The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-12-26
vice-Presidents as Presidents.
HOW THEY REVERSE THE POLICY OF THOSE
WHOM THEY SUCCEED.

has caused much interesting discussion. The
accession of q Vice President to the presiden-
tial chair has happened but four times in the
history of our government, and is but vaguely
understood 1t is curious fact that no Vice
President has ever filled out his term after his
accession to the presidency with satisfaction
to the party that elected him. Vice Presi-
dents have been elected after serving in the
second office, and have carried out that which
was expected of them, but there seems IA
tality in the accession of vice presidents,
through the instrumentality of death. The
first proof of this was in 1871, when, for the
first time, death removed a President.
William Henry Harrison had been elected,
after most animated campaign, over Martin
Van Buren,. He had been inaugurated but a
month when he was brought to bed by bad
cold contracted while marketing. He linger-
ed nine days only, but his death on April 4
was no surprise. John Tyler, the Vice Pres
ident, was at his home in Williamsburg, Va,
when son of Daniel Webster, the messenger
from the cabinet, made known the death of
Harrison and the vacancy. government
steamer had been sent from Washington, and
the Vice President was in the capital within
forty eight hours. He had notion that he
was qualified for the presidential functions
without renewing the oath originally taken
The cabinet, headed by Webster, met him at
his hotel, and prevailed upon him to defer to
the scruples of the law officers and the pre-
iudices of the people, but he left his protest
on the District records.
Acrid as the political personalities of mod
ern politics are, and rancorous as the hates
with which factions pursue each other, the
TYLER episode is perhaps the most heated in
the history of administrations. He set to
work to defeat every policy dear to the heart
of the opposite faction of his day. He vetoed
cherished measures of his party; he dismissed
all of the cabinet of Harrison save Webster,
but even he was afterwards forced to retire.
The Wings grew indignant over their betrayal,
and in an address to the country declared the
President an impeachment to their work OF re-
form, and repudiated him as the head and as a
member of the party. The President course
had demoralized the Wings, and the fall cleo
tons had gone against them. They had still
a majority of four in the Senate to SIX at the
last session, but their majority of twenty five
in the House had been turned into a Demo
cratic majority of sixty-one.
The new cabinet was made up of men
wholly repugnant to the coalition that noml-
mated Harrison and Tyler, and the split in the
party became final and permanent. Tyler
went daily farther and farther toward the
Democrats until the end of his term, when he
was confessed member of that party. Among
the title of the Vice President succeeding to
the office. The cabinet was of the opinion
he should use the official style ''Vice-Presi-
dent-acting President" On advice from
Justice fancy, Tyler rejected the suggestion,
and. was in name, as well as fact, President
of the United States.
Gen. Zachary Taylor was the second Presi-
dent who died in office. He had been in the
White House a year and a-half when, on the
9th of July, 1850, he exposed himself heed
lessly in the hot sun at the inaugural ceremo-
MES of the Washington monument, went
home, ate copiously of ripe cherries, and upon
these drank cold milk. The effect was almost
instantaneous Five days afterwards he was
corpse. The cabinet caused the notification
to be made to Congress, over which the Vice
he was duly inaugurated July 10, 1850.
As Vice President Mr.. Fillmore had been
persistently snubbed by the opposite or Sew
ard faction of the party. He had asked and
asked in vain for the appointment of collector
and postmaster in his own town of Buffalo,
and his bitterest enemies had been appointed
instead. He made short work of everything
and everybody that had fourished in the
noontide of the defunct administration. Dan
iel Webster was appointed Secretary of State,
FiIlmores law partner, n. X. Hall, of Ruffa-
10, was made Postmaster General, and changes
continued down to the remotest tidewaiter to
vipdioate the new rulers wrath. 1t was the
feud of the stalwartS and half-breeds over
again, only the chance was reversed; it was
the leader of the stalwart wing that died, and
it was the half-breed or silver gray Wing that
came to the presidency. The luminosity
&C dan
tial accessions brought the Democrats to
power at the elections in November, 1852, the
Wings earring only Massachusetts, Vermont,
kentucky and Tennessee. They never re-
covered from the shock, lost their organiza-
ton and never ran another presidential can
didate.
The third Vice President transferred by
death to the presidency was Andrew Johnson.
On the 9th of April, 1865, General Lee sur
rendered to General Grant at Appomattox
Court House the remnant of the Confederate
army, and the great rebellion was practically
ended, On the night of April II, Good
friday 1865, President Lincoln was shot by
John Wilkes Booth, and died on the morning
of the 10th. On the same day Andrew John
son was notified of the event by the cabinet,
save Seward, who was thought to be expiring,
and was sworn in.
tary Governor of Tennessee and had won the
confidence of the military authorities. He
was nominated at Baltimore as Southern
loyalist, but was never very cordially received
by the Republican party. Upon his accession
to the Presidency, his policy did not receive
the support of the Republican party. An an
tagonism therefore sprang up between the ad-
ministratiop and the majority party, which
was tiercer even than that between Tyler and
the Wings, The President, however, forced
his measures as best he could, and carried
with him what was known at the time as the
'samnesty sentiment" of the country, and also
the Democratic sentiment. He was squarely
outside of the party which had elected him
Vice President from the very beginning of his
term as President. At the first session of the
Fortieth Congress the Presidents attitude to
the majority in Congress had become hostile
and defiant, and on the oath of February,
1868. a resolution to impeach him passed the
House by vote of 126 to Z. Articles were
drawn up and passed March 2.
On the 9Th the trial began and lasted till
MAY Is, when a test vote was taken on the
eleventh article, leading one. The result
was For conviction, 80 Senators; for &C
ouittal, 10 Senators, IA of the latter being
Democrats and Republicans. The consti-
tuition recurring a two-thirds vote to convict
the verdict was acquitta on this article. On
MAY rs a vote was had on the first and second
articles with the same result. 1t being evil
dent that conviction could not be had, no
other votes were taken, and the Court of I'm
parchment adjourned sine die. The contest
between the majority in Congress and the
President continued to the end of his term,
when he retired to his native State and re-
united with his old associates of the Demo
GRATIS party.
The fourth and last Vice President trans
ferred by death to the presidency was Chester
A. Arthur. James A. Garfield, who had been
inaugurated President on March A., 1881, was
shot at the Baltimore and Potomac depot,
Washington, on July 2, 1881, by Charles j.
Guiteau The President rallied from the ef-
fects of the shot, fingered hopefully for a long
time, but finally died at EIberon, N. j., Sept.
49, The cabinet at once telegraphed Vice
President Arthur of the death of President
Garfield, and suggested that he take the oath
of office, He did so on September 20, at
New York city, before Judge Brady, and
again at Washington, September p, before
the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Under President Garfield the appointments
from New York gave rise to much feeling in
the stalwart ranks of the Republican party,
which ended in the resignation of the Sena-
tors from that State, May IT, 1881. This was
the date of disastrous division in the Re-
publican party, which led to the ''tidal wave''
of opposition in 1882, 1888 and 1884. Upon