John Tyler became President upon the death (by pneumonia) of William Henry Harrison, 31 days after Harrison was sworn in as the 9th President. His decisive action set a precedent that was followed until the Twenty-Fifth Amendment made the succession of the Vice President a part of the Constitution. Tyler had run as the Vice President on the Whig ticket with Harrison, and the Whigs won the election largely because the economic catastrophe brought on by the policies of President Andrew Jackson and the failure of Martin Van Buren--both of the opposing party--to remedy that catastrophe. It is therefore ironic--to the point of being bizarre--that Tyler rejected the policies of the Whig Party regarding the national bank as unconsititutional. His rejection of his party's policies led to his expulsion from the Whig party. The Whig leaders in Congress dubbed Tyler "His Accidency" because he was not elected. As you might expect, the partisan infighting that resulted led to Tyler not getting much done as President, and not running in the election of 1845. Among his other firsts, Tyler has the distinction of being the first President to have his veto of a piece of legislation overridden by Congress.
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