Dead Presidents

It’s not that strange of a question at all.  When Presidents are assassinated or die in office, they are definitely remembered more fondly than if they retire quietly and live long lives.  William Henry Harrison was only President for a month when he died in 1841, but his funeral was the biggest outpouring of emotion in the United States for any political leader between Washington and Lincoln with the possible exception of John Quincy Adams in 1848.  Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and JFK were instantly beatified by Americans when they were assassinated despite the fact that Lincoln’s popularity was just beginning to rise at the time of his death, Garfield had only been President for a few months, and JFK’s Presidency was brief and his achievements were widely overrated.  McKinley was probably the most popular and beloved of the assassinated Presidents BEFORE he died, yet he’s probably the least-remembered of the four assassinated Presidents today.  Your example of Harding is a perfect one:  he was one of the worst Presidents in American History and his Administration was crumbling at the time of his death due to the corruption of much of his Cabinet, yet he was also deeply mourned upon his sudden death. 

I think any President who dies in office is remembered more fondly because there’s always that sense of “What if?”.  If Pierce or Taft or Carter had died in office, I’m sure they would have been mourned like Harrison and Taylor and Harding — as leaders who died before their time and could have accomplished so much more.  I don’t think it just goes for Presidents, though.  Look at how we remember celebrities who die young or unexpectedly.  Like I said, there’s always that “What if?” or “What could have been” factor.

With Part Two, there is certainly a shine on JFK’s legacy due to his assassination and early death, but part of his appeal was also due to his youth and the attractiveness of him and his young family.  JFK was the first President born in the 20th Century and his election represented a generational shift in American politics.  With his stirring Inaugural Address, JFK inspired Americans in a way that they were not used to being motivated or led by a President.  So, even had Kennedy not been assassinated, I think that would have been a factor in how he was remembered, although there’s always a chance that a lengthier term would have resulted in JFK spending that capital he had with the American public.  As I’ve written many times, when it comes to JFK’s actual accomplishments, he is an overrated President.  That’s not to downplay his brilliant handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis and his vision for the space program (or the fact that he said out loud that we were going to put a man on the moon, which compelled us to follow through on that goal); but he was not President for very long and he was very cautious in many aspects.