5 March 1849 A.D. Episcopal Churchman, President-Elect Zachary Taylor, Refused Swearing In on LORD’s Day
5 March 1849 A.D. Episcopal Churchman, President-Elect, Zachary Taylor, Refused Swearing In on LORD’s Day Graves, Dan. “Zachary Taylor Refused Sunday Swearing In.” Christianity.com. May 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/zachary-taylor-refused-sunday-swearing-in-11630482.html . Accessed 31 Jul 2014. You may remember that in the popular movie Chariots of Fire Olympic contender Eric Liddell refused to run on Sunday because of his religious convictions. Something like that happened with a United States president, too. Zachary Taylor, an Episcopalian, refused to take the presidential oath of office on a Sunday. This led to a curious situation in which the United States was "without" a president for a day. James K. Polk's term ended on this day, March 4, 1849 , a Sunday. The United States Constitution required of a new president that, "Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall tak...