Though Harrison’s famed campaign slogan—“Tippecanoe and Tyler Too”—framed the vice president almost as an afterthought, Tyler had in fact been preparing for such a moment his entire life. He had been a stellar student at the College of William and Mary, graduating with honors. Elected to the Virginia legislature at the age of twenty-one, he launched an impressive political career in which he served as governor, congressman, U.S. senator, and vice president. He had faced many hard-fought elections and challenging policy debates. He was therefore unafraid of what awaited him on that early spring day when he prepared to take the Oath of Office.
But he didn’t take the administration of that oath for granted. Tyler’s first move was to summon the four members of Harrison’s cabinet who were presently in the city for a noon meeting at the hotel. When they arrived, the new president took the Oath of Office, which was administered by a Washington judge. Article II, Section 1, paragraph 6 of the U.S. Constitution states, “In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President.” Left unclear was whether this statement meant the “powers and duties” of the presidency devolved on the vice president or “the said office” itself devolved on the president, or whether there was even any difference. Tyler made no such distinction. He interpreted the Constitution to mean that he had inherited the office of president once Harrison had died, which, of course, meant that he could now exercise the powers and assume the duties of the presidency. In other words, he would not be acting president, but the president. He recognized that taking the oath solidified his position.
Certification that the presidential oath was administered to John Tyler by William Cranch, chief judge of the U.S. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia
John Tyler made history on April 6, 1841. And even though his situation was and will always be unprecedented, he also left us with a lesson worth preserving for future generations: ambiguity demands decisive leadership.