Presidents Up to No Good? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Warren Harding

Located in Wyoming, the Teapot Dome Navy petroleum reserves were at the center of one of the biggest scandals in American history. Essentially, the oil from these fields was provided to private companies at very low rates below market value. Interior Secretary Albert Fall became the first presidential cabinet member to ever go to prison for his role in accepting the bribes. Harding's short presidency was marred by the scandal and corruption and his reputation never recovered.

Answer: Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon became the first president ever to resign the office, after the Democratic Party Headquarters at the Watergate Complex were broken into. The investigation of the crime and subsequent cover-up unveiled a variety of undercover methods by people working for Nixon, including bugging offices and harassment.

While initially denying knowledge of the crimes, Nixon's defense unravelled in the face of mounting evidence and he resigned the office in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office.

Answer: Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton has a reputation (deserved or not) for extramarital affairs and inappropriate conduct towards women. An Arkansas state employee, Paula Jones, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Clinton. As part of the lawsuit, the prosecution tried to establish a pattern of inappropriate behavior by him with other women, including White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Under oath, Clinton denied having a relationship with Lewinsky, but he was forced to admit later to an inappropriate relationship.

As a result of his testimony in the Paula Jones case, Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice, but was acquitted by the Senate, which was unable to reach the required two-thirds majority to remove him from office.

Answer: Ronald Reagan

Senior officials in the Reagan administration sold weapons to Iran despite an official arms embargo that was put in place after the Iran Revolution of the late 1970s. In turn, the money gained from the weapon sales was funnelled to help support the Contras in the rebellion against the socialist Nicaragua government. No officials ended up going to prison for their role in the scandals; some were put on probation, some were granted immunity, and some were pardoned by President George H.W. Bush (who was the Vice President at the time of the scandal).

Answer: Ulysses Grant

Despite being known for his own personal integrity as a Civil War General and President, Grant's time as president was marred by a series of scandals. The Whiskey Ring involved government agents accepting bribes from whiskey distillers in exchange for the distillers pay fewer taxes on their product.

The ring was seen as a sign of corruption of the entire Republican party after the Civil War and was ultimately broken by massive raids led by Treasury Secretary Benjamin Bristow.

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt

Roosevelt took office promising a sweeping legislation package called the New Deal. During his first term in office the Supreme Court struck down a number of his legislative bills. After Roosevelt won a second term, he proposed a new bill that among other provisions, would expand the number of Supreme Court Justices, by adding a new judge for each judge over 70 years old, ostensibly to lighten the load of the senior justices.

The bill would allow Roosevelt to pack the court with up to six new justices, who would swing the balance of the court in Roosevelt's favor.

The bill was ultimately rejected in a rare political loss for Roosevelt.

Answer: Donald Trump

In the 2016 Presidential Election, Donald Trump won a surprise victory over Hilary Clinton. After the election, allegations were made that Russia had interfered in the elections, with the hope of getting Trump elected over Clinton. While Trump denied being involved with Russian interference, there was some evidence of links between his campaign officials and Russian contacts. Congress commissioned former FBI director Robert Mueller to investigate the connections. Several campaign officials were convicted as a result of Mueller's investigation, though Trump himself was not charged, and it should be stressed that no evidence was found of actual Russian interference.

Answer: Andrew Johnson

After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Johnson became President and advocated easier policies for the southern states to be re-admitted to the Union. Congress however wanted tougher policies in place to ensure civil rights for the freed slaves. They passed the Tenure of Office Act to restrict the President's ability to remove certain executive officers without the approval of Congress.

When Johnson attempted to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton against the advice of Congress, he became the first president to be impeached, but was able to remain in office via a single vote in the Senate.

Answer: Andrew Jackson

A war hero from the War of 1812, Jackson worked to improve the rights of the "common man" during his time in office. Unfortunately, he is also known for his abysmal treatment of Native Americans. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorized the President to negotiate with southern tribes to relocate from their land to federal land west of the Mississippi River.

The forced removal of the tribes disposed them of their native lands, and caused widespread disease and death in the Indian tribes.

Answer: John Quincy Adams

The son of a former president, John Quincy Adams became President himself under questionable means. Adams was part of a four man contest in 1824, which resulted him finished second in the electoral college to Andrew Jackson, in front of William Crawford and Henry Clay.

The top three candidates, Jackson, Adams, and Crawford were then moved into a special election in the House of Representatives to determine the next President. As Speaker of the House, Clay was in a unique position to influence the election and his policies was closer in line with Adams than the other candidates.

After Adams's election, Clay was named Secretary of State, leading many supporters of Jackson to deride Adams's election as a corrupt bargain by Adams and Clay.