WI: John Tyler died during the Peacemaker Accident

Early in 1844, John Tyler was aboard the USS Princeton to view a demonstration of the on board Peacemaker gun's power. Following the presentation the gun was reloaded for an encore shot, except the barrel exploded. Several people were killed in the blast, including Tyler's Secretaries of State and the Navy but Tyler himself was safely below deck. What if Tyler had been caught in the blast? The precedent that the Vice President would take over the Presidency if the President died had been set by Tyler a few years early when Harrison had died in 1841. Tyler never got around to appointing a VP, so House Speaker John Jones would be next up according to our modern understanding of succession but those ideas were still forming in 1844. Would Jones have been able to seize the office for himself or would the Presidency fall to a power struggle? How does this change the annexation of Texas? Is Polk still able to become president? How does a young America respond to two president's in a row dying?
 
Actually the Presidential Succession Act of 1792 says the president pro tempore of the Senate is next, that's Willie P Mangum.
The Senate President and House Speaker positions were flipped in 1947.

The 1792 act also says a double vacancy means an election in November.
That surprised me, why did it apply to double vacancies and not when Tyler took over?
 

Crazy Boris

Banned
Actually the Presidential Succession Act of 1792 says the president pro tempore of the Senate is next, that's Willie P Mangum.
The Senate President and House Speaker positions were flipped in 1947.

The 1792 act also says a double vacancy means an election in November.
That surprised me, why did it apply to double vacancies and not when Tyler took over?

That’s got me thinking

Would Tyler dying on the Princeton mean that an election would be called since he never had a VP, or would the “double vacancy” thing mean more like, if the President and VP died at the same time?
 
Simple. By law Magnum becomes President. If the accident occurred early enough in 1843 there would have been a special election that year. There was no provision to replace the Vice President in the event of a Presidential death and by law no special election unless the successor President also dies. That's the 'double vacancy'.
 
An actual Whig serving as acting president in an election which, OTL, was super-close? Yeah; I have a hard time seeing Henry Clay not beating James K Polk in this timeline. Assuming a darkhorse like Polk even gets nominated
 
In thinking long term damage, it might also have done more damage to a certain inventor by the name of John Ericsson. I mean even though the gun was designed by his friend Robert Stockton, the only reason Stockton wasn't blamed for the incident was because he put all the blame on Ericsson.
 
Simple. By law Magnum becomes President. If the accident occurred early enough in 1843 there would have been a special election that year. There was no provision to replace the Vice President in the event of a Presidential death and by law no special election unless the successor President also dies. That's the 'double vacancy'.
If Magnum became President in 1844, would the Whigs have tried to run a different candidate that year, or would they commit to running him?
 
Mangum, not Magnum...

Also, fun fact - John Tyler has a grandson that was alive and kicking as of a couple of years ago
 
Mangum, not Magnum...

Also, fun fact - John Tyler has a grandson that was alive and kicking as of a couple of years ago
Now there's a butterfly. This accident happened while he was engaged to his second wife. He dies here and seven people vanish from history, though I can't imagine how they impacted history OTL
 
Now there's a butterfly. This accident happened while he was engaged to his second wife. He dies here and seven people vanish from history, though I can't imagine how they impacted history OTL
You'd get rid of those videos about how he still has living grandchildren. His other children don't seem to have accomplished much, Lyon Tyler seems the most notable he was President of William & Mary and seems to have written a bunch of articles comparing Lincoln to Prussian noblemen (during WWI)
 
Last edited:
Top