Quiz: How Well Do You Know Your Inaugural Trivia?

Test your knowledge of inaugural history

By U.S. News Staff

December 17, 2008

What item did Teddy Roosevelt wear to his 1905 inauguration in honor of a former president?
1. The identification tag of Ulysses S. Grant from his Civil War service
2. A pocket watch that had belonged to George Washington
3. A mourning ring containing a strand of Abraham Lincoln’s hair
4. The hat that William Henry Harrison refused to wear during his swearing-in
One hundred of these animals froze to death at an inaugural ball.
1. Gerbils
2. Lizards
3. Butterflies
4. Canaries
How many inaugurations occurred because of a president’s death or resignation?
1. Five
2. Seven
3. Nine
4. Eleven
Where has a presidential inauguration not been held?
1. Boston
2. Philadelphia
3. New York City
4. Air Force One
When were women first allowed to march in an inaugural parade?
1. 1865, the same year that African-Americans were first allowed to participate
2. 1900, in celebration of a new century
3. 1909, the same year that Helen Taft accompanied her husband, President William Taft, in the parade
4. 1917, for the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson, who would be in power when they won the right to vote
Which president took his oath of office on not one Bible but two?
1. Richard Nixon
2. Woodrow Wilson
3. John Quincy Adams
4. Theodore Roosevelt
Which president had the most inaugural balls?
1. James Madison
2. John F. Kennedy
3. Ronald Reagan
4. Bill Clinton
How many words was the shortest inaugural address on record?
1. 135 words
2. 412 words
3. 783 words
4. 1,672 words
What does the Constitution mandate about the inauguration ceremony?
1. The oath of office, without the phrase "so help me God"
2. The oath of office, with the phrase "so help me God"
3. The oath of office and that it be taken on a book of sacred text
4. The oath of office, that it be taken on a book of sacred text, and that it be administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Which of the following quotes do not come from an inaugural address?
1. "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
2. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." (John F. Kennedy)
3. "There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love of freedom, intelligence, and energy of her citizens cannot cure." (Dwight D. Eisenhower)
4. "With malice toward none, with charity for all." (Abraham Lincoln)
Andrew Jackson’s wife, Rachel, died only weeks before her husband’s inauguration. What did she die of?
1. Trace amounts of arsenic.
2. A heart attack triggered in part by stress from the opposing campaign’s attack strategy.
3. A train wreck.
4. Acute gastroenteritis caused by eating too many iced cherries and warm buttermilk.
How much did tickets to the first official inaugural ball cost?
1. Free
2. 50 cents
3. $4
4. $25

Answers: Inaugural Trivia

See a map of the inaugural festivities.
Read more about the inaugural events.
Read about the history of inaugurations.
Read about inaugural balls of the past.
Read some tourist tips for Washington, D.C.

Quiz: How Well Do You Know Your Inaugural Trivia?

Test your knowledge of inaugural history

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