Atchison for President!
I know it’s been ages since I’ve made an entry of personal
details, and I apologize for that (as if anyone was really destroyed by my
laziness). However, it’s going to be a
little longer, because this entry is of a non-personal matter; it is a history
entry.
Yesterday at work, I bought a Peach Snapple from the vending machine, as I always do at 8:30am. I read the Snapple Fact sub-cap, expecting it to be as uninteresting as they always are; however, this was not the case. It was Real Fact #297, “David Rice Atchison was President of the United States for only one day.” I thought this was rather amazing; especially because of the fact that after completing AP U.S. History I had never heard of such a man. How has history forgotten (or deliberately erased) such an interesting occurrence? I researched the story, and this is what I came up with.
David Rice Atchison was born August of 1907 in Frogtown, Kentucky (I wish I lived in such a town). At age 36, he was appointed Senator of Missouri (1843). He was a greatly productive Senator and was arguably one of the best.
Now, when President #11, James K. Polk’s term concluded, the next President elect, Zachary Taylor, was to be sworn in on Sunday, March 4, 1849. However, Taylor, being stubbornly religious, refused to take the oath on the holy Sabbath and demanded that the Inauguration be held the following day. Well, who was going to be President for that one day? It certainly couldn’t be Polk, for it is illegal for a President to hold office for even one day over his term. According to law, the job would be appointed to President Pro Tem (for the time being) of the Senate, which was Atchison.
The Frogtown native was legally appointed an official President for a twenty four hour period! Of course, we’ve all pondered over the cliché question as to “What would you do if you were President for a day?” Well, Atchison slept the entire day! That week had been a particularly busy week at the Senate, and our Frog man had been up late numerous nights in a row working. Thus, he snoozed with the responsibility of the Oval Office in his hands.
I just think it’s incredible that practically no one knows about this man. He technically was President of the United States and I believe that he should be remembered as the 12th President and the Bible-beating Taylor should be recognized as 13th.
Yesterday at work, I bought a Peach Snapple from the vending machine, as I always do at 8:30am. I read the Snapple Fact sub-cap, expecting it to be as uninteresting as they always are; however, this was not the case. It was Real Fact #297, “David Rice Atchison was President of the United States for only one day.” I thought this was rather amazing; especially because of the fact that after completing AP U.S. History I had never heard of such a man. How has history forgotten (or deliberately erased) such an interesting occurrence? I researched the story, and this is what I came up with.
David Rice Atchison was born August of 1907 in Frogtown, Kentucky (I wish I lived in such a town). At age 36, he was appointed Senator of Missouri (1843). He was a greatly productive Senator and was arguably one of the best.
Now, when President #11, James K. Polk’s term concluded, the next President elect, Zachary Taylor, was to be sworn in on Sunday, March 4, 1849. However, Taylor, being stubbornly religious, refused to take the oath on the holy Sabbath and demanded that the Inauguration be held the following day. Well, who was going to be President for that one day? It certainly couldn’t be Polk, for it is illegal for a President to hold office for even one day over his term. According to law, the job would be appointed to President Pro Tem (for the time being) of the Senate, which was Atchison.
The Frogtown native was legally appointed an official President for a twenty four hour period! Of course, we’ve all pondered over the cliché question as to “What would you do if you were President for a day?” Well, Atchison slept the entire day! That week had been a particularly busy week at the Senate, and our Frog man had been up late numerous nights in a row working. Thus, he snoozed with the responsibility of the Oval Office in his hands.
I just think it’s incredible that practically no one knows about this man. He technically was President of the United States and I believe that he should be remembered as the 12th President and the Bible-beating Taylor should be recognized as 13th.