The Strange Death of President Zachary Taylor: Was It Poison or Cherries?
đź“šWhat You Will Learn
- The real cause of Taylor's rapid decline after a patriotic holiday feast.
- Why poisoning suspicions linked to Civil War tensions don't hold up.
- How outdated medical practices turned a survivable illness deadly.
- Taylor's military heroism and bold anti-secession threats.
đź“ťSummary
ℹ️Quick Facts
- Taylor died after only 16 months in office, the second U.S. president to perish while serving.
- Neutron tests on his remains found no arsenic—levels were hundreds of times too low for poisoning.
- Doctors dosed him with mercury, opium, and quinine, then bled him, worsening his gut illness.
đź’ˇKey Takeaways
- Taylor's death was likely acute gastroenteritis from contaminated cherries, milk, or water in cholera-plagued D.C.
- Arsenic poisoning theories arose from his anti-slavery stance but were scientifically disproven.
- His harsh treatments by physicians probably sealed his fate more than the initial sickness.
- Vice President Fillmore's rise enabled the Compromise of 1850, averting Taylor's predicted clash over slavery.
- Taylor ranks low among presidents due to his brief, unproductive term.
Zachary Taylor, nicknamed 'Old Rough and Ready,' was a 40-year army vet who never voted before winning the presidency in 1848. His Mexican War victories at Palo Alto and Buena Vista made him a Whig hero, despite zero political experience.
In office, Taylor fiercely opposed slavery's spread, backing the Wilmot Proviso and vowing to hang rebels personally. This stance pitted him against Southern interests as sectional tensions boiled.
On July 4, 1850, amid 100°F heat, Taylor attended the Washington Monument cornerstone laying. He gorged on cherries, iced milk, raw cucumbers, cabbage, and corn—defying his doctor's caution.
That night, stomach cramps hit hard. By morning, nausea, diarrhea, fever gripped him. Four doctors prescribed calomel (mercury), quinine, opium, and blistering—plus bloodletting.
Taylor lingered, sucking ice slivers, but rejected fluids by July 9. At 10:35 p.m., aged 65, he died of what docs called cholera morbus.
Slavery foes whispered assassination: Taylor's death cleared the way for pro-compromise Fillmore and the 1850 deal. Retiree Clara Rising pushed exhumation in 1991, suspecting arsenic.
Oak Ridge Lab's neutron analysis on Taylor's hair and bones? No poison—arsenic was negligible. Verdict: gastroenteritis from tainted D.C. water or milk in sewer-ridden summers.
Fillmore signed the Compromise, delaying war but fueling division. Historians rank Taylor low for his short tenure and scant achievements, like the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty.
Taylor's son fought for the Confederacy, a bitter irony. His death spotlighted era perils: poor sanitation, toxic meds, political intrigue.
Taylor's tale warns of food safety in unclean cities and medicine's dark ages. No murder, just cherries gone wrong plus overzealous docs.
Today, we'd treat him with fluids and antibiotics—likely saving 'Old Rough.' His story endures as a quirky footnote in presidential mortality.
⚠️Things to Note
- Cholera morbus was a catch-all 19th-century term for severe diarrhea and cramps, not true cholera.
- Washington, D.C., had open sewers, making food and water contamination common in summer.
- Taylor ignored doctor's warnings about overeating raw veggies and iced dairy on a hot day.
- His last words: 'I have always done my duty, I am ready to die.'