TLS as president, one page, 8 x 10.25, White House letterhead, December 7, 1948. Letter to a student in Michigan. In part: “I think you are right, Helen, about my being President. If you will look at the Constitution of the United States (Section 5, Article II), you will find that when a President dies, the powers and duties of his office ‘devolve on the Vice President.’ This certainly makes the incoming man the President in fact, since he must assume all the powers and duties of the Presidential office.
The question raised by your teacher, as to the title of the new holder of the office, came up in Congress 107 years ago, and the House of Representatives decided that a Vice President succeeding to the Presidency should be called ‘the President.’…President William Henry Harrison had died and Vice President Tyler had taken his place. This was the first time such a thing had happened in our history. When the House of Representatives met on May 31, 1841, Mr. Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, proposed that a committee of the House join a similar committee of the Senate ‘to wait on the President of the United States and inform him that the quorums of the two Houses have assembled.’ Mr. John McKeon, of New York, moved to change the word ‘President’ to ‘Vice President now exercising the duties of the President.’ After a debate, Mr. McKeon’s motion was defeated and language suggested by Mr. Wise agreed to. This established a precedent which has been followed ever since. That is, a Vice President who takes the place of a Chief Executive who has died becomes ‘the President.’” In fine condition, with a uniform shade of mild toning. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Truman became the seventh Vice President to assume office upon the death of a president, taking office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945. A letter boasting superb content, explaining the progression of the title of president started by John Tyler over a century earlier. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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