The Road to the Presidency Quiz

Question: Which candidates were the focus on the United States’ first televised presidential debate?

Answer: On Sept. 26, 1960, a debate between the two major candidates for the presidency of the United States (John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon) was presented on television for the first time.

Question: Which presidential candidate funded a presidential debate to allow all Republican candidates to participate instead of just the two front-runners?

Answer: Ronald Reagan funded a presidential debate in 1980 that had originally only included Reagan and his primary opponent, George H.W. Bush, so that all the Republican candidates could participate.

Question: Which future president was offered a vice presidential candidacy largely to stop his efforts at state reform?

Answer: Teddy Roosevelt’s energetic reform as governor of New York prompted Republican party leaders to suggest him as a vice presidential candidate largely because, since the position was ceremonial, it would curb his political power. Roosevelt was elected as vice president to William McKinley, who was soon assassinated; Roosevelt became president and transformed the office’s public image.

Question: About how many people did the first televised presidential debate in the United States reach?

Answer: The first televised presidential debate in the United States reached about 70 million people, then a record-breaking number.

Question: Which future American president quit his job to make time for his campaign while still making no stump speeches?

Answer: When Abraham Lincoln was nominated on the third ballot at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, he put aside his law practice and, though making no stump speeches, gave full time to the direction of his campaign.

Question: Which pair of presidential candidates originally tied, leaving the decision up to the House of Representatives?

Answer: Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied for the top spot in the election of 1800, leaving the decision up to the House of Representatives. Jefferson was ultimately elected.

Question: Which president included the now-iconic phrase, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” in his inaugural address?

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt included the now-iconic phrase, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” in his inaugural address. “This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and prosper,” he asserted, adding, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”