John Tyler

John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the 10th president of the United States of America, from 1841 to 1845. He was the first vice president to become president after the president before him died. He was also the first president born after the United States Constitution was ratified.

John Tyler
Tyler c. 1861
10th President of the United States
In office April 4, 1841 – March 4, 1845
Vice President	None
Preceded by	William Henry Harrison
Succeeded by	James K. Polk
10th Vice President of the United States
In office March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841
President	William Henry Harrison
Preceded by	Richard Mentor Johnson
Succeeded by	George M. Dallas
President pro tempore of the Senate
In office March 4, 1835 – December 4, 1835
President	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	George Poindexter
Succeeded by	William King
United States Senator from Virginia
In office March 4, 1827 – February 29, 1836
Preceded by	John Randolph
Succeeded by	William Rives
23rd Governor of Virginia
In office December 10, 1825 – March 4, 1827
Preceded by	James Pleasants
Succeeded by	William Giles
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 23rd district
In office December 17, 1816 – March 5, 1821
Preceded by	John Clopton
Succeeded by	Andrew Stevenson
Member of the Confederate States House of Representatives from Virginia's 1st Congressional District
In office 1862–1862
Preceded by	none
Succeeded by	James Lyons
Personal details
Born	(1790-03-29)March 29, 1790 Charles City County, Virginia, U.S.A.
Died	January 18, 1862(1862-01-18) (aged 71) Richmond, Virginia, C.S.A.
Nationality	American
Political party	Whig (1834-1841), Independent (1841-1862)
Spouse(s)	Letitia Christian Tyler (1st wife) Julia Gardiner Tyler (2nd wife)

Before presidency

Tyler grew up in Virginia and became a lawyer. His father was also a lawyer who later became governor of Virginia. Tyler became a state representative in the United States Congress, and then also became governor of Virginia like his father.

Tyler started in government as a member of the Democratic Party, but later he changed to the Whig Party, which was very new. He was chosen to run as vice president next to William Henry Harrison. Whig Party people used to say "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" to get people to vote for them. (William Henry Harrison was famous for being a general in a battle in a place called Tippecanoe, and that was his nickname.)

Harrison and Tyler won the election, but Harrison died one month later. Tyler then became president.

Presidency

Because Tyler had not been elected to hold the office of President, some people thought that he lacked a claim to the position. But as the United States Constitution says that the Vice President is vested with the responsibilities of the Presidency in case of "Death, Resignation or Inability" of the former, Tyler said this meant the position was his to fill. A majority of the government agreed and he was sworn in as the new president, however, the Whig Party did not want Tyler, and a lot of Whigs ended up calling him "the accidental president" or "His Accidency".

This was after Tyler had angered the Whigs when he decided to mainly pick people from the Democratic Party to work in his government. He wanted to bring the two parties to together, but instead this ended up making him unpopular. He also rejected many of the Whigs' ideas. This all lead to the Whig Party deciding not to back his run for the presidency in 1844.

While he was president, Florida became a new state. After winning their independence in the Texas Revolution against Mexico, Texas had become its own country. Tyler sought to annex Texas and turn it into a new U.S. state while in office, but this did not come to fruition until a few months after his term had ended.

After presidency

The Whig Party did not want Tyler to be president again, and did not pick him to run for president in 1844. He had some friends in the Democratic Party who sometimes asked him for ideas, but that party did not like him enough to be president, either. Tyler was sometimes called "the President without a party" since both groups did not want him.

When the Confederate States of America was created, Tyler did not want a civil war. But he voted that Virginia had to join the Confederate States. He was elected to the Confederate congress.

Tyler died in Richmond, Virginia on January 18, 1862 of a stroke. Tyler's death was the only one in Presidential history not to be officially recognized in Washington, D. C. because of his loyalty to the Confederacy. His coffin was covered with the Confederate flag. He is the only United States President ever to be buried and honored ceremoniously under a foreign flag that is not the United States flag.

John Tyler Media

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  Tyler's birthplace, Greenway Plantation in Charles City County, Virginia

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  Woodburn Plantation, Tyler's residence 1813–1821

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  An engraving of Tyler (c. 1826) as governor of Virginia

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  "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too"

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  Electoral college map for the 1840 United States presidential election.

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  1888 illustration of President Tyler receiving the news of President Harrison's death from Chief Clerk of the State Department Fletcher Webster

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  President John Tyler, 1841
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  Whig cartoon depicting the effects of unemployment on a family that has Jackson's and Van Buren's portraits on the wall

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  Secretary of State Daniel Webster

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  Frémont's second expedition party reached Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley in March 1844

Other websites

• [1] Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine