Q 01/05

What did a teenage Andrew Jackson refuse to do for a British officer during the Revolution, earning a sword slash?

A) Carry his baggage

B) Polish his boots

C) Groom his horse

D) Cook his supper

Answer · why

B) Polish his boots

Polish his boots, the officer ordered; Jackson's refusal left scars on his hand and head, and he and his brother then caught smallpox in a British pri...

Q 02/05

Which item did Andrew Jackson's allies accuse John Quincy Adams of buying for the White House with public money?

A) A billiard table

B) A golden carriage

C) A grand piano

D) A marble bathtub

Answer · why

A) A billiard table

A billiard table did stand in the White House, but Adams had paid for it himself; a charge entered in the official accounts by mistake handed his enem...

Q 03/05

What was carried onto the White House lawn to lure the rowdy crowd outside after Andrew Jackson's 1829 inauguration?

A) Kegs of beer

B) Barrels of cider

C) Bowls of punch

D) Jugs of rum

Answer · why

C) Bowls of punch

Bowls of punch, laced with whiskey, drew the well-wishers back outdoors after they had climbed in through windows and smashed several thousand dollars...

Q 04/05

In which river did President John Quincy Adams take early-morning swims during his single term in the White House?

A) The Anacostia

B) The Hudson

C) The Charles

D) The Potomac

Answer · why

D) The Potomac

The Potomac swim was part of a rigid routine: Adams rose at five, lit his own fire and read his Bible first, and kept swimming even after his wife and...

Q 05/05

Why did pro-Adams newspapers brand Andrew Jackson's wife Rachel an adulteress during the bitter 1828 campaign?

A) She was his brother's widow

B) She had eloped at fifteen

C) Her divorce was not final

D) She had a secret child

Answer · why

C) Her divorce was not final

Her divorce was not final when she first wed Jackson, so the couple had to marry again in 1794; thirty-four years later, rival editors revived the sto...