The Presidents

Question 1

George Washington (Federalist)

Answer 1

Commanded the Continental army during the American Revolution. President of the Constitutional Convention. Set many precedents that were followed by other presidents. Set basis of U.S. foreign policy in his Farewell Address.

Question 2

John Adams (Federalist)

Answer 2

American Revolution leader who protested the Stamp Act. Helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Alien and Sedition Acts contributed to his unpopularity and the fall of his party.
SADS - Stamp Act, Draft of declaration on independence, alien and sedition acts

Question 3

Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican)

Answer 3

Major author of the Declaration of Independence. Opposed Federalists. Opposed Hamilton’s financial plan and Alien and Sedition Acts. Negotiated the Louisiana Purchase from France. Strict interpretation of constitution.

Question 4

James Madison (Democratic-Republican)

Answer 4

One author of the Virginia Plan; his journals provide a record of events at the Constitutional Convention. Wrote 29 of the Federalist Papers. Proposed the Bill of Rights to Congress.
FB VC - Federalist Papers, Proposed Bill of Rights, Virginia Plan, Constitutional Convention

Question 5

James Monroe (Democratic-Republican)

Answer 5

Established U.S. foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere with the Monroe Doctrine. Acquired Florida from Spain. Supported and signed the Missouri Compromise.
MFS - Monroe Doctrine, Acquired Florida, Signed the Missouri Compromise

Question 6

Andrew Jackson (Democrat)

Answer 6

Hero of the War of 1812. Vetoed rechartering of the Second National Bank. Supported the Indian Removal Act. Associated with Jacksonian Democracy, the start of mass politics and nominating conventions. Used the spoils system. Killed the national bank.

Question 7

James K. Polk (Democrat)

Answer 7

Foreign policy aimed at fulfilling Manifest Destiny. Settled for Oregon Treaty with Great Britain. Led the nation in the Mexican War. Favored annexation of Texas and acquisition of California.
MOM - Manifest Destiny, Oregon Treaty, Mexican War

Question 8

Franklin Pierce (Democrat)

Answer 8

The Gadsden Purchase was ratified during his presidency. Trade treaty with Japan became effective during his administration. Supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
TAG - Trade with Japan, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Gadsden Purchase

Question 9

James Buchanan (Democrat)

Answer 9

In office when Dred Scott v. Sanford decision was issued and John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry happened. Took no action in response to the secession of South Carolina and six other states.
DJS - Dred Scott v. Sanford, John Brown’s raid at Harper’s Ferry, Secession of South Carolina

Question 10

Abraham Lincoln (Republican)

Answer 10

Lincoln-Douglas debates. First republican to be president. Preserved the nation during the Civil War. Issued the Emancipation Proclamation and gave the Gettysburg Address. Assassinated before he could act on his plans for reconstruction.

Question 11

Andrew Johnson (Democrat)

Answer 11

Impeached by House after bitter disagreements with Congress over Reconstruction. The 13th and 14th Amendments were ratified during his presidency.
AIR - Amendments, Impeached, Reconstruction

Question 12

Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican)

Answer 12

ER- Election decided through compromise. Removed federal troops in the South, marking the end of Reconstruction.

Question 13

Chester A. Arthur (Republican)

Answer 13

Vetoed the Chinese Exclusion Act but signed another act reducing the Chinese immigration ban to ten years. Supported Pendleton Act that enacted civil rights reform. Worked to reform American restrictive tariffs.
VAT - Vetoed the Chinese exclusion act, Chinese exclusion act and Pendleton act, tariffs

Question 14

William McKinley (Republican)

Answer 14

President during a period of expansionism marked by Spanish-American War. Annexed Hawaii. Set the gold standard; Gold Standard Act. Open Door Policy issued by his secretary of state. Assassinated.
AGOS - Spanish-American War, Annexed Hawaii, Gold Standard, Open Door Policy

Question 15

Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)

Answer 15

Passed the Square Deal. Known as a trustbuster, conservationist, reformer, and nationalist. Issued the Roosevelt Corollary. Regulated economic affairs of the nation to expand its role in Asia and the Caribbean. Big Stick Policy

Question 16

William Howard Taft (Republican)

Answer 16

Policy of “dollar diplomacy” gave diplomatic and military support to the U.S. Continued Progressive Era policies, but his conservative tariff and conservation policies split the party.
DS - dollar diplomacy, split of party

Question 17

Woodrow Wilson (Democrat)

Answer 17

Progressive Era president whose program was known as New Freedom. Led the nation during WWI. Supported the Treaty of Versailles and Leagues of Nation, which the Senate failed to approve. Reform regulation included Clayton Antitrust Act, Federal Reserve System, Federal Trade Commission Act, and Underwood Tariff Act.

Question 18

Warren G. Harding (Republican)

Answer 18

Led the nation into the “Roaring Twenties” on a call for “normalcy.” Administration known for corruption and scandals, including the Teapot Dome Scandal. Opened Washington Conference on Naval Disarmament in 1921, although he opposed internationalism.
WONT - Washington Conference, Roaring Twenties, Normalcy, Teapot Dome Scandal

Question 19

Calvin Coolidge (Republican)

Answer 19

Laissez-faire attitude. Kellogg-Briand Pact signed during his administration. Immigration Act, setting national quotas. He was known as “silent cal” as he was a man of few words.

Question 20

Herbert Hoover (Republican)

Answer 20

Used government resources against the Great Depression without success and too late. Supported loans through Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Opposed direct relief. Used federal troops against the WWI veterans’ “Bonus Army.” Believed that the government did not need to involve itself in the people’s economic lives.

Question 21

Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat)

Answer 21

Led U.S. through Great Depression and WWII from which the nation emerged as world’s leading economic, military, and political party. Increased government’s role in and responsibility for economic, financial, and general welfare of nation through New Deal policies nicknamed “Alphabet Soup Acts.” His programs were criticized as both inadequate and too extreme. Issued the internment of Japanese-Americans. Only president to serve more than two terms.

Question 22

Harry S. Truman (Democrat)

Answer 22

Made the decision to drop two atomic bombs. Began the policy of containment with the Truman Doctrine. Supported economic recovery in Europe through the Marshall Plan. Entered the Korean War.
DAMK - Truman Doctrine, Atomic Bombs, Marshall Plan, Korean War

Question 23

Dwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)

Answer 23

Commander of Allied forces in Europe during WWII. Issued Eisenhower Doctrine which allowed a Middle Eastern country request American economic assistance or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression. Sent troops to Little Rock. In office when Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th state.
LE - Little Rock, Eisenhower Doctrine

Question 24

John F. Kennedy (Democrat)

Answer 24

Promoted the New Frontier program (NASA and stuff), the Peace Corps, and the Alliance for Progress. Wanted to solve the Cuban missile crisis peacfully or diplomatically. Successfully resolved the Cuban missile crisis. Was young for a president. Looked professional in his presidential debates; the first time that the presidential debates were televised.
NACP - New Frontier Program, Alliance for Progress, Cuban Missile Crisis, Peace Corps

Question 25

Lyndon B. Johnson (Democrat)

Answer 25

Promoted antipoverty programs and civil rights through his Great Society programs. The Great Society programs helped poverty, education, discrimination, environment, consumer advocacy, and cities. Used the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution to expand the Vietnam War. President during a period of active civil rights movements for African Americans and women.
CVS - Civil Rights, Vietnam War, Great Society

Question 26

Richard M. Nixon (Republican)

Answer 26

Pursued a “Vietnamization” policy and increased bombing followed by a cease-fire in Vietnam. Relaxed relations with USSR and the People’s Republic of China. Resigned because of Watergate. Appealed to the “silent majority.” Wanted to weaken China’s relationship with the USSR.

Question 27

Gerald R. Ford (Republican)

Answer 27

Only president to not be elected by the American Public; succeeded after Nixon resigned. Pardoned Nixon, for which he was both criticized and praised for doing. Worked to restore faith in government after Watergate.

Question 28

Ronald Reagan (Republican)

Answer 28

Conservative viewpoint on issues such as abortion and prayer in school. Reaganomics, the belief that the government works against individual initiative. arms control agreements signed with the USSR in 1985, 1986, and 1987. Foreign policy aimed at keeping communism out of Latin America. Popularity damaged and foreign policy weakened by Iran-Contra scandal. Built up the army.

Question 29

George H.W. Bush (Republican)

Answer 29

Inherited budget deficit, savings and loan scandal, and legacy of Iran-Contra Affair. In office when the Cold War ended, and communist governments in Eastern Europe and Soviet Union fell. Led American in the Persian Gulf War against Iraq. Ran with the pledge of “Read my lips. No new taxes” but brought the second highest tax raise.

Question 30

William (Bill) Clinton (Democrat)

Answer 30

Domestic policies centered on health care and social security reform, as well as economic issues, such as reduction of the national deficit. Secured approval of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). Backed NATO intervention against Serbia to stop “ethnic cleansing.” Impeached on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice by the House of Representatives, but acquitted by the Senate. Was in many scandals like the Whitewater Affair, the Monica Lewinsky Case, and the Paula Jones Sexual Harassment Case.

Question 31

George W. Bush (Republican)

Answer 31

Took office after a close election which a dispute over ballot recounts in Florida was decided by the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore. Conservative domestic agenda included tax cuts, No Child Left Behind, creation of Department of Homeland Security (after 9/11), and attempts to privatize social security. Left office with nation in major succession, and controversy that included Iraq War, treatment of prisoners, and balancing, of liberty versus security in a democracy.