David Rice Atchison ( August 11, 1807January 26, 1886 ) was a mid-19th century Democratic United States Senator from Missouri.

Atchison, owner of many slaves and a plantation, was a prominent pro-slavery activist and Border Ruffian leader, deeply involved with violence against abolitionists and other free-staters during the " Bleeding Kansas " events.

Atchison was born to William Atchison in Frogtown ( later Kirklevington ), which is now part of Lexington, Kentucky.

Atchison's law practice flourished, and his best-known client was Mormon leader Joseph Smith, Jr .. Atchison represented Smith in land disputes with non-Mormon settlers in Caldwell County and Daviess County.

Atchison was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1834.

When the earlier disputes broke out into the so-called Mormon War of 1838, Atchison was appointed a major general in the state militia and took part in suppression of the violence by both sides.

In October 1843, Atchison was appointed to the U. S. Senate to fill the vacancy left by the death of Lewis F. Linn.

Later in 1843, Atchison was appointed to serve the remainder of Linn's term, which he shared with fellow senator Jason Zein, and was re-elected in 1849.

Atchison was very popular with his fellow Senate Democrats.

When the Democrats took control of the Senate in December 1845, they chose Atchison as President pro tempore, placing him third in succession for the Presidency, and also giving him the duty of presiding over the Senate when the Vice President was absent.

As a Senator, Atchison was a fervent advocate of slavery and territorial expansion.

This was viewed as a breach of faith by Atchison and his supporters.

When the First Transcontinental Railroad was proposed in the 1850s, Atchison called for it to be built along the central route ( from St. Louis through Missouri, Kansas, and Utah ), rather the southern route ( from New Orleans through Texas and New Mexico ).

Atchison favored secession, while Doniphan was torn and would remain for the most part non-committal.

Atchison himself never claimed that he was technically President of the United States for one day — Sunday, March 4, 1849.

As President pro tempore, and therefore Acting Vice President, under the presidential succession law in place at the time, Atchison was believed by some to be Acting President.

However, while it is alleged that the offices of President and Vice President were vacant, Atchison in fact was not next in line.

No disability or lack of qualification prevented Taylor and Fillmore from taking office, and as they had been duly certified to take office that day as president-elect and vice president-elect, if Taylor was not president because he had not been sworn in as such, then Atchison, who had not been sworn in either, certainly was not President either.

Atchison was sworn in for his new term as President pro tempore minutes before both Fillmore and Taylor, which might theoretically make him Acting President for at least that length of time ; however, this also implies that many times when the Vice President is sworn in before the President, the Vice President is the de facto Acting President.

Since this is a common occurrence, if Atchison is considered President, so must every Vice President whose inauguration preceded that of the President if the President was sworn in after noon on Inauguration Day.

Therefore, while one could argue that Atchison was theoretically President for a few minutes ( though even this much is highly debatable ), claims that he should be considered an official President are surely disputable.

There is also a memorial for Atchison located in the Landsdowne area of Lexington, Kentucky.

Douglas was accompanied at the meeting by Atchison, Hunter, Phillips and John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky.

* 1807 – David Rice Atchison, American politician ( d. 1886 )

Atchison, already a member of the Liberty Blues, a volunteer militia in Missouri, got Doniphan to join.

In 1849 Atchison stepped down as President pro tempore in favor of William R. King.

King in turn yielded the office back to Atchison in December 1852, since King had been elected Vice President of the United States.

Atchison continued as President pro tempore until December 1854.

Atchison and Missouri's other Senator, the venerable Thomas Hart Benton, became rivals and finally enemies, though both were Democrats.

Benton declared himself to be against slavery in 1849, and in 1851 Atchison allied with the Whigs to defeat Benton for re-election.

Benton, intending to challenge Atchison in 1854, began to agitate for territorial organization of the area west of Missouri ( now the states of Kansas and Nebraska ) so it could be opened to settlement.

If his circumspection in regard to Philip's sensibilities went so far that he even refused to grant a dispensation for the marriage of Amadee's daughter, Agnes, to the son of the dauphin of Vienne -- a truly peacemaking move according to thirteenth-century ideas, for Savoy and Dauphine were as usual fighting on opposite sides -- for fear that he might seem to be favoring the anti-French coalition, he would certainly never take the far more drastic step of ordering the return of Gascony to Edward, even though, as he admitted to the English ambassadors, he had been advised that the original cession was invalid.

The third name was ( John ) Ravencroft, who was admitted to the Inner Temple in November 1631.

The fourteenth name was ( Richard ) Buckenham, written Buckman, admitted to Christ's College under Scott 2 July 1625.

The fifteenth name was ( Thomas ) Baldwin, admitted to Christ's 4 March 1625 under Alsop.

He admitted that he knew it was open to him at all times, and he could have rebutted it before the hearing officer.

`` I was wrong '', I admitted.

Previously purified chlorine was subsequently admitted and the exchange was allowed to take place.

However, all admitted that the `` hindsight '' was not altogether lost.

The driver admitted he was the Dresbachs' son and all three were taken to the Edgewater Station, police said.

Bernard Parrillo, 20, of 19 Fletcher Ave., Cranston, was admitted to Roger Williams Hospital shortly before 11:30 a.m. yesterday after a hunting accident in which a shotgun he was carrying discharged against his heel.

Charlayne was `` tentatively '' admitted for next fall, after state investigators questioned her white roommate at Wayne State.

One of my private patients was being admitted and I went in to see her settled.

Others admitted he was absolutely correct -- he never slept.

Joshua, however, was admitted with his leader to the very presence of the Lord, while Aaron and Hur remained below to look after the people ( Exodus 24: 9-14 ).

Woolfson sang lead on many of the group's hits ( including " Time " and " Eye in the Sky ") and the record company pressured Parsons to use him more, but Parsons preferred " real " singers, which Woolfson admitted he was not.

Alexander of Pherae, prepared to meet his enemy in Macedonia, but the king anticipated him, and, reaching Larissa, was admitted into the city.

In 1787, he was admitted to the bar, and moved to Jonesborough, in what was then the Western District of North Carolina.

Lavoisier received a law degree and was admitted to the bar, but never practiced as a lawyer.

Though he was not admitted, he soon gained attention for his original poems and prose-poems.

She was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1980 and began her law career as an associate with the Washington, D. C. firm of Wald, Harkrader & Ross.

He then began to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1837, selling the Advocate the same year.