August 18, 2020 • 9 mins
Some people make history for the most troubling deeds, while others reach the top, only to be forgotten. Today's tour will introduce you to one of each.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Menkey's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is
full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book,
all of these amazing tales are right there on display,
just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet
(00:27):
of Curiosities. After his second term in office, in President
George Washington refused to run for a third term. He
believed two terms were enough for any president. Every person
(00:47):
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.
(01:11):
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
(01:34):
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
(01:57):
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
(02:18):
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.
(02:38):
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.
(02:59):
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
(03:21):
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
(03:44):
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
(04:04):
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
(04:25):
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
(04:58):
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.
(05:19):
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
(05:40):
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
(06:03):
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
(06:27):
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
(06:51):
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
(07:11):
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
(07:33):
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
(07:55):
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
(08:15):
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
(08:36):
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
(08:58):
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,
(09:19):
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
(09:40):
next time, stay curious. Ye
Welcome to Aaron Menkey's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
I Heart Radio and Grim and Mild. Our world is
full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book,
all of these amazing tales are right there on display,
just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet
(00:27):
of Curiosities. After his second term in office, in President
George Washington refused to run for a third term. He
believed two terms were enough for any president. Every person
(00:47):
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.
(01:11):
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
(01:34):
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
(01:57):
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
(02:18):
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.
(02:38):
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.
(02:59):
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
(03:21):
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
(03:44):
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
(04:04):
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
(04:25):
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
(04:58):
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.
(05:19):
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
(05:40):
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
(06:03):
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
(06:27):
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
(06:51):
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
(07:11):
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
(07:33):
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
(07:55):
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
(08:15):
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
(08:36):
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
(08:58):
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,
(09:19):
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
(09:40):
next time, stay curious. Ye
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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