Did You Know

Click on the topics and facts below to learn more about American government and politics.

Federal Government Overview

General State Overview

How a Bill Becomes a Law

Glossary of Terms

Grover Cleveland was elected president in 1884, voted out of office in 1888, and was voted back in 1892. This makes him the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms in office.
President William Henry Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in American history at one hour and forty-five minutes. He also had the shortest presidency in American History: one month.
No Republican has ever won a presidential election without carrying the state of Ohio.
In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro became the first female major-party candidate for vice-president. She was Walter Mondale’s running mate on the Democratic ticket.
In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt went to Panama to review the construction of the Panama Canal, making him the first president to travel outside the country while in office.
After leaving the presidency in 1829, John Quincy Adams was elected to the House of Representatives. He served from 1831 until his death in 1848.
Launched in 1947, the Marshall Plan was an aid program designed to promote post-World War II recovery in European countries. The $13.3 billion program was named after Secretary of State George C. Marshall.
Thurgood Marshall was the first African American Supreme Court justice. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967.
In 1789, the President of the United States was paid a salary of $25,000.
The word Pennsylvania is misspelled on the Liberty Bell (Pensylvania).
Philadelphia, PA; Baltimore, MD; Lancaster, PA; York, PA; Trenton, NJ; Annapolis, MD; New York, NY; and Washington, DC have all served as capitals of the United States from the First Continental Congress to the present.
In 1880, James Garfield became the first presidential candidate to spend more than one million dollars on his campaign. He was also the last person to be elected to the presidency directly from the House of Representatives.
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826 - the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence