Have Fun Learning About America's Presidents by Playing Presidential Trivia!
In honor of this year's presidential campaign, why not play some presidential trivia with the young people in your life?! Play in the car on your way to band practice or play while you're cleaning up the table after dinner!
A perfect resource for creating questions is the NCBLA's interdisciplinary anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, and it's coordinating educational website OurWhiteHouse.org! An incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, poetry, and a stunning array of original art, Our White House offers a multifaceted look at America’s history through the prism of the White House.
Here are a few questions to get you started:
- Which president campaigned successfully in 1840 using the populist slogan "Log Cabin and Hard Cider?"
- Before the passage of the 22nd amendment, presidential terms were not limited to two. Which president served FOUR terms?
- Almost any adult American citizen is qualified to become president. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution establishes the exact qualifications. What are they?
Answers and Links to Articles in OurWhiteHouse.org to Learn MORE!
- William Henry Harrison. Harrison and his advisors brilliantly transformed a disparaging remark from a critic (“ . . . with a supply of cider and a pension, [Harrison] would happily sit by his log cabin for the rest of his days.”) into an effective campaign slogan: “Log Cabin and Hard Cider.” The down-to-earth slogan was well received by the public because it presented Harrison as a humble country boy whose “created” image contrasted well with that of his opponent, the incumbent Van Buren. To learn more, click here.
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt won a second term by pledging to keep the U.S. out of World War II. He in fact signed the U.S. Neutrality Acts, a series of laws passed in response to the growing turmoil that led to World War II in an effort to prevent the U.S. from becoming involved. Later, after it became necessary to join the war, Roosevelt continued to be reelected because the people were unwilling to change leadership during wartime. Such circumstances and sentiment led Roosevelt to be the only president elected to serve four terms. To learn more, click here.
- Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution establishes that anyone who is a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least thirty-five years old, and has lived in the United States for at least fourteen years can become president. To learn more, click here.
Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press. Ask for it at a library or bookstore near you!
And be sure to check out the companion educational website, www.OurWhiteHouse.org, which provides expanded book content that includes additional articles, resources, activities, and discussion questions related to book topics as well exclusive resources and articles regarding the presidency, presidential campaigns, and presidential elections.
