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U. S. PRESIDENTS TRIVIA IV

31) Who was the first President to be impeached?


A Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union ticket, Andrew Johnson came to office as the Civil War concluded. The new president favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union. His plans did not give protection to the former slaves, and he came into conflict with the Republican-dominated Congress, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives. He was acquitted in the Senate by one vote.

32) Who was the youngest U. S. President?


Theodore Roosevelt was 42 years and 10 months old when he was inaugurated on September 14, 1901.

33) Who was the first President with a beard?


A few weeks before Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States, eleven-year-old Grace Bedell sent him a letter urging him to grow a beard to improve his appearance. Lincoln responded on October 19, 1860, making no promises. However, within a month, he grew a full beard.

34) According to Bill Clinton, abortion should be "safe, legal, and _____."


President Clinton said that abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare"--a slogan originally suggested by University of California, San Diego political scientist Samuel L. Popkin. During the eight years of the Clinton administration, the U.S. abortion rate declined by about 18.4 percent.

35) Who was the only U.S. president to pay off the national debt?


On January 1, 1835, Andrew Jackson paid off the entire national debt, the only time in U.S. history that has been accomplished. The objective had been reached in part through Jackson's reforms aimed at eliminating the misuse of funds and through his vetoes of legislation which he deemed extravagant.

36) Martin Van Buren was the first U.S. president to ________.


Van Buren was born into a family of Dutch Americans in Kinderhook, New York. He was raised speaking primarily Dutch, and learned English at school, making him the first and only President to speak English as a second language.

37) Who is the only U.S. president not buried under the American flag?


John Tyler's death was the only one in presidential history not to be officially recognized in Washington, because of his allegiance to the Confederate States of America. He had requested a simple burial, but Confederate President Jefferson Davis devised a grand, politically pointed funeral, painting Tyler as a hero to the new nation. Accordingly, at his funeral, the coffin of the tenth president of the United States was draped with a Confederate flag; he remains the only U.S. president ever laid to rest under a flag not of the United States.

38) How many of Franklin Pierce's nine vetoes were overridden by Congress?


Of his nine vetoes, five were overridden by Congress, giving him the worst success rate (44%) in American history.

39) James Buchanan was the first president to ________.


Buchanan's lifelong bachelorhood has drawn interest from historians, with some speculating as to his sexual orientation. Before becoming president in 1857, Buchanan lived with William Rufus King, who at various times served as senator from Alabama, ambassador to France and, finally, Franklin Pierce's vice president. They met in Washington as young politicians, and lived together on and off for more than 16 years until King's death from tuberculosis in 1853. Some contemporaries called King Buchanan's "better half," and one congressman referred to him as "Mrs. B."

40) Why didn't Grover Cleveland serve in the Civil War?


With the American Civil War raging, Congress passed the Conscription Act of 1863, requiring able-bodied men to serve in the army if called upon, or else to hire a substitute. Cleveland chose the latter course, paying $150 (equivalent to $3,115 in 2019) to George Benninsky, a thirty-two-year-old Polish immigrant, to serve in his place.

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