Succession

believed two terms were enough for any president. Every person who took office after him adhered to what was then an unwritten rule about the position until Franklin Roosevelt in three each president only served at most two terms before vacating the office. Roosevelt famously won four elections, serving longer than any president before or since. Sadly, he passed away in nineteen forty five. Not long after his fourth term began.

In nineteen forty seven, the twenty second Amendment was ratified, stating a president could not be elected to office more than twice. Not every president made it to the end of their second term, though Abraham Lincoln, for example, was the first president to be assassinated while in office, and some didn't even reach the end of their first term. William Henry Harrison lasted only a month into his presidency before dying of typhoid pneumonia in April of eighteen forty one.

History books claim his was the shortest term on record, but was it David Rice Atchison might have disagreed. Atchison was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in eighteen oh seven. He grew up a staunch supporter of slavery and eventually the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He wasn't always a political animal, though. Atchison got his start as a lawyer in Missouri. He ran his own practice and gained fame for representing Mormon founder Joseph Smith in a number of

land dispute cases. Atjison, though had grander plans for himself. He rose through the political ranks, first in the Missouri House of Representatives, then as a circuit court judge. In eighteen forty three, he became the youngest U S Senator to ever hail from the state of Missouri. Atchison was so well liked by his party that they elected him in eighteen forty five as President pro temporary. It meant that in the event, the elected president and vice president

could no longer serve the duties of their office. He would have been the third in line to assume the role. He was thirty eight at the time. For the next several years, he served as President pro temporary without incidents, from John Taylor to James K. Polk. The former lawyer from Missouri, carried out his job in the Senate, never believing that he would ever ascend the highest office in the country until something strange happened in eighteen forty nine.

You see, before the twentieth Amendment of the Constitution was ratified in the nineteen thirties, presidential terms began at noon sharp on March fourth, rather than on January as they are today. On that day, at that time, the previous administration was automatically stripped of all its power, and the

new administration assumed those responsibilities. In eighteen forty nine, though inauguration day happened to fall on a Sunday, Zachary Taylor had just been elected as the twelfth President of the United States, but refused to be sworn into office on

the Sabbath. Instead, he waited until the following day, March five, which meant that the position of President of the United States would be vacant for twenty four hours, not if you were David Rice Atchison, though with the presidency and vice presidency both empty, that left Atchison as next in line to assume the title. He was President pro temporary after all. Historians today claimed that there was no way

Atchison could have been considered presidents. He was never sworn in, and his position as President pro temporary ended the same day as Polk's administration, even though he was re elected to the same role once Taylor took office. Anyway, Atchison didn't sign any executive orders or influence any foreign policy. Any decisions he might have made would have been challenged and likely undone by other governing bodies. Anyway, the way experts see it, Taylor was president even before he was

sworn in. At worst, the country lacked a sitting president for twenty four hours. Still, it doesn't really matter what historians have to say about the matter. Atchison got the last word. It says so right on his grave marker in Plattsburg, Missouri. David Rice Atchison President of the United States for one day. When the people are dissatisfied with

their elected officials, they have one of two options. They can either vote them out or revolt, but a group of seventeenth century Dutch citizens managed to come up with a creative third option. The Dutch Republic during this time was an educational and artistic utopia. It also had an army more skilled and powerful than almost any other in Europe. The republic was presided over by two government divisions, the first of which was the House of Orange, led by

William the second. The other was the Office of the Grand Pensionary, headed by Johan DeWitt. Johan and his brother Cornelius were highly educated aristocrats with grand dreams for the future of the Netherlands. Johan in particular was a master of political manipulation. He had been elected as the Grand Pensionary and oversaw the Dutch Republic mainly Holland. Though the people were technically ruled by the House of Orange, it was de Witt who pulled the strings behind the scenes.

He was a man of the republic and constantly at odds with the monarchy, believing that the power they held should have been transferred to the Dutch leaders instead. DeWitt's interests were primarily centered on the shipping and trading economies of Holland, which affected and involved the upper class from where he had come, not like the more middle class focused House of Orange. Meanwhile, William the Second was elected

as Governor of the Netherlands in sixteen forty seven. He held the title for three years until his death in sixteen fifty Just over a week after his passing, his wife gave birth to an heir, William the third. DeWitt immediately saw a problem that needed fixing. The people admired the House of Orange. They encouraged the monarchy to elect the infant William the Third as governor with the help of a regent until he came of age. DeWitt wanted to keep the power away from the family by any

means necessary. Now Coincidentally, at the same time, the Dutch and the English Commonwealth were engaged in war. England had just liberated itself from King Charles the First by liberating the king from his head. DeWitt saw a way to make peace with England while also keeping William the Third from becoming governor. He penned a treaty between the two nations called the Treaty of Westminster, which had a clause buried inside it that prohibited William the Third from being

elected governor. The leader of the English Commonwealth, a man named Oliver Cromwell, insisted on this clause, seeing as how William the Third was also Charles the First grandson and could be a problem for all of them. Later on the documents was signed. What DeWitt didn't know was that he had also sealed his fate. He worked hard over the next several years to have the position of governor

wiped out. His power and influence grew, as did his party. Unfortunately, DeWitt's previous political moves came back to haunt him in sixteen seventy two. That year, the Dutch Republic found itself under attack from France and England. The Republic fell and the Orangists took control. And wouldn't you know it, but William the Third took over as governor anyway, despite DeWitt's maneuvering. After a failed attempt on his life, de Witt resigned

as Grand Pensionary. His brother Cornelius was arrested by Williams forces and sentenced to exile. Before Cornelius was sent out of the country, his brother Johan DeWitt wanted to see him one last time. He was on his way to the jail where they were keeping him. When an angry mob appeared. They wanted the soldiers to arrest Johan as well. Instead, the guards sort of left and the mob took matters

into their own hands. They dragged Johan and Cornelius out into the open, shot them, and then strung their bodies up in front of everyone. However, the brother's story doesn't end there. The mob wasn't satisfied with only killing them. They felt the two men deserved worse, so a few members of the mob removed and eight parts of their bodies. And amazingly, even after such a public display of violence, none of the participants were ever prosecuted for their crimes,

including the cannibalism. In fact, William the Third made sure that they were all let off. It wasn't the most civilized way to punish elected officials, I know, but it certainly left the crowd feeling happy and more than a little full. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast

dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manky in partnership with how Stuff Works, I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show and you can learn all about it over at the World of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious. Ye