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 Statue of America's Only One-Day President - Plattsburg, Missouri Posted by:  iconions
N 39° 33.967 W 094° 26.825
15S E 375696 N 4380602
This Statue of David Rice Atchison is located in front of the western entrance of the Clinton County Courthouse-207 North Main Street in Plattsburg, Missouri
Waymark Code: WMYA1A
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 05/17/2018
Views: 4
Whatever his talents as a lawyer, statesman, and pro-slavery rabble-rouser, David Rice Atchison will always be known as the guy who was President of the United States for just one day.
It says it right on the plaque beneath his statue: "President of United States One Day."
Atchison served as a U.S. senator from 1843 to 1855. As President pro tempore of the Senate on March 4, 1849, Atchison was shoved into the highest office in the land in a constitutional cusp between James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor. Polk's term had ended, but Taylor refused to be sworn in on a Sunday. That, in theory, left Atchison in charge for 24 hours until the ceremonies could take place.
Some scholars argue that Taylor automatically became President when Polk left office, bypassing Atchison; others say that America simply had no President for a day. But don't tell that to the citizens of Plattsburg! A statue honoring the town's favorite son stands in front of city hall on a high pedestal. It's a typical politician bronze, and even though it was splattered with mustardy yellow stains during our visit, it's clear that Atchison's home town is proud of what he achieved, even if it was accidental and brief.
We will never know what David Rice Atchison might have accomplished with a little more time as Chief Executive. His influence on the Republic during his moment in office was minimal, as he reportedly spent most of his big day asleep.
To the west, the town of Atchison, Kansas promotes itself as home to the world's "Smallest Presidential Library," an exhibit on the controversial claim of the one-day president.
- Roadside America Entry on David Atchison Statue
Artist: Hibbard, Frederick Cleveland, 1881-1950, sculptor.
Chicago Art Bronze Works, founder.
Title: D. R. Atchison, (sculpture).
Other Titles: David Rice Atchison, (sculpture).
Dates: 1928. Dedicated Oct. 27, 1928.
Medium: Figure: bronze; Base: pink granite.
Dimensions: Figure: approx. 7 x 2 1/2 x 2 ft.; Base: approx. 7 x 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 ft.
Inscription: Frederick C. Hibbard Sc. 1928 Chicago Art Bronze Works, Inc. (On plaque, front of base:) DAVID RICE ATCHISON/1807 - 1888/PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES/ONE DAY/LAWYER, STATESMAN AND JURIST/U. S. SENATE 1843 - 1855/---/ERECTED BY STATE OF MISSOURI/MEMORIAL COMMISSION/SENATOR B. T. GORDON, CHAIRMAN/REPRESENTATIVE HUGH M. MARSH/JOSEPH C. BLACK, MEMBER signed Founder's mark appears.
Description: Full-length standing portrait of David Rice Atchison. He portrayed as State Senator and stands with his proper left leg forward, holding a paper or scroll rolled up in his proper right hand. He is wearing a necktie and waistcoat with a long back. The sculpture is mounted atop a rectangular base with a short, wide, stepped bottom.
Subject: Portrait male -- Atchison, David Rice -- Full length
Occupation -- Political -- Senator
Occupation -- Political -- State Congressman
Occupation -- Law -- Lawyer
Occupation -- Law -- Judge
Occupation -- Military -- General
Object -- Written Matter -- Scroll
Object Type: Outdoor Sculpture -- Missouri -- Plattsburg
Sculpture Owner: Administered by Clinton County, West Maple & North Main, Plattsburg, Missouri 64477
Located Clinton County Courthouse, Plattsburg, Missouri
Remarks: The sculpture commemorates David Rice Atchison (1807-1886), and was erected by an act of the Missouri 54th General Assembly. It was dedicated October 27, 1928, by his great-great-nephew and namesake. The Missouri State legislature appropriated $15,000 for the sculpture, and a memorial commission composed of Senator B. T. Gordon, Representative H. M. Marsh, and Hon. Jos. Black, were charged with erecting it. Atchison, who was born and raised in Kentucky, spent the rest of his life in Missouri. He first settled in Liberty, where he was an attorney and Major General of the northern division of the Missouri State Militia, and next in Platte City, where he served as Circuit Judge. He was elected to the Missouri State Legislature in 1834 and in 1838, and served as a United States Senator from Missouri between 1843 and 1855, during which time he acted as President of the Senate.
March 4, 1849, usually Inauguration Day, was a Sunday, so Zachary Taylor, who had been elected President of the United States, was not inaugurated until the next day. Therefore Senator Atchison, as presiding officer of the Senate, was acting President of the United States for one day. Atchison is responsible for the plan to add the "Platte Purchase" to the State of Missouri. Atchison County, because of this, was named in his honor. He was a leader of the pro-slavery party in Kansas after retiring from the Senate, and upon the outbreak of the Civil War, joined the Confederate Army. IAS files contain a transcription of a nearby plaque. IAS files contain a related excerpt from the Plattsburg Sesquicentennial Committee's "Plattsburg Pictoral History," 1983, pg. 76-78, 110, which contains transcripts from The Plattsburg Leader, including a related article dated Nov. 2, 1928, which discusses the dedication.
Condition: Surveyed 1995 November. Treatment needed.
References: Save Outdoor Sculpture, Missouri survey, 1995
Illustration: Image on file.
Plattsburg Sesquicentennial Committee, "Plattsburg Pictoral History," 1983, pg. 76.
Note: The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Repository: Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Control Number: IAS MO000309
- Smithsonian Outdoor Sculpture Inventory Entry on David Atchison Statue
Price of Admission: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
Roadside Attractions Website: [Web Link]
Weekday Hours: Not listed
Weekend Hours: Not listed
Location Website: Not listed
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