His Accidency

Since the poll of the week is about VPs who became Presidents, I thought I would focus on the first one: John Tyler. Unlike today where we assume that if the President dies, the VP takes his place that was not so in Tyler’s time:
Harrison's demise after only a month in office presented the nation with a potential constitutional crisis. The Constitution of that time contained no Twenty-fifth Amendment to lay out procedures governing the vice president's actions when the chief executive became disabled or when there was a vacancy before the end of the incumbent's term. The document provided only that the "Powers and Duties of the said Office . . . shall devolve on the Vice President . . . [who] shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected." In another section, the Constitution referred to the vice president "when he shall exercise [emphasis added] the Office of President of the United States."

These provisions had occasioned a theoretical discussion between those who believed a person does not have to become president to exercise presidential powers and others who held that the vice president becomes president for the balance of the term.

Tyler’s assumption of the Presidency set the precedent we still follow today:
As the first vice president to succeed to the presidency upon the death of his predecessor, Tyler was determined to transform theory into practice on behalf of the latter view, becoming president in his own right and not "Vice President, acting as President" as Harrison's cabinet was inclined to label him. Secretary of State Webster raised his concern about the constitutional implications of the succession with William Carroll, clerk of the Supreme Court. Carroll conveyed Webster's misgivings to Chief Justice Roger Taney, reporting that the "Cabinet would be pleased to see and confer with you at this most interesting moment." Taney responded with extreme caution, saying that he wished to avoid raising "the suspicion of desiring to intrude into the affairs which belong to another branch of government."

Tyler argued that his vice-presidential oath covered the possibility of having to take over as chief executive and consequently there was no need for him to take the separate presidential oath. The cabinet, major newspapers, and some Tyler advisers disagreed. To remove any doubt, despite his own strong reservations, Tyler agreed to the oath, which was administered on April 6 at Brown's Indian Queen Hotel by Chief Judge William Cranch of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia.

In his first moves as President, Tyler set the stage that he would assume full duties as President, not merely be a figurehead until the next election:
In his first official move, Tyler convened Harrison's cabinet and listened patiently as Secretary of State Daniel Webster advised that it had been Harrison's custom to bring all administrative issues "before the Cabinet, and their settlement was decided by the majority, each member of the Cabinet and the President having but one vote." Choosing his words with care, Tyler responded, "I am the President, and I shall be held responsible for my administration. I shall be pleased to avail myself of your counsel and advice. But I can never consent to being dictated to as to what I shall do or not do. When you think otherwise, your resignations will be accepted."

When Congress reconvened, they argued the point themselves:
As the epithet "His Accidency" grew in popularity, Congress convened on May 31, 1841, for its previously called special session and immediately took up the issue of Tyler's claim to be president in his own right. The question was raised as the House prepared a resolution authorizing a committee to follow the custom of informing the president that "Congress is now ready to receive any communication he may be pleased to make." One member moved to amend the resolution by striking out the word "President" and substituting "Vice President now exercising the office of President." Members more sympathetic to Tyler's reading of the Constitution — and the need to get on with the business of the nation — offered a firm rebuttal, which the House then agreed to.

In the Senate, on the following day, a member posed a hypothetical question as to what would happen if the president were only temporarily disabled and the vice president assumed the office. He envisioned a major struggle at the time the disabled president sought to resume his powers, particularly if he and the vice president were of different parties. Senator John C. Calhoun reminded the Senate that this was not the situation that faced them, rendering further discussion pointless. And what about the Senate's president pro tempore? Should he assume the vice-presidency as the vice president had assumed the presidency? Former President pro tempore George Poindexter urged the incumbent president pro tempore, Samuel Southard, to claim the title. Southard ignored the advice, and the Senate then joined the House in adopting a resolution recognizing Tyler's legitimate claim to the presidency.

There is a lot more information on the site I linked about Tyler’s political career, both as President and before to help you make an informed choice on our poll! You can also research the other choices (or more on Tyler if you like) on our poll by clicking on their name in our subject index (scroll down on the right side - it is called "Labels").

Military History Carnival

Welcome to the Military History Carnival! Thanks to everyone who submitted even though it is summer and I know the outdoors was calling you. I think there are some really interesting posts from this last month on some not-well-known military topics, so make sure to explore those as well as ones on the well-trod topics.

Medieval Wars
A Corner of Tenth-Century Europe talks about Ramon Borrell and his family and their various attacks and defenses (and works on how to turn this into a movie).

I’R GAD gives information on the Welsh Battle of Hirwaun Common.

Africa and War
Walking the Berkshires discusses the “Trail of Bones from Waterberg.”

History is Elementary talks about the forgotten soldiers of World War I – the North Africans.

The US at War
Battlefield Biker discusses Andrew Jackson and the Treaty of Fort Jackson.

The American Presidents’ Blog asks if Lincoln Made a Deal with God during the Civil War.

Blog 4 History reviews Shiloh and the Western Campaigns of 1862.

Rantings of a Civil War Historian goes over the Poor Decisions of Alfred Pleasonton.

World War I
History is Elementary discusses the advent of camouflage in warfare.

Disability Studies, Temple U. quoted a poem written by a foreign correspondent on the horrors of World War I.

Historic Battlefields reviews The Germany Army at Passchadaele.

Plugstreet reports on civilian items found in their trench excavations in Belgium.

Experiences of an English Solider offers up primary source material on the Battle of Messines Ridge.

World War II
Blog Them out of the Stone Age asks “What If France Had Not Fallen in 1940?”

Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub gives links and hints for panoramic images of World War II sites.

Russian military
Providentia gives us an interesting view of the Crimean War with a meeting between Dr. James Barry and Florence Nightingale over war wounded.

You can read about the training techniques of the GRU at Dagger and Cloak.

Now for some side topics for military history buffs:

Google Maps
Investigations of a Dog and GarySmailes give you some tips and ideas on how to use Google Maps for military history.

Museums
The Educational Tour Marm showcases the Kirkland Memorial at Arlington.

Airminded talks about the origins of war games, like Aviation: The Aerial Tactics Game of Attack and Defence, found at London’s Science Museum.

The Blogger will always get through… tells us about the London Cabinet War Rooms.

Dictatorship of the Air takes us on a tour of the Russian Air Force Museum at Monino (this is the last post of a six part series).

Military Humor
The Skwib reports the “Lost Power Point Slides (Armada Edition).”

World History Blog gives tips for American Separatists.

Thanks for taking a beach break to visit us today (or if you are like me, a break from grading)! The next edition of the Military History Carnival will be at the Armchair General on September 16th. You can email submissions to $jim@$armchairgeneral.com$ (minus the $) or use our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found at the blog carnival index page.

Poll: Which of these 19th century Vice-Presidents did the best when he unexpectedly became President?

This is a tough question. Which of these men (Tyler, Fillmore, Johnson, Arthur) was the best when he surprisingly became President? I can make a case for three of the four. I will post the results here in a week when the poll closes.

UPDATE:

This poll has closed and we have a tie between Tyler and Arthur. Johnson and Fillmore ran a distant third and fourth. Tyler established that a Vice-President did become the President when a vacancy in that office happened. Arthur proved to be a top notch reformer of the civil service. I can argue for Johnson too. Maybe he was not a great president but he did keep the Radical Republicans from punishing the south too harshly after the Civil War. His presidency gave people some time to cool off.

Mirrors of Washington

Politics in Washington have always been brutal. Every President of the United States is the worst President ever according to someone. This was true in the 1920s as well. In 1921, an anonymous book was released titled Mirrors of Washington. It skewered many of the political figures of the day including President Harding. It was later revealed that the book was written by Clinton Wallace Gilbert who was a reporter for the New York Evening Post.

A description of the book reads, "The 1920's equivalent of today's bloggers and pundits, Gilbert is opinionated, aggressive, and incisive in his analysis of the inside machinations he observed as a reporter. With its firsthand perspective, The Mirrors of Washington is not only a unique view on the politics of a fascinating era in modern American history but an unusual document of the development of American journalism in the 20th century."

Here is a description of Harding from the book, "As a legislator he had left no mark on legislation. If he had retired from Congress at the end of his term his name would have existed only in the old Congressional directories, like that of a thousand others. As a public speaker he had said nothing that anybody could remember. He had passed through a Great War and left no mark on it. He had shared in a fierce debate upon the peace that followed the war but though you can recall small persons like McCumber and Kellogg and Moses and McCormick in that discussion you do not recall Harding. To be sure he made a speech in that debate which he himself says was a great speech but no newspaper thought fit to publish it because of its quality, or felt impelled to publish it in spite of its quality because it had been made by Harding. "

Here is some commentary on President Wilson, "This debate goes on and on. Mr. Wilson is either the worst hated or the most regretted personality of the Great War. The place of no one else is worth disputing. Lloyd George is the consummate politician, limited by the meanness of his art. Clemenceau is the personification of nationality, limited by the narrowness of his view. Mr. Wilson alone had his hour of superlative greatness when the whole earth listened to him and followed him; an hour which ended with him only dimly aware of his vision and furiously conscious of pin pricks."

This is a fun book to read. Go beyond the chapter on Harding though. Some of the commentary on the other players in Washington at the time is pretty wicked.

Laura and Jenna to Write a Children's Book

Laura and Jenna Bush have announced that they are going to write a children's book:
Set in a school, the book is inspired by the classroom experiences of its authors who are both teachers, according to HarperCollins, a subsidiary of News Corporation....The as yet untitled book, which features a mischievous boy whose teacher helps him discover that reading can be fun, will be published in English and Spanish in the spring of 2008.

The book will also help support education in the US:
When the children's book is published HarperCollins will donate $1 million worth of children's books to schools and public libraries.

The authors' net proceeds and a portion of the publisher's proceeds will go to two national non-profit teacher training and support organizations, Teach for America and the New Teacher Project.

Laura Bush is not the first Presidential wife to publish. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote four books, Julia Grant was the first to write her autobiography (and several more have done so since), and Jackie Kennedy was in publishing.

The Carnival in Coming....

The Military History Carnival will be here on August 16th (that's Thursday!), so please submit any military themed history posts to me! I know it is still summer, but some more submissions would be really great!