Tecumseh's Curse

William Henry Harrison (pictured below) won the presidency in 1840 with the slogan, "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." This refers to his participation in the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. He was seen as a hero when Tecumseh's forces were defeated at this battle. Harrison's presidency never really had a chance to begin. He delivered a very long inaugural address on a cold, windy day. Then he was caught in a rainstorm. He caught a cold which turned for the worse and led to his death. He served as president from March 4 - April 4, 1841. His death would be seen as the first in a long series of what became known as Tecumseh's Curse: Presidents elected in a year ending in a zero would die in office. "'Harrison will win next year to be the Great Chief….... He will die in his office….. I who caused the Sun to darken and Red Men to give up firewater tell you Harrison will die. And after him, every Great Chief chosen every 20 years thereafter will die. And when each one dies, let everyone remember the death of our people."

1860 - Abraham Lincoln was elected as the first person to run from the Republican party. The United States quickly moved into a Civil War which would last from 1861-1865. On April 9th, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant thereby ending the war that tore apart the nation. Only five days later on April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated by Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth.

1880 - James Garfield was elected to the presidency. He took office on March 4, 1881. On July 2, 1881, Charles J. Guiteau shot the President, which eventually led to his death on September 19, 1881. The mentally unbalanced Guiteau was upset because he had been denied a diplomatic post by the Garfield administration. He was eventually hung for his crime in 1882.

1900 - William McKinley was elected to his second term as president, defeating his opponent William Jennings Bryan as he had in 1896. On September 6, 1901, McKinley was shot by Leon F. Czolgosz. McKinley died on September 14th. Czolgosz called himself an anarchist and admitted to killing the president because, "he was the enemy of the people". Czolgoszwas electrocuted in October 1901.

1920 - Warren G. Harding was elected president as a stern response to the Wilson presidency. He is not considered to be among the better presidents to have served. Scandals such as the Teapot Dome and others marred his presidency. On August 2, 1923, Harding was visiting San Francisco on a cross-country Voyage of Understanding to meet people across the nation. He suffered from a stroke and died at the Palace Hotel.

1940 - Franklin Roosevelt was elected to his third term as president. He would be elected again in 1944. His presidency began in the depths of the Great Depression and ended shortly after the fall of Hitler in World War II. He died on April 12, 1945, of a cerebral hemorrhage. Since he was elected during one of his terms in a year that ended with a zero, he is considered part of Tecumseh's curse.

1960 - John F. Kennedy became the youngest elected president. This charismatic leader suffered some highs and lows during his short term of office including the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the creation of the Berlin Wall, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was riding in a motorcade through Dallas and was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald from the sixth floor of the School Book Depository.

1980 - Ronald Reagan became the oldest man to be elected president. He is seen as being an important figure in the breakdown of the former Soviet Union. However, his presidency was tarnished by the Iran-Contra Scandal. On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley attempted to assassinate Reagan in Washington, D.C. Reagan was shot but survived due to quick medical attention. President Reagan is the first to foil Tecumseh's curse and some consider the curse to be broken.