Presidents

1. Presidents Middle #13-24

2. 13-24 #1 (6 points) In 1821, I married Julia Boggs Dent. My vice president was Henry Wilson. I graduated from the U.S. Mili-tary Academy 21st in a class of 39. I served under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott in the Mexican War. (4 points) If you like to read about scandals, you must love my administration. The press came up with clever names for them like “The Whiskey Ring” and “Credit Mobilier.” (2 points) On April 9, 1865, I received Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, VA. On July 25th, I was the first officer commis-sioned “General of the Army” by Congress and the first to hold that title since George Washington.

3. #2 13-24 (6 points) I was the first president since the Civil War who didn’t serve in it.During my administration, I condemned American participation in the overthrow of Queen Liliuo-kalani of Hawaii. I resisted efforts by some in Congress who proposed the annexation of Hawaii. (4 points) I campaigned as a Democrat for president. The vice president during my second term was Adlai Ewing Stevenson of Illinois. (2 points) I retired when my term expired. On the evening of June 23rd of my 81st year on this planet, I lost consciousness and died of heart failure the following morning.

4. #3 13-24 (6 points) I commanded a regiment in the Battle of South Mountain that was attacked by Confederate forces led by General Robert E. Lee.I was severely wounded in the battle. My presidential administration gained approval for a French firm to begin construction of the Panama Canal. I vetoed a bill restricting Chinese immigration. (4 points) The man I defeated for the presidency, James Tilden, is almost as famous as me as a result of the con-troversy over the election. The final result was not deter-mined by a Congressional committee until the night before my inauguration. I promised not to run again for reelection and kept that promise. (2 points) Both the presidents before and after me were from my party. My wife has perhaps the most famous nickname of any First Lady. It has something to do with the liquid refreshment served in the White House.

5. 13-24 #4 (6 points) As a young man, I worked on a farm and supported my widowed mother. I attended district school three months each winter. I later worked as a driver, helmsman, and carpenter on our state’s canals, and I fell overboard fourteen times. I did not know how to swim. I was nominated for president in Chicago by the Republican Party. (4 points) During my administration, the Post Office Department discovered fraudulent payments for mail services causing several resignations. Senators Roscoe Conkling and Thomas Collier Platt resigned because of a disagreement with me over federal appointments in New York. (2 points) I was shot by Charles J. Guiteau while passing through the railroad depot in Washington, D.C. I later died from the wound.

6. #5 13-24 (6 points) I desegregated the White House staff, which started a desegregation of the federal government that lasted until World War I. I opened the White House to African-American callers, notably Frederick Douglass. Among the names that became famous while I was presi-dent were George Meade, Thomas Jackson, and Philip Sheridan. (4 points) My wife was the subject of much gossip while we lived in the White House because she grew up in Kentucky, a state that allowed slavery. She gave birth to four sons. One died at age four before I was president. Another died at age 11 while we lived in the White House. (2 points) When I learned the presidential election results at the telegraph office in Springfield, I ran home, crying, “Mary, Mary, we are elected!” We were living in the house pictured at the right.

7. #6 13-24 (6 points) I graduated from Union College in 1848. I became a schoolteacher, then studied law, and practiced in New York City. I argued in the Lemmon Slave Case that slaves transported to New York State were thereby free. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with me. I married 22 year old Ellen “Nell” Lewis Herndon. (4 points) From 1871-1878, I held the position of Collector of the Port of New York. This position was an important and profitable one. During my presidency, the Senate ratified the Geneva Convention that set the standards for the care of the wounded during war and the neutrality of medical personnel. (2 points) I became president after serving as vice-president for a little more than six months.

8. 13-24 #7 (6 points) I had to meet with my cabinet in the U.S. Treasury building because my predecessor’s widow took so long to move out of the White House. I vetoed twenty nine bills passed by Congress, and Congress overrode my veto fifteen times. (4 points) I was placed on the presidential ticket because the president wanted a Democrat as vice-president for his second term. A big baseball fan, I was the first president to invite an entire baseball team to the White House. During my administration, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was chartered. (2 points) I was also targeted as part of an assassination plot. The attack on me never occurred, as some of the assassins lost their nerve.

9. #8 13-24 (6 points) I was a Federalist but later became a Democrat. In retirement, I supported President Lincoln and the Union. I disliked slavery personally but was convinced that the Constitution protected it. (4 points) I fought in the War of 1812 as a volunteer. I was twice elected to my state’s general assembly. I was minister to Russia and was elected U.S. Senator of my home state. As Polk’s Secretary of State, I ended the Oregon dispute with Britain. I supported the Mexican War and the annexation of Texas. As minister to Britain, I signed the Ostend Manifesto, declaring a U.S. right to take Cuba by force should efforts to purchase it fail. (2 points) I was the only bachelor president to remain a bachelor for my entire term and the only president from my home state. My niece, Harriet Lane, acted as White House hostess.

11. #9 13-24 (6 points) I had a career in the state legislature, Congress, and the Senate. I did not actively seek the presidency but was accepted as a compromise candidate. I took office at a seemingly peaceful time in history, but peace was not to last long, and I had a troubled administration. (4 points) I am often referred to as the most handsome president. However, heavy drinking over many years undermined my health, and I died from cirrhosis of the liver. My minister to Mexico, James Gadsden, negotiated a land acquisition which completed the outline of the 48 first states. (2 points) While I was president, representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts unconscious on the Senate floor. Brooks was angry over an anti-slavery speech that Sumner made.

12. #10 13-24 (6 points) When I ran for election as the Republican candi-date, my Vice President was Allen Thurman. During my term in office, Oklahoma was opened to settlers, North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted to the Union as the 39th and 40th states, and Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming were admitted as the 41st, 42nd, 43rd and 44th states. (4 points) Between July 1862 and June 1865, I formed Company A of the 70th Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was eventually commis-sioned colonel. I went with the regiment to Kentucky and served until June 1865. (2 points) I was the second president whose wife died while he was in office. The man I defeated for the presi-dency turned the tables on me four years later.

13. Extra #1 13-24 (6 points) My religion by birth was Unitarian. Until I was 17, I had only basic instruction in reading, writing, and math. I read little, other than the Bible. I was an eager student, and a favorite of the teacher, Abigail Powers, whom I later married when I reached age 26 and she was 27. (4 points) In 1819, my father arranged for me to study law at the office of County Judge Walter Wood in Montville. At the end of a two-month trial period, the Judge Wood invited me to continue as his clerk. I became a teacher but continued to learn law from Asa Rice and Joseph Clary. I was admitted to the bar in 1823. (2 points) I held many offices such as New York State Assemblyman, U.S. Representative, Comptroller of New York State, and Vice President.

14. Extra #2 13-24 (6 points) I was nicknamed the “veto mayor” because I refused to approve contracts and bills that would benefit politicians at the expense of taxpayers. As a result, I saved my city more than $1 million during my first year in office alone. My reputation for honesty helped me get elected governor and then president. (4 points) I am the first and only president to marry in the White House. My bride, Frances, was 27 years younger than I. In 1921, the Curtiss Candy Company claimed that their “Baby Ruth” candy bar was named after our daughter Ruth. However, some think Curtiss was just trying to get out of paying the famous baseball player for use of his name. (2 points) Both my election and reelection changed the party in control of the White House.

15. Answers #18 Ulysses S. Grant #22/24 Grover Cleveland #19 Rutherford Hayes #20 James Garfield #16 Abraham Lincoln #21 Chester Arthur #17 Andrew Johnson #15 James Buchanan #14 Franklin Pierce #23 Benjamin Harrison #13 Millard Fillmore #22/24 Grover Cleveland