10. John Tyler

John Tyler was born into an aristocratic Virginian family.  He studied law under his father (who went on to be the Governor of Virginia) and passed the bar at the age of 19.  At 21 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.  From then on, he almost continually held an elected position: U.S. Representative, Governor of Virginia, U.S. Senator. 

Politically Tyler was a strict constructionist when it came to interpreting the Constitution.  If the Constitution did not explicitly give the power to the federal government, then it belonged to the states.  He was an outspoken critic of the John Quincy Adams administration wanting to spend federal money on infrastructure projects, like roads and bridges.  He was also against federal regulation of commerce and agriculture.  When he first met Andrew Jackson, he believed that he had found someone of a like mind and supported Jackson’s election in 1828.  Once Jackson became president, Tyler helped him to kill the charter for the 2nd Bank of the United States.  However they had a falling out when Jackson removed government funds from the bank.  Tyler felt that this action was unconstitutional.  In fact, he felt that Jackson’s excessive use of federal authority was unconstitutional.  He opposed the Force Bill that would have given Jackson the right to send federal troops into South Carolina. 

By this time, Tyler split from the Jackson camp and aligned himself more with the new Whig party started by Henry Clay.  By 1836, Tyler’s dislike of Jackson was so terrible that when Congress was debating removing the censure of Jackson, Tyler resigned his seat instead of following the instructions from the Virginia Legislature.  During the presidential election of 1836, he ran as a vice-presidential candidate for W. H. Harrison in some states and for Hugh White in other states.

During the 1840 election campaign there were rumors about Harrison’s health problems.  After the inauguration, Tyler only stayed in D.C. long enough to be sworn in and to preside over the Senate during confirmation of Harrison’s cabinet.  He then headed back to his home in Virginia.  On April 1st, he started to get messages that Harrison had taken a turn for the worst, but stayed on in Virginia, not wanting to look like a vulture waiting for Harrison to die.  He was not surprised then when the message arrived that Harrison had died and he was to become president.  As the first of the “accidental” presidents, John Tyler was acutely aware that much of what he did first would be setting a precedent.

Tyler had reviewed the Constitution’s wording on what happened when the president died.  He knew that what exactly it meant would be up for debate.  Would he only be president until a special election could be held?  Was he the president until the end of Harrison’s term?  Did he have all the powers of the president?  When he got to D.C., he made sure that Harrison’s cabinet was present during the swearing-in ceremony.  He then called the cabinet into a special cabinet meeting.  Harrison had taken the view that major decisions would be made by consensus of the cabinet.  Taylor made it clear that this would change.  He told the cabinet “I am the president and I shall be held responsible for my Administration.  I shall be pleased to accept your counsel and advice.  But I can never consent to being dictated to…  When you think otherwise your resignation will be accepted.”  Tyler’s independence really angered the leadership of the Whig party (including Henry Clay) who had been expecting to control Harrison.

One of the first bills that the Whig-controlled Congress tried to push through would have re-chartered the 2nd Bank of the United States.  Tyler was opposed to the Bank and vetoed the bill.  The Whigs pushed through another bill that was essentially the same thing.  After the second veto, his entire cabinet resigned (except his Secretary of State Daniel Webster).  Tyler moved quickly to replace the cabinet members.  After vetoing a series of tariff bill that he believed were unconstitutional, the House of Representatives attempted to impeach him.  The vote failed by a large margin.

The only other things of significance that happened during his presidency happened near the end.  He had been lobbying to try and annex Texas.  Naturally, the issue of slavery continued to be brought into the discussion.  Tyler signed a treaty with Sam Houston, the President of the Republic of Texas.  However all treaties have to be approved by 2/3 of the Senate.  This one failed to be ratified by the Senate.  In a procedural maneuver, Tyler decided that Texas could be annexed through a joint resolution which only required a simple majority.  This passed the Senate by 2 votes.

On a more personal side, in Feb 1844, he was leading a group of senior military and state department staff on a tour of the USS Princeton.  During the tour, one of the main guns exploded killing several people to include his Secretary of the Navy, Abel Upshur (his Secretary of State), and his future father-in-law David Gardiner.

Tyler made an attempt to run for reelection in 1844, but it became clear that he was too unpopular and did not have the support of a major party so he dropped out of the race.

 

• John Tyler is the first president born after the signing of the Constitution
• Tyler is the president that had the most children: 15!  Eight from his first wife and 7 from his second wife.
• Tyler was 70 years old when his last child (Pearl) was born.  She lived until 1947.  It was almost 160 years from the time her father was born until she died!
• As of March 2011, Tyler has two living grandsons through his son Lyon
• He was the first president to get married while in the White House.  His children from his first marriage did not approve and didn’t attend the wedding.
• He is considered the traitor president.  Tyler was elected to the Confederate Congress in 1862, but died before taking office.
• The only president to have held the office of the President pro tempore of the Senate
• The 1,600 acre farm that Tyler bought is still in the Tyler family and is still a working farm.  Some believe that his second wife, Julia Gardner, haunts the house.
• With the resignation of Webster over the Texas annexation, the death of Upshur on the Princeton, and the appointment of John Calhoun, Tyler had 3 different Secretaries of State in under a year
• Tyler is considered by some to be the only president to have died outside the U.S., since he passed away in Richmond, Virginia, which was part of the Confederate States

 

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Letitia Christian (Married 1814-1842), Julia Gardner (Married 1844-1862)
• Children: 8 sons, 7 daughters 
• Party affiliation: Democratic Party (1825-1834), Whig (1834-1841), independent (1841-1862)
• Presidency: 1841-1844
• Born: March 29th, 1790 (Greenway, Virginia)
• Died: January 18th, 1862 (Richmond, Virginia)

9. William Henry Harrison

At 68, William Henry Harrison was the oldest man elected president to date.  In an effort to prove that he was fit enough for the job he delivered the longest Inaugural Address in history in the rain and cold without a hat or proper coat.  He was dead 30 days later.  He sparked a constitutional crisis, the impact of which is still felt today.  Not to be forgotten, he also bears responsibility for the infamous presidential curse! 

William Henry Harrison was born to an affluent family in Virginia.  When he was 3 years old, his father, Benjamin, was one of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Initially, William followed his father’s wishes and began to study in medicine.  Eventually he gave up the study of medicine to join the army.  Serving under General “Mad” Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers (near present-day Toledo, Ohio) during the wars with Native Americans in the Northwest Territory, he was cited for bravery during the battle and named commander of Fort Washington (now Cincinnati). 

In 1795, he met Anna Symmes and asked her father for permission to marry.  Her father, John Cleves Symmes, refused due in part to the concern about a young army officer being unable to provide for his daughter.  William waited until her father left town on business and the young couple eloped.  They went on to have 10 children (9 that lived into adulthood) and were married until his death in 1840.

Harrison began his political career after leaving the army in 1797.  He was elected as the first delegate from the Northwest Territory.  Since he wasn’t from a state, he did not have voting rights, but he could debate issues, serve on committees and submit legislation.  In this role he served on the committee that created the Indiana and Ohio Territories.  Without his knowledge, John Adams appointed him to be the Governor of the Indiana Territory.  He accepted this new role, only after getting assurances from the Jefferson administration that they would not remove him.  The Indiana Territory consisted of the future states of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and the eastern portion of Minnesota.  At the age of 27, William Henry Harrison was sent to govern a large portion of the current Midwest (It covered most of the original Big Ten, my bet is that his ties to Tippecanoe would have made him a Boilermaker!).

He was involved in several treaties signed with the various tribes throughout the Indiana Territory; one in particular was the “Treaty of Fort Wayne” signed in 1809.  This treaty involved buying land from the Miami Indians, who claimed ownership of 2,500,000 acres inhabited by the Shawnee, Kickapoo, Wea and Piankeshaw tribes.  However, the Shawnee leaders, Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa (the Prophet), refused to give up their land.  In August 1810, Tecumseh led 400 of his warriors down to Vincennes to meet with Harrison and plead their case.  During an impassioned speech by Tecumseh, one of the Shawnee that was friendly to Harrison warned him that the words could lead to trouble.  Some witnesses stated that Tecumseh was urging his warriors to kill Harrison.  Given that the entire population of Vincennes at that time was only 1,000 people, the warriors could have easily wiped out the town.  Once some of Harrison’s soldiers starting pulling guns, the situation calmed down.  Tecumseh left and traveled around the region to try and convince other tribes to join him in creating a confederation against the United States.  In November 1811, while Tecumseh was traveling, he left his brother, the Prophet, in charge of the village at Prophetstown.  Taking advantage of Tecumseh’s absence, Harrison led a force of 1,000 men to try and intimidate the Prophet into signing a peace treaty.  The Prophet launched a surprise attack during the night.  The Americans were able repel the attack and defeat the Prophet’s forces.  The entire battle, later known as the Battle of Tippecanoe, was over in a couple of hours.  The Prophet, who was the spiritual leader of the Shawnee, had assured his people that he had cast a spell to protect them from the Americans.  After the loss, he lost the support of his people.  Tecumseh returned to find his village burned, his forces scattered and his brother discredited.  He soon joined the British and fought against the Americans in the War of 1812.  Some historians believe that this marked the beginning of the War of 1812, and a common belief at the time was that the British were aiding the Native Americans and encouraging ongoing conflicts in the Northwest Territory.

At the outbreak of the War of 1812, Harrison requested to be transferred to the East.  He felt that the important battles would be fought there and not in the Northwest Territory.  His request was denied, but he was promoted to Brigadier General and became the overall commander of the Army of the Northwest.  After winning battles in Indiana and Ohio, and recapturing Detroit, Harrison moved his forces into Canada.  He fought a crucial battle outside of what is now Chatham, Ontario.  The Battle of the Thames, coupled with the earlier Battle of Lake Erie, effectively ended the War of 1812 in the Northwest.  The British were pushed out of the territory and the Americans gained control of Lake Erie.  This was considered one of the most important victories of the war, second only to the Battle of New Orleans.  Just before the crucial Battle of the Thames, Tecumseh, who had joined the British forces, was killed by a stray bullet.  If you believe the curse, Harrison was not finished in his dealings with the Shawnee brothers.

Harrison left the army in 1813 after a dispute with the Secretary of War.  Over the next 20 years, Harrison served as congressman and senator from Ohio, and minister to Columbia.  He ran, unsuccessfully, for president against Martin Van Buren in 1836.  It was during the 1836 campaign that the Prophet emerged again to allegedly put a curse on Harrison and the presidency.  The curse basically stated that Harrison would probably be elected in 1840 and die in office, and that every president elected in a year ending in a “0” would also be cursed to die in office.  Harrison did die while still in office and every president elected in a year ending in “0” followed in his footsteps until Ronald Reagan.  Now, Harrison was the oldest elected president until Reagan was elected in 1980, hmmm…

Harrison ran again for president against Van Buren in the election of 1840.  Given Harrison’s western appeal, in order to balance the ticket the Whigs added John Tyler to the ticket.  In fact, both of these candidates came from wealthy Virginia families.  This was probably the first election with a lot of marketing.  The Harrison camp came up with the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler too”, a phrase most school children today probably recognize if they know anything about Harrison or Tyler.  Van Buren supporters tried to portray Harrison as an out-of-touch old man who would rather sit in his log cabin and drink hard cider.  This tactic backfired.  Harrison’s supporters latched onto the idea and the login cabin and hard cider became part of their campaign and they began portraying Van Buren sipping fine wine and champagne.  Harrison won the 1840 election in a landslide.  The voter turnout was 50% higher in 1840 compared to 1836.

As you should know, Harrison died a month after taking the oath of office.  Many historians believe that it was due to his giving the incredibly long inaugural address in bad weather without a proper hat and coat.  In fact, he did not fall ill until three weeks after the inauguration.  Modern medicine has shown that respiratory illnesses are not tied to exposure to weather, so it was probably just a coincidence but does make for a good story and lesson.

Harrison’s death briefly sparked a constitutional crisis.  All the constitution said in article II was “In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, ... and [the Vice President] shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected".  Scholars at the time disagreed on what this meant: Was John Tyler only an “acting” president until a special election could be held?  Did it mean that Tyler was to serve out the remainder of Harrison’s term?  Tyler believed the latter and began to act like a president and not just a placeholder.  After some debate, both houses of Congress passed resolutions stating that Tyler was president and would serve out the 4 years (sorry, 3 years, 11 months) of Harrison’s remaining term.  This succession policy was not solidified until the 25th amendment was ratified in 1967 after the Kennedy assassination.

Party conversation starters (or enders):

• William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) holds the record for the longest inauguration speech in history at 8,578 words long and one hour and 40 minutes
• He was the last president born before the signing of the Declaration of Independence
• Until Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, he was the oldest elected president at 68
• Due to the death of Harrison, three presidents served within a single calendar year (Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler). This has happened on only one other occasion, in 1881, when Rutherford B. Hayes was succeeded by James A. Garfield, who was assassinated later that year. With the death of Garfield, Chester A. Arthur stepped into the presidency
• Harrison was the first sitting president to have his picture taken
• Harrison was the first of only 4 presidents (Taylor, A. Johnson, Carter) that did not get the opportunity to name a justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. In fact, he did not appoint a federal judge at any level
• Harrison’s son, John Scott Harrison, was a US Congressman from Ohio from 1853-1857
• Once when William was carrying his infant son, John,  through the dining room at Grouseland, someone fired a bullet through a window.  The bullet hole is still there today
• His grandson, Benjamin Harrison, was elected the 23rd president in 1888
• Harrison’s widow, Anna, outlived him by 23 years, dying in 1864
• By 1840, when Harrison campaigned for president a second time, more than 12 books had been published on his life. In many he was hailed as a national hero
• Harrison produced more grandchildren (48) and great-grandchildren (106) than any other President

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Anna Symmes, died in 1864 at the age of 88
• Children: 6 sons, 4 daughters (the youngest son died at the age of 5)
• Party affiliation: Whig
• Presidency: 1841
• Born: Feb 9th, 1773 (Berkley, Virginia)
• Died: Apr 4th, 1840 (Washington DC)