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Presidential tragedies
The stories of Abe Lincoln's and John Kennedy's assassinations are legend.
However, they are only two of the tragedies to strike the residents of the White
House.
The first tragedy to cast a black shadow over the White House happened to Andrew
Jackson after his election, but before his inauguration. Jackson's marriage was
an unusual affair. To make a long story short, his wife thought she had obtained
a legal divorce from her first husband and married Jackson. However, the divorce
was not legal, and she was technically a bigamist. The situation was taken care
of; however, Jackson's opponents used this as political mudslinging. After he
had won the election, Jackson thought the taunts would stop, but they did not.
Mrs. Jackson died a few months before Jackson was inaugurated, and he was sure
it was due to his critics' harsh words.
Franklin Pierce also suffered a pre-inauguration tragedy. His wife, Jane, was
against Pierce's involvement in politics, so much so, that he was afraid to tell
her that he had been elected president. Relunctantly, Jane and their only child,
Bennie, boarded the train for Washington and the inauguration. During the trip,
the train wrecked, killing young Bennie. Jane Pierce remained in her suite of
rooms during the entire Pierce administration, and the White House spent four
years in mourning.
William Henry Harrison has the distinction of being the oldest elected president,
serving the shortest term, giving the longest inaugural address, and the first
president to die while within office. He gave his long speech in frigid, snowy
weather, refusing to wear a coat. He caught pneumonia and died thirty days later,
which ascended John Tyler to the presidency and the moniker "Your Accidency."
Tyler also saw his share of tragedy during his accidental term. First, his wife
passed away early in his administration. Later, as he was trying to win the heart
of 19-year-old Julia Gardener, he invited Julia and her father to join the Presidential
party on a battleship that was floating on the Potomac. A cannon backfired, killing
Mr. Gardener.
Two presidential deaths were shrouded by rumors of murder. Zachary Taylor's death
was rumored to have been caused by poisoned cherries, while Warren Harding's sudden
death was rumored to be caused by poison poured into his drink by his wife. Both
of the poisoning charges have since been disclaimed (Taylor's body had been exhumed
for testing), still there is no conclusive evidence on what caused these deaths.
Calvin Coolidge, who succeeded Harding into the presidency, saw tragedy hit his
family. His teenaged son was playing tennis and developed a blister on his toe.
The blister went untreated, became infected, and eventually turned to blood poisoning,
which killed him.
Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated. The same fate also befell
James Garfield and William McKinley, as well as John Kennedy.
Lincoln and Kennedy also lost children during their tenure as president.
The White House and the Presidency may be an enchanting life, but it has had its
share of tragedies.
Written by Sue Poremba
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