hawaii in 1893, he refused to annex the islands under their illegitimate provisional government. BENJAMIN HARRISON He was elected in the year 1888, defeating Grover Cleveland and occupying the term between Grover Cleveland’s two non-consecutive presidencies. He was also a distant relative of the other Harrison – William Henry Harrison. Fortunately, Benjamin Harrison’s presidency lasted much longer! GROVER CLEVELAND Cleveland is the only President to be elected to two non-consecutive terms. He was a devoted Anti-Imperialist. When American planters overthrew Queen Lilioukalani in Hawaii in 1893, he refused to annex the islands under their illegitimate provisional government. WILLIAM MCKINLEY His time in office included the Spanish American War – and resulted in much overseas expansion and colonization. The United States claimed Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam after the war; the nation also claimed the right to build a naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, annexed Hawaii, and American Samoa. Sadly, he too was assassinated, by an anarchist. He became President when McKinley was assassinated, and was the youngest President in US History at the time. He was known as a trustbuster, for enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust Act against companies like Standard Oil. After reading Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, he helped to pass both the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. As a committed conservationist, he helped to establish the National Park System. THEODORE ROOSEVELT WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT He was the only President to serve on the United States Supreme Court after having been President. During the Election of 1912, he ran against his political mentor – Theodore Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson, who defeated them both. WOODROW WILSON “He Kept Us Out of War” was this President’s campaign slogan in the Election of 1916. In April of 1917, he asked Congress to declare war on Germany to “Make the World Safe for Democracy.” His Fourteen Point Plan to restore Europe after World War I was adopted in the Treaty of Versailles. On a personal level, he was an extremely racist man who re-segregated the White House and gave D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation rave reviews. WARREN G. HARDING He promised Americans a “Return to Normalcy” after World War I and the rise of Radicalism left many Americans upset and disturbed. He was notoriously corrupt, however, allowing the Teapot Dome Scandal to happen on his watch. He died in office in 1923. While the nation grieved the loss of the President, it was soon revealed that personal scandals and government corruption ran rampant while he was in office. CALVIN COOLIDGE “Silent Cal” presided over the United States during an era of enormous prosperity, and exclaimed, “The business of the American people is business!” Unfortunately, during his administration too many American were running their businesses on credit and overproducing – the Great Depression was caused in part by the laissez-faire economics of the era. HERBERT HOOVER He was the President of the United States when the Stock Market collapsed and the Great Depression began, and he was blamed for being unsympathetic towards the poor. Newspapers became “Hoover” blankets, empty pockets “Hoover” flags, and communities of bums lived in “Hoovervilles.” He was probably not responsible for the downturn in the economy, but his helplessness to react to the nation’s troubles doomed him. His treatment of the Bonus Army was his worst hour, burning down a veteran’s camp. FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT He designed the AAA, the CCC, the REA, the FDIC, and many other New Deal Programs. Re-Elected four times, this man was the longest serving President of the United States. He was the victim of polio at a young age, and restricted to a wheelchair for much of his life; nevertheless he was extremely active and a charismatic leader. THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE COULD HARDLY HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG: TRUMAN WO N HIS RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN 1948, AND WENT ON TO SERVE FOR FOUR MORE YEARS. Harry S Truman Harry Truman made the decision to drop nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. He is also the President who desegregated the United States Military by executive order in 1948 The Election of 1948 DWIGHT DAVID EISENHOWER This Nebraskan and World War II hero directed Operation Overlord on D-Day in Normandy, France prior to becoming the President of the United States. While he was in office, he was caught lying about U-2 spy planes missions over the Soviet Union. He also sent troops into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas to force the school to integrate peacefully. JOHN F. KENNEDY Kennedy was the President of the United States during the embarrassing “Bay of Pigs” Invasion and the terrifying Cuban Missile Crisis which came frighteningly close to producing a nuclear holocaust. His youth and energy, however, inspired a generation to dream big – he made it his goal to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s and return him safely to the Earth – and it happened. Kennedy was assassinate in Dallas, TX in November of 1963. His “Great Society” reforms like Medicaid, Medicare, and Head Start were considered magnificent accomplishments; the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were signed during his Presidency, but his legacy was damaged the Vietnam War. LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON RICHARD NIXON This President was in office when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. He opened diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China during his time in office. Yet, he is the only President in the history of the United States of America to resign from office. Had he not resigned, he would likely have been impeached and removed from office for breaking in to the 1972 Democratic national headquarters and lying about the criminal act. GERALD FORD He became Vice President of the United States when Spiro Agnew was forced to resign over an income tax scandal. Richard Nixon selected him to take over the office. Then, in 1974, he became President of the United States when Richard Nixon was forced to resign! He is the only man to serve as President of the United States who was never the victor in a national election. JIMMY CARTER While this Democrat was president from 1977 to 1981, The United States was mired in Economic Recession. He opposed the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan so strongly, that the United States boycotted the Moscow Olympics in the year 1980. He was also President when Iranians held hundreds of Americans hostage at the US Embassy for 444 days. RONALD REAGAN He was President of the United States during the height of the Cold War, and once called the Soviet Union an “Evil Empire.” Yet, once Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR and pledged to improve relations with the West, Reagan joined Gorbachev in a partnership which reduced Soviet tyranny over Eastern Europe. In perhaps his most dramatic oration, Reagan, standing before the Berlin Wall, exclaimed, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” By 1989, the wall had crumbled. RONALD REAGAN’S POLITICAL GLOBE: GEORGE H.W. BUSH He was President of the United States during a dramatic moment in world history – the collapse of the Soviet Union and its empire. In the aftermath of the Cold War, attempted to establish a “new world order.” During his Presidency, the United States fought a war against Iraq in order to liberate and maintain the sovereignty of the tiny, oilrich nation of Kuwait, which had been attacked by Saddam Hussein’s forces. WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON Bill Clinton was the President of the United States of America during the 1990s, a time of great prosperity and growth for the United States economy. During his time in office, the United States signed the North American Free Trade Agreement. Interestingly, although he was elected twice, Clinton never won more than 49% of the popular vote – in both the Election of 1992 and 1996, an independent candidate, Ross Perot, split the vote three ways. The unseemly affair he had with a White House intern did nothing to improve the honor of the office of the Presidency. He was impeached for lying to Congress. GEORGE W. BUSH He was the President of the United States when Al-Queda terrorists crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center buildings, the Pentagon, and a field near Shawsville, Pennsylvania. While he was president, the US military overthrew two regimes – the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship in Iraq. He signed the Patriot Act into law. Hurricane Katrina was perhaps his worst moment as a leader – although given his unpopularity by the end of his second term, there were other possibilities. BARACK OBAMA President Obama is the first African-American president. To date, his most important accomplishments include the passage of Health Care Reform – The Affordable Health Care Act (Obamacare), the conclusion of the war in Afghanistan, and the killing of Osama bin Laden. During his Presidency, an economic downturn dubbed “The Great Recession” has come to a slow end, and economic growth has occurred. Bitter partisanship and gridlock have characterized Washington D.C. politics throughout his term in office