Poll of the Day > We are the mediocre Presidents. You won't find our faces on dollars or on cents.

(+) Yeah! (+)

There's Taylor, there's Tyler, there's Fillmore and there's Hayes,
There's William Henry Harrison.

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I died in 30 days!

Zachary Taylor was a decorated general whose exploits in the Mexican-American War catapulted him into the White House with no prior political experience. He assumed the presidency at a difficult time in the aftermath of the conflict with Mexico and heightened tensions over the expansion of slavery.
A slaveholder himself, Taylor opposed secession and promised strong action against any states that threatened to break away. He had little time to make much headway on the issue, as he fell ill in July 1850 - possibly from contaminated milk or raw cherries - and perished a few days later. He had been president for just 16 months.

John Tyler succeeded the unfortunate William Henry Harrison in April 1841, which essentially gave him an entire term. The accidental president has the historical distinction of being the first vice president to ascend to the presidency in this way. Unfortunately for Tyler, his refusal to compromise with Congress meant precious little got done. His last day in office ended with another first: the override of a presidential veto.
His poor historical reputation was further cemented in 1861, when he sided with the Confederacy and was elected to the Confederate Congress, but passed before he could assume office.

Another accidental president who struggled to be recognized in his own house, Millard Fillmore was very much a filler president. He assumed the presidency after the sudden demise of Zachary Taylor in July 1850 and saw out the rest of his term.
The last Whig president, Fillmore supported the Compromise of 1850 to keep the Civil War at bay for another decade and handled foreign policy pretty well. Passed over by his party for another term, he had another crack at the White House in 1856 as part of the anti-immigration Know Nothing Party, but only won Maryland. His passing in 1874 was barely noticed by the public.

A middle-of-the-road president elected under controversial circumstances, Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote to the Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden. However, neither man had the necessary votes in the Electoral College to win, so they struck a deal for Hayes to become the 19th President of the United States.
In exchange for effectively killing Reconstruction, Hayes saw out a largely forgettable term and declined to seek a second. He might be little remembered by Americans, but his (actually quite limited) role in mediating a border dispute between Paraguay and Argentina means he's something of a hero in the former.

After losing out in the 1836 election, William Henry Harrison, "Old Tippecanoe", ran an imaginative and energetic campaign to win the rematch four years later. After ascending the political mountain, he gave a lengthy inauguration speech in freezing weather, fell ill, and perished. The extreme brevity of his presidency at least guarantees him some degree of historical notoriety.

The doctor said I wouldn't have so many nosebleeds if I just kept my finger out of there.