# What's the biggest crisis to happen in a president's last days?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 21, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458 "2015-08-21T18:44:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/1 "2015-08-21T18:44:15Z")
I’m curious about the dealings of an outgoing president post-election/pre-inaguration. So what’s the biggest decision a president has had to make near the end that would affect the incoming president? Did they get the new guy involved?
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### Author:  [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/2 "2015-08-21T19:02:06Z")
South Carolina succeeded in December 1860, and other states quickly followed and officially formed the Confederacy in February 1861. Buchanan’s term didn’t end until March 1861, and he basically just sat on his hands and did nothing.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/3 "2015-08-21T22:38:55Z")
It’s going to be hard to beat the events of early 1861, but I’d give an honorable mention to July-August 1974, when Nixon lost his appeal to the Supreme Court, released the “smoking gun” tape, and resigned, dumping everything into Gerald Ford’s lap.
Here are a few other minor things:
January 1961: Eisenhower breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba
Early 1921: A period of extreme deflation and a huge spike in unemployment.
January 2009: The Labor Department reports 2 million jobs disappeared in the last four months of 2008.
AFAIK none of the incoming Presidents were consulted.
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/4 "2015-08-21T23:07:48Z")
Since their is no one clear-cut answer to this, moved to IMHO from GQ.
**samclem** , moderator
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### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/5 "2015-08-21T23:56:42Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#):
>
> South Buchanan’s term didn’t end until March 1861, and he basically just sat on his hands and did nothing.
Which is pretty much what he had done all through his term. One of the reasons he’s commonly listed as one of the _worst_ us Presidents ever.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/6 "2015-08-22T00:14:29Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#):
>
> Which is pretty much what he had done all through his term. One of the reasons he’s commonly listed as one of the _worst_ us Presidents ever.
Buchanan pushed for the Dred Scott decision and the Lecompton Constitution. So considering the serious harm he did when he was active, his usual pattern of inactivity was probably for the best.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/7 "2015-08-22T03:52:46Z")
Not at the tail end of Eisenhower’s administration after the 1960 election, but in the last year anyway – the [U-2 incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident) of May 1960, which largely trashed the diplomatic progress Eisenhower was trying to make with the Soviet Union.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/8 "2015-08-22T04:36:47Z")
Not a crisis but John Tyler became the first President to have Congress override a presidential veto on his last day in office.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/9 "2015-08-22T05:19:56Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> Not a crisis but John Tyler became the first President to have Congress override a presidential veto on his last day in office.
Hardly of the same magnitude as the crisis his predecessor experienced on _his_ last day in office!
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### Author:  [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/10 "2015-08-22T05:20:56Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#):
>
> Which is pretty much what he had done all through his term. One of the reasons he’s commonly listed as one of the _worst_ us Presidents ever.
Also the only bachelor president. One of the reasons he’s commonly listed as one of the _smartest_ US Presidents ever.
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### Author:  [@protoboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/protoboard)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/11 "2015-08-22T06:09:12Z")
He technically wasn’t president at the time, but Rajiv Gandhi was bombed to death when he was in the process of trying to win back his office.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/12 "2015-08-22T06:09:31Z")
> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> Hardly of the same magnitude as the crisis his predecessor experienced on _his_ last day in office!
He spent it arguing with his doctors that they should be treating him with more opium and fewer leeches.
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### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/13 "2015-08-22T06:41:50Z")
> [@magnusblitz](#):
>
> South Carolina succeeded in December 1860, and other states quickly followed and officially formed the Confederacy in February 1861. Buchanan’s term didn’t end until March 1861, and he basically just sat on his hands and did nothing.
And nobody got hurt.
Then his successor came in, and we got the bloodiest war in our history.
(It’s “seceded.” “Succeeded” is a completely different word.)
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### Author:  [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/14 "2015-08-22T11:46:22Z")
> [@kunilou](#):
>
> …
> January 2009: The Labor Department reports 2 million jobs disappeared in the last four months of 2008.
> …
> AFAIK none of the incoming Presidents were consulted.
To GWB’s credit, he made a strong effort to transfer the reins of power smoothly. He even began transition planning before the November election. I’ve previously [excerpted a description of a White House meeting on the economic crisis called by McCain](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18500564&postcount=7).
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/15 "2015-08-22T12:22:51Z")
> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> Hardly of the same magnitude as the crisis his predecessor experienced on _his_ last day in office!
Yeah, when I saw the thread title on the forum page, my first thought was:
Lincoln: got shot.
Garfield: got shot.
McKinley: got shot.
Kennedy: got shot.
William Henry Harrison: died of pneumonia.
Zachary Taylor: died of gastroenteritis.
Warren Harding: died of heart attack.
FDR: died of cerebral hemorrhage.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/16 "2015-08-22T12:28:07Z")
And on a more serious note, while there weren’t exactly _crises_ happening in Lincoln’s or FDR’s last days in office, the wars that they presided over weren’t finished yet, and the nature of the peace to come was still to be defined.
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### Author:  [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/17 "2015-08-22T16:40:54Z")
Richard Nixon’s last days comes to mind.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [August 22, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/18 "2015-08-22T18:06:41Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#):
>
> Yeah, when I saw the thread title on the forum page, my first thought was:
>
> Lincoln: got shot.
> Garfield: got shot.
> McKinley: got shot.
> Kennedy: got shot.
> William Henry Harrison: died of pneumonia.
> Zachary Taylor: died of gastroenteritis.
> Warren Harding: died of heart attack.
> FDR: died of cerebral hemorrhage.
However, these don’t fit the actual situation indicated in the OP: post-election, pre-inauguration. It’s clear the OP is asking about transitions other than those caused by death or resignation.
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2015, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/19 "2015-08-23T10:29:28Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#):
>
> And nobody got hurt.
No _white_ people, you mean?
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### Author:  [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)
#### Post date: [August 23, 2015, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-crisis-to-happen-in-a-presidents-last-days/728458/20 "2015-08-23T12:13:46Z")
There was also the Iran hostage crisis at the end of Carter’s term.
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