William Henry Harrisonâ??s term in office proved the shortest of any president. Harrison came from a distinguished Virginia family, was well educated, and served in numerous political offices before his election to the presidency. After being cast as something of a frontier bumpkin during the 1840 campaign, he felt he had to show his erudition in his inaugural, so he penned one of the longest addresses on record. It would have been longer, but Daniel Webster got his hands on a draft and, as he famously joked, â??killed 17 Roman proconsuls.â?
Unfortunately, Webster did not cut enough. Harrisonâ??s speech in the midst of a cold March morning spelt his undoing. Harrison developed pneumonia days after the speech and died 30 days after his inauguration. His death meant that for the first time in the countryâ??s history, the Constitutionâ??s clause that mandated the Vice President fill the role of President had to be exercised.
John Tyler, a Virginian, was Harrisonâ??s running mate. Tyler had been a Democrat but left the party after growing disillusioned with Jackson. A states-rights Whig and proud Southerner, Whig party leaders hoped his geographic affinities and ideological bent could temper Southernerâ??s impression that the Whigs were a Northern, mercantile, and exclusivist party. No one expected that he might one day serve as President.
Read Full Article »