2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
Local Presidents Questions
Junior/Senior Divisions
#1-24
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#1
Range:
10-20
(6 points) My political career didn’t get off to a very promising start. At age 25, I
finished eighth in the race for a seat in my state’s House of Representatives.
Two years later, I ran as a Whig and won the first of four terms in that
legislature. I became chairman of the finance committee and pushed measures
to improve the state’s railroad and canal systems.
(4 points) I actively supported the candidacy of Zachary
Taylor. After his election, he offered me the position of
governor of the Oregon territory but I declined the
appointment. Instead, I retired from politics and resumed
my legal career. At that point, the odds against my ever
becoming president were astronomical.
(2 points) After joining the Republican Party, I challenged
the popular incumbent Stephen Douglas for a seat in the
U.S. Senate. Although I lost the election, my performance
in a series of memorable debates during the campaign
catapulted me into national prominence and led to my
nomination for president. One of my opponents for the
White House was Douglas.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#2
Range:
2-12
(6 points) Most of my early education came at home. At age 16, I went to
college in another state and studied history, government, and law, graduating in
only two years. I returned home in ill health, partly because of excessive
studying. I joined the Committee of Safety, a local defense organization. Later, I
was commissioned a colonel in the Orange County militia.
(4 points) I was Secretary of State for
eight years under my predecessor while
my successor served as my Secretary of
State. My primary opponent in my first
election to the White House was Charles
Pinckney (at the left). For reelection, I
defeated DeWitt Clinton.
(2 points) The biggest decision I made as president was asking Congress to
declare war on Great Britain. English ships continually stopped American ships
on the high seas, seizing cargoes and abducting sailors. The British also
supported attacks by various Indian tribes in the Northwest. The subsequent
war was not popular in all parts of the nation. The New England states even
considered seceding from the Union because of it.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#3
Range:
1-11
(6 points) One of my most pressing problems was trouble on the western
front. With farmers illegally settling on native lands, I met with Seneca Chief
Red Jacket and gave him a silver medal as a token of respect.
(4 points) One of the most important issues facing the
cabinet during my administration was public debt owed by
the states. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton
came up with a plan that proposed the federal government
pay off the states’ debts.
(2 points) Because of the crowding in the current capital of New York City, I
chose a site on the Potomac River as the site for the new capital.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#4
Range:
14-24
(6 points) I was born in the town of Caldwell. When I was twenty, I began using
only my first initial in front of my middle name. A few years later, I dropped the
initial. So I am known to history by my middle name. I attended the Clinton
Liberal Institute. I loved debate and planned on attending nearby Hamilton
College, but my father’s untimely death changed those plans.
(4 points) I was known as the “Veto Governor” and then the
“Veto President.” The only president who vetoed more bills
than I did was Franklin Roosevelt, and he had four terms to
do it in. None of my cabinet members are well known to
history. Our concentration was on domestic affairs. So my
Secretary of State Thomas Bayard didn’t have much to do.
(2 points) In my first race for the presidency, I defeated
James G. Blaine, the Republican candidate. For my
second successful run, I defeated the incumbent president.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#5
Range:
1-11
(6 points) As president, I had to contend with the Nullification
Crisis. This arose because of the claims by some political
leaders in South Carolina that a state could nullify federal
laws that it found unconstitutional. The South Carolinians, led
by Senator John C. Calhoun, who had been my first vice
president, were upset with the tariff bill that Congress passed.
(4 points) My older brother Robert and I were captured by the British during
the Revolutionary War. When a British officer ordered me to shine his boots, I
refused, insisting that I be treated as a prisoner of war. The officer then struck
me on the head with his sword, gashing my hand that I threw up to defend
myself. After this incident, we were taken to a prison camp in Camden until
our mother secured our release. But we both had contracted smallpox, which
killed my brother. Years later, still bearing the scar from the officer’s sword, I
got my revenge on the British.
(2 points) Even though we were from opposite sides of the Mason-Dixon Line,
my successor in the White House served in my unofficial “Kitchen Cabinet” and
later as my Secretary of State.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#6
Range:
14-24
(6 points) My Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish, oversaw the
negotiations of the Treaty of Washington that normalized
relations with Great Britain and solved problems involving the
northwestern border of the U.S. and the sinking of Union ships
by British-built Confederate ships. Britain agreed to pay more
than $15 million in damages for the sinking of American ships.
(4 points) I defeated Horatio Seymour and Horace
Greeley (pictured) for my two terms as president. Near
the end of my presidency, Colorado joined the Union.
(2 points) The Fifteenth Amendment granting freed slaves the right to vote
became law while I lived in the White House. I also signed into law the bill that
created the U.S. Department of Justice.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#7
Range:
1-11
(6 points) I considered my distant cousin John Marshall
my political enemy. Appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court by my predecessor, he greatly increased the power
of the court, which I didn’t like. In the famous case of
Marbury v. Madison, Marshall ruled in the government’s
favor but criticized the actions of me and my Secretary of
State.
(4 points) My wife Martha was a widow when I married
her. She gave birth to six children, but only one lived past
age seven, Martha whom we called “Patsy.” My wife died
when I was 39 and I never remarried. Patsy served as
White House hostess during my presidency.
(2 points) Ohio was the only state to join the Union during my presidency.
However, fifteen additional states were eventually formed from land the U.S.
acquired while I was president.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#8
Range:
4-14
(6 points) After graduating from Harvard, I became a lawyer. At age 26, I was
appointed Minister to the Netherlands, then promoted to the Berlin Legation.
After serving in the U.S. Senate, I became Minister to Russia.
(4 points) One of the men I defeated for the presidency,
Henry Clay, served as my Secretary of State. I lost my bid
for reelection, 178-83 in the Electoral College.
(2 points) As Secretary of State, I formulated the doctrine that is named for my
predecessor. The key statement in that doctrine is this: “… the American continents
… are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any
European powers.”
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#9
Range:
5-15
(6 points) I volunteered for the militia in my native state in
the North. I became a brigadier general during the
Mexican War where I served under General Winfield Scott
who, ironically, would later be my opponent for president.
(4 points) President James Polk offered me the position of
U.S. Attorney General but I declined. My Secretary of War
during my four-year presidential term was Jefferson Davis.
(2 points) I was considered a “Dark Horse” for the Democratic nomination for
president. When none of the major candidates could gain a majority, I finally
won on the 49th ballot. The most memorable event of my presidency was the
Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed settlers in those two territories to decide
for themselves whether to outlaw slavery.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#10
Range:
3-13
(6 points) I left the College of William & Mary to join the Third Infantry
Division from my home state. I rose to the rank of Major and went through the
rough winter at Valley Forge under General George Washington. I was proud
of my military service. In fact, even as president, I preferred to be called
“Colonel.”
(4 points) I served as Secretary of State under my predecessor and my successor was Secretary of State for most of the eight years of my presidency.
Unlike me, my Secretary of State was born north of the Mason-Dixon line.
(2 points) While I lived in the White House, the “Missouri Compromise” took
place. Missouri entered the Union as a slave state while Maine entered as a
free state. This kept the number of slave and free states equal.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#11
Range:
9-19
(6 points) My first political office was in the House of Representatives of my state.
I then served seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. I rose to the
position of Speaker of the House, making me the only president who ever held
that office. I left the House to run for governor of my state but lost for the first of
two times.
(4 points) The Secretary of State during my entire
time in the White House was James Buchanan. He
led the negotiations on the Oregon Treaty which set
the 49th parallel as the northern boundary of the
United States.
(2 points) I defeated Kentucky Senator Henry Clay in my only
presidential election. The Whigs thought Clay could defeat me
because I was not well known across the nation. I won the
electoral vote without carrying my home state of Tennessee.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#12
Range:
14-24
(6 points) I fought for the Union during the Civil War, rising to the rank of Major
General. I was injured multiple times during the war. While I was still in the army,
my supporters nominated me for the U.S. House of Representatives from
Hamilton County. I won even though I never campaigned in person.
(4 points) I am one of four straight Republican presidents.
John Sherman served as my Secretary of the Treasury. He
is much better known as the younger brother of the famous
Union general William Tecumseh Sherman.
(2 points) Democrats charged that votes had been miscounted in several
Southern states so that my opponent should be the president. Congress set up a
fifteen-member electoral commission to settle the issue. They voted in my favor 87. However, I had to agree that I would serve only one term as president.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#13
Range:
1-11
(6 points) I headed the Board of War and
Ordinance which oversaw the Continental Army. I
helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris that brought an
end to the Revolutionary War. I stayed in Europe
where I arranged treaties of commerce with several
nations. Finally, I became the first U.S. Minister to
England.
(4 points) Some of the famous events of my presidency were the XYZ Affair, the Alien and Sedition
Acts, and the Midnight Appointments.
(2 points) I defeated Thomas Jefferson for the presidency. He then became my
vice president according to the rules of the day. I moved into the brand new White
House for the last four months of my term.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
#14
Range:
11-21
(6 points) Before becoming president, I served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. I am one of the few presidents who never got a
chance to appoint anyone to the Supreme Court. Congress, controlled by the
opposition party, actually reduced the number of seats on the court to prevent
me from adding any new members.
(4 points) I inherited my cabinet from my predecessor. I
removed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton from office despite
the fact that Congress had passed the Tenure of Office Act over
my veto. The law took away the power of the president to
remove any executive officer appointed by a past president
without the consent of the Senate. This was one of the many
battles I fought with Congress.
(2 points) Congress tried to impeach me, but the vote failed 108-57. However,
after I defied the Tenure of Office Act, the House mustered enough votes to
make me stand trial. The Senate failed to convict me, falling one vote shy of the
necessary two-thirds majority needed to remove me from office.
2012-13 AGLOA Local Presidents
Jr/Sr #1-24
Answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
#16 Abraham Lincoln
#4 James Madison
#1 George Washington
#22/24 Grover Cleveland
#7 Andrew Jackson
#18 Ulysses S. Grant
#3 Thomas Jefferson
#6 John Quincy Adams
#14 Franklin Pierce
#5 James Monroe
#11 James K. Polk
#19 Rutherford Hayes
#2 John Adams
#17 Andrew Johnson
Range:
1-24