How well do you know the past United States presidents? 1. Who was the U. S. President who was nominated five times, and the last time he ran, it was from jail due to his anti-war activities? William Jennings Bryan; Horace Greeley; Eugene V. Debs; John Bricker.
2. Which New Hampshire candidate was elected president after Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a bio depicting him as an extraordinary individual? Andrew Jackson; Franklin Pierce; George Washington; Zachary Taylor.
3. Having been employed as an occultist, medium, and hypnotist, which of these became the first female candidate for U. S. president with a platform supporting female suffrage and free love? Susan B Anthony; Victoria Woodhull; Jane Addams; Lydia Taft.
4. Which president of the United States relinquished his law license early in order to run for president? Al Gore; Joe Biden; Bill Clinton; Barack Obama.
5. Many were surprised when Al Gore won the popular vote, but eventually lost the election to George Bush through the Electoral College. Which two other candidates in American history experienced this event? Roosevelt and Taft; Hayes and Tilden; Hayes and Harrison; Winfield S. Hancock and William Allen.
6. Being acquitted of treason and escaping prosecution for murder were not enough to deter which U.S. vice president from seeking to establish a North American kingdom of which he would rule as emperor? Aaron Burr; Chester Arthur; James Cleveland; Milliard Fillmore.
7. In 1986, he was the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president, but having lost the race to “scrupulous morals,” he now teaches at a university. Mo Udall; Bill Clinton; Gary Hart; Walter Mondale.
8. Hired by his wife to be a personal secretary to her husband, which mistress of Franklin Roosevelt’s was put in the public eye? Jane Wyman; Jane Mansfield; Sally Hennings; Lucy Mercer.
9. Which U.S. Senator from South Carolina held office in the Senate for 47 years? Robert Kennedy; Strom Thurmond; Robert Byrd; Barry Goldwater.
10. Which U.S. president introduced an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that stated a U.S. president could never serve more than two terms? Ronald Reagan; George W. W. Bush; George Bush; Harry S. Truman.
ANSWERS
1. Eugene V. Debs. Debs’ last run for the Socialist Party was in 1920. He was arrested because of his anti-World War 1 stance.
2. Franklin Pierce.
3. Victoria Woodhull from Homer, Ohio.
4. Barack Obama. It’s common for lawyers who are not currently practicing law to request a “voluntarily inactive” or “voluntarily retired” status.
5. Hayes and Tilden. In 1876, Samuel J. Tilden got 51.5 percent of the popular vote and Rutherford B. Hayes got 47.5 percent.
6. Aaron Burr, master politician of manipulation of the truth, lack of moral scruples, and ability to obscure his true intentions.
7. Gary Hart.
8. Lucy Mercer. Eleanor Roosevelt found out about the affair in 1918 due to the discovery of love letters written between the two parties. The Roosevelts obviously did not divorce, and some think this was to uphold Franklin’s political career.
9. Strom Thurmond was a South Carolinian Senator for 47 years, between 1956-2003.
10. Harry S. Truman. The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1951, and was the result of the recommendations of the Hoover Commission, which was set up in 1947 by President Truman. It is still hotly debated, however, whether or not the Amendment ever needed to be ratified.