1. John Adams, from Abigail Adams (pictured). Abigail Adams wrote this to her husband in a December 23, 1782 letter. The original letter can be read here, at the website of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

2. Woodrow Wilson, to Edith Bolling Galt (pictured). This is from a letter that widower President Wilson wrote from the White House on September 19, 1915, to Edith Bolling Galt, whom he would marry. The full text of the letter is in volume 34 of The Papers of Woodrow Wilson, ed. Arthur Stanley Link (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994), page 491.

3. Ronald Reagan, to Nancy Reagan (pictured). This is from a letter written on White House stationery by Ronald Reagan, to his wife Nancy on March 4, 1981. From Nancy Reagan, I Love You, Ronnie: The Letters of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan (New York: Random House, 2002).

4. Theodore Roosevelt, about Alice Lee (pictured). This is from Roosevelt's diary entry of February 13, 1880. On that evening, he became engaged to Alice Lee, whom he married. On Valentine's Day, 1884, she died while giving birth to their daughter Alice. Roosevelt's mother died the same day. His diary entry for that day is simply a large black X with the words, "The light has gone out of my life." The Library of Congress has made scans of the original diary pages, available online here.

1. A steadily growing number [of women] were entering the professions of medicine, law, education, religion, and the various fields of science and engineering. More and more were occupying positions of leadership in business and government formerly held only by men.

The above textbook excerpt on feminism and the post-World-Wars women's movement dates from:
a. 1966

This excerpt comes from Harcourt and Brace's Rise of the American Nation, by Lewis Paul Todd and Merle Curti. The excerpt has a tone of optimism—more and more women, the text says, were and are entering male-dominated fields. This excerpt also reveals which career fields the 1966 authors considered previously barred to women.

2. In some ways, the position of women in American society was worse in the 1960s than it had been in the 1920s. After forty years, there was a lower percentage of women enrolled in the nation's colleges and professional schools. Women were still relegated to stereotyped occupations like nursing and teaching; there were few female lawyers and even fewer women doctors.

This textbook excerpt on feminism and the women's movement dates from:
c. 1995

This excerpt comes from HarperCollins' America Past and Present, by Robert A. Divine et al. Contrast this excerpt with that in Question 1. By 1995, HarperCollins' textbook authors see the 1960s not as a period of "steady growth" in women's rights, but instead as a time in which such opportunities decreased. What changed? Certainly not events themselves. Perhaps contrast between conditions for women in 1995 and in the 1960s made the 1960s seem backward by comparison. Perhaps the different authors interpreted the same cultural trends differently. Or perhaps authors drew upon different data to create the narratives.

3. With his great popularity and shrewd handling of Congress, Reagan soon got much of his economic program passed. The final bill included $39 billion in tax cuts and a 25 percent cut in income taxes. The results of Reaganomics, however, were not quite what the President had hoped. Spending cuts, together with high interest rates, brought inflation down, but at first the cure was painful.

This textbook excerpt on Ronald Reagan's presidency dates from:
b. 1999

This excerpt comes from Glencoe McGraw-Hill's American History: The Modern Era Since 1865, by Donald A Ritchie. Contrast this excerpt with the excerpt in Question 4. In 1999, a decade after Reagan's presidency ended, this textbook's author could look back over the whole of Reagan's term and draw conclusions about the success or failure of Reagan's policies.

4. [Reagan] promised economy in government and a balanced budget, and he committed himself to "supply-side" economics, or tax reductions to businesses to encourage capital investment. But while he planned to slash federal spending, Reagan also pledged to cut income taxes and boost the defense budget—a feat John Anderson said could only be done with mirrors.

This textbook excerpt on Ronald Reagan's presidency dates from:
b. 1982

This excerpt comes from Houghton Mifflin's A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, by Mary Beth Norton et al. Contrast this excerpt with the excerpt in Question 3. In 1982, Reagan's presidency was in its early years, and textbook writers could not yet address his term in office as a neat whole. While it needed to be described—as the inevitable conclusion of the textbook's historical narrative—the recent past resisted easy integration into the text.

(Illinois Congressman John Anderson ran against Ronald Reagan in the 1980 Republican primary.)

1. Which U.S. president did not use a Bible at his inauguration?

Franklin Pierce. He placed his hand on a law book. Pierce was suffering a crisis in faith after the death of his 11-year-old son in a train accident on the way to Washington for the inaugural. And he didn't "swear" to the oath; instead, he "affirmed" it. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 9)

2. Which mishap occurred at the inauguration of George Washington?

Nobody thought to bring a Bible to take the oath of office. A quick search of Federal Hall failed to turn up a copy of the Bible. New York chancellor Robert Livingston, who was to administer the oath, remembered there would be a Bible at the nearby Saint John’s Masonic Lodge. The Masonic Bible was opened to a random page from Genesis and Washington placed his hand on it as Livingston administered the oath. After reciting the oath of office, President Washington added the unscripted words, "so help me God," a practice that has been followed by almost every president since. The Bible, now known as the Washington Bible, has been used by four other presidents for their inaugurations. A fifth, George W. Bush, had to scrap plans to use the Bible because of bad weather. The book was also used at Washington's funeral, the dedication of the Washington Monument in 1885, and the rededication of the U.S. Capitol cornerstone in 1959. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 8)

3. Which long-winded president delivered the longest inaugural address?

William Henry Harrison. On 4 March 1841, Harrison gave his 8,000-word speech for nearly two hours. At age 68, he was the oldest president yet. To demonstrate that he maintained plenty of youthful vigor, he spoke without an overcoat or hat to ward off the cold. Harrison caught a cold that turned into pneumonia and died a month later. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 46)

4. Which president gave the shortest address?

George Washington. After taking the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, Washington proceeded to the Senate chamber where he read a speech before members of Congress and other dignitaries. His second inauguration took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 4 March 1793, in the Senate chamber of Congress Hall. There he gave the shortest inaugural address on record—just 135 words—before repeating the oath of office. (Inaugural History, at http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/daysevents/inauguraladdress.cfm)

5. Why did Zachary Taylor postpone his inauguration?

The date in question, 4 March 1849, fell on a Sunday. James K. Polk's term of office officially ended at noon on Sunday, March 4, 1849. Taylor refused to take the oath of office until Monday, March 5, 1849. Missouri senator David Rice Atchison was serving as president pro tempore of the Senate, which made him next in line after the president and vice president. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 60 )

6. Which president was inaugurated in secret?

Rutherford B. Hayes. The presidential election of 1876 was one of the closest and most disputed elections in history. The outcome was in dispute until a few days before the inauguration, when Republican Hayes was declared the winner by one electoral vote. Angry Democrats threatened to protest. President Ulysses S. Grant ordered troops to Washington to prevent trouble. Grant's term was due to expire at noon on Sunday, March 4. In observation of the Sabbath, Hayes' inauguration wasn't scheduled until Monday. Republicans feared that Democrats might somehow take advantage of the one-day gap to install Tilden in the White House or otherwise embarrass them and decided to take preemptive action. Before a gala White House dinner on Saturday, March 3, Grant escorted Hayes to the Red Room. There, in front of a handful of cabinet members, Chief Justice Morrison Waite secretly administered the oath of office. The men returned to the dinner without announcing the inauguration. Hayes was publicly inaugurated the following Monday at noon. (Beyer, Greatest Presidential Stories Never Told, 96)

7. Whose inaugural address was the first to be broadcast on television?

Harry S. Truman. Truman’s inaugural address was broadcast in 1949. James Buchanan's 1857 inauguration was the first to be photographed. William McKinley held the first inaugural ceremony recorded by a motion picture camera in 1897. Herbert Hoover's inauguration was the first recorded by talking newsreel in 1929. In 1997, William J. Clinton was the first President whose inaugural ceremony was broadcast live on the Internet. (Inaugural Inaugural http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/factsandfirsts/index.cfm)

8. Who was the first president to take the oath of office in Washington, DC?

Thomas Jefferson. On March 4, 1801, Jefferson walked with few attendants and little fanfare to the Capitol building from his nearby lodgings at a boarding house to become the first president to be inaugurated in the nation's new capital city. Upon entering the Senate chamber, now the Old Supreme Court Chamber, Jefferson took the oath of office administered by Chief Justice John Marshall and addressed the audience gathered in the Senate chamber. After his inaugural address he finished his day with a meal at the boarding house. (Inaugural, http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/daysevents/potusswearingin02.cfm)

9. How many presidents did NOT take the oath of office in Washington, DC?

6. George Washington: 1789—Federal Hall, New York City; 1793—Congress Hall, Philadelphia; John Adams: 1797—Congress Hall, Philadelphia; Chester A. Arthur: 1881—residence, New York City; Theodore Roosevelt: 1901—residence, Buffalo, New York; Calvin Coolidge: 1923—residence, Plymouth, Vermont; Lyndon B. Johnson: 1963—Air Force One, Dallas, Texas

10. Who was the first president to be inaugurated on January 20 instead of March 4?

Franklin D. Roosevelt. A change made by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution called for Roosevelt to be inaugurated on 20 January 1937. This year also marked the first time the vice president was inaugurated outdoors on the same platform with the president. (Inaugural, http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/factsandfirsts/index.cfm)

1. Accused of adultery, gambling, bigamy, drunkenness, theft, lying, and murder:

Andrew Jackson. During the 1828 election, a pamphlet was circulated: Reminiscences; Or, an Extract from the Catalogue of General Jackson's Youthful Indiscretions, between the Ages of Twenty-three and Sixty, listing his fights, duels, brawls, and shooting and cutting affairs.

2. Accused of using his father’s money to buy votes during the election. He responded publicly in a speech with these words: “I just received the following wire from my generous Daddy: ‘Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary. I’ll be d*** if I’m going to pay for a landslide."

John F. Kennedy. In Wisconsin in 1960, someone once joked to Kennedy, "I hear that your dad only offered two dollars a vote. With all your dough, can't you do better than that?" "You know that statement is false," replied Kennedy. "It's sad that the only thing you have to offer is your vote, and you're willing to sell that."

3. Accused of being a despot, liar, thief, braggart, buffoon, usurper, monster, ignoramus, scoundrel, perjurer, robber, swindler, tyrant, fiend, and butcher:

Abraham Lincoln. Of the election of 1864, Lincoln said: "It is a little singular that I, who am not a vindictive man, should have always been before the people for election in canvasses marked for their bitterness."

4. Accused of cheating creditors, robbing an old widow of her pension, behaving like a coward during war, being an atheist. It was said that if he became president, surely he would confiscate all Bibles in the land and have them burned, tear down all churches, and dissolve the institution of marriage:

Thomas Jefferson. The Federalists struggled to keep their party alive and even set forth a rumor that Democratic-Republican Jefferson had died and that it would be a waste of time to vote for him.

5. Accused of being a fool, hypocrite, criminal, tyrant, bald, blind, crippled, toothless man who aimed to become King of America and align with Britain:

John Adams. Opponents claimed that he wanted one of his sons to marry one of King George III's daughter, forming an Anglo-American dynasty.