|
| Parent | Parent |
| Type | Inauguration |
| Title | 15th Presidential Inauguration (Tyler) |
| Start Date/Time | April 04, 1841 12:30am |
| End Date/Time | April 06, 1841 07:00pm |
| Contributor | Chronicler |
| Last Modified | Chronicler - January 21, 2009 06:03pm |
| Description | Overview
William Henry Harrison, the 9th President, died in office just one month after his inauguration. It was the first time that a President had died in office. VP John Tyler became the President, not the acting President, and many precedents were established.
Death of President Harrison
President Harrison's health began to decline in the week prior to his death. While he recovered over the weekend, his health began to slip soon thereafter. Members of the Cabinet were summoned to the White House on 4/3/1841 as the President's life appeared to be slipping away. [The Secretary of the Navy was not in Washington at the time.]
President William Henry Harrison died in the White House at 12:30 a.m. on 4/4/1841, surrounded by family members. Members of the Cabinet were in an adjacent room.
The Cabinet met at 1:00 a.m. on 4/4/1841. With Congress not in session and VP Tyler at his plantation, the Cabinet took three actions. It drafted a statement to the press announcing his death, which ran in the National Intelligencer on 4/5/1841. The Cabinet made some tentative funeral arrangements. Last, they drafted a message to VP Tyler and dispatched Fletcher Webster (son of Daniel Webster and Chief Clerk of the State Department) and Robert Beale (Doorkeeper of the U.S. Senate) to notify him.
Webster and Beale travelled the 230 miles to VP Tyler's home, arriving there at dawn on 4/5/1841 and awakening the President from bed. Tyler called on an acquaintance named Beverley Tucker, who taught law at William and Mary, regarding what his obligations were. At 7:00 a.m., 4/5/1841, Tyler and his son John Tyler IV left home for Washington City (as it was called then). They travelled by horse, steamboat, and then by train to the Capitol.
President John Tyler
VP Tyler and his son arrived in Washington at 5:00 a.m., 4/6/1841. They rented a room in Brown's Hotel and sent word to the Cabinet to prepare to meet with him.
Tyler held his first Cabinet meeting at noon, 4/6/1841. At this time, he informed them that he considered himself to be President of the United States, even though some of them considered him to be acting president until a successor was appointed. Tyler asked each Cabinet member to serve with him.
During the Cabinet meeting, SOS Webster stated that Tyler should take the presidential oath. Tyler believed that was not necessary, but agreed to take it. William Cranch, chief justice of the U.S. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia, was summoned and administered the oath.
In the meantime, the remains of President Harrison laid in state in the East Room of the White House. His funeral took place at 11:30 a.m. on 4/7/1841, a cold and cloudy day. The National Intelligencer reported on 4/9/1841 that every train and steamboat was filled to capacity with well-wishers coming to the funeral. An Episcopal ceremony was held in the White House, attended by a limited number of dignitaries (including the Cabinet and former Pres. JQA). The funeral procession began at the White House. The casket was placed on a special "funeral car" and covered by black velvet. The funeral car was drawn by six white horses. The 2-mile long funeral train was witnessed by hundreds of people lining the street.
When the procession reached the Congressional Burying Grounds, the processions stopped and 30 pall bearers took the casket off the "funeral car," carrying it to a temporary burial site where Harrison's remains would be buried until the spring, when they were disinterred and taken to his home in Ohio for final burial.
President Tyler gave an address to the nation on 4/9/1841. He declared 5/14/1841 to be a day of national mourning and generally introduced himself to the nation. [National Intelligencer, 4/10/1841] |
|
| Start Date |
End Date |
Type |
Title |
Contributor |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
|
