Everything We Know About the U.S. Government We Learned from 'Drunk History'
Election Day is the perfect time to reflect on our nation’s history. And depending on how your candidates do in their races, it’s also when you’ll be celebrating with or drowning your sorrows in alcohol. Luckily, there’s a way to brush up on the U.S.’s past and get your buzz on: Comedy Central's Drunk History!
Though you’re not voting for a president this election cycle, you can still appreciate Drunk History’s take on famous presidential facts. Whether you’re watching clips from the show’s period online on Funny Or Die or checking it out on cable, you’ll admit it’s a non-partisan way appreciate your basic freedoms.
Click through to see Casey Wilson, Will Ferrell, and more stars re-enact drunken accounts of everything you should have learned back in high school.
The Election Of 1800
If you thought trash talking between opponents was a modern phenomenon, think again. In the clip above, watch as John Adams (Joe Lo Truglio) and Thomas Jefferson (Jerry O'Connell) duke it out in 1800’s presidential election.
Dolley Madison Saves A Piece Of History During The War Of 1812
Casey Wilson plays Dolley Madison, wife of President James Madison. As British troops advanced on Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812, the first lady exercised her own leadership skills. Watch the clip above to see how badass Dolley Madison was.
Abraham Lincoln Is Smuggled Into Washington, D.C.
By the time Abraham Lincoln was headed to Washington for his 1861 inauguration, the nation was deeply divided over slavery. The new president risked assassination just by going to take office in the capital. Allan Pinkerton, a trained spy, had to sneak the president through Maryland into D.C. Charlie Day stars an agitated Pinkerton, who meets setbacks on the way to the capital.
Frederick Douglass Meets Abraham Lincoln
By 1863, the Civil War was in full swing. Abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass (Don Cheadle) met with Abraham Lincoln (Will Ferrell) to lobby for African-American soldiers to get equal pay for military service. From there, the two men began a powerful partnership that changed the country.
John Wilkes Booth Plans To Assassinate Abraham Lincoln
OK, this is the last Lincoln clip, we swear. But what else do you expect with one of our country's most transformative presidents? Actor Edwin Booth (Will Forte), a favorite of President Lincoln, asks his brother to perform in a Shakespearean theater production. The only problem is that the actor's brother is John Wilkes Booth (Adam Scott), who killed Lincoln at Ford's Theater in 1865.
Frances Cleveland Becomes The Country's Hottest First Lady
Frances Cleveland is the only woman to become first lady twice in non-consecutive years (we can thank her husband, Grover Cleveland, for that). In the 1880s and 1890s, she was the country's biggest female celebrity. In the clip above, the first lady, played by Alia Shawkat, decides to use her famous name to do some good.
Teddy Roosevelt Storms Cuba
Before his presidency began in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt was a colonel in the U.S. army. During the Spanish-American War in 1898, Roosevelt (Andrew Daly) took his crew of Rough Riders to Cuba's San Juan Hill and became a true boss.
Edith Wilson Tricks Congress While Secretly Running The Country
President Woodrow Wilson's wife, Edith, worked as a conduit between him and Congress after the leader took ill in 1919. Courteney Cox plays the first lady, who pretty much ran the U.S. while her husband was bedridden.
Richard Nixon Meets Elvis
President Nixon's meeting with Elvis Presley in 1970 is comical in itself, but watch the clip above to see the anxious leader (Breaking Bad's Bob Odenkirk) meet the rock legend (Jack Black).
Ronald Reagan Turns To Politics
How exactly did Ronald Reagan pivot from acting to politics? Check out the clip above, which details how the Gipper (Nick Kroll) made the leap toward his 1980s reign.
[Photos: Comedy Central]