Acting President of the United States On April 4, 1841, only one month after his inauguration, President William Henry Harrison died. He was the first U.S. president to die in office. Afterward, a constitutional crisis ensued over the Constitution's ambiguous presidential succession provision (). Shortly after Harrison's death, his Cabinet met and decided that Vice President John Tyler would assume the responsibilities of presidency under the title "Vice-President acting President". Instead of accepting the Cabinet's proposed title, however, Tyler asserted that the Constitution gave him full and unqualified powers of the office and had himself sworn in immediately as President, setting a critical precedent for an
Oath of office of the Vice President of the United States deteriorating health, a bill signed on March 3, 1853, the last day of the 32nd United States Congress, allowed for the oath to be administered to him as he rested in Cuba. Entries in the above list with an asterisk indicate the official legal oath of office for terms of office that began on Sunday instead of the public ceremonial swearing-in the following day. Oath of office of the Vice President of the United States The oath of office of the Vice President of the United States is the oath or affirmation that the Vice President of the United States