1. Trivia Quiz

1.20. Presidential Parallels

Name the two presidents who had the following in common:

1. They were both Democrats who won in their only Presidential bids with 303 electoral votes and 49.5% of the popular vote.

2. Both had brothers who were an embarrassment.

3. Both their stores went out of business, but rather than declare bankruptcy, they paid off their debts over many years.

4. Both were two term Democratic presidents who had avoided the military draft as young men and were accused of sexual misconduct during their first campaigns for the presidency.

5. At different times during their early careers these two presidents taught at the same school in North Pownal, Vermont.

6. Both were ferried to Europe on the same ship in connection with World War I.

7. Both lived in China before becoming President.

8. A future president once said of the then current president that " ... we both have a lot in common! We both served in the House. We both served in the Senate. We both served as Vice President. We both ran for President against John F. Kennedy--and lost!"

9. These two presidents were born in the same state and after leaving the White House, ran again for president on third party tickets.

10. Both were assassinated on a Friday; they were shot from behind in the head, while seated in the presence of their wives.

Section 1.20 ANSWERS

ANSWERS to Section 1.20.

1.20. Presidential Parallels

Name the two presidents who had the following in common:

1. They were both Democrats who won in their only Presidential bids with 303 electoral votes and 49.5% of the popular vote. Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy. [AP4 57] Also during their campaigns both effectively used their skills at speaking extemporaneously. See [AMPS 76] and [YTH 179]

2. Both had brothers who were an embarrassment. Jimmy Carter's [FLP 330-332] "First Brother" Billy Carter was accused of being an unlicensed foreign agent of Libya. Although he was not convicted of anything, he made the headlines during Carter's run for re-election in 1980.[reelection] Ulysses S. Grant's brother Orvill was indicted in the whiskey fraud scandals (cheating the Government out of whiskey tax revenue) during the Grant administration. [UGSP 441, 443]

3. Both their stores went out of business, but rather than declare bankruptcy, they paid off their debts over many years. Harry S. Truman's haberdashery business failed in 1922 as a result of a business recession. Truman paid off his share of the firm's debts during the ensuing fifteen years. [AP 281, PS 115] Abraham Lincoln's store went out of business, leaving him debts it took 17 years to repay. [AP 130]

4. Both were two term Democratic presidents who had avoided the military draft as young men and were accused of sexual misconduct during their first campaigns for the presidency. Grover Cleveland [AP 177-178] and William Clinton.

5. At different times during their early careers these two presidents taught at the same school in North Pownal, Vermont. Chester A. Arthur, and James A. Garfield [AP 166]

6. Both were ferried to Europe on the same ship in connection with World War I. Lt. Harry S. Truman sailed for France in 1918 and President Woodrow Wilson bound for the Paris Peace Conference. Both sailed on the ship George Washington. [EPT 67-68]

7. Both lived in China before becoming President. George Bush was Chief, U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing. [AP 433]. Herbert Hoover as chief engineer of China's bureau of mines. [AP 260] They were also both Republicans who were defeated for reelection.

8. A future president once said of the then current president that " ... we both have a lot in common! We both served in the House. We both served in the Senate. We both served as Vice President. We both ran for President against John F. Kennedy--and lost!" Name them. Richard Nixon was speaking of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 at a Gridiron Club dinner: [GCGF 672]

9. These two presidents were born in the same state and after leaving the White House, ran again for president on third party tickets. There were actually three natives of New York who share this distinction: Martin Van Buren who ran on the Free Soil party ticket in 1848 [AP 48], Millard Fillmore who ran on the American ("Know Nothing") party ticket in 1856 and Theodore Roosevelt who ran on the Progressive ("Bull Moose") party ticket in 1912. [AP 455-456].

10. Both were assassinated on a Friday; they were shot from behind in the head, while seated in the presence of their wives. Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Many other “parallels” have been noted between these two assassinations.