Explaining Tecumseh's Curse

During the battle of Tippecanoe, general William Henry Harrison defeated the natives and more specifically Tecumseh. This earned Harrison the title "Tippecanoe" which he'd use in his presidential slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler too!" Anyway, back to the battle Tecumseh's younger brother and leader of the tribe Tenskwatawa supposedly cursed the title of American President. The curse was specific in its qualification basically any president elected in a year ending in zero and in a 20-year increment would die in office. Election day! 1840 Whig candidate William Henry Harrison defeated incumbent president Democrat Martin Van Buren. During his inaugural address, (the longest in history at two hours) Harrison wore no coat, gloves, scarf, or hat on a particularly chilly day. Upon taking office on March fourth of 1841 he died exactly one month later on April fourth,1841.

I mention his inaugural address because since he died the number one theory as to how was: he got Pneumonia because it was cold, and he wasn't properly dressed. But once you actually start taking a look at his month in office you realize this theory doesn't work. Well, yes, he did die of Pneumonia (that's the official cause of death anyway [but then again doctors in 1841 weren't known for being the best]) He didn't start developing symptoms until one week into his presidency, when symptoms typically show up one to three days upon getting Pneumonia.

The next person to fall victim to Tecumseh's Curse was Abraham Lincoln. Elected in 1860 he lived throughout his first term, but on April 15th, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head, he died the next day. Then in 1880 Republican candidate James A. Garfield won the presidential election. In July of 1881 Charles Guiteau Shot Garfield he died two months later in September, oddly enough he likely would have survived had the doctors not used unsterilized gloves and tools which gave him an infection.

Winning in 1896 and then again in 1900 William McKinley would become the fourth victim to the curse. On September 6, 1901, Leon Czolgosz shot McKinley twice in the abdomen, he died on the 14th similarly from an infection. Three assassinations in a row time for something new.

Warren G. Harding. On August 2nd, 1923, Harding suddenly died of a heart attack, 3 years into office. Next on the chopping block: Franklin D. Roosevelt. Dying of a cerebral hemorrhage at the start of his fourth term. Winning the 1940 election for his third term he made himself eligible for the curse, he died April 2nd, 1945. The 1960 election John F. Kennedy wins the election and on November 22nd, 1963, he's shot by Lee Harvey Oswald.

Ronald Reagan won the 1980 election and is shot in 1981, but he survives! Ronald Reagan broke the Curse, or did he? Was the curse every really real? Three points poke some major holes into this theory

Point 1: What About Zachary Taylor's Death?

Zachary Taylor won the 1848 election, took office in 1849 and died in 1850. He is the only president to die in office that isn't part of the curse, it's weird when you think about it, he's the only one that doesn't fit.

Point 2: Lincoln and McKinley Died in Their Second Term

Almost every president who fell victim to the curse died in their first term Harrison, Garfield, Harding, and Kennedy all died in their first term the only other one was Roosevelt, who we'll get to

Point 3: Roosevelt Only Was Eligible From his Third Term and Died in His Fourth

For Roosevelt's first and second terms he was elected in a year ineligible for the curse and only in his third term did he become eligible which is odd when you think about it

Either way the Curse of Tippecanoe is a fun bit of presidential history hope you enjoyed my explanation

See ya!