National Park Quiz 17: Presidents

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his terrier Fala. Where can you see these statues? Photo by OZinOH via Flickr.

1. The photo accompanying this quiz was taken in a national park. Note those shiny places on the statues of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his terrier Fala. Visitors are welcome to touch the statues, provided they show proper respect and don’t climb, stand, or sit on them. If you want to touch these statues yourself you’ll have to visit the
a. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
b. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
c. Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
d. Roosevelt Campobello International Park

2. The Herbert Hoover National Historic Site is the only national park in the state of ______ that was established to commemorate a president.
a. Wisconsin
b. Vermont
c. Iowa
d. Indiana

3. How many National Park System units include Theodore Roosevelt in their official title?
a. two
b. three
c. four
d. five

4. The ______ preserves the farm that a president not only called home, but also used as a weekend retreat and a meeting place for world leaders while he was in office. From this historic setting you can see South Mountain and sites of great historical interest.
a. Theodore Roosevelt Island Park
b. Eisenhower National Historic Site
c. Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm
d. Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park

5. The future president first met Julia Dent at White Haven estate, her family home in St. Louis. They later married, had four children, and spent 37 years as man and wife. White Haven, where the president and his family lived for a time, and where two of his children were born, is now the centerpiece attraction of
a. Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
b. William Howard Taft National Historic Site
c. James A. Garfield National Historic Site
d. Harry S. Truman National Historic Site

6. While visiting the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site you could take a ranger-led tour of the
a. Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port
b. cottage that John F. Kennedy used as a summer retreat when he was president
c. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
d. house in which John F. Kennedy was born

7. While visiting the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park a visitor could
a. take a ranger-led bus tour of the LBJ Ranch
b. tour the Lyndon Baynes Johnson Presidential Library and Museum
c. see downtown Austin, Texas from the visitor parking lot
d. hike on any of seven different backcountry trails

8. The ______ is in the form of a Greek Doric temple strongly influenced by the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, Greece.
a. General Grant National Memorial
b. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
c. Thomas Jefferson Memorial
d. Lincoln Memorial

9. Each of the following is a true statement about Adams National Historical Park EXCEPT:
a. It preserves the birthplaces of the second and sixth presidents of the United States.
b. It commemorates two presidents who had also served as vice president.
c. It commemorates the first two presidents born in Massachusetts.
d. It commemorates the first two presidents who did not own slaves.

10. President’s Park is one of the 391 units of the National Park System. Which of the following is one of the sub-units of President’s Park?
a. the White House
b. Constitution Gardens
c. Pennsylvania Avenue and several historic buildings fronting on it
d. the part of the National Mall between the Capitol and Washington Monument

Extra credit question

11. Ignoring the fact that eight men who became president were born before the United States existed, which two states lead all others in the category “presidents born in the state”?
a. New York and Ohio
b. Virginia and Massachusetts
c. Ohio and Virginia
d. Massachusetts and New York

Super bonus question

12. George W. Bush is our country’s 43rd president, but he is actually only the 42nd person to serve as president through election or succession to the office. That is because ______ served two non-consecutive terms as president.
a. Grover Cleveland
b. John Adams
c. Theodore Roosevelt
d. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Answers:

(1) a
(2) c
(3) c
(4) b
(5) a
(6) d
(7) a
(8) d
(9) b
(10) a
(11) c -- Seven presidents have been born in Ohio, including Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren Harding. Even though William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia, he is sometimes counted as an Ohioan because he moved to Ohio and lived there until his death. (12) a – Grover Cleveland was both the 22nd and the 24th president. Thus, when he was sworn in as 24th president he was only the 23rd person to take the oath of office. This president-counting oddity has extended to the present day.

Grading: 9 or 10 correct, rest on your laurels; 7 or 8 correct, pretty darn good; 6 correct, passably fair; 5 or fewer correct, nothing to brag about.