David Rice Atchison President of the United States for One Day, technically President of the United States for one day—Sunday, March 4, 1849. Outgoing President James Polks term ended at noon on March 4, which was a Sunday. His successor, Zachary Taylor, refused to be sworn into office on Sunday.[18] As President pro tempore, and therefore Acting Vice President, under the presidential succession law in place at the time, Atchison was believed by some to be Acting President.[19] In an interview with the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Atchison revealed that he slept through most of the day of his alleged presidency: There had been three or four busy nights finishing up the work of the Senate, and I slept most of that Sunday.[20] Despite this, a museum exhibit opened in his honor, in which its owner claims it to be the countrys smallest Presidential Library. Although it is not recognized as such by the U.S Government, it opened in February 2006 as the Atchison County Historical Museum in Atchison, Kansas. Atchison discussed the claim in a September 1872 issue of the Plattsburg Lever: It was in this way: Polk went out of office on the 3rd of March 1849, on Saturday at 12 noon. The next day, the 4th, occurring on Sunday, Gen. Taylor was not inaugurated. He was not inaugurated till Monday, the 5th, at 12 noon. It was then canvassed among Senators whether there was an interregnum (a time during which a country lacks a government). It was plain that there was either an interregnum or I was the President of the United States being chairman of the Senate, having succeeded Judge Mangum of North Carolina. The judge waked me up at 3 oclock in the morning and said jocularly that as I was President of the United States he wanted me to appoint him as secretary of state. I made no pretense to the office, but if I was entitled in it I had one boast to make, that not a woman or a child shed a tear on account of my removing any one from office during my incumbency of the place. A great many such questions are liable to arise under our form of government.[21]
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 03:53:01 +0000
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