Harrisons health grew worse. Late in March 1841, he developed pneumonia. Doctors did everything they could to cure him. But nothing seemed to help. On April 4, exactly one month after he became president, William Henry Harrison died.
Vice President John Tyler was then at his home in Williamsburg, Virginia. Daniel Webster, the new secretary of state, sent his son on horseback to tell Tyler of the presidents death.
The vice president was shocked. He had not even known that Harrison was sick. Two hours after he received the news, Tyler was on his way to Washington.
There was some question about Tylers official duties. Harrisons death marked the first time that a president had died in office. No one was sure what the Constitution meant when it said that the powers of a deceased president should go to the vice president.
Eventually, Tyler, Webster and other cabinet members decided that Tyler should be president and serve until the next election.
That was a very controversial claim. Because people said no, hes not the president, hes an acting president. Hes just temporarily filling the office, but hes not president.
Historian Michael Holt taught at the University of Virginia. He says although not everyone supported John Tylers claim, he set an important example. He showed how power could transfer peacefully to the vice president after a U.S. president died in office.
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