Can you solve these 'Jeopardy!' clues about U.S. presidents?

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February 10, 2020
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Can you solve these 'Jeopardy!' clues about U.S. presidents?

This record-setting television game show has won 33 Daytime Emmy Awards along with the prestigious Peabody Award. TV Guide ranked it 45 on the greatest shows in American television history. Answer: What is "Jeopardy!"?

With President's Day approaching, Stacker decided to compile a list of 25 "Jeopardy!" clues about U.S. presidents. Using 2020 data from the J! Archive, a fan-run source for "Jeopardy!" clues, we assembled these questions that either describe something about a U.S. president or an event related to him.

The clue slides give you the category of the question, its dollar value for that game (watch out for the Daily Doubles), as well as the airdate for that episode (pay attention, as that may affect some of the answers). You may not know as much as the recent Greatest of All Time Tournament players like Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer, and Brad Rutter, but we have formatted this slideshow so that you can test your knowledge (sorry, Alex Trebek's sultry voice and quick wit not included). Clue slides will appear before answer slides to give you a chance to play along. We also included some trivia to further explain each correct response.

You may think you know a lot about presidential history, but we didn't just pick the famous or most recent ones. The clues also cover events that may not have taken place when the man in question was president. Get started to see how much you know about U.S. presidents, and don't forget to phrase your answer in the form of a question.

Clue #1

- Clue: This 20th-century president's middle initial "S" didn't stand for anything specific.
- Category: U.S. PRESIDENTS
- Value: $600
- Date episode aired: June 21, 2019

Answer #1

Who is Truman?

Biographer David McCullough states the "S" is a tribute to both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. His first name is a tribute to his maternal uncle, Harrison Young.

Clue #2

- Clue: After more than 150 years, he's still the tallest president in U.S. history.
- Category: WHICH TALL CHIEF?
- Value: $400
- Date episode aired: April 5, 2019

Answer #2

Who is Lincoln?

Not counting that iconic top hat, Lincoln stood at 6 feet 4 inches. Lyndon Johnson came close at 6 feet 3.5 inches, and Donald Trump's 2018 presidential physical measured him at 6 feet 3 inches. Nineteen of the 45 presidents have measured 6 feet or over.

Clue #3

- Clue: In 1963 LBJ gave out the first of these honors to be called "Presidential," including posthumously to his predecessor.
- Category: U.S. PRESIDENTS
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: April 30, 2019

Answer #3

What is the Medal of Freedom?

The Presidential Medal of Freedom was actually established by John F. Kennedy before his assassination, but he had not yet awarded any. Along with the Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the United States.

Clue #4

- Clue: [Former President Bill Clinton presents the clue.] My work with the first President Bush helps groups that create and carry out their own projects; a 2005 effort focused on the U.S. Gulf Coast in the wake of these two hurricanes.
- Category: ORGANIZATIONS
- Value: $400
- Date episode aired: Nov. 24, 2010

Answer #4

What are Katrina and Rita?

The Bush Clinton Katrina Fund raised over $110 million in funds for educational institutions devastated by the hurricanes, states affected by the storms, and regional faith-based organization.

Clue #5

- Clue: In July 1932 this U.S. president ordered the forcible eviction of World War I veterans gathered in Washington D.C.
- Category: JULY
- Value: $400
- Date episode aired: July 1, 2010

Answer #5

Who is Hoover?

Commonly known as the "Bonus Army," the group of roughly 17,000 World War I veterans and their families gathered in the nation's capital to demand the early payment of service certificates awarded to them by a 1924 law. Then-U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur (later of World War II and Korean War fame) personally led a contingent of infantry, cavalry, and tanks to drive out the demonstrators.

Clue #6

- Clue: His first term saw the turn of the 20th century and the annexation of Guam and Puerto Rico.
- Category: U.S. PRESIDENTS
- Value: $1,200
- Date episode aired: May 26, 2010

Answer #6

Who is McKinley?

Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines all became U.S. possessions as a result of its decisive victory over Spain in the Spanish-American War. Hawaii was also annexed the same year.

Clue #7

- Clue: He was vice president of the U.S. from 1921 to 1923 before succeeding to the presidency.
- Category: THE VEEP
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: May 19, 2008

Answer #7

Who is Coolidge?

Coolidge's predecessor, Warren G. Harding, died suddenly of a heart attack in San Francisco. Coolidge was elected in his own right in 1924, but chose not to run for a second full term in the 1928 election.

Clue #8

- Clue: It's the number of U.S. presidents who've won the award.
- Category: THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: March 19, 2007

Answer #8

What is three?

The date of the "Jeopardy!" episode is critical here. The count is now up to four, with Barack Obama winning in 2009. Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jimmy Carter were the first three, with Jimmy Carter the only one of the four to win out of office.

Clue #9

- Clue: Upon the USA's entry into World War I, he told Congress, "We desire no conquest, no dominion."
- Category: U.S. PRESIDENTS
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: July 7, 2010

Answer #9

Who is (Woodrow) Wilson?

Wilson explained in his war message to Congress on April 2, 1917, that Germany's severing of diplomatic ties with the United States and its announcement of unrestricted submarine warfare on any vessel attempting to approach ports in Great Britain or Europe was unacceptable. Congress overwhelmingly passed a declaration of war four days later.

Clue #10

- Clue: Originally a surname, it probably gained popularity as a first name in honor of the 18th U.S. president.
- Category: FIRST NAMES
- Value: $600
- Date episode aired: April 13, 2012

Answer #10

Who is Grant?

Ulysses S. Grant was actually born Hiram Ulysses Grant. The "S" was a mistake upon his nomination to West Point, but despite his best efforts to correct it, the initial stuck.

Clue #11

- Clue: This sitting U.S. president won the 1919 prize for his efforts to make peace a part of international law.
- Category: NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNERS
- Value: $1,200
- Date episode aired: April 10, 2018

Answer #11

Who is Wilson?

Part of Woodrow Wilson's post-World War I peace efforts were to create the League of Nations, essentially the predecessor to the United Nations we know today. Ironically, however, the Senate never ratified that part of the Treaty of Versailles, so the United States never joined.

Clue #12

- Clue: Zachary Taylor succeeded him, the first president who chose not to seek reelection after one term.
- Category: U.S. PRESIDENTS
- Value: $1,000
- Date episode aired: April 30, 2019

Answer #12

Who is (James) Polk?

Regarded by some as the most effective president of the pre-Civil War era, James K. Polk avoided war with Great Britain over the disputed Oregon Country, achieved a swift and decisive victory over Mexico in the Mexican-American War, and achieved every one of his stated domestic and foreign policy goals in his one term. True to his campaign pledge, he did not seek a second term, and died in his Tennessee home three months after leaving the presidency.

Clue #13

- Clue: Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a campaign biography of this college pal, later the 14th U.S. president.
- Category: FRIENDS
- Value: $1,600
- Date episode aired: Sept. 20, 2016

Answer #13

Who is Franklin Pierce?

Nathaniel Hawthorne was by then already an acclaimed author, having written "The Scarlet Letter" and "The House of the Seven Gables." The pair met during their time at Bowdoin College in the 1820s.

Clue #14

- Clue: It's the northernmost state capital named for a U.S. president.
- Category: A "MAD" CATEGORY
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: Oct. 30, 2013

Answer #14

What is Madison, Wisconsin?

Madison, Wisconsin, beats out Lincoln, Nebraska; Jackson, Mississippi; and Jefferson City, Missouri, as the northernmost of the four state capitals named for presidents. Washington D.C., is of course named for George Washington, but so is one foreign capital city: Monrovia, Liberia.

Clue #15

- Clue: Active from the 1790s to the 1810s: This party of the second U.S. president.
- Category: PARTY TIME!
- Value: $400
- Date episode aired: Nov. 7, 2016

Answer #15

Who are the Federalists?

The Federalist Party's chief platform was the advocation of a strong central government vis-à-vis several states. John Adams was the first Federalist president. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay together wrote what would become the Federalist Papers to help convince the public of the necessity of the new Constitution.

Clue #16

- Clue: As New York's customs collector, this future president was the highest-paid public employee in the U.S.—nice, Chet!
- Category: HERE'S THE CUSTOMS MAN
- Value: $1,600
- Date episode aired: April 23, 2018

Answer #16

Who is Chester A. Arthur?

Arthur was appointed to the lucrative position by Ulysses S. Grant, but later fired by Rutherford B. Hayes in an attempt to reform the New York political patronage system. Arthur succeeded to the presidency after James A. Garfield was shot by an assassin four months into his presidency.

Clue #17

- Clue: Only 5 feet 6 inches, this eighth president was a minivan.
- Category: U.S. PRESIDENTS
- Value: $1,200
- Date episode aired: July 7, 2010

Answer #17

Who is Martin Van Buren?

Van Buren is tied for second shortest with Benjamin Harrison at 5 feet 6 inches. James Madison holds the distinction of the shortest president at 5 feet 4 inches.

Clue #18

- Clue: In 1822 Isaiah Hart honored the provisional governor of Florida, later a U.S. president, in naming this city.
- Category: IN FLORIDA
- Value: $600
- Date episode aired: June 9, 2009

Answer #18

What is Jacksonville?

The first military governor of the Florida Territory, Andrew Jackson was instrumental as a military commander in the Seminole Wars. Originally a Spanish possession, Florida became a U.S. territory by treaty in 1819.

Clue #19

- Clue: The most common presidential religious affiliation is this denomination, part of the Anglican communion.
- Category: U.S. PRESIDENTS
- Value: $2,000
- Date episode aired: Dec. 5, 2013

Answer #19

What is Episcopalian?

Ten presidents identified as Episcopalians, the most common of any specific religious affiliation. Protestant Christians dominate the field, as there have been only one Roman Catholic (John F. Kennedy) and three with unspecified beliefs (Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson).

Clue #20

- Clue: He was the last one who also served as a U.S. president.
- Category: U.S. ARMY 5-STAR GENERALS
- Value: $200
- Date episode aired: July 20, 2009

Answer #20

Who is Eisenhower?

The five-star ranks in the U.S. military are only authorized during a time of declared war, so four-star general and admiral ranks are typically the highest in the U.S. military. The last person to hold a five-star rank in the U.S. was General of the Army Omar Bradley.

Clue #21

- Clue: U.S. congressman and senator from California, vice president, president; played by Anthony Hopkins in a biopic.
- Category: CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- Value: $400
- Date episode aired: Sept. 18, 2019

Answer #21

Who is Richard Nixon?

Nixon became the first and only president to resign, amid almost certain impeachment and removal from office following the Watergate scandal. He was also played by Frank Langella in the 2008 film "Frost / Nixon," for which Langella was nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actor.

Clue #22

- Clue: Putting him at odds with Congress, this U.S. president vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
- Category: 1866
- Value: $800
- Date episode aired: Oct. 27, 2016

Answer #22

Who is (Andrew) Johnson?

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed by Congress in order to support the Thirteenth Amendment. It was vetoed by Johnson twice, but passed into law anyway by a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress.

Clue #23

- Clue: The president's term was this, one and a half times that of the U.S. president; then he was to be termed out, but that didn't come up.
- Category: THE CONFEDERACY
- Value: $200
- Date episode aired: Dec. 17, 2013

Answer #23

What is six years?

The six-year Confederate presidential term of Jefferson Davis would have lasted until February 1867, but the Civil War ended in 1865 with a U.S. (northern) victory. Howell Cobb, former U.S. secretary of the treasury, served as acting Confederate president for two weeks before Davis took the oath of office.

Clue #24

- Clue: This U.S. president helped broker the 1998 Wye River memorandum between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
- Category: THEY GOT THE MEMO
- Value: $400
- Date episode aired: Jan. 14, 2019

Answer #24

Who is Clinton?

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian Yasser Arafat participated in the negotiations facilitated by President Bill Clinton. The agreement was ratified by the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, but Israel failed to implement the required withdrawals from Palestinian territory.

Clue #25

- Clue: The 45th president enjoys time at Trump National in Bedminster in this state, where he watched the 2017 U.S. Women's Open.
- Category: GOLFER IN CHIEF
- Value: $1,600
- Date episode aired: June 8, 2018

Answer #25

What is New Jersey?

The New Jersey golf club is one of three additional official presidential residences in addition to the White House, the others being Trump Tower in New York and Mar-a-Lago in Florida. It has been called the "Summer White House," whereas Mar-a-Lago is the "Winter White House" or "White House South."

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