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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Presidents Who Owned Slaves

Q: Who was the last U.S. president to own slaves?
A: Zachary Taylor owned slaves while in office. U.S. Grant owned a slave he freed in 1859, long before becoming president.

Defining Enemy Combatant

Q: What is an enemy combatant?
A: “Enemy combatant” is shorthand for people who are fighting unlawfully. But no one is quite sure exactly what that means.

Bush: The Constitution a ‘Goddamned Piece of Paper’?

Q: Did President Bush call the Constitution a “goddamned piece of paper”?
A: Extremely unlikely. The Web site that reported those words has a history of quoting phony sources and retracting bogus stories.

The Right to Lobby

Q: Are lobbyists justified in a democracy?
A: The Constitution guarantees the right to petition government.

Refugees Don’t Get $1,800 Per Month

Q: Does the U.S. pay $1,800 a month to refugees?
A: No. A false claim about Canada is being recycled in a bogus e-mail to “American taxpayers.”