Q 01/05

Which president did Polk succeed in 1845?

A) Martin Van Buren

B) John Tyler

C) William Henry Harrison

D) Millard Fillmore

Answer · why

B) John Tyler

John Tyler. In his last days in office he pushed the annexation of Texas through Congress, handing Polk the quarrel with Mexico that would dominate hi...

Q 02/05

In which state was Polk born in 1795, the eldest of ten children?

A) Virginia

B) North Carolina

C) Kentucky

D) South Carolina

Answer · why

B) North Carolina

North Carolina. He was born on a farm near Charlotte, and when he was ten his family crossed the mountains by covered wagon to carve a plantation out ...

Q 03/05

Polk was known as "Young Hickory" as a protégé of which president?

A) Thomas Jefferson

B) Martin Van Buren

C) Andrew Jackson

D) James Monroe

Answer · why

C) Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson. From retirement at the Hermitage, 'Old Hickory' steered the deadlocked 1844 Democratic convention toward his protégé as the man who wo...

Q 04/05

Polk remains the only president to have also held which office?

A) Chief Justice

B) Secretary of War

C) Mayor of a major city

D) Speaker of the House

Answer · why

D) Speaker of the House

Speaker of the House. He held the gavel from 1835 to 1839, then gave it up to run for governor, which he saw as a better springboard to higher office.

Q 05/05

Which Whig did Polk narrowly defeat in the 1844 presidential election?

A) Daniel Webster

B) William Henry Harrison

C) Henry Clay

D) Winfield Scott

Answer · why

C) Henry Clay

Henry Clay. Whigs jeered 'Who is James K. Polk?', but the Democrat ran openly on expansion and beat a man making his third run for the presidency.