Inauguration of Zachary Taylor

Presidential Inauguration of Zachary Taylor
Date March 5, 1849 (1849-03-05)
Location Washington, D.C.
United States Capitol
Participants Zachary Taylor

The inauguration of Zachary Taylor as the 12th President of the United States took place on Monday, March 5, 1849 due to March 4 being on a Sunday. The inauguration marked the commencement of the only four-year term of Zachary Taylor as President and Millard Fillmore as Vice President. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. The day of the inauguration started off being cloudy with snow flurries, turning to heavy snow during the Inaugural balls (three of which were held).[1]

The "presidency" of David Rice Atchison

President-Elect Taylor refused to take the oath of office on the Sabbath, so at noon on March 4, 1849, both President Polk and Vice President George Dallas ceased to hold their offices and without an inauguration, the executive branch was officially empty. To fill the possible gap, it was suggested that the outgoing President pro tempore of the Senate, David Rice Atchison, who at the time was third in line, would become president during the alleged vacancies. Friends joshingly pestered him for ambassadorships and cabinet positions, and he gleefully refused.

Whether or not Atchison was actually President or not has been a subject of debate ever since.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "President Zachary Tyler, 1849". Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Retrieved 2009-01-23.

External links

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