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Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. Today we have a special treat for you. It's one of our last shows of the year. It's none other than historian Kenneth C. Davis with an end-of-year news and history quiz prizes included, which we'll tell you about in a minute. Ken's classic book Don't Know Much About History has just been reissued in a 30th-anniversary edition. If you're not already a history buff, the book's Q&A format will get you reading history for fun for the first time. Even if you're already into American history, you'll probably learn a lot from the way Ken frames things up.

Ken has constructed a news and history quiz for us in a few relevant categories that tie yesterday to today, categories including one-term presidents, inaugurations, pardons, and a few other things as well as general US history questions and more. Here's how it'll work. Each caller will get three questions. Get two out of the three right, and we'll send you a copy of Don't Know Much About History, and for good measure of a Brian Lehrer Show remote learning mug. The book and the mug for getting two out of three right.

If you want to play, our lines are open, call 646-435-7280. 646-435-7280 if you want to try your hand at our news and history quiz. Ken, thanks so much for doing this with us and writing all these quiz questions. Welcome back to WNYC.

Kenneth C. Davis: Good morning, Brian. It's a great pleasure to be with you. Teachers used to say, "Pop quiz, clear off your desks." Now they say, "Put away your phones." This is the new age of quiz. I should say right off the bat before we get started, that I've been in touch with a lot of teachers and students over the past year as we've moved to this remote learning. They really deserve such laudatory remarks, and congratulations and praise for their dedication in this very, very difficult time for all of us but especially for teachers and learners. I was actually trying a remote course for a while and had to give up. I had the option. Of course, most students don't and most teachers don't. This is a shout out to all the teachers, the students, and their parents who are struggling through this difficult time.

Brian: Well, certainly ditto for me and we've tried to serve teachers and give teachers voice on this show throughout the pandemic. I hope we've been successful at that. Folks, while people's calls are coming in, I'm just going to ask Ken a couple of questions here. Ken, I'm curious when you update a book of history with the 30th-anniversary edition do you just add things from the last 30 years? or do you also go back and update some of your writing about the deeper past with more understandings that you've developed as a historian over time?

Kenneth: This edition was completely revised and updated and expanded, I should say 10 years ago for the 20th-anniversary edition. For this edition, I basically just added a new preface that talks about moving from an era of broken trust to an era of broken democracy, an essay, a preface that was obviously written quite some time ago. It was finished before this current test of our democracy took place.

Certainly Brian for 30 years, I've written about history, and I've written about democracy and the American experiment. I was always fairly optimistic for most of those 30 years but something definitely changed in the past few years. This was a test of our democracy. In many ways, we've barely squeaked through. I think we've dodged a bullet but we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to understanding civics and our place in this democracy.

That's been one of the focuses of my career in the past few years, especially talking to teachers and students about the role of learning history in civic engagement. That's one of the reasons I also wrote a new book called Strongman: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy, to really talk about the threat not only to democracy globally, which we've seen for more than a decade but the threats in the United States. That was really the impetus for, in some ways adding to this 30th-anniversary edition. It goes essentially through the end of the first term of the Obama administration.

Brian: All right. Here we go with a news and history quiz for the end of 2020. Ken's classic Don't Know Much About History revised in a 30th-anniversary edition as he was just explaining. Again, just to set this up for you, folks, each caller gets three questions. Get two out of three right and you'll win a copy of Don't Know Much About History and for good measure, a Brian Lehrer Show remote learning mug, something that we hope will only be a collector's item at the end of 2021.

Of course, remote learning is what we do even in normal times, thanks to guests like Ken, and of course, you will learn bragging rights as a Brian Lehrer Show news and history scholar for your virtual New Year's Eve party. You can use those bragging rights whoever you're playing a Zoom drinking game with on Thursday night. Our lines are full but as we go through the callers pretty fast in these you can get in line as people finish up for our end-of-year news and history quiz at 646-435-7280, 646-435-7280. We begin with Rachel in Nutley. Hi Rachel, you're on WNYC. May I be the first to wish you Happy New Year?

Rachel: Hi, Brian, how you doing today?

Brian: Good.

Rachel: Thanks. Happy New Year you too.

Brian: Ken, hit it.

Kenneth: Yes, good morning. I just want to preface this again by saying Brian, a lot of these questions were taken from the newly recently revised immigration quiz that is given to those who want to be naturalized as citizens. That test was actually just changed and in some respects made a little bit more difficult. A lot of these questions, even the softballs come right from that new immigration naturalization service quiz. The first one, because what we're talking about presidents a lot is how old must you be to become president?

Brian: Rachel, how-

Rachel: 45 years old.

Kenneth: That's not correct.

Brian: Well, let's give everybody the right answer. I think we have enough questions to do that.

Rachel: I know the right answer. Darn it.

Brian: That's okay. You get two more shots. Ken, you want to reveal the right answer?

Kenneth: Yes, the correct answer is 35 years old. There are actually few requirements to become president, of course, 35-year-old.

Brian: We noticed.

Kenneth: Natural-born citizen is another one of those that has come up in recent years. You have to have lived in the United States for 14 years, the previous 14 years. Question number two.

Rachel: I didn't know that because of Kennedy, darn it.

Brian: All right. You get two more shots at this. Ken go ahead with the next question.

Kenneth: The next question is, which one-term president lost when a former president ran the most successful third-party campaign in US history? A one-term president, who lost when a former president ran the most successful third-party campaign in American history?

Brian: Oh, and let me say that this inaugurates our first topic for this news in history quiz, which is one-term presidents, very relevant to the current moment. Right, Ken?

Kenneth: That's right. We're talking about one-term presidents. I think we have some other presidential issues that will come up like impeachment.

Rachel: This one, I really have no idea. Oh, boy. I'll just take a guess, Grant.

Kenneth: That is not correct.

Brian: Rachel, thank you very much for trying your hand at that. I think I know the answer to this. I don't have it in front of me, but from what you described, because of the [unintelligible 00:08:57] Why don't you lay it out for everybody again, and I'm going to make sure I heard you right.

Kenneth: Which one-term president lost, he was trying to be reelected, obviously, when a former president ran the most successful third-party campaign in US history?

Brian: Oh, actually, I don't have it. I think I know the era but go ahead and give us the answer to that.

Kenneth: The answer is Taft in 1912, a very famous election. Theodore Roosevelt, the former president, ran against the sitting president, Taft, who had been his successor. The Democratic nominee was Woodrow Wilson. Theodore Roosevelt actually won the second most votes, but Wilson became president and Taft finished a distant third. Essentially, Taft and Roosevelt split the Republican votes, allowing Wilson to win election

Brian: I knew that Roosevelt was was the one-term president who ran again. I didn't remember who the other guy was who lost. We don't hear a lot about William Howard Taft in America these days.

Kenneth: His name may come up again. We'll see. By the way, many people at the time said T.A.F.T meant Take Advice From Theodore.

Brian: [chuckles] Mark in Flatbush, you're on WNYC. Hi, Mark. Ready to go?

Mark: Hi, Brian. How are you doing?

Brian: Good. Ken, what you got for Mark?

Mark: Good. I'm a tour guide owner. You asked what do I do [inaudible 00:10:29] tour business sales? I guess the answer is, participate in these quizzes.

Brian: There you go.

Mark: There you go. Let's give it a shot.

Brian: Let's see if a New York City tour guide who I guess means you're steeped in a little bit of history yourself-

Mark: Oh, yes. You bet.

Brian: -happens to connect with the questions that you have teed up, Ken. Go.

Kenneth: What is the supreme law of the land?

Mark: The Constitution.

Kenneth: The US Constitution, absolutely. Since you're a New York tour guide, who was the first president born an American citizen? We were just talking about naturalization and the requirements. Most of the early presidents were not born American citizens. Who was the first president born an Ameican citizen?

Mark: My guess would be Martin Van Buren. Martin Van Buren?

Kenneth: Martin Van Buren is correct. The eighth president born in Old Kinderhook, New York, and became the first natural-born American citizen. How many presidents-- [sound effect]

I didn't know we were getting sound effects there, Brian. That caught me by surprise. How many presidents-

Brian: Let me say. We get sound effects when somebody gets two in a row right. They get a fanfare because Mark, as a New York City tour guide and now a Brian Lehrer Shownews and history scholar with bragging rights for your virtual New Year's Eve party, you also win a copy of Ken's classic Don't Know Much About History [30th Anniversary Edition]and a Brian Lehrer Show remote learning mug. Mark, congratulations.

Mark: I already have the mug. Can I donate my mug to somebody else's, probably to Rachel? [unintelligible 00:12:08] gave it a shot.

Brian: [laughs] If Rachel is still there and wants to call back and get a mug, that is very nice of you, Mark. We will definitely do that. Hang on. We'll take your address for the book. We're going to go on to the next caller, which is Derek in Astoria. Derek, you're on WNYC. Hi, there. Happy New Year.

Derek: Hi, Brian. Happy New Year.

Brian: Ken, what you got for Derek?

Kenneth: If the supreme law of the land is the Constitution, where and when was it written?

Derek: It was written in 1787. As for where, I don't know the answer to that part.

Kenneth: Oh, I thought that was the easy part.

Brian: Pick a city, any city that might feel like a city where the Constitution might have been written.

Derek: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Kenneth: You nailed it. Philadelphia in 1787, of course, written in the same place where the Declaration of Independence had been drafted 11 years earlier.

Brian: That counts as one question. Get one out of the next two correct and you'll win a mug and a book. Ken, go.

Kenneth: Who was the first president to reside in the White House?

Derek: I'm sorry. Can you repeat? Did you say reside or resign?

Kenneth: [laughs] It's only one of those. No, the first president [crosstalk] to take residence in the White House.

Brian: We'll get to the impeachment section later in the show. That's actually true. The first one to reside in the White House, Derek.

Derek: Reside? Okay. Let's see.

Brian: Three, two.

Derek: I'm going to guess. Abraham Lincoln.

Kenneth: That's not correct.

Brian: You get one more shot, though. You've got one out of two right. If you get this one correct, you win a book and a mug. Ken, let's see if Derek can nail it.

Kenneth: This is also a one-term president question. Who was the first vice president to succeed to the office of president? Who was the first vice president to become president?

Derek: I want to say, Teddy Roosevelt.

Kenneth: That is not correct.

Brian: Derek, thanks for giving it a shot. Let's see. How about Dana in Brooklyn? Hi, Dana. You're on WNYC. Happy New Year.

Dana: Good morning. Happy New Year.

Brian: Ken, you want to give her a shot at those two that Derek couldn't get?

Kenneth: I welcome her to try. Who was the first president to reside in the White House?

Dana: This is a tough one. I was hoping I wouldn't get it. I think Jefferson's too early, but I'll just say, Jefferson.

Kenneth: It's close, but no cigar. It was John Adams.

Dana: Darn.

Brian: They built that pretty quick because he was president number two.

Kenneth: He was president number two and a one-term president.

Brian: You still get two shots at this, Dana.

Dana: Give me another. I'm ready.

Kenneth: This is not a one-term president but it relates to Jefferson. In 1803, President Jefferson bought something very significant. What was it?

Dana: Was it Louisiana?

Kenneth: That's correct. Louisiana Territory.

Dana: Yes.

Brian: Wow. Good. [crosstalk] thought of a piece of real estate there, a piece of geography rather than a thing.

Dana: The Louisiana Purchase.

Kenneth: The Louisiana Purchase, 1803 had an extraordinary impact, of course, on what happened afterwards in American history. Here's the follow-up question. Napoleon sold that territory to the United States because he had just lost a war in a former French colony. What former French colony was significant in the Louisiana Purchase the French army lost?

Brian: This is for the book and the mug.

Dana: Colony as in the Americas?

Kenneth: A French colony. A colony of France.

Dana: A colony of France.

Brain: France was a colonial power in those days so Napoleon had just lost a war and a colony.

Dana: I'll say Mexico. I know that was also Spain but did they get kicked out by the Spanish in Mexico?

Kenneth: That's not correct. The answer is Haiti. The French had sent an army to put down the uprising of enslaved people in Haiti. They lost and that was one of the real reasons Napoleon decided that he was going to sell off the other French colonial holdings in the new world, including Louisiana. Very significant because we're in the pandemic. One of the most important reasons the French lost that fighting in Haiti was because of yellow fever. Yellow fever killed many more French troops in Haiti than the fighting did. That was the reason then that Haiti became the first new republic in the new world after the United States and the first was a republic born out of a former enslaved colony.

Brian: Ken, are you ready with the next set?

Kenneth: I am ready. Brain, I will just clean up one of the last questions from the last session. The president who first succeeded to office was John Tyler. Interesting there, his grandson just died. When we think that this is stuff that happened a long time ago, John Tyler's grandson just died in 2020, a rather extraordinary connection from past to present.

Brian: When you say, "Succeeded to office," he was a vice president, and the president at the time died?

Kenneth: That's correct.

Brian: That president was?

Kenneth: We may come back to that so I'll leave that [crosstalk]

Brian: Oh, we may come back to that. That's a good point. Joe in Staten Island, you're on WNYC. Ready to play, Joe?

Joe: Brian, I think I am but these have been tough ones. Let's give it a shot.

Brian: You need to go two out of three right. Ken, let's see what we can do with Joe in Staten Island.

Kenneth: We'll go back to the immigration naturalization quiz and this is basically drawn from there. What are the first three words of the Constitution?

Brian: The preamble to the Constitution.

Joe: We the People.

Kenneth: US Constitution starts with the words "We the People." That was pretty [crosstalk]

Joe: Thanks to Schoolhouse Rock, I know that.

Kenneth: [chuckles] We've just come through an election and we've been focused on electors. How many electors are in the electoral college?

Joe: I know we need 270. Yes, Brian?

Brian: I can give you a clue. Think of a famous website that does Electoral College polling.

Joe: Would it be 538?

Brian: That was a good clue, right?

Kenneth: That was a good clue and that is the correct answer. Now the question is, where does that number come from?

Joe: Where the number comes from?

Kenneth: Where does the number 538 come from?

Joe: Let's see. 538.

Brian: Not Nate Silver, right?

Joe: No, Nate Silver has nothing to do with it, I'm shocked. Let me see, is it tweets permitted by the President? No. I know that there are 535 members of Congress, but where would the other three come from?

Kenneth: That's a good question.

Brian: You are on the right track. You're very much on the right track.

Joe: I would say it would come from congressional districts. I'm not sure.

Kenneth: That is not correct.

Brian: You know what? We buried the lede here. Joe got two in a row right.

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Joe: Yes. Brian, this is my- [crosstalk] Go ahead. I'm sorry.

Brian: No, you go.

Joe: This is my fifth time in a row, six times as a winner. No kidding. That's the highlight of my year.

Brian: Wow. No kidding. That's great. You've got a closet full of Brian Lehrer Show swag at home, then?

Joe: I'm wearing the tie-dyed, I'm drinking from the mug. I've got the socks on. The coloring book, I put away for posterity and I have a tote bag somewhere.

Brian: You serious because those are all real, previous thank-you gifts of some from [unintelligible 00:21:14] thank you gifts. All right Joe, Hang on. We're going to take your address again. We'll give the next caller that question. I know where you were headed with those other three electoral votes. Let's give Michael in Brooklyn a shot at that. Hi, Michael, you're on WNYC. Happy New Year.

Michael: Hi, Brian, as a sustaining member, I'd appreciate a good hand for these last three as well.

Brian: Okay. I think I know the answer to this one. I don't have all the answers in front of me, but 538 electoral votes, it's 535 because you add all the members of the House and all the members of the Senate. Is there any place that's thoroughly American but doesn't have any representatives or senators who go to vote in Congress? Ken, am I going in the right direction here?

Kenneth: That's that's a pretty generous hint. Yes, that's the right direction [crosstalk]

Michael: Puerto Rico and [crosstalk] DC?

Kenneth: Oh, not, Puerto Rico.

Brian: You just said it.

Kenneth: It took an amendment to the Constitution to fix this.

Brian: You just said it, Michael, right?

Michael: Oh, yes. DC.

Brian: All right.

Kenneth: That's correct.

Brian: That's one.

Michael: Okay, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Kenneth: The 538 is 435 members of the House, 100 senators, of course, two from each said state, and then three electors for the District of Columbia before something happened [baby cries] that the residents of the District of Columbia had no vote in the presidential election. That was [crosstalk]

Brian: Michael was that your baby in the background?

Michael: Yes, Pablo is making his radio debut, he's a big fan. 15 months old.

Brian: Hi, Pablo. Welcome to the world and we will note that at the mention of Washington, DC, Pablo began to cry. Ken, what's the next question?

Kenneth: Okay. This was meant for the tour guide director before but he's gone. How many presidents were native New Yorkers? We've mentioned two of them already, of course, at this broadcast. How many presidents were native New Yorkers?

Michael: Let's see. There's been 40-ish, I'm going to guess 20%, so let's say eight.

Kenneth: Eight is not correct. Eight is the correct number for Virginia, which has produced the most presidents. I'll just throw it out there, it's five. There were five native New Yorkers, we've mentioned them, Buren, already, the much-beloved Millard Fillmore, two Roosevelts; Theodore and Franklin D. and of course, the current president is a native New Yorker, so five native New Yorkers.

Brian: How easy to forget. All right, you've got one out of two right, so this is for the marbles. Get it wrong and you go back to Brooklyn, you and Pablo without any swag, but let's see if you get it right and win a book and a Brian Lehrer Show remote learning mug. Ken, what you got?

Michael: Let's see.

Kenneth: How many times has the Constitution been amended?

Michael: I want to say 28. I really want to say that.

Kenneth: Don't.

Michael: Maybe it might be 29. All right, the number sticking in my head so I'm going to stick with 28.

Kenneth: Close but no cigar, it's 27 amendments of the Constitution.

Brian: Oh, Michael, thank you. Thank you for playing. Happy New Year to you. 27 amendments. What's the last one? What was the most recent one?

Kenneth: The most recent one is actually a question later on, but maybe we won't get to it. The 27th amendment was actually proposed when the Constitution was written and then it was not ratified until 1992, I think. I forget the date. It basically keeps Congress from giving itself a raise. Under the 27th amendment, Congress cannot change its salary for the current Congress, it can only change it for future Congresses.

Brian: Beth on the Lower East Side, you're on WNYC. Happy New Year, Beth.

Beth: Oh, thanks, Brian. Happy New Year to you too.

Brian: With news and history quiz master, Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don't Know Much About History. Get two out of three right and you'll win a copy of this book and a BrianLehrer Show remote learning mug. Ken, what you got for Beth?

Kenneth: This is also from the civics test, name the three branches of government.

Beth: The Congress, the executive, and the judiciary.

Kenneth: That's correct, the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. We would have accepted Congress, president, and the courts, but that is the correct answer. [crosstalk]

Brian: Ken, wasn't that in the news recently because a current republican senator didn't know it? Am I thinking of the right thing?

Kenneth: You are exactly right. I was just about to mention that-- he isn't not a current senator, he's a senator-elect from Alabama. I should mention that over the years that I've been talking about history, a lot of people have said to me that they got history from their football coach and that's not to disparage football coaches. Many of them have been very, very excellent history teachers I'm sure. This senator-elect from Alabama, happens to be a former football coach, so take that as you will.

Beth: Can I name him as one of my questions?

Kenneth: Sorry.

Beth: Can I name him as one of my questions?

Kenneth: This is also from the quiz and speaking of senators, who does a US senator represent? Who does a US senator represent?

Brian: Who does the US senator represent?

Beth: The voters of his or her state.

Brian: That's right, Ken, isn't it?

Kenneth: We'll accept that. The test answer, as it's written, says, "the citizens of this state," but in this case, voters. You have to be a citizen to vote so I guess that's right. I would actually argue the answer is debatable because the Constitution actually reads that the senators are selected by the people of the state, which is how the test used to read, the answer.

This is one of those cases where the test was changed to reflect a sort of political sensibility that the senators only represent citizens. You can get a real argument from a lot of people that senators represent all the people of the state, not just the citizens.

Brian: Oh, that's interesting. I didn't know that. That's a good thing for our listeners to know. That's a Trumpy revision trying to focus on citizens just as he's trying to exclude noncitizens or people who are undocumented from the census, right?

Kenneth: That's correct. It's completely related to that. The test itself was made more difficult by increasing the number of correct questions one had to answer to pass the test. It used to be 6 out of 10, it's now 12 out of 20. Some of the questions have been altered for things like that. Changing the word "people" to "citizens" is a significant change.

Brian: Of course, in reality though, only citizens get to vote, and therefore the senator represents them only in that respect. They're selected by them, but of course, we all know, I certainly know many people who are not citizens but are here, and they're not all undocumented either, some people who are illegal immigrants, but they're not citizens and they certainly contact their senators. I know our senators in this part of the country tend to be responsive to them but guess what? Beth got to in a row right so-- [sound effect] Beth, we're going to take your address off the air, we're going to you send you a copy of

Don't Know Much About History and a Brian Lehrer Show mug. Congratulations, Brad in Sussex County. You're on WNYC. Hi Brad.

Brad: Hi.

Brian: Ready to play?

Brad: Yes. I hope so. These questions are hard.

Brian: Ken, let's go.

Kenneth: Hard? Okay. We'll go with a softball then. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?

Brad: Bill of Rights.

Kenneth: The Bill of Rights is correct. One of those amendments-- not one of those amendments, but an amendment in US history ended legal slavery. Which amendment to the Constitution ended legal slavery?

Brad: The 14th.

Brian: Sorry, Brad.

Kenneth: He got [crosstalk]

Brian: Oh, that's right. That's right. That's one out of two. He gets one more shot, you're right. You only have to get two out of three. Ken, what's his [crosstalk] great question?

Brad: Did I have to say the number or the name of it?

Kenneth: Well, it is a number. It's a fairly significant number. It's the 13th Amendment.

Brad: Oh, I was so close.

Kenneth: Of course, a wonderful documentary called The 13th, if you haven't seen it, I would recommend it. He's down to his third question. We asked this before, so we'll go back to it. Who was the first president to die in office? Which would make him a one-term president, of course. The first president to die in office.

Brian: You could die in office after being reelected.

Kenneth: That's true. The first president to die in office-

Brian: You could be a one and a half.

Kenneth: -was a one-term president. We'll put it that way. Who was he?

Brad: Adams.

Kenneth: That's not correct.

Brian: Brad. Thanks for giving it a shot. Ken, I don't know this one, the first president to die in office was?

Kenneth: This is one of those presidential trivia basics. The first president to die in office was also the president with the shortest term in office William Henry Harrison.

Brian: Of course, he caught pneumonia at his inauguration, right?

Kenneth: That's the theory or the supposition, but we don't know that for sure. He died 31 days after being inaugurated. That is the shortest presidency, and as we mentioned earlier, he was succeeded by John Tyler.

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Brian: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone, as we continue with our end-of-year news and history quiz with historian Kenneth C. Davis, author of the classic book, Don't Know Much About History now reissued in a 30th-anniversary edition. Ken, just before we go, I just want to mention that you were on the show earlier this year for your other book that came out this year.

I thought about it ever since because you published a children's book about dictators. The Washington Post named it best children's book of 2020. It sounds so incongruous, a children's book about dictators. Not many people could pull that off and get reviews no less. That book is called Strong Man. Some of your listeners will remember that Ken was on for a book interview for that a few months ago. Ken, what gave you the idea to write a children's book about dictators?

Kenneth: Let me just first clarify Brian, that it was called the best children's and young adult book. The past three books I've published have actually been written and aimed at young adults, which means middle school and high school and up. The dirty little secret is that most people read these books and have no idea that they were written for a younger audience. The big difference between my books for adults and young adults is that the young adult books are shorter, the type is bigger and they have more illustrations, but everyone seems to like that.

I have written these books because I've been talking to students over the past 10 years or so usually via Skype or other platforms now, and I was always impressed by how interested, engaged and curious most of these students were in contrast to the media impression and the image given of disconnected teenagers, looking at their phones and not caring. I would say my experience is just the opposite.

I think we've seen that bear fruit in a sense, in the activism of young people in this country in the past two years, including in the most recent election, but the climate strike movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, the gun safety movement has really been motivated and very, very much involved young people in this country. They don't get as much credit as they deserve, and some of the adults should be as engaged and interested and prepared as many of the young people I speak to. Strong Man is written for younger adults, but many older adults will profit from it.

Brian: You know what, Ken? As if on cue, I see we have a 13-year-old calling in to try their hand at the quiz. Let's take Ames in Hoboken next. Ames, you are on WNYC. Hi there.

Ames: Hi Brian. Thank you so much for having me on. I just want to say thank you for helping my family and I through the pandemic. We love your show.

Brian: Well, that's so sweet of you to say. Where do you go to school?

Ames: I go to school-- it's called The Hudson School in Hoboken.

Brian: Great. Are, you ready for a little news and history quiz here?

Ames: Yes.

Brian: Okay, Ames. If you get two out of three right, then we'll send you a Brian Lehrer Show remote learning mug. You're probably sick of remote learning, but we'll send you a mug anyway, and a copy of Ken's book. Ken, what have you got for Ames?

Kenneth: We're moving on to the inaugural portion of the quiz. We have to start with the first inaugural. Where did George Washington take the first presidential oath of office?

Ames: Would it be New York City?

Kenneth: It would be New York City. Very good. It was, of course, at what is now called Federal Hall right down by Wall Street, and there is a prominent statue of George Washington right there. New York was temporarily the first capital of the United States of America, in a building that later became City Hall. A very significant piece of history down there. All right. Now that we asked that, this is also drawn straight from the immigration quiz, what is the capital of the United States?

Ames: Washington DC.

Kenneth: Washington DC. Thank you. I wanted to make sure. That's two, Brian.

Brian: That's two, right?

[sound effect]

Ames: Yes.

Brian: There's the fanfare for two. You win a remote learning mug and a copy of Don't Know Much About History by Kenneth C. Davis. Ames, that was awesome. You want to take a third question just for fun, just to see if you can hit it out of the park?

Ames: Yes.

Kenneth: Okay. This is not an inaugural question-

Brian: Ken, you got one more. Our topic is inaugurations now? Or no?

Kenneth: I'm going to move away from that just because we should mix it up a little bit and bring some current events in here. In what year did the worst pandemic in American history begin? In what year did the worst pandemic in American history begin?

Ames: 2020.

Brian: I knew that was a trick question. It's not 2020. The answer, Ken, is?

Kenneth: The answer is 1918 and of course, I'm just talking about Spanish influenza or The Great Influenza which began in 1918 while the United States was involved in World War 1. That was a subject of another book we've talked about, Brian, More Deadly Than War: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War.

Brian: That's right. Another of Ken[unintelligible 00:39:01] Well, Ames, you still got two in a row, so you still get a copy of Ken's book, Don't Know Much About History and a Brian Lehrer Show remote learning mug, and also you get bragging rights for your Zoom virtual new year's Eve party. You can tell your friends, you're a Brian Lehrer Show news and history scholar. Ames, thanks. Now, we're going to put you on-

Ames: Thank you so much.

Brian: Thank you. We're going to put you on hold and take your mailing address so we can send you that stuff. Neil in Brooklyn. You're on WNYC. Hi Neil.

Neil: Good morning, Brian. These have been tough questions. I'm going to do my best.

Brian: Ken, what you got for Neil?

Kenneth: We'll throw out a softball then for starters. What current holiday was first called Armistice Day?

Neil: Oh, that would be Veterans Day.

Kenneth: That's correct. November 11th, the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour. That was the end of World War 1, at least the shooting part of World War 1.

It became a national holiday in the United States very soon after known as Armistice Day, and eventually was changed to Veterans Day to honor the veterans of all America's wars, living and dead. Okay, back to inaugurals, who said at his inaugural, "We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies?"

Neil: We are not enemies, but friends?

Kenneth: We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.

Brian: Was it a first inaugural or a second inaugural?

Kenneth: Well, it is the first inaugural.

Neil: Okay. First inaugural that sounds like it would be Abraham Lincoln stearing the Civil War, anticipating the Civil War.

Kenneth: That is exactly right. Of course, Lincoln is inaugurated in March of 1861. Within a month the war had begun. Considered by many including me among the two or three best inaugural speeches in history. That's one of many, many memorable lines in Lincoln's first inaugural.

Brian: That's two in a row right Neil, you win a copy of Don't Know Much About History  and a Brian Lehrer Show remote learning mug. Congratulations, hang on. We'll take your mailing address off the air. Let's go on to James in LA James. You're on WNYC. Hi, James. Happy New Year.

James: Happy New Year to you. Good morning.

Brian: Ken, what have you got for James?

Kenneth: Okay. We mentioned the first capital and the current capital. What was the nation's second capital city?

James: I will hazard a guess of Philadelphia.

Kenneth: Philadelphia is a good guess, very good. Washington was inaugurated for the first time in New York. The capital then moved to Philadelphia in 1790 and would remain there until Washington DC became the capital later on.

Brian: It just keeps heading south, maybe by the next century will be in Orlando.

Kenneth: Of course, if you've seen Hamilton, the location of Washington DC, is a significant aspect of that play. Which poet-- I'm sorry, which President invited a poet to recite at the inaugural for the first time. It's been happening many times since then. Which president was the first to invite a poet to read at the inaugural?

James: For some reason, I'm wanting to-- I'll say, Kennedy.

Kenneth: Kennedy is a very good guess. John F. Kennedy in 1961. For extra credit, who was the poet?

James: Eb White?

Kenneth: No, but that wasn't a real question. It was Robert Frost. Robert Frost was certainly, the most famous poet of the day. Frost was there to read a poem that he had written for the occasion. It snowed the day before, and then the sun was out. He couldn't read the poem because of the glare of the sun. He actually recited one of his own poems from memory, and later gave Mrs. Kennedy the poem he had written for JFK. That was just a follow-up. That wasn't really the third question.

Brian: The trumpet sang because James got two in a row with Philadelphia and JFK. James, we're going to put you on hold and take your mailing address. Congratulations. We're going to go right to our next caller. Bob in Fairfield, you're on WNYC with Kenneth C Davis. Hi, Bob. Happy New Year.

Bob: Hi, Brian. Happy New Year. I've been wearing an N95 mask in public since February 29th, just in case anybody was wondering.

Brian: Okay. You don't have to wear one on the phone with us if you're at home. At least, I don't think you can transmit the Coronavirus on the phone. Ken, what you got for Bob in Fairfield?

Kenneth: Well, I think we're going to move on to the impeachment phase. We'll finish up with one inaugural question first and an oath of office question, actually. Only one woman has administered the presidential oath of office to date. Who was the president who took the oath from a woman?

Bob: A woman? This is the first question I don't know the answer to.

Brian: Luckily, you get two more chances, but Ken, repeat the question.

Kenneth: Okay. Only one woman has administered the presidential oath of office to date. Who was the president who took the oath of office from a woman?

Bob: Wild guess, Madison.

Kenneth: Say it again?

Bob: Madison.

Brian: He said, "Wild guess, Madison."

Kenneth: No, the answer is Lyndon B. Johnson, who took the oath of office from [inaudible 00:45:26]. It was administered by a Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes. That was the only one to date.

Brian: Why was that Ken? Isn't usually the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?

Bob: She wasn't there in Dallas.

Kenneth: That's right. LBJ was in Dallas.

Brian: Of course.

Kenneth: He was in the car behind JFK and got on the plane to return to Washington with JFK's body, and of course, Mrs. Kennedy standing next to him still wearing that blood-stained pink suit when he took the oath of office aboard Air Force One, perhaps one of the most famous photographs in American history.

Brian: All right, Bob gets two more shots if he gets the next two questions right. He still wins your book and a Brian Lehrer Show mug. Go ahead.

Kenneth: We've moved on to the impeachment phase. Who was the first president impeached?

Bob: Andrew Johnson.

Kenneth: Andrew Johnson is correct. Abraham Lincoln's successor, and of course, he also was acquitted. To date three impeachments. Three acquittals. A simple majority of the house is required for impeachment, how many senators must vote to convict? That's either a fraction or a number.

Bob: Supermajority of two thirds?

Kenneth: That's correct. Two-thirds vote is required in the Senate for conviction. Total of 67 [inaudible 00:47:00].

Brian: Bob rallies and comes from behind after getting the first question wrong to get the next two questions right. Bob, you win a copy of Ken's Don't Know Much About History and a Brian Lehrer Show remote learning mug. Congratulations. Hang on, we're going to take your address off the air so we can send them to you. Elliot in Manhattanville. You're up next with Ken Davis. Hi, Elliot.

Elliot: Good morning, Brian. Good morning, Ken.

Brain: Ken, what you got?

Elliot: Happy New Year to you.

Brian: And to you.

Elliot: Thank you. It's good that we could say Happy New Year, again, we don't have to say Happy Holidays anymore.

Brian: Yes, right. Though you're allowed. You can say Happy Kwanzaa, it's still Kwanzaa but go ahead.

Elliot: Absolutely, absolutely. [unintelligible 00:47:44] there to be a war on New Year.

Brian: I don't want to get into the whole war and Christmas thing today.

Elliot: Okay.

Brian: Ken, go ahead.

Kenneth: Okay, good morning. We'll start with four presidents since we're just talking about President Kennedy. This will follow on to that four presidents died by assassination, name them?

Elliot: They were Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy.

Kenneth: That's correct. All four.

Brian: Very good. Not everybody knows McKinley and Garfield. Okay, Ken, keep going.

Kenneth: Going back to one-term presidents. Which one-term president later joined the Supreme Court? [unintelligible 00:48:36]

Elliot: You've said it already. That was William Howard Taft.

Kenneth: That's correct.

Elliot: He was not Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was Chief Justice of the United States.

Brian: What is that distinction?

Elliot: Chief Justice of the United States is what it says in the Constitution. That's all.

Brian: There you go. Elliot, thank you very much. Hang on. We're going to take your address and send you a copy of Ken's 30th-anniversary edition of Don't Know Much About History  and Brian Lehrer Show remote learning mug, is that something you've ever written about or thought about? That semantic distinction between Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of the United States?

Elliot: It's an interesting distinction that I have never had raised to me before. I'm going to look into it. Always I'm willing to learn something. I feel like if I don't learn something new every day, it's not a good day.

Brian: By the caller who likes to be so precise that he doesn't like to say Happy Holidays. Steve in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi, Steve.

Steve: Hey, Brian, how are you? Thank you for taking my call.

Brian: Sure. Ken, set him up.

Kenneth: Going back to the immigration questions when was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

Steve: It was adopted in 1776.

Kenneth Davis: Can we be more specific?

Steve: July 4th, 1776.

Kenneth: Thank you. Independence Day celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. I think we need to ask some more of these amendment questions that relate to elections, Brian, because the elections are so important. Which amendment gives citizenship to all persons born in the United States?

Steve: I'm hoping that it's the 15th amendment.

Kenneth: That's close but no. It's the 14th amendment. The 15th amendment gave Black men the vote. The 14th conveys citizenship.

Brian Lehrer: That's still one out of two right. If you get this one you'll win the book and the mug. Go ahead, Ken.

Kenneth: What single event signals the beginning of the Great Depression? Again, from the civics test? single event signals.

Steve: It would be the stock market crash of 1929.

Kenneth: That is correct. That's usually called the signal event beginning the Great Depression, certainly, not the cause of the Great Depression, the worldwide Great Depression, but the event that sets it off.

Brian: Steve, thank you very much. Good job. Hang on. We're going to take your address off the air and send you a mug and a book. Eve in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC with Ken Davis. Hi, Eve.

Eve: Hey, what's up?

Brian: I don't know, Ken. What's up?

Kenneth: We're going to go with another softball here, Brian-

Brian: Okay.

Kenneth: -right from the civics quiz.

Eve: Okay.

Brian: Now the civics quiz, just so people know what you're talking about, this is the naturalization test for people who want to become naturalized US citizens which Trump made harder.

Kenneth: That's correct. There are 128 questions given on this test. Applicants are, I believe, given 20 of them and they must answer 12 of the 20 correctly. You can go to the website of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to see all 128 questions and answers. You can even get an audio version and it's useful to go and look. This one is right off that test. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?

Eve: The 13 colonies.

Kenneth: That's correct although I dispute it myself. The correct answer according to the Immigration Service is the original 13 colonies. I believe that it should be the 13 states because it's the flag of the United States of America, not the flag of the united former colonies of America, but we'll give you colonies because that's what the Immigration Service says.

Eve: Okay. Thank you.

Brian: Next question.

Kenneth: Okay.

Brian: That's one.

Kenneth: This is right out of today's news. What is the constitutional requirement for Congress to override a presidential veto?

Eve: The constitutional requirement to the president-- Wait, sorry. Could you repeat that?

Kenneth: Yes. What is the constitutional requirement for Congress to override a presidential veto? In fact, I think it was mentioned in the last news break that the House had already voted to override a veto. Now, it's up to the Senate. What is the vote required in Congress to override a presidential veto in both Houses?

Eve: Man, I want to say that the majority of the Senate has to vote against, but I'm not sure.

Brian: That's not right. It's got to be more than that. It's got to be two-thirds.

Kenneth: It is a two-thirds majority.

Eve: Two-thirds of congress?

Brian: Yes. Okay. That's one out of two right. For the marbles here, you can still win the book and the mug if you get the next question right. Ken, go.

Eve: Man, I want that mug. Okay.

Kenneth: Okay. This is not an impeachment or a presidential question, but an important one. A woman named Norma McCorvey sued a Texas District Attorney. What is the name of the notable case and what was the result decided in 1973? A woman named Norma McCorvey. The case did not use her name.

Brian: Famous 1973 Supreme Court case.

Eve: I want to say it may have something to do with Roe versus Wade, but I am not certain.

Kenneth: Go with that.

Brian: You are certainly right, Eve. We got Roe versus Wade. Norma McCorvey went as Roe because, Ken--

Kenneth: Jane Roe was the main [unintelligible 00:55:20].

Brian: Jane Roe like John Doe, right, because she was going anonymously and so they used Jane Roe like they would use John Doe for a male going anonymously. Correct? That's where Roe comes from in Roe versus Wade?

Kenneth: That's correct. It was instead of John Doe they used Jane Roe.

Brian: All right, Ken. We're going to see how many callers we can get in here before we run out of time at the top of the hour. Jacob in East Harlem has been holding the longest. Jacob, you're on WNYC. Hi, there happy new year.

Jacob: Happy new year, Brian, so happy to be on air.

Brian: Ken, what you got?

Kenneth: Okay. Straight from the immigration civics quiz again. What is the term of office for a representative in Congress?

Brian: For a representative. This is a question people could know if they want to become naturalized citizens. Jacob, do you know it?

Jacob: You said a member of the House right?

Kenneth: Member of the House of Representatives.

Brian: The term of office.

Jacob: I believe it's four years?

Brian: Oh, that's wrong. It's two years for a House member, six years for a Senator. Next question, Ken, he still has a chance if he gets these next two in a row right.

Kenneth: Okay. Which one-term former president won the Nobel Peace Prize?

Brian: Former president, as a former president?

Kenneth: As a former president, he's a former president when he won the Nobel Prize.

Jacob: Is that Jimmy Carter?

Kenneth: That is Jimmy Carter.

Jacob: Whew.

Brian: A number of presidents have won it as president right?

Kenneth: That's correct. Probably will get to that question. Yes, three presidents won while they were presidents, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Barack Obama.

Brian: Right.

Kenneth: One former vice president won the Nobel Peace Prize, that's Al Gore.

Brian: The answer is correct. All right. He got one wrong, one right. This one's for the book and the mug for all the marbles. What have you got for Jacob in East Harlem for question number three?

Kenneth: George Washington issued the first pardons to men who participated in a revolt against a certain war. That forced Washington to lead troops to put down this revolt. What was the name of that revolt?

Brian: A revolt against a certain war.

Brian: Something rebellion, I don't know. The Whiskey Rebellion?

Kenneth: The Whiskey Rebellion is correct. You had to reach [unintelligible 00:58:06].

Jacob: Oh, my God.

Brian: Jacob, awesome. We're going to put you on hold. We'll take your address and we'll send you a Don't Know Much About History 30th edition book and a Brian Lehrer Show remote learning mug. We go next to Jonathan in Putnam County. Jonathan, you're on WNYC. Ken, what you got for Jonathan?

Kenneth: We'll stay with pardons. A Christmas day pardon was probably the largest mass pardon in American history. Which president was it and who did he pardon? Christmas day, largest pardon in US history.

Jonathan: I have no idea. The presidential history is a tough one for me. I wasn't born here, but I will-- Let me see. George Washington?

Kenneth: That's not correct.

Brian: All right, next question. Oh, what's the answer?

Kenneth: The answer to that is Andrew Johnson who was impeached.

Jonathan: Oh, for the confederate.

Kenneth: Andrew Johnson pardoned everyone who participated in the confederacy so all confederates were pardoned in 1868.

Brian: Then half of them got military bases named after them. That was part of the deal. I'm kidding. Next question.

Kenneth: Okay. We did the presidents. Let's see.

Jonathan: Any from the naturalization test?

Kenneth: I believe we've done a lot of those and we did the Prize just now. What is the legal name of the federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February? Coming up pretty soon. What is the legal name?

Jonathan: It's not Presidents' Day. Would it be President Lincoln's birthday. I'm struggling with that one.

Kenneth: It is not Lincoln's birthday.

Brian: All right, Jonathan. Thanks for trying. Happy New Year to you. Ken, what's the answer?

Kenneth: The answer is that Presidents Day is technically and legally still George Washington's Birthday. It was changed in 1968 from George Washington's Birthday, on the 28th of February to the third Monday in February, which means it can never fall on George Washington's Birthday. It has never been Presidents Day officially or legally still George Washington's Birthday.

Brian: Well, I'm sorry to have to end with somebody who did not win the prizes, but we gave away a good number of copies of your new 30th-anniversary edition of Don't Know Much About History and the Brian Lehrer show remote learning mugs. We've got a lot of people not only steeped in the news, but steeped in history out there in the audience, participants, and curious people and people with all kinds of smarts, who like to read around in the truth, which sometimes is hard these days, but there is truth in history.

Ken, thank you for all your work. Thank you for sharing your book with us. Congratulations on the 30th anniversary of Don't Know Much About History, that edition of the book. Thank you for making up all these quiz questions. You really did all the work for the show and we really, really appreciate it.

Kenneth: Thank you, Brian. I did a shout out to the teachers and students who are working so hard. One other group that I rely on so much are librarians, both public librarians, and school librarians. I want to thank them for their work in these very, very difficult days.

Brian: Yay librarians and Yay Ken Davis. Folks, Alison Stewart and All Of It, coming up right after the latest news here on WNYC.

 

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