Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House
1 of 10
Andrew Johnson...
...moved to Canada.
...was elected to the U.S. Senate.
...died in prison.
ANSWER: "Six years after leaving the White House, after dodging impeachment by just one vote, he returned to Congress as a senator from Tennessee before his death in 1875, just several months into his term." "Six years after leaving the White House, after dodging impeachment by just one vote, he returned to Congress as a senator from Tennessee before his death in 1875, just several months into his term."
2 of 10
Theodore Roosevelt...
...died of a heart attack in a journey up the uncharted River of Doubt in the heart of the Brazilian jungle.
...died brokenhearted after his son was killed in World War I.
...was the founding editor of National Geographic.
ANSWER: "The death of his youngest son, Quentin, in the First World War took the will out of the formerly jingoistic 'Rough Rider,' who died brokenhearted at age sixty, a decade after leaving office." "The death of his youngest son, Quentin, in the First World War took the will out of the formerly jingoistic 'Rough Rider,' who died brokenhearted at age sixty, a decade after leaving office."
3 of 10
George Washington...
...continued to serve his country as an ambassador to France.
...was put in charge of the military by his successor.
...heavily criticized President Adams through a series of editorials.
ANSWER: "At Adams's behest, the duty-bound first president served briefly as commander in chief of the American military when skirmishes with French ships in the Atlantic meant possible war." "At Adams's behest, the duty-bound first president served briefly as commander in chief of the American military when skirmishes with French ships in the Atlantic meant possible war."
4 of 10
William Howard Taft...
...was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
...was elected governor of Ohio.
...was named Attorney General.
ANSWER: "When the Republicans won back the presidency in 1920, the incumbent, Warren Harding, made Taft the court's chief justice." "When the Republicans won back the presidency in 1920, the incumbent, Warren Harding, made Taft the court's chief justice."
5 of 10
Thomas Jefferson...
...delivered eulogies for his predecessor John Adams and his successor James Madison.
...founded the University of Virginia.
...supported himself by offering $10 tours of Monticello.
ANSWER: "Jefferson went on to achieve one of his proudest accomplishments: conceiving, designing and overseeing the University of Virginia, which was established in 1819." "Jefferson went on to achieve one of his proudest accomplishments: conceiving, designing and overseeing the University of Virginia, which was established in 1819."
6 of 10
Gerald Ford...
...was offered the chance to run as Ronald Reagan's Vice President in 1980.
...won the Nobel Peace Prize for his back channel diplomacy in the Middle East.
...was the primary investor in the Fox News Channel in 1996.
ANSWER: "Ronald and Nancy paid the Fords a courtesy call at their house in Rancho Mirage in June, at which time Reagan proposed the idea of a Reagan-Ford ticket. Ford gave him a categorical 'no.'...The following month, on the first night of the Republican National Convention in Detroit, the Reagans paid a call on the Fords in their hotel suite as they celebrated Ford's sixty-seventh birthday...Reagan formally asked Ford to consider running with him. Ford was noncommittal, remaining unconvinced that sharing the ticket with Reagan would work. Four aides who had served with Ford in the White House – Henry Kissinger, Alan Greenspan, Bob Barrett, and Jack Marsh – wanted to see Ford back in the political spotlight, and sought to convince him otherwise, acting as brokers on his behalf...Ford's advisors proposed that, as VP, Ford act as 'super director of the office of the presidency,' with White House staffers reporting directly to him, who would in turn report to Reagan....When Ford's decision was needed, he held to his initial feeling that the situation just wouldn't work. At 11pm, he put on his suit and went to Reagan's suite to tell him personally." "Ronald and Nancy paid the Fords a courtesy call at their house in Rancho Mirage in June, at which time Reagan proposed the idea of a Reagan-Ford ticket. Ford gave him a categorical 'no.'...The following month, on the first night of the Republican National Convention in Detroit, the Reagans paid a call on the Fords in their hotel suite as they celebrated Ford's sixty-seventh birthday...Reagan formally asked Ford to consider running with him. Ford was noncommittal, remaining unconvinced that sharing the ticket with Reagan would work. Four aides who had served with Ford in the White House – Henry Kissinger, Alan Greenspan, Bob Barrett, and Jack Marsh – wanted to see Ford back in the political spotlight, and sought to convince him otherwise, acting as brokers on his behalf...Ford's advisors proposed that, as VP, Ford act as 'super director of the office of the presidency,' with White House staffers reporting directly to him, who would in turn report to Reagan....When Ford's decision was needed, he held to his initial feeling that the situation just wouldn't work. At 11pm, he put on his suit and went to Reagan's suite to tell him personally."
7 of 10
John Quincy Adams...
...was appointed to the Supreme Court.
...built the first Presidential library, to honor his father.
...was elected to the House of Representatives.
ANSWER: "John Quincy Adams had a far more significant post-presidency than his father. After being voted out of office in 1828, he too enjoyed a quiet retirement in Quincy until he was voted into Congress as a representative of the Plymouth district just two years later. The fact that Adams was not a candidate for office did not deter voters, who more or less drafted him into the role. Adams bowed to the wishes of the electorate, serving nine consecutive terms before his death after a stroke on the House floor in 1848." "John Quincy Adams had a far more significant post-presidency than his father. After being voted out of office in 1828, he too enjoyed a quiet retirement in Quincy until he was voted into Congress as a representative of the Plymouth district just two years later. The fact that Adams was not a candidate for office did not deter voters, who more or less drafted him into the role. Adams bowed to the wishes of the electorate, serving nine consecutive terms before his death after a stroke on the House floor in 1848."
8 of 10
Ronald Reagan...
...reprised his role as a Chicago Cubs broadcaster for the 1989 playoffs, earning $500,000.
...was paid $2 million for a few speeches by Japan's Fujisankei Communications Group.
...played a cowboy in Back to the Future III, for which he was paid scale.
ANSWER: "Reagan pulled down a whopping $2 million for an eight-day trip to Japan sponsored by a Tokyo-based communications company that required only a few appearances, speeches, and interviews." "Reagan pulled down a whopping $2 million for an eight-day trip to Japan sponsored by a Tokyo-based communications company that required only a few appearances, speeches, and interviews."
9 of 10
Harry Truman...
...was paid $600,000 by Life magazine for his memoirs.
...was so unpopular after leaving office, he was forced to self-publish his own memoirs.
...quickly grew tired of life in Missouri and moved back to Washington.
ANSWER: "By his own estimation, the $600,000 he grossed for the work netted just $37,000 in profit after office and personnel expenses (which added up to $153,000) and taxes. The 67 percent bite the government took could have been eased by President Eisenhower, who had the option to deem the work exempt from federal and state taxes and treated as a capital gain, as Truman was not an author by trade. Truman had done as much for Eisenhower when his World War II memoir was published during Truman's presidency. Truman's appeal for reciprocity drew no response from the White House, a manifestation of the chill between the two men that would last throughout the Eisenhower years." "By his own estimation, the $600,000 he grossed for the work netted just $37,000 in profit after office and personnel expenses (which added up to $153,000) and taxes. The 67 percent bite the government took could have been eased by President Eisenhower, who had the option to deem the work exempt from federal and state taxes and treated as a capital gain, as Truman was not an author by trade. Truman had done as much for Eisenhower when his World War II memoir was published during Truman's presidency. Truman's appeal for reciprocity drew no response from the White House, a manifestation of the chill between the two men that would last throughout the Eisenhower years."
10 of 10
John Tyler...
...was the first former president hired as a campaign consultant by a future one (Zachary Taylor).
...was elected Vice President for a second time.
...was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives.
ANSWER: "Sixteen years after leaving office, his southern sympathies led him to serve briefly as a member in the Confederate House of Representatives at the outbreak of the Civil War, before his death in 1862." "Sixteen years after leaving office, his southern sympathies led him to serve briefly as a member in the Confederate House of Representatives at the outbreak of the Civil War, before his death in 1862."
