So yesterday I learned something when reading a friend’s blog... this man named David Rice Atchison actually served as president for one day. Never heard of him you say? Well neither had I so I had to look into the story of this man and his one day claim to fame.
However there is some dispute over this claim
It starts in 1849, James K. Polk is leaving office and Zachary Taylor and his running mate Millard Fillmore were the incoming president and vice president. However his offical Inauguration day fell on a Sunday and Zachary Taylor wanted to keep the Sabbath holy and thus refused to be inaugurated on Sunday. So on that Sunday there was no one officially sworn in as president as Polk's term was up.
So why claim that Atchison was president? well he was president pro temperate of the senate which is the spot 3rd in line, so in claiming that Taylor and Fillmore weren't sworn in some say he was president.
However, this can be debated... for one there is no rule saying that the president has to be sworn in before he assumes the position. If one wanted to make the argument that he was in fact sworn in a few moments before Taylor anyway the claim could be made... but then we would have to consider every single vice president was president for at least a few minutes as they are also all sworn in right before the president.
So what did Atchison do on the day he may or may not have been president? He claims that he spent most of the day (March, 4th 1849) sleeping after spending long hours working the few nights before... so I guess it was a boring tenure.. I would have at least tried to do something exciting but that’s why no one will ever let me be president for a day :P though he did claim that his presidency was the "most honest administration this country ever had.
Anyway you make the call as to if you think he has a claim or not... I'll lean towards no.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Atchison_David_Rice_-_Plattsburg_MO_3.jpg
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