Civics & History

Presidential Math - Explore the United States Presidency by the numbers.

Directions: Do some digging on the Internet and in your library to find the facts. In many questions calculations are required.
The online videos at MathFlix and at Khan Academy may be helpful with the mathematics skills required.

1. He's number 1!

Who was the President of the Continental Congress? His title was President of the United States in Congress Assembled.

 

Name the first President under the Articles of Confederation.

 

Name the first President to serve under the newly ratified Constitution of 1788.

 

Who should be considered the first President of the United States?

 

2. Two times in United States history, both a man and his son have been elected President. Name them.

 

3. What are three things the President promises to do regarding the Constitution?

 

The Constitution outlines the three qualifications to be President. What are they?

 

4. Which Chief Justice administered the oath of office to more Presidents than any other justice?

 

What percentage of the oaths of office were not administered by a Chief Justice?

 

5. Current law is that the President is sworn into office in January.
For how many decades has January been the month of the inauguration?

 

Which President was the first to take the oath of office in January?

 

Why does the president take the Presidential oath of office in January?

 

6. Today, Presidents hire people who write their speeches and proposed bills.
Abraham Lincoln personally wrote both the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.
Select either historic document. How many drafts of it did he write?

 

7. Which President spent the shortest length of time in office?

 

Which President served the longest length of time in office?

 

8. Many different elected officials run for the presidency.
Which kind of elected official has been most successful in being elected president?

 

9. How much salary did George Washington take as President?

 

What is the current salary of the office of the President?

 

Compare the median household income of Americans with the Chief Executive's salary. (Keep in mind that more than one person in a household
can be working. Their COMBINED income is the household income.)

 

10. The president may resign only if his written resignation is delivered to the Secretary of State.
How many Presidents have resigned from the office?

 

11. Who was serving as the president one century ago?

 

Who was serving as the president two centuries ago?

 

12. How many times has someone been elected President by a majority of the Electoral College
when they lost the majority of popular votes? Name the presidents in this subset.

 

 

 

13. How many Presidents have been awarded a Nobel Prize? Name them.

 

 

14. Gerald R. Ford became president in a way that had never happened before. Explain.

 

 

15. Two Presidents have been impeached. What is an impeachment?

 

16. How many Presidents were born in your state?

 

How many former Presidents are buried in your state?

 

Write as a ratio the number of Presidents that were born in your state, compared to the total number of Presidents.

 

 

How many Vice Presidents were born in your state?

How many former Vice Presidents are buried in your state?

 

17. In accordance with Article II, Section 3, Washington wrote a letter to Congress to report on the state of the country.
Today the President reports to Congress in person during the State of the Union address.
For how many sessions of Congress has the President given a State of the Union address?

 

18. What fraction, of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, later became US President?

 

19. Which President was elected with the highest plurality of votes?

 

Challenges:

Which is the greatest regarding the age of the President when they were elected: the mean, the mode, the median? (Calculation required)

 

Start Thinking - A 37 year old, local artist, represents your community in the U.S. House of Representatives.
She is an Independent. She is single person who was born in Wisconsin. She has decided to run for President.
Based on history, what are her chances of being elected?

Very strong she is packing her bags! | Everyone has the same chance, silly! | Poor, too many factors are against her.

 

Write a Presidential numbers question for your classmates.

 

“The President cannot make clouds to rain and cannot make the corn to grow, he cannot make business good; although when these things occur, political parties do claim some credit for the good things that have happened in this way.” William Howard Taft

Extras:

Presidential Facts Internet Hunt

 

Explore: Civics & Constitution Projects, Essays, Elections & Voting, Quotes, Resources

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2007 Cynthia J. O'Hora posted 2/2007, Updated 1/2024

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