# President for a day? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-for-a-day/315186 "2005-08-01T19:11:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-for-a-day/315186/1 "2005-08-01T19:11:28Z")
Atchison, Kansas is planning to open what’s being billed as ‘the world’s smallest presidential library’ in honor of David Rice Atchison who some believe was President for one day in 1849. "Atchison became a senator in 1843 at age 36 and served until 1855. He also was Senate president pro tem most of that time, including 1849. Whether he ever was president has been debated for decades. James K. Polk’s term expired at noon March 4, when the next president normally would have been sworn in. However, March 4 was a Sunday, so Zachary Taylor waited until the next day to take the oath." [BellevilleNewsDemocrat.com](http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/12265236.htm) The site quoted gives differing opinions as to whether he ever was in actuality President. What’s the Straight Dope on this? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-for-a-day/315186/2 "2005-08-01T19:13:52Z")
[Here](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_133.html) is Uncle **Cecil** ’s take on the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-for-a-day/315186/3 "2005-08-01T19:14:28Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Atchison, Kansas is planning to open what’s being billed as ‘the world’s smallest presidential library’ in honor of David Rice Atchison who some believe was President for one day in 1849. > > "Atchison became a senator in 1843 at age 36 and served until 1855. He also was Senate president pro tem most of that time, including 1849. > > Whether he ever was president has been debated for decades. > > James K. Polk’s term expired at noon March 4, when the next president normally would have been sworn in. However, March 4 was a Sunday, so Zachary Taylor waited until the next day to take the oath." > > [BellevilleNewsDemocrat.com](http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/12265236.htm) > > The site quoted gives differing opinions as to whether he ever was in actuality President. What’s the Straight Dope on this? If Zachary Taylor didn’t become president because he didn’t take the oath… why did Atchison become president? He didn’t take the oath either. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-for-a-day/315186/4 "2005-08-01T22:26:13Z")
I would have expected something a little more substantial from Cecil than “nobody to this day is really sure if he was president or not.” Does the US Constitution provide no definitive answer? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-for-a-day/315186/5 "2005-08-01T22:45:49Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > I would have expected something a little more substantial from Cecil than “nobody to this day is really sure if he was president or not.” > > Does the US Constitution provide no definitive answer? Sure it does: Article II, Clause 8: > [@](#): > > Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Since Atchison didn’t take the oath, he was never legally president. Since Taylor didn’t take it until the next day, nobody was president on that particular day. I’m not sure why this is considered some enormous anomaly. Vacancies routinely happen in other offices. There is no reason why the U.S. having a vacancy in the office of president for one day should be seen as so threatening the integrity of the space-time continuum that people imagine that some one _must have been_ president during that time. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-for-a-day/315186/6 "2005-08-01T22:53:52Z")
Right. We certainly wouldn’t want that to happen _today_, but it of course doesn’t have to. The famous picture of LBJ getting sworn in on the plane from Dallas can attest to that. But back then, heck, nobody would even know about it soon enough to do anything, plus there wasn’t this Information Age Microwave mentality now now now thing we have today. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-for-a-day/315186/7 "2005-08-02T01:25:53Z")
One other thing. The Constitution also says: > [@](#): > > Clause 6: In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, (See Note 9) the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. There is no specific mention of what happens when the office of President is vacant when a term expires. So Atchison may not even have been eligible to succeed to the office in that particular circumstance. Since Taylor had already been elected President, he would really have been the only one eligible to be sworn in.