TEST YOURSELF

Inauguration Quiz!

1. When a storm dumped 8 inches of snow on Washington the night before John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, what was used to help remove snow from Pennsylvania Avenue the morning of Jan. 20, 1961?

A. Local high-school students with shovels.
B. Plows attached to tanks.
C. Army flamethrowers.
D. All of the above

2. Who was the first president to ride to and from his inauguration in an automobile?

A. Woodrow Wilson in 1917
B. Warren Harding in 1921
C. Calvin Coolidge in 1925
D. Herbert Hoover in 1929

3. In addition to the capital cities of New York, Philadelphia and Washington, presidents have been sworn into office in other cities. In which city did a president NOT take the oath?

A. Dallas
B. Plymouth, Vt.
C. New Haven, Conn.
D. Buffalo, N.Y.

4. Which of the following is required by the Constitution:

A. The chief justice must administer the oath of office.
B. The president must place his hand upon a Bible or copy of the Constitution.
C. The oath must end with “So help me God.”
D. All of the above are required by law.
E. None of the above is required by law.

5. Because of his strong religious beliefs, Franklin Pierce did not say “I do solemnly swear . . .” when he took the oath of office in 1853. What did he say instead?

A. “I do solemnly promise . . .”
B. “I do solemnly affirm . . .”
C. “I do solemnly pledge . . .”
D. “Cross my heart and hope to die . . .”

6. As a man of the people, Andrew Jackson opened his 1829 inauguration party to the public. Things at the White House got out of hand quickly, with thousands of guests breaking dishes, tearing down curtains and muddying furniture. How did White House servants get the mob out of the executive mansion?

A. They brought tubs outside and filled them with spiked punch.
B. They told the guests that Jackson had been kidnapped.
C. They set a small fire in the Blue Room.
D. They let dogs loose in the White House.

7. At 8,445 words and almost two hours, William Henry Harrison’s inauguration speech, delivered in a cold rain in 1841, was the longest ever. What happened as a result of the long speech?

A. Thousands of people fled the ceremony.
B. Harrison caught pneumonia and died.
C. A baby was born to a woman in the crowd.
D. A rule was established that the inauguration speech be given after, not before, the oath.

8. Who delivered the shortest inauguration speech, at only 133 words?

A. George Washington
B. Millard Fillmore
C. Warren Harding
D. Lyndon Johnson

9. Chief Justice John Marshall holds the record for administering the most presidential oaths of office. How many times did Marshall swear in a president?

A. 7
B. 8
C. 9
D. 10

10. In 1985, the public inauguration ceremonies for Ronald Reagan took place on Jan. 21 instead of Jan 20. Why?

A. Officials did not want to interfere with the Super Bowl, a highly anticipated showdown between the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers.
B. Chief Justice Warren Burger was suffering from the flu.
C. The National Weather Service had predicted 22 inches of snow.
D. The Constitution’s Inauguration Day of Jan. 20 fell on a Sunday.

FIND YOUR PLACE AT THE INAUGURATION:

Count your correct answers. The total indicates where you should be sitting at noon on Tuesday.

— John Campanelli, Plain Dealer Reporter