Presidential Trivia of the Week

Help Your Kids Learn About American History
by Playing Presidential Trivia

Are YOU playing presidential trivia?! In honor of this year's presidential campaign, the NCBLA is posting regular presidential trivia questions here on our blog. Check out this week's questions and have fun sharing the questions and answers with the kids in your life!

If you are traveling or always on the go, you can print the questions and answers before you leave or use a smartphone, tablet computer, or laptop to read them on the spot. You can quickly find all our previously posted questions by typing Presidential Trivia in the search box at the top of this blog.

This Week's Trivia Questions

1. Who is the only president to have been elected to serve two terms, but NOT consecutively?
2. Who was the first president to be elected by the House of Representatives?
3. Who was the first First Lady to speak to the public using radio?

A go-to resource for discovering more about America's presidents 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.

Answers and Information for Learning MORE!

1. Grover Cleveland. Cleveland served his first term from 1885 to 1889, but was defeated by Benjamin Harrison in the following election. Harrison was faced with continuing domestic disputes regarding high tariff rates that had created a surplus of money. Despite protests from the agricultural community, Harrison signed the McKinley Tariff Act, which raised the average tariff rate to 48%, while also eliminating some tariffs. The increased tariffs were widely unpopular, ultimately leading the Republican Party and Harrison to lose public favor as well as the White House. Indeed, Harrison was defeated by his predecessor, the Democrat Cleveland, in the next election. And so Cleveland served a second term following Harrison's administration from 1893 to 1897. Learn more about Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison in the Presidential Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org.
2. Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was elected by the House of Representatives because both he and his opponent, Aaron Burr, each received 73 electoral votes, so the House voted to break the tie and elect Jefferson. The law at that time specified that Burr would become vice president. John Quincy Adams was the second president to be selected by the House of Representatives. Learn more about Jefferson and Adams in the Presidential Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org.
3. Lou Henry Hoover.  Lou Hoover served as first lady during her husband Herbert Hoover’s single term in the years 1929-1933. Lou devoted many hours to supporting the Girl Scouts of America. She served as not only a troop leader, but also national president. As first lady Lou invited many Girl Scouts to visit the White House. Lou also helped protect the history of White House furnishings by creating a catalog of significant pieces and also restoring Lincoln's study for her husband's use. Lou advocated for women’s and civil rights and often addressed the nation about such issues on the radio. Learn more about Hoover and the other first ladies in the First Lady Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org.

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, 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.