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Re: papers of unelected presidents



According to the book "Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb," co-authored by Brian
Lamb of CSPAN-fame, some historians (as usual) dispute whether Atchison
officially served.  I think the argument is that he resigned the post of
president pro tem prior to Polk leaving office.  Either way, it is a
interesting piece of presidential history.  Taylor was very religious and
refused to be inaugurated on a Sunday.

V

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Ravnitzky [mailto:mikerav@IX.NETCOM.COM]
Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2000 8:04 AM
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: papers of unelected presidents


T Michael Womack <twom@LOC.GOV> wrote:

> ...Perhaps, in future, you should be more precise in defining your
> subject.  The only unelected president in United States history was
> Gerald R. Ford....

> T. Michael Womack
> Manuscript Division
> Library of Congress

I respectfully disagree with Mr. Womack.

David Rice Atchison served as an unelected president of the United States on
and around Sunday, March 4th, 1849, after James K. Polk and after Zachary
Taylor, as a result of an inauguration gap.  An excellent chapter on
Atchison's presidency can be found in the book titled David Rice Atchison,
Border Politician by William E. Parrish (1961, University of Missouri Press,
pages 81-85).

Seven other individuals served as Presidents of the United States under the
Articles of Confederation from 1781 to 1789, and while they were elected by
Congress, they were not popularly elected as we understand it today.

According to one standard reference, John Hanson served in that office from
November 5, 1781 until November 3, 1782.  Six other presidents were elected
after him - Elias Boudinot (1783), Thomas Mifflin (1784), Richard Henry Lee
(1785), Nathan Gorman (1786), Arthur St. Clair (1787), and Cyrus Griffin
(1788) - all prior to Washington taking office.

Michael Ravnitzky
mikerav@ix.netcom.com

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