Local Presidents Questions

1. Local Presidents Questions Elementary/Middle Divisions #35-44

2. #1 (6 points) I signed the law making the birthday of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a national holiday. I also signed the Intermediate Nuclear forces Treaty with the USSR and survived an assassination attempt in Washington D.C. (4 points) During my first term, I became the first president to address both houses of the British Parliament. I was also the first president who had previously been head of a labor union. My election changed the party in control of the White House. (2 points) In my second term, I swapped the jobs of Donald Regan and James Baker from White House Chief of Staff to Secretary of the Treasury. I was the oldest man to be elected president and the oldest to serve our wonderful country.

3. #2 (6 points) After being sworn into office, I signed into law the Family Medical Leave Act that had been vetoed by the two previous administrations and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that allowed for a five day waiting period and a background check on people before purchasing handguns. (4 points)During my time in the White House, Timothy McVeigh used a car bomb to destroy the Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people. Also, the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, was arrested by the FBI, and my secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown, was killed in a plane crash in Croatia. (2 points) My wife has succeeded me in political life, serving as senator from New York and Secretary of State for President Obama.

4. #3 (6 points) As a member of the Illinois State Senate, I passed the first major ethics reform in 25 years, cut taxes for working families, and expanded health care for children and their parents. (4 points) During my presidency, I worked with the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, and Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner to manage the financial crisis. This included renewing loans to top automobile makers like General Motors and Chrysler. However, Ford refused what was called the “government bailout.” (2 points) I am the third president to win the Nobel Peace Prize while in office.

5. #4 (6 points) I defeated my Republican opponent for the presidency by the narrowest popular voting margin in history. He and I met in the first televised debates between presidential candidates in U.S. history. (4 points) I met with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other community leaders at the White House to discuss his Civil Rights Bill. This proposed law focused on voting rights while avoiding equal employment. (2 points) My courage during World War II earned me the Navy and Marine Corps Medal but seriously worsened my already fragile physical health.

6. #5 (6 points) Because of a worldwide oil shortage and to reduce American dependence on foreign oil, I proposed an energy bill with strict conservation rules and funds for development of new energy sources. I also signed the bill that created the Department of Energy. (4 points) During and after my presidency, I played the role of international peacemaker. I hosted the peace talks between Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachim Begin of Israel at Camp David which ended the war between their two countries. The president after me came from the opposite political party. (2 points) I was the first president from the “Deep South” elected since Zachary Taylor. I served as governor of my native state. I served in the White House after eight years of Republican rule there.

7. #6 (6 points) My predecessor in the White House came from the opposite political party. My biggest obstacles when taking office were how to end the war in Vietnam and how to improve relations with the Communist government of the Soviet Union. Less than six months after taking office, I announced a plan to withdraw 25,000 U.S. troops from South Vietnam. (4 points)My Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger made two trips to China, one in secret, to pave the way for me to become the first president to visit Communist China. (2 points) The first man walked on the moon during my first year as president.

8. #7 (6 points) My Secretary of State Dean Rusk was also my predecessor’s Secretary of State. He and I believed in the use of military action to combat Communism, and my administration escalated the Vietnam War in order slow the spread of Communism. (4 points) Upon my request, Congress passed the Revenue Act and the Economic Opportunity Act, which was in association with my War on Poverty. My actions set in motion programs such as Head Start, food stamps, Work Study, Medicare and Medicaid, which still exist today. (2 points) I became worried about my failing health and was concerned that I might not live through another four-year term. Therefore, near the end of my first full term, I shocked the nation when I announced: “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.” The next president would be a Republican.

9. #8 (6 points) I nominated Dick Cheney for the office of Secretary of Defense. He directed the United States invasion of Panama and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East. (4 points) I entered office at a period of change in the world; the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Soviet Union came early in my presidency. At one point, I had a record-high approval rating of 89 percent. However, economic recession and breaking my “no new taxes” pledge caused a sharp decline in my approval rating, and I was defeated in my bid for reelection. (2 points) I lived long enough to see my son become President of the United States.

10. #9 (6 points) Donald Rumsfeld was my Chief of Staff. I later made him my Secretary of Defense and then made a young Dick Cheney my new chief of staff. I faced two assassination attempts during my presidency. They occurred within three weeks of each other and in the same state, California. (4 points) The Vietnam War came to an end during my administration. Hundreds of thousands of refugees came to the United States shortly after the war. (2 points) I was the only person to assume the presidency without having been previously voted into either the presidential or vice presidential office by the people. Shortly after I became president, I pardoned my predecessor of his crimes during the Watergate scandal.

11. #10 (6 points) I served in the U.S. House of Representatives for six years and in the U.S. Senate until I became president. The man I defeated for president later held that office himself. (4 points) I am the youngest man to win election to the presidency. My brother Robert served as my Attorney General. He later served in the U.S. Senate alongside our brother Ted. (2 points)I served less than two terms as president. The most dangerous time while I was in the White House was the Cuban Missile Crisis. I am often referred to by my three initials.

12. #11 (6 points) After college in the Northeast, I served in the Air National Guard in the state where I grew up. Later, I started an oil company called Arbusto Energy. I also served as managing general partner of a baseball team. (4 points) I appointed Condoleezza Rice as the first African-American woman to hold the position of Secretary of State. She moved from National Security Advisor to succeed Collin Powell, whom I had named as the first African-American Secretary of State. (2 points) I served as governor of a large state for five years until I resigned to become president. I was preceded and followed in the White House by men from the opposite party.

13. #12 (6 points) I went through four Attorneys General during my administration. The first, John Mitchell (pictured), resigned to manage my successful reelection campaign. The second, Elliott Richardson, resigned when he refused to fire the special prosecutor investigating a growing scandal in my administration. Then William Ruckelshaus resigned for the same reason. Finally, William Saxbe filled the position. (4 points) The reason I wanted the special prosecutor fired was because he demanded that I turn over audio tapes of my conversations in the Oval Office. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that executive privilege did not give me the right to withhold the tapes. (2 points) My first vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned. My second vice president succeeded me as president. All the turmoil in my administration set the stage for a Democrat to become president.

14. #13 (6 points) I had a difficult childhood. My father died in an automobile accident several months before I was born. My mother remarried to a man who drank too much and abused her. She’s pictured here with my half-brother Roger. Dealing with such a chaotic environment helped prepare me for the rough-and-tumble world of politics. (4 points) I met my wife at Yale Law School. I served three terms as governor of my native state. I am the only president who was born in that state. My first Secretary of State was Warren Christopher. I made Janet Reno the first female Attorney General. (2 points) I defeated the incumbent president to win the White House. I served two full terms although my second term was filled with controversy. One of my nicknames used the word “Slick” in front of a variation of my first name.

15. #14 (6 points) The greatest scandal during my presidency was the illegal sale of arms to Iran. Profits from the sale were secretly sent to support rebel farmers in Nicaragua. (4 points) I had four children with two different wives. One of the children was adopted. My daughter Maureen was active in Republican politics before and after my death. (2 points) I was nicknamed the “Great Communicator.” I worked in radio and TV before my political career. My vice president replaced me in the White House.

16. Answers #40 Ronald Reagan #42 Bill Clinton #44 Barack Obama #35 John F. Kennedy #39 Jimmy Carter #37 Richard Nixon #36 Lyndon Johnson #41 George H. W. Bush #38 Gerald Ford #35 John F. Kennedy #43 George W. Bush #37 Richard Nixon #42 Bill Clinton #40 Ronald Reagan