![[Presidential Posers]](sam960527.gif)
Who was the first president of the United States?
George Washington, of course.
Really?
Explore the history of our country, and you'll find that, the Articles of
Confederation,
though adopted by the Continental Congress in 1778, were not ratified by all
the states until
March 1, 1781. The presidents of the Sessions of the Continental Congress
after the Articles went
into effect usually signed themselves as "President of the United States in
Congress Assembled."
Accordingly, the first president of the United States was one Thomas McKean,
of Delaware.
McKean was succeeded by seven other men before George Washington became the
first President
of the United States of America under the Constitution.
Who was the only president of the United States to be impeached?
If your answer is Richard Nixon, you're wrong again. President Nixon
resigned before
any impeachment trial. President Andrew Johnson was tried under the
articles of impeachment,
and he was acquitted.
Now it's time to cast your vote for the correct answers to some questions
about our
American presidents:
Here's the Verbivore's Challenge for this issue. The first reader to
e-mail the correct
answer to the question that follows will receive a $25 gift certificate for Borders Books and Music.
As Colin Powell discovered, being a general is a good start to becoming
president. You probably know that presidents George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Jackson and Zachary Taylor were generals. Name seven other
presidents who served as generals.
Email your answers to verbivore@salon.batnet.com.
The winner of last Verbivore was Caitlin Davis Carlson. Here are the answers:
1. What American president fathered the greatest number of children, and
how many did he have?
John Tyler, with 15 children, was the most fatherly of all presidents.
He had three sons
and five daughters with his first wife and five sons and two daughters with
his second. From a
single marriage, William Henry Harrison was the father of 10 children,
four girls and six boys,
one of whom, Benjamin, became president.
2. John Adams and John Quincy Adams were father and son. William Henry
Harrison and Benjamin Harrison were grandfather and grandson. Name two sets of American presidents who were distant cousins.
James Madison and Zachary Taylor were second cousins. Theodore and
Franklin
Roosevelt were fifth cousins (and Theodore was Eleanor's uncle).
3. Name a pair of American presidents who were father-in-law and
son-in-law.
Zachary Taylor and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate
States
of America.
Language expert Richard Lederer's latest book is "The Write Way: A Guide to Real-life Writing." He is also the author of such best-selling books as "Anguished English," "Crazy English," "The Miracle of Language" and "Literary Trivia." Richard comments on language for National Public Radio and other radio stations and is the Grammar Grappler for Writer's Digest. In his spare time, Richard makes approximately 200 speaking appearances a year, addressing fundraisers, corporations, academic groups and library associations. He can be reached at rlederer@tiac.net.
Visit the newly-erected Verbivore web site at
http://www.tiac.net/users/rlederer/index.htm