John Tyler, the Vice President to William Henry Harrison and tenth president of the United States was born on March 29, 1790 in Charles City County, Virginia. Despite being a member of the Democrat-Republican Party, in 1840, Tyler was elected to be Vice President on the Whig ticket, as he was a good balance to his running mate, Harrison. Additionally, he offered much support and praise from the Southern population. Four weeks into his presidency, Harrison passed away, thus making Tyler the new President from 1841-1845. Harrison's death, however, created a constitutional crisis, because the constitution was unclear on who was the president's successor.
Prior to his presidency, Tyler was vastly involved in the political world. His father was a great influence, as he became Governor of Virginia. From the period of about 1809 up until his presidency, Tyler participated in numerous political affairs. Early on, he was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and council of state. Tyler additionally was a member of congress and apart of the House of Representatives. Prior to his presidency, in 1840, Tyler was in support of Henry Clay becoming president. This, however, changed when Tyler joined Harrison’s campaign with the popular slogan, “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.”
Throughout his presidency, Tyler accomplished much. Although the Whig party nominated him, Tyler later became an independent party. Tyler’s actions throughout his presidency made him more and more disliked by his cabinet and supporters. Tyler virtually ignored all of the policies of Henry Clay and the other leaders. A large number of bills that came into officer were vetoed by Tyler, upsetting the Whigs and many of his cabinet members. Twice, he vetoed the legislation for the national bank, even though it had been altered to meet his needs. After this veto, many members of Tyler’s presidential cabinet came to him and resigned. Additionally, the Whig party debarred him from the party, leaving him without a political party.
During his presidency, Tyler had many additional problems with Congress. In March of 1845, Congress over rode Tyler’s veto of the Revenue Cutters and Steamers Bill. This event showed the first time in which Congress had overridden a President’s veto. Tyler was the first president that was attempted to be impeached. A committee, headed by John Quincy Adams pointed out Tyler’s overuse of the power of the veto. However, the committee was unsuccessful in receiving enough votes.
Since Tyler had lost many of his supporters, he tried to gain them back through an attempt to annex Texas. Although it became independent in 1836, Mexico still regarded Texas as apart of its land. Tyler appointed John C. Calhoun, a war hawk of his time, to take on the job of Texas’s annexation, however, problems over things such as slavery made the annexation more complicated. In the end, a decision between the houses was made. Three days before the end of his term, Texas was admitted to the union as the 28th state in America. Tyler decided to drop out for running for a second term, and instead support Polk.
Works Cited
"John Tyler Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com." Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com. A+E Television Network. Web. 01 Nov. 2011. <http://www.biography.com/people/john-tyler-9512796>.
"John Tyler Biography." John Tyler Biography and Presidency Facts. Web. 01 Nov. 2011. <http://johntylerbiography.com/>.
"John Tyler." The White House. The White House. Web. 01 Nov. 2011. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johntyler>.
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