JOHN TYLER SWORN-IN AS TENTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 6, 1841, John Tyler was sworn-in at Brown's Indian Queen Hotel* here in the Nation's Capital and became the 10th President of the United States.
Mr. Tyler, the first VPOTUS to assume the office of the presidency, replaced President William Henry Harrison who, after serving just one month in office, died two days earlier.
The oath of office was administered by William Cranch**, Chief Judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. President Tyler returned to his home in Williamsburg immediate following the ceremony.
Although ridiculed by political opponents as "His Accidency," Tyler's claim to the presidency was upheld over the next seven presidential deaths until confirmed by the 25th amendment to the United States Constitution.
William Freehling writes...
"By claiming the right to a fully...empowered Presidency...Tyler set a hugely important precedent."
*BIQH was located at 6th & Pennsylvania Avenue & sported a sign with the image of Pocohontas giving the hotel its name. The hotel was razed in 1935.
**William Cranch (1769-1855) was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts. His mother was Abigail Adams' sister. WC graduated Harvard 1787 & served as Chief Judge of the USCCDC 1806-1855.
SOURCES
"Brown's Indian Queen Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue," Ghosts of DC, February 21, 2014, www.ghostsofdc.org/
"John Tyler: Impact and Legacy," by William Freehling, University of Virginia, Miller Center, www.millercenter.org/
