Help Your Kids Learn About American History
by Playing Presidential Trivia
by Playing Presidential Trivia
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
- Which president declared an "unconditional war on poverty" and also promised to end racism, asserting that “This is not merely an economic issue or a social, political, or international issue. It is a moral issue.”?
- Which president, who had served as a soldier for forty years, said, "My life has been devoted to arms, yet I look upon war at all times, and under all circumstances, as a national calamity to be avoided if compatible with national honor?"
- Which presidential couple were the only ones to be married in the White House?
Answers and Information for Learning MORE!
- Lyndon Baines Johnson. The tragic shooting of President Kennedy elevated Johnson into the presidency. Johnson promised to not only continue Kennedy's work, but to also implement his own vision for America, which he called "The Great Society." To realize this dream, he declared an "unconditional war on poverty" and also promised to end racism. Johnson wasted no time. He soon signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that ended segregation in schools, work sites, and public places. He also signed the Economic Opportunity Act, which created the Office of Economic Opportunity--an umbrella agency designed to provide job training, adult education, and loans to small businesses. The EOA also implemented such programs as Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA), the Job Corps, Head Start, and Family Planning centers, all conceived to confront unemployment and poverty directly. Almost a year later he signed legislation that instituted government-funded healthcare for the elderly and disadvantaged in Medicare and Medicaid. Johnson is also credited with signing environmental legislation to guarantee clean air and water. Many Americans prospered under Johnson's programs, and he won the 1964 election overwhelmingly. Learn more about Lyndon Johnson n in the Presidential Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org.
- Zachary Taylor. Taylor had been a soldier for forty years before he became president, having served in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War in Illinois (1832), the Seminole War in Florida (1836-37), and the Mexican War (1846-48). He managed a stunning victory at Buena Vista in February 1847 when he defeated a Mexican force of 20,000 men with American troops that numbered only 5,000. Learn more about Zachary Taylor in the Presidential Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org.
- Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom Cleveland. At the very young age of 21, Frances Folsom became first lady when she married President Grover Cleveland in what has become the only presidential wedding in the White House. They married in an intimate candlelit ceremony in the Blue Room on June 2, 1886, during the second year of Cleveland's first term. Frances subsequently served as first lady for the remainder of Cleveland's first term through 1889 and then the entirety of his second term. Learn more about Frances Cleveland and the other first ladies in the First Lady Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org. And, be sure to read "Mrs. Cleveland, White House Bride" by Jennifer Armstrong in Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!
Our White House is
available
in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.
Ask for it at a library or bookstore near you!
in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.
Ask for it at a library or bookstore near you!
