Have you ever heard of William King?
I bet you haven’t, and never knew that he was a vice president of the United States. But that isn’t what made him famous.
His fame comes from four things.
- He is the only Vice President or President to take the oath of office on foreign soil. He was inaugurated in Havana in Cuba where he was recuperating.
- Then he didn’t recuperate, as 45 days later he died of tuberculosis!
- He was never in the chamber as Vice President
- The only vice president to come from Alabama
So, who was William King?
His full name was William Rufus DeVane King, and he was a Democrat. As a democrat he was actually considered a moderate on things such as sectionalism, slavery and westward expansion.
Have you ever heard of sectionalism?
Well, in the early days of the United States there was a regular dispute between where your priorities lay, to your country or your region. Sectionalism was used to described those who had an inflated devotion to the interests of their region as opposed to the country as a whole. https://www.britannica.com/topic/sectionalism
His political career
He first got involved in North Carolina where he served in their House of Commons from 1807 to 1809, and he became city solicitor of Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1810.
Then he was elected to the Twelfth Congress of the United States House of Representatives in March 1811, but there was a problem. King was only 24 years old but to serve in the House of Representatives the constitution stated you had to be 25 years old. Fortunately for him the Twelfth Congress did not assemble until November 4, 1811, by then he was 25!
Some years later he resigned to go into the foreign service, which he did for a few years, returning to join the delegation that organised the Alabama state government. Then, when Alabama became the twenty-second state in 1819, he was elected to the United States Senate.
Elected Vice-Presidential Candidate
In June 1852 the Democratic Party held its national convention in Baltimore, Maryland, and chose Franklin Pierce as their Presidential candidate. Then the Maine delegation proposed that the vice-presidential candidate should come from the Southern States and King was chosen.
In November 1852 Franklin Pierce won the election, so King was the Vice President elect.
Now things get complicated.
A problem then appeared. Unfortunately, King became ill with tuberculosis. Therefore, in the hopes that warmer weather would help his recovery he went to Cuba, unfortunately it didn’t, well not quickly enough. He then realised that he was too sick to get back to Washington, D.C to take his oath of office. The American Constitution didn’t allow this, therefore they had to pass an Act of Congress before he could take the Oath of Office.
Then on March 24, 1853, King took his oath of office near Matanzas, Cuba, a seaport town 60 miles east of Havana. Now, he was so ill he couldn’t stand without help, but he did repeat the oath, so, he became America’s 13th vice president.
Within a month, determined to return to the United States, he set sail to return to his Alabama estate. Unfortunately, on the day after his arrival, April 18, 1853, he died.
He never presided over a session of Congress as vice president. Even though he did when President Zachary Taylor died in 1850, then he acted as President pro tempore of the Senate. So, he did preside over Congress but never as Vice President.
As a result, after his death they didn’t have another Vice President for the United States for nearly four years.
Isn’t history fun?
10 questions to discuss:
- Who was William Rufus DeVane King, and why is he remembered in American history?
- What unique distinction does William King hold regarding his inauguration as Vice President?
- How did William King’s political career evolve from his early days in North Carolina to becoming Vice President?
- What were the circumstances that led to William King’s election as Vice President?
- Why did William King’s inauguration as Vice President face challenges, and how were they addressed?
- Despite his illness, what steps did William King take to fulfill his duties as Vice President?
- Can you explain William King’s role during President Zachary Taylor’s presidency?
- What impact did William King’s death have on the American government, particularly in terms of the Vice Presidency?
- How did William King’s stance on sectionalism and other political issues influence his career?
- What legacy, if any, did William King leave behind in American politics beyond his brief tenure as Vice President?
To learn more go to:
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/william-r-king-6495.php
https://www.alabamalegacy.org/william-rufus-king/
© Tony Dalton