Monday is Presidents Day.
Established in 1971 by the Uniform Monday Holiday Bill, the holiday occurs on the third Monday in February, and is generally celebrated to honor the democratically elected leaders of the executive branch of the U.S. government.
While Alaska has had U.S. statehood for less than a century, many of the decisions made by the men who sat in the high office have had resounding impacts on the land.
See how much you know about the state’s relationship with the commander-in-chief with this Presidents Day quiz.
1. Who was president when Sheet’ká was renamed New Archangel?
A. George Washington
B. Thomas Jefferson
C. James Madison
D. John Adams
2. Who was president when the United States negotiated with the Russian Empire for the purchase of Alaska?
A. Abraham Lincoln
B. Rutherford B. Hayes
C. Ulysses S. Grant
D. Andrew Johnson
3. Following abuses by the Army and Navy, including the shelling and burning of Alaska Native villages, which president was in office when a government to administer the District of Alaska was installed?
A. James A. Garfield
B. Chester A. Arthur
C. Grover Cleveland
D. Benjamin Harrison
4. During which administration did the state capital move from Sitka to Juneau?
A. Theodore Roosevelt
B. William McKinley
C. William H. Taft
D. Woodrow Wilson
5. Which president was the first sitting president to visit Alaska?
A. Teddy Roosevelt
B. Andrew Johnson
C. Warren Harding
D. Chester A. Arthur
6. Which president has traveled the furthest north in Alaska?
A. Theodore Roosevelt
B. Bill Clinton
C. Ulysses S. Grant
D. Barack Obama
7. Who was president when Alaska passed the Anti-Discrimination Act, the first of its kind in the nation?
A. Franklin Roosevelt
B. Calvin Coolidge
C. John F. Kennedy
D. Harry S. Truman
8. Who designated Admiralty Island a national monument?
A. Gerald R. Ford
B. Lyndon B. Johnson
C. Jimmy Carter
D. John F. Kennedy
9. Who was president when Alaska was admitted into the United States?
A. Harry S. Truman
B. Dwight D. Eisenhower
C. Lyndon B. Johnson
D. Gerald R. Ford
10. Which president signed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the largest land claim settlement in U.S. history at the time, into law?
A. Jimmy Carter
B. Gerald R. Ford
C. Richard M. Nixon
D. John F. Kennedy
Bonus: Which president was Presidents Day originally created for?
A. George Washington
B. Woodrow Wilson
C. Franklin Roosevelt
D. Abraham Lincoln
Questions and answers assembled with resources from the Sealaska Heritage Institute, Library of Congress and Alaska State Archives.
Answers: 1. B, 2. D, 3. B, 4. A, 5. C, 6. D, 7. A, 8. C, 9. B, 10. C, Bonus. A and D
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
