The White House and Its Presidents – answers and explanations
Here are the answers to all 15 questions in the The White House and Its Presidents quiz, each with a short explanation. Test your knowledge of US presidents, first ladies and life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Haven't played yet? Take the quiz first and compare your score.
Play the quiz · 15 questions1. The Mount Rushmore presidential sculpture is located in which US state?
Answer: South Dakota
Mount Rushmore is in the Black Hills of South Dakota, near Keystone. Gutzon Borglum's team carved it between 1927 and 1941, and it shows Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln.
2. Which first lady saved Washington's portrait as the British torched the White House?
Answer: Dolley Madison
Dolley Madison is credited with making sure Gilbert Stuart's full-length portrait of George Washington was saved before British troops burned the White House on August 24, 1814. Enslaved and hired staff, including Paul Jennings, did the actual work of taking it down.
3. The presidential retreat Camp David is located in which US state?
Answer: Maryland
Camp David, the presidential retreat, is in Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick County, Maryland. Franklin D. Roosevelt first called it Shangri-La, and Eisenhower renamed it after his grandson David.
4. Which president was nicknamed 'Old Hickory'?
Answer: Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson got the nickname 'Old Hickory' because his troops saw him as being as tough as hickory wood during the War of 1812. James K. Polk, his protégé, was later called 'Young Hickory'.
5. Bo and Sunny, two Portuguese Water Dogs, belonged to which president's family?
Answer: Barack Obama
Bo and Sunny were the Obama family's Portuguese Water Dogs. Bo arrived in 2009 and Sunny in 2013. The breed was picked partly because it is considered hypoallergenic, which mattered because Malia has allergies.
6. Who was the first president to live in the White House?
Answer: John Adams
John Adams was the first president to live in the White House. He moved into the still-unfinished mansion on November 1, 1800, near the end of his only term. George Washington chose the site but never lived there.
7. Which president is carved on Mount Rushmore beside Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
Mount Rushmore in South Dakota shows George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Gutzon Borglum led the carving, which ran from 1927 to 1941.
8. Which aircraft model has served as Air Force One since 1990?
Answer: Boeing 747
Since 1990, the presidential plane has been one of two VC-25A jets, which are military versions of the Boeing 747-200B. 'Air Force One' is the radio call sign for any Air Force plane carrying the president.
9. Which president was popularly known by the nickname 'Ike'?
Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower was widely known as 'Ike', a childhood nickname. His 1952 campaign slogan was 'I Like Ike', and he served as president from 1953 to 1961 after leading the Allied forces in Europe in World War II.
10. Which first lady gave a famous televised tour of the White House in 1962?
Answer: Jacqueline Kennedy
Jacqueline Kennedy showed off her restoration of the White House in a televised tour that aired on CBS and NBC on February 14, 1962. About 56 million viewers watched, and the program won her an honorary Emmy.
11. Who was the first US president to resign from office?
Answer: Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon was the first and so far the only US president to resign. He resigned on August 9, 1974, during the Watergate scandal, and Vice President Gerald Ford took over as president.
12. Abraham Lincoln used the room now called the Lincoln Bedroom as what?
Answer: His office
Abraham Lincoln used the room now called the Lincoln Bedroom as his office and Cabinet Room. He signed the Emancipation Proclamation there in 1863. The room became a bedroom under Harry Truman.
13. Which children's event is held on the White House South Lawn each Easter Monday?
Answer: The Easter Egg Roll
The White House Easter Egg Roll is held on the South Lawn every Easter Monday. It began there in 1878 under President Rutherford B. Hayes, and children roll eggs across the grass with spoons.
14. Which first lady led the 'Just Say No' anti-drug campaign in the 1980s?
Answer: Nancy Reagan
First Lady Nancy Reagan led the 'Just Say No' campaign against youth drug use in the 1980s. It grew out of a 1982 school visit in Oakland, California, where a student asked her what to do if offered drugs.
15. Socks, a famous black-and-white cat, lived in the White House with which president?
Answer: Bill Clinton
Socks, a black-and-white tuxedo cat, lived in the White House during Bill Clinton's presidency in the 1990s. He later lived with Clinton's former secretary Betty Currie and died in 2009.