APUSH Madness
Presidential Bracketology
(Borrowed/Stolen and adapted from a number of great APUSH teachers)
TASK: You will select the president who, in your opinion, did the better job as chief executive than did his opponent. As you select a winner in each
matchup, you advance the winner to his next opponent who also has eliminated an opponent. Eventually, through the process of elimination, you
will be selecting the best president in American history.
As you select each winner, you must provide a one or two-sentence (historically and significantly factually valid) reason for your choice of the
winner.
In the championship matchup you should provide a one-paragraph elaboration as to why your choice for winner is superior to all of the others.
There is one other point about your rationales. YOU MAY NOT REPEAT A REASON FOR A PRESIDENT’S VICTORY IN HIS LATER MATCHUPS!
The nice part is that it is all derived from educated opinion. You must be accurate in your factual evidence for the victory.
There is an electronic version of the bracket on my website…complete it and print to submit with assignment.
Presidential Bracketology
For each “game” in the brackets, you must pick a “winner” who was the better president. You must also include a one sentence explanation of why
the winner was a better president than the man he defeated. This holds true for all of the matchups until you have a champion president. In order
to receive some points for this assignment, you must attach your brackets showing all of your matchups and winners.
Bracket # 1 First Round
Game
Winner
Explanation
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Bracket # 2 First Round
Game
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Winner
Explanation
Bracket # 3 First Round
Game
A
Winner
B
C
D
E
NO GAME
NO GAME
F
G
H
NO GAME
Explanation
Bracket # 1 Second Round
Game
I
Winner
Explanation
J
K
L
Bracket # 2 Second Round
Game
I
J
K
L
Winner
Explanation
Bracket # 3 Second Round
Game
I
Winner
J
K
No Game
L
Explanation
Game H winner automatically advances.
Bracket # 1 Third Round
Game
M
Winner
Explanation
N
Bracket # 2 Third Round
Game
M
N
Winner
Explanation
Bracket # 3 Third Round
Game
M
N
Winner
Explanation
Game I winner automatically advances.
Bracket # 1 Fourth Round
Game
O
Winner
Explanation
Bracket # 2 Fourth Round
Game
O
Winner
Explanation
Bracket # 3 Fourth Round
Game
O
Winner
Explanation
“THE FINAL THREE”
Round 5
Game
P
Bracket # 1
Winner
V
Bracket # 2
Winner
P
Winner
Explanation
Bracket 3 winner automatically goes to the Final
CHAMPIONSHIP
___________________________________ VS. ______________________________________
WINNER: _____________________________________________________________________
EXPLANATION: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PRESIDENTIAL MATCHUPS
BRACKET # 1
1. Abraham Lincoln
2. Andrew Jackson
3. Ronald Reagan
4. James Polk
5. James Madison
6. John Adams
7. John Kennedy
8. Rutherford Hayes
9. George H.W. Bush
10. Calvin Coolidge
11. Jimmy Carter
12. Benjamin Harrison
13. Ulysses S. Grant
14. John Tyler
15. Andrew Johnson
16. James Garfield
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
Round 1
1 v 16
8v9
5 v 12
4 v 13
6 v 11
3 v 14
7 v 10
2v 15
I
J
K
L
Round 2
Game A v Game B
Game C v Game D
Game E v Game F
Game G v Game H
BRACKET # 2
1. Franklin D. Roosevelt
2. Theodore Roosevelt
3. Harry Truman
4. James Monroe
5. Lyndon Johnson
6. William McKinley
7. Bill Clinton
8. Grover Cleveland
9. Martin Van Buren
10. Chester Arthur
11. Herbert Hoover
12. Gerald Ford
13. Zachary Taylor
14. Richard Nixon
15. Franklin Pierce
16. James Buchanan
Round 3
M Game I v Game J
N Game K v Game L
Round 4
O Game M v Game N
BRACKET # 3
1. George Washington
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Dwight Eisenhower
4. X
5. X
6. Woodrow Wilson
7. X
8. John Quincy Adams
9. William Howard Taft
10. X
11. George W. Bush
12. X
13. X
14. Millard Fillmore
15. Warren G. Harding
16. William Henry Harrison
Round 5
Bracket # 1 v # 2
Bracket 3 = BYE
Championship
Bracket # 1/#2 Winner
V
Bracket # 3