By MARSHA MERCER
Ah, Presidents’ Day, when mattresses go on sale. But wait. Let’s
remember the official and legal name of the federal holiday on the third Monday
in February is still George Washington’s Birthday. Washington was our first,
but how much do you know about him and the presidents who followed? Quiz
yourself on your presidential trivia savvy. Answers below.
1)
Washington had to create
the presidency of the fledgling United States, including what to call the chief
of government. Which of these titles did Vice President John Adams suggest to
Washington?
A “His Mightiness”
B “His
Elective Majesty”
C “His Highness,
the President of the United States and the Protector of Their Liberty”
D All
of the above
2)
Whose foes dubbed him “His
Accidency”?
A
President Andrew Johnson
B President Harry Truman
C
President John Tyler
D
President Gerald Ford
3)
Which president gave the
shortest inaugural address in history?
A George Washington
B
Calvin Coolidge
C
Abraham Lincoln
D Chester Arthur
4) Of the first 18 presidents, 12 were slave owners at some point in their lives. Which of these presidents never owned slaves?
A Ulysses S. Grant
B John Adams
C Martin Van Buren
D Andrew Johnson
5)
Which president said of
himself: “fluency in English is something I’m not often accused of”?
A
Donald Trump
B Calvin Coolidge
C
George H. W. Bush
D George
W. Bush
6)
True or False: Washington’s birthday is Feb.
22, 1732, but it used to be Feb. 11, 1731.
7)
Speaking of birthdays, which
president was born on the Fourth of July?
A
Thomas Jefferson
B
James Monroe
C
Calvin Coolidge
D
John Adams
8)
Which president(s) won the Pulitzer Prize?
A Bill
Clinton
B
Barack Obama
C
John F. Kennedy
D All
of the above
9)
Who was the last president
who was neither Republican nor Democrat?
A George
Washington
B Millard
Fillmore
C Abraham
Lincoln
D Franklin
Pierce
10) President Zachary Taylor died
after 16 months in office in 1850. How did he die?
A He
got sick after eating a bowl of cherries and drinking milk.
B He
got sick after drinking too much alcohol at a holiday party.
C He
contracted tuberculosis following a trip.
D He
suffered a heart attack.
BONUS: Which
presidential candidate ran the first TV campaign ad?
A Franklin
Roosevelt
B Dwight
Eisenhower
C Harry
Truman
D Richard
Nixon
ANSWERS
1)
D – But Washington went with the simple title the
House suggested: The President of the United States.
2)
C – Tyler was the first
vice president to assume the top job after President William Henry Harrison caught
cold and died of pneumonia barely a month after giving the longest inauguration
speech in history.
3)
A – Washington’s second
inaugural address on March 4, 1793, was just 135 words long and lasted less
than 2 minutes.
4)
B – John Adams, as well as his
son John Quincy Adams, never owned slaves.
5)
C – Historian Jon Meacham quoted
Bush’s self-deprecating comment in his eulogy of the former president in 2018.
6)
True – Under the Julian
Calendar, Washington’s birthday was Feb. 11, 1731, but when Britain changed to
the Gregorian Calendar we use today, his birthday moved to Feb. 22, 1732.
7)
C – Coolidge in 1872.
Jefferson, Monroe and Adams all died on the Fourth of July.
8)
C – JFK won the Pulitzer
Prize for biography in 1957 for “Profiles in Courage,” a volume of short
biographies. It’s now known that presidential speechwriter Ted Sorensen wrote
much of the work.
9)
B – Fillmore was a Whig.
10) A – Taylor is thought to have contracted a form of cholera from
the cherries.
BONUS: B --
“Eisenhower Answers America” in 1952 featured ordinary Americans asking the candidate
questions in TV ad spots.
Sources: Library of
Congress, Mount Vernon, National Archives, White House Historical Association,
Pulitzer.com, history.com, “To the Best of My Ability,” James M. McPherson
general editor.
©2019 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.
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