Most people believe that Harry S. Truman is the only Missourian to have served as President of the United States. Technically, that's not right, though.

One other Missourian served as President—David Rice Atchison, the man who was President for one day.

As president pro tem (the second-highest ranking member of the Senate), this man from Plattsburg, Missouri rose to the highest office in the country when President James Polk's term ended at noon on Sunday, March 4, 1849. Because his successor, Zachary Taylor, refused to be innaugurated on a Sunday, Atchison was acting president until noon on Monday, when Taylor took the oath of office.

It's easy to understand why people recognize President Truman, but not President Atchison. While President Truman led the U.S. through the end of World War II and through the Korean War, Atchison's term was a little less exciting as he took a long Sunday afternoon nap before going to bed that night.

So if you were President for one day, what would you do?