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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 40 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Early Presidents
| George Washington became enraged when his political opponents claimed that he left retirement to assume the presidency to 'please his vanity.' Why? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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he could have assumed the title 'King'. What to call the new leader of the new nation came under much debate. Since monarchies were the common form of government at the time, there was a strong movement to crown Washington 'King of America' (reigning as a constitutional monarch of {course);} Washington's lack of vanity prohibited this plan.
| An early president invented the decimal system of coinage currently in use, and proposed a bill prohibiting slavery '...from all future new states...' that, if it had passed, would have most likely prevented the Civil War. Who was he? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson's proposal regarding the elimination of slavery in all future states was defeated by just one vote. The bitter Jefferson wrote, 'The voice of a single individual would have prevented this abominable crime from spreading itself over the new country. Thus we see the fate of millions of unborn hanging on the tongue of one {man;} even Heaven was silent at that awful moment.'
| One early president enjoyed a positive, productive administration after serving as governor of Virginia and Ambassador to France. Yet, after leaving office, to quote John Quincy Adams, 'His life for his last years has been one of abject penury and distress, and have brought him to a premature grave..' Who was he? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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James Monroe. Monroe was also a prolific author and statesman, but found himself virtually poverty-stricken and was forced to repeatedly petition the government for funds that he claimed were due him for his years as a public servant. After losing his ancestral home, he moved in with a married daughter where he eventually died a bitter and lonely old man.
| This president distinguished himself by preparing the Bill of Rights amendments to the Constitution and much of the legislation forming various departments of the new government. His name? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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James Madison. Madison assumed the presidency at a time of {crisis;} both Great Britain and France were riding roughshod over American rights as they fought the Napolenic Wars. Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war against Great Britain on June 1, 1812, which narrowly passed. The Treaty of Ghent, signed on December 24, 1814, ended the war as Madison approached the end of his second term.
| This president had an impressive career in foreign relations prior to assuming the Chief Executive' role. He served as Ambassador to the Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, Geat Britain and {Germany;} he was the first 'Minister' to Russia. Who was he? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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John Quincy Adams. Despite Adams' long career in foreign service, he showed little tact in his dealings with his government peers. As he wrote, 'I am a man of reserved , cold, austere and forbidding {manners;} a gloomy misanthropist, an unsocial savage.'
| This early president grew up as a poorly-educated orphan, a boy-militiaman in the Revolutionary War, a 'wild teenager', fought countless duels, lost thousands on horse races, and was a slave-owning plantation owner. His name? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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Andrew Jackson. In spite of, or perhaps because of, such beginnings, Jackson ultimately combined the art of a seasoned politician with the decision making ability of a successful general. He was adored by the 'common man', and '...his whole being conveyed an impression of energy and daring.'
| This gentleman was the first president to be born an American citizen, but grew up speaking a language other than English. Who was he? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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Martin van Buren. All prior presidents were born British subjects and, since his family was first generation from the Netherlands, Dutch was spoken at home. Interestingly, his family emigrated as indentured servants.
Wiliam Henry Harrison. President Harrison faced a cold, rainy inauguration day and stood bare-headed on the Capitol steps despite his 68 years (he was the oldest man elected president to that point). He read a long, meandering inaugural address, caught a cold, and died in the White House one month later. (Why does this sound like a plot of a Mel Brooks movie?)
James Polk. During his presidency, Polk offered Spain {$100} for Cuba on two separate {occasions;} each offer was refused by Spain.
| One president took office burdened by tragedy and grief. Shortly before his election, this president and his wife were traveling by train with their only remaining child (two prior children had died as infants) when their railroad car toppled off of the tracks. The President-Elect and his wife received minor {injuries;} their son, aged 11, was killed as they watched. Who was he? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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Franklin Pierce. These sad events so affected the First Lady that she did not participate in her husband's inaugural, nor any other event in the White House for the next two years. Pierce began his inaugural address as follows: 'It is a relief to feel that no heart but my own can know the personal regret and bitter sorrow over which I have been borne to a position so suitable for others rather than desirable for myself.'
| Walt Whitman penned the following in tribute to which president? 'O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done; the ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won. The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, while follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring.'? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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Abraham Lincoln. Written shortly after Lincoln's assassination, the poem ends as follows: 'But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, where on the deck my Captain lies, fallen cold and dead.'
Andrew Johnson. One of the few achievements of Johnson's presidency, 'Seward's folly' proved to be far more valuable than its (at the time) staggering purchase price.
| This minister's son had the dubious distinction of being the only president to have hanged a man (while serving as sheriff in Buffalo, New York), and was the first Chief Executive to be married in the White House. Who was he? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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Grover Cleveland. As if being an executioner wasn't enough, Cleveland was responsible for the most sensational bombshell in campaign history (to date, that is). Just 10 days after his nomination, a Buffalo newspaper reported that, 11 years earlier, Cleveland fathered an illegitimate child. The charge was true. During the campaign, chants of, 'Ma, Ma, where's my Pa? Gone to the White House, ha! ha! ha!' became, 'Hurrah for Maria, hurrah for the kid! We voted for Grover, and we're darn glad we did!' as Cleveland's election was assured.
| This president established the postal system, admitted Arizona and New Mexico to the Union and made life a lot more comfortable for future presidents since by adding the Oval Office. Who was he? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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William Howard Taft. This 6'2' 300 pounder followed the energetic Theodore Roosevelt and his equally active daughter, Alice, into the White House. Ponderous and slow, we hadn't lost a First Daughter, we gained a ton. Shortly into his second term, he was responsible for the Great Farmers' Riots of 1913. Word had leaked out that Taft started a very strict {diet;} this terrified farmers in the mid-west and caused serious panic and rioting that lasted for days. This last part of the 'Interesting Info' has been a joke. COME ON, GUYS, LOOSEN UP
| About the only thing that can be said about this president's term in office is that he modernized the White House by installing a cast iron stove in the kitchen, bathtubs in the private quarters and running water throughout. Who was he? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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Millard Fillmore. As president, Fillmore was a strict 'yes man.' Assuming the Chief Executive position at the death of Zachary Taylor, Fillmore did everything that he was told to do by the leaders of the Whig party. Despite his devotion to this party, Fillmore was dumped by the Whigs at their 1852 presidential convention and prevented from seeking election on his own for a second term. His limited abilities and lackluster presence even turned off his fellow Whigs.
| This president received 12 different college degrees and authored several college exts before becoming president, and held professorships at Johns Hopkins, Bryn Mawr, Wesleyan and Princeton Universities. Despite his educational achievements, his administation is remembered mostly for its failures. His name? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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Woodrow Wilson. Wilson is primarily remembered for his hostile relationship with the House and Senate. Stubborn, rigid and austere, he would appeal directly to the people when the legislative branch did not do what he wanted. The resulting public outcry deluged Senators with countless letters further widening the chasm between the President and the Senate. Revenge is {sweet;} the House and Senate got positively sugary when they vetoed U.S. participation in the League of Nations, Wilson's dream. This adversarial relationship continued through both of Wilson's terms.
| This president's birth name was 'Hiram' but, due to a clerical error in his college registration, his first name was changed. He found the 'wrong' name preferable to Hiram, and kept it his whole life. Who was he? | Facts About Our Early Presidents
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Ulysses S. Grant. Named Hiram Ulysses at birth, the West Point registration office mistakenly enrolled him as Ulysses Simpson Grant. Hiram did not call the error to anyone's attention, preferring the new name because the initials of the old one lent themselves to the nickname 'HUG', something the macho Grant found offensive and embarrassing.
| What president was known to skinny dip in the morning outside in a river? | Early Presidents
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John Q. Adams. John Q. Adams never let any reporters interview him, so one morning a woman reporter stole his clothes from him while he was skinny dipping. She demanded that he let her interview him before he could get back his clothes. All I can say is she got one of the only interviews from him while he was in office.
| Which president shares his last name with a cat cartoon character? | Early Presidents
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Braintree, Mass. President Adams was born in Braintree on October 30, 1735.
Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson later resigned in 1793.
Princeton. While at Princeton, Madison studied history, government and law.
Democratic-Republican. Jefferson founded the Demorcratic-Republican Party.
surveyor. Washington was an expert surveyor and an excellent horseman.
Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton had a long, nasty feud with Jefferson that led to Jefferson's resignation.
Daniel Tompkins. Clinton and Gerry served under Madison. Calhoun was John Quincy Adams VP.
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