Many Presidents Have Died Early In Term—President Palin
When a President has died in office, many times it has been quite early in his term. This has often made a big difference in American history.
The first President to die in office, William Henry Harrison, expired just a month into his term. Harrison died in 1841. President Harrison, at 68 then the oldest President to to have held office, was a Whig. His Vice President, John Tyler, was a representative of the Southern planter class picked to help balance the ticket and not in full agreement with the Whig mainstream. As President, Tyler pursued policies, such as vetoing of a national bank, that greatly distressed Whig leaders such as Henry Clay.
President Zachary Taylor passed on in 1850 after serving just 17 months of his term. He was succeeded by Millard Filmore.
Abe Lincoln’s (above) 1865 assassination occurred just a month into his second term. His Vice President, Andrew Johnson (below), who had not been Lincoln’s first term VP, had very different views than Lincoln on Reconstruction, and how the South and Southerners should be handled after the Civil War.
Here is a stark difference between the person elected President and the person elected Vice President. The United States got one month of a great President and just under four years of a terrible one. And black folks got a century of Jim Crow.
James Garfield was shot in the first year of his term in 1881 and died a few months later. Garfield’s successor, Chester Arthur, might well have been an improvement. President Arthur sought Civil Service reform and was surprisingly independent despite a reputation as a machine politician.
William McKinley was shot and killed in the first year of his second term in 1901. McKinley’s Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, who like Andrew Johnson had not been the first term VP, was a very different man than McKinley.
Franklin Roosevelt was shot at in 1933 in the time between his election and inauguration. Roosevelt’s Vice President-elect, John Nance Garner was far more conservative than F.D.R. There might never have been a New Deal if Garner had become President instead of Roosevelt.
Roosevelt would later die in the first weeks of his fourth term. Vice President Harry Truman, who had not been VP in the first three F.D.R terms, took over the White House and did a pretty good job.
Also, Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously wounded in his first year as President in 1981.
Let’s say you are less than a hardcore Republican, yet are still considering voting for 72-year-old John McCain. American history shows us that you may feel you’re voting for Mr. McCain, but that what you really may get is President Sarah Palin.
I like how you placed Andrew Johnson’s disgruntled face under President Palin’s name.
Robin—That was an accident though I guess I would seem more clever if I said I knew what I was doing there.
Thank you for your nice comment and thanks for reading WTO?
“you may feel you’re voting for Mr. McCain, but that what you really may get is President Sarah Palin.”
That’s what I’m hoping for!
HP -
McCain is 72. He won’t reveal his medical history. Sarah Palin is a nobody. If you are talking about scary, think about President Sarah Palin. Damn.
Thanks for your comments.
Senator McCain may be 72 yrs. old but that means nothing in terms of how long he may live. Look at how well his mother is doing and she is in her 90’s. If we really stop long enough and lister to what he has to say we may even learn something. Sarah Palin is great too!
Joyce–Thank you for your comment.
At core, regardless of age, both Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin are poor candidates. I do not feel I will learn form either and, for better or worse, I have listened to both.