16. Who was the first president to hold a televised news conference?
Dwight Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Harry S. Truman
17. Who was the first president to be born a citizen of the United States?
Jimmy Carter
George Washington
Martin Van Buren
AND THE RESULTS ARE IN ...
1. Answer: John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon
Democrat Kennedy and Republican Nixon met inside a Chicago studio Sept. 26, 1960. Kennedy scored high marks among television viewers for his delivery and style, while Nixon lost points for looking shifty-eyed and sweaty. But those who listened to the debate on radio thought the substance of Nixon's positions made him the winner.
2. Answer: Chicago Tribune
Democrat Truman defied the odds and apparent popular sentiment when he defeated Republican Thomas Dewey. At a postelection stop in St. Louis, the president-elect showed a group of photographers a copy of the Tribune bearing the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman."
3. Answer: Martin Van Buren
In 1848, former Democrat Van Buren sought to regain the presidency as a candidate for the anti-slavery Free Soil Party. Although his attempt fell short, he did earn 10 percent of the popular vote. Former Whig Millard Fillmore ran on the anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic American Party ticket in 1856, and Theodore Roosevelt changed from the Republican Party to the Progressive (Bull Moose) Party for the 1912 race.
4. Answer: General of the Army
On July 18, 1952, about a week after his nomination, Eisenhower resigned the post. By giving it up, Eisenhower forfeited his Army pension, an eight-member staff and government-paid office space.
5. Answer: Columnist George Will
After the debate, Will appeared on ABC's "Nightline" and praised Reagan's performance, neglecting to mention his role in Reagan's preparation. When his assistance was finally revealed, many in the journalistic community criticized Will.
6. Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
In 1912, Progressive Party candidate Roosevelt was on his way to an appearance in Milwaukee when a fanatic named John Schrank shot him in the chest. Rather than go to a hospital, Roosevelt kept his appointment. "I will deliver this speech or die," he said. After the speech, Roosevelt sought medical attention and took a few weeks off from campaigning.
7. Answer: Grover Cleveland
In 1884, a New York newspaper broke a story that Cleveland had fathered a child out of wedlock. After Cleveland's victory, his supporters answered the Republican jab: "Ma! Ma! Where's my pa? Gone to the White House. Ha Ha Ha."
8. Answer: Bigamy
The charge stemmed from the fact that Jackson had accidentally married his wife before her divorce to her first husband was finalized.
9. Answer: "Where's the beef?"
Mondale borrowed the line from a television commercial for Wendy's hamburgers. His effective use of it challenged the substance of Hart's new ideas for governing.
10. Answer: James A. Garfield
Garfield studied Latin, Greek and German in college. During his 1880 campaign, the Democratic candidate occasionally used German on the stump, especially when he appeared before voters of German descent.
11. Answer: Dwight Eisenhower
Hawaii, the 50th state, entered the union on Aug. 21, 1959, during Eisenhower's second term.
12. Answer: John Adams
Adams, who followed George Washington in to office, was the first president to live in the White House. Adams and his wife moved in Nov. 1, 1800. (The White House was under construction during Washington's administration.)
13. Answer: John F. Kennedy
Kennedy, born on May 29, 1917, won the presidency in 1960. But Americans later elected a president who was a few years older than Kennedy. Ronald Reagan, elected in 1980, was born in 1911. He holds the distinction of being the president born earliest in the 20th century.
14. Answer: Richard Nixon
Nixon was a world traveler, too. He was the first sitting president to visit China.
15. Answer: Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Hardin County, Ky., on Feb. 12, 1809.
16. Answer: Dwight Eisenhower
Eisenhower's Jan. 19, 1955, news conference was the first recorded for television. It aired later. Coincidentally, Eisenhower also became the first president to appear in color on TV, when an address he delivered at West Point, N.Y., on June 6, 1955, was broadcast by NBC the following day.
17. Answer: Martin Van Buren
Van Buren was born on Dec. 5, 1782, in Kinderhook, N.Y. Previous presidents had been born before the American Revolution, and thus were born British subjects. Now all presidents must be born U.S. citizens, according to Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in 1787.
SOURCES: "Facts About the Presidents," by Joseph Nathan Kane; "Presidential Campaigns," by Paul F. Boller Jr.; "Presidential Elections"; Chicago Tribune/MCT; The Plain Dealer (Cleveland); "Facts and Fun about the Presidents," by George Sullivan, Scholastic Inc.; World Book.
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Think You Know Your Presidents? Time for a Pop Quiz
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