THE CURSE OF TECUMSEH – STRANGE OR WHAT?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
I don’t want to get too technical and go all “history geek” on anyone during the Bicentennial Commemorations of the War of 1812 over these next few years. After all, I am primarily a “social historian” and try to avoid all the facts, figures and dates that cause the average person, with only a passing interest in history, to have their eyes to glaze over. I understand. I feel the same way.
So…in order to balance out all the historical facts and figures of the War of 1812 that I know I fall prey to over the next three years, I am offering for your consideration a sort of “National Enquirer” slant on Chief Tecumseh.
It’s all about Tecumseh’s Curse and the Presidents of the United States. Before you start scoffing at it….give it a chance and then… you can ridicule it. Or, like me, you might walk away with some questions and wonder.
The Tecumseh Curse is said to have started out with General William Henry Harrison who was responsible for chasing Tecumseh up the Thames River and being indirectly responsible for the killing of Tecumseh by Colonel Richard Mentor Johnson or …. but that’s another column and part of another conspiracy story.
In 1840, cashing in on his defeat of Tecumseh, William Henry Harrison was elected President of the United States. He delivered a very long inaugural address on a cold, windy day followed by a driving rainstorm. He subsequently caught a cold that ultimately led to his death and, to this very day, he holds the dubious title of having the shortest (March 4th to April 4th) presidency of any U.S. President.
And… so began 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!! (Imagine suitable dramatic music here!)
Okay…let’s examine the facts of this seemingly bizarre myth. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford Theatre on April 14 and died shortly after. In 1880, James Garfield was shot and killed by an upset government worker who had been denied a diplomatic post by the Garfield administration.
In 1900 the curse continued with William McKinley being shot by self-styled anarchist, Leon F. Czolgosz, on September 11th, 1901 and died on September 14th. In 1920, Warren G. Harding was elected President and, before 1923 had concluded, he had suffered a stroke and died in San Francisco.
In 1940 Franklin Roosevelt was elected to his third term as president and by April of 1945 he was dead of a cerebral hemorrhage. In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected as the youngest President of the United States and as any “baby boomer” worth their salt knows , was assassinated in Dallas by one or more assassins (a sly reference to another conspiracy theory that I thought I’d throw in to stir the pot just a bit more) on November 22, 1963.
However in 1980 the Curse of Tecumseh was seemingly broken! Although some ( me?) might argue that this darling of the modern day, right wing Tea Party adherents was “brain dead” in office long before he officially resigned, I am afraid that doesn’t count as part of the Tecumseh Curse! Some say that it was Nancy Reagan’s belief in spiritualists and mediums that allowed Reagan to live after being shot by John Hinckley in Washington D.C. on March 30th, 1981.
President Reagan is credited as the first to foil Tecumseh’s Curse and some conspiracy theorists identify his presidency to be the one, for whatever reason, broke the Curse of Tecumseh.
I know… I know it sounds really bizarre and any decent historian would dismiss this theory as “sheer poppycock” or something vaguely British and pseudo-intellectual like that! But that’s not me! (Maybe Lisa but not me!)
As for me….well, I love mystery, the unknown, the supernatural and the paranormal, and although I don’t believe strongly in any of it, I also do not ridicule any of it. It is certainly a very intriguing and interesting theory and the chance of this being simply coincidental is, of course, possible but…. It’s also kind of boring to say it’s “just coincidence” as well!
No matter what you feel about this supposed “Curse of Tecumseh” it certainly adds to the mystique of a man who seemed, in so many other ways, super-human, other-worldly and beyond the norm.
When in doubt about any aspect of life (or beyond) do what I always do. Go to Shakespeare. In this case let’s go, once again, to the play HAMLET. When the topic of whether the supernatural had any basis in reality came about in this play it was addressed by the quote – “There are more things in heaven and hell than are dreamt of in your philosophy”. I agree.
Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.
