14. Franklin Pierce

My wife and daughters have a family connection to President Pierce through one of his brothers. This also makes them distant relatives of Barbara (Pierce) Bush and George W. Bush. So I guess that means I need to try and put a positive spin on his presidency; might be tough.

in 1804, Pierce was born in a log cabin in New Hampshire to a veteran of the American Revolution. Pierce studied law and passed the bar in 1827. He entered politics right away and was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1828. He served in the State House from 1828 – 1833, the last 2 years as Speaker of the House (his father was Governor of New Hampshire during this time). In 1832 he was elected to the first of two terms in the US House of Representatives. He was only 27 and, at the time, the youngest serving congressman. After his two terms, he was elected by the General Court of New Hampshire to a term as a United States Senator (at 32, he was again the youngest in his time). On a side note, the General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of New Hampshire and has 400 members of the lower house and 24 in the upper house. With 424 members, it is the largest state legislature in the country and the 4th largest English-speaking legislature in the world!

During the Mexican War, Pierce volunteered for service and became a brigadier general. He was wounded while serving with General Winfield Scott during the Battle of Contreras. There are differing views on his wound, but during the battle his horse apparently fell on him, injuring his leg. He returned the next day and fought during the Battle of Churubusco; however, the pain in his leg was so bad that he fainted and had to be carried off the field of battle. This would give fodder to his political opponents in later years. After the war he returned to his law practice in New Hampshire.

When the presidential campaign of 1852 got started, Pierce wasn’t even a blip on the radar. The major Democratic contenders were Stephen Douglas, James Buchanan, Lewis Cass and William Marcy. None of the 4 candidates could even get a majority of the vote, not even close to the prerequisite two-thirds of the vote. After 35 votes, Pierce’s name was tossed in as a compromise candidate. Pierce had shown himself to be a consistent supporter of the Democratic ideals; his service in the Mexican War would allow the party to portray him as a war hero. He had never fully explained his views on slavery, so all of the various factions viewed him as a reasonable compromise to their personal preferences. On the 49th vote, Pierce was nominated as the Democratic candidate for president.

Pierce’s opponent in the 1852 election was his old commander during the Mexican War General Winfield Scott. The platform that Scott ran on was not much different than Pierce’s platform. In addition, Pierce did not have any strongly held political views and Scott was on record as anti-slavery. The contest turned into a personality contest between the two candidates with Pierce emerging victorious. He took 27 of the 31 states.

The joy of winning the election was soon turned into sorrow with the death of their last son (the other two had died young). Pierce and his wife were riding on a train from Boston when it derailed. They emerged unharmed, but their son Benjamin (“Bennie”) was killed right in front of Pierce. I’ve read differing accounts on the extent of the injuries to Bennie, but all are gruesome. Pierce’s wife, Jane, was never really the same. She had been against Pierce going back into politics and being highly religous saw this as divine punishment.

Pierce took office during a relatively peaceful and prosperous time in American history. The issue of slavery had cooled down with the passage of the Compromise of 1850. It was not to last.

The first major policy initiative of the administration had become known as the Ostend Manifesto. The Ostend Manifesto basically stated that the United States was willing to buy Cuba from Spain (not the first or last time we attempted to acquire Cuba). The controversial section of the document was that it suggested that if Spain refused to sell Cuba, that the US would be justified in taking it by force. It was especially unpopular in the North, as it was viewed as a chance to further expand slavery.

A success of the administration was the Gadsden Purchase (although like all land acquisitions raised the issue of the expansion of slavery). Several business leaders had pushed to create a southern transcontinental railroad. The southern portion of the land, recently acquired from Mexico, was viewed as being too mountainous. If the US could acquire just a tad bit more land from Mexico, the adjoining territory would be much more suitable for a railroad. Pierce sent James Gadsden (with urging from his Secretary of State Jefferson Davis) to Mexico to purchase the additional lands. A deal was struck in which the US purchased the southern portions of current New Mexico and Arizona.

A final major piece of legislation passed during the Pierce administration was the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Davis had a provision attached to the bill that nullified the Missouri Compromise. One aspect of the act was that it allowed the residents of the states to decide the question of slavery. The effect in Kansas was that pro-slavery settlers crossed the border from Missouri to vote in the elections. The impact was the election of a pro-slavery government. It was felt in Kansas that the new government was illegitimate and a “shadow government” was set up based on the Topeka Constitution; Pierce supported, and would continue to support, the pro-slavery legislature. The turmoil over the whole affair led to violent demonstrations, riots and murders in what has become known as Bleeding Kansas.

Based in large part on the outcry over the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Pierce fell out of favor with his party and was not re-nominated in 1856. Over the next few presidential elections there was usually a push to get Pierce to run again, but he did not. His reputation was further damaged when copies of his correspondence with Jefferson Davis were discovered after the Battle of Vicksburg. He had maintained a friendship with his former Secretary of State during the Civil War.

Pierce died in 1869 at the age of 64 from the deteriorating effects of alcoholism. His wife Jane had already passed away six years prior.

Something that's been a small tickle in the back of my brain is the Civil War. Reading these biographies on the presidents, it seems that several of them leading up to the Civil War were pro south (or at least not anti south). Taylor was a slave holder and both Pierce and Buchanen were southern sympathizers. So, I'm not sure why the south felt that the federal government was against them, to the point of seccession. The majority of the policies of the federal government were, if not pro south, certainly did not have the intention of ending slavery. There were those that felt slavery should not be extended into the new territories, but that hardly seems like motive for a civil war.

Trivia:

• 
  
  At 48, Pierce was the youngest president inaugurated, a distinction he would pass to Grant, who was inaugurated in 1869 at 46.



• 
  
  Pierce chose to "affirm" his oath of office rather than swear it, becoming the first president to do so; he placed his hand on a law book rather than on a Bible whilst doing so. He was also the first president to recite his inaugural address from memory.



• 
  
  Pierce’s initial cabinet remained intact for his entire 4-year term; as of now, it is still the only cabinet to have done so.



• 
  
  The town of Pierceton, Indiana is named for Franklin Pierce



• 
  
  The site of his birth is now under Franklin Pierce Lake (the only president that you need scuba gear to visit the birth place)



• 
  
  First president born in the 19th century



• 
  
  There is a big controversy over whether it was Franklin Pierce or Benjamin Harrison that had the first Christmas tree in the White House



• 
  
  Pierce is one of the few presidents that do not have any descendents related to them directly



• 
  
  Pierce was referred to as a “doughface” or Northerner with Southern sympathies. The term doughface is a disparaging term for a politician who is seen to be pliable or moldable.

13. Millard Fillmore

OK, I have to admit, even after reading a book on Fillmore I don’t know what to say.  To be honest, I couldn’t find a book on Fillmore, the only book I found was a combination of the Taylor and Fillmore presidencies.  I do know a guy at work that brings in donuts every year on January 7th to commemorate Fillmore’s birthday; does that count?  Seriously, he brings in donuts for Fillmore’s birthday.  Apparently it’s a tradition that dates back to when he was in college and they threw a birthday party for Fillmore every year.  Those crazy college kids will throw a party for anything (for us it was Dyngus Day).

Fillmore was born in Cayuga County, New York.  He studied the law and ultimately passed the bar in 1823.  He moved his young family to Buffalo in 1826.  He then served 3 terms in the New York Assembly (1829 – 1831) before being elected as a Whig to a seat in the 23rd Congress (1832).  He decided against running for re-election in 1834, but returned to Congress for 3 more terms (1836 – 1842).  In 1848 he was selected as Taylor’s running mate as vice president.  He was selected over the wishes of one of the Whig party’s bosses (Thurlow Weed).  Weed had wanted William Seward to be the vice presidential candidate.  Seward went on to serve as Secretary of State under Lincoln and arranged the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867.  Seward was also attacked on the night that Lincoln was assassinated, but survived being stabbed several times in the face and neck.  This battle with Seward would have repercussions.  Even though Fillmore was essential the number two person in the Whig party, Weed and Seward were able to strip much of his power from him to get political appointments.

Fillmore became only the second vice president to rise to the presidency following the death of the president.  When Taylor died, there was a bitter debate related to the expansion of slavery into lands recently acquired from Mexico and England.  Taylor had taken a strong stance against the spread of slavery into any of the new territories.  This was unpopular in the south.  Henry Clay put together a compromise bill that was not passed by Congress before Taylor died.  Fillmore supported what became known as the Compromise of 1850 and signed it into law.  The Compromise of 1850 was a collection of 5 bills:

1. California was admitted as a free state
2. Texas was compensated for the loss of territory to New Mexico
3. New Mexico became a territory
4. The slave trade was abolished in DC (slavery was still legal, just not the buying and selling of slaves)
5. The Fugitive Slave Act

As in most compromises, no one was completed satisfied.  The South had hoped that California would be split with slavery being allowed in southern California (based on the Missouri Compromise line).  The South still held out hope that voters in the New Mexico and Utah territories would vote to allow slavery.  The most controversial of the 5 items was the Fugitive Slave Act which stated that all fugitive slaves had to be returned to their owners.  It even allowed the slave owners to use federal troops to return their slaves.

While nobody like the Compromise of 1850, it is generally credited with delaying the Civil War by 10 years.

Fillmore lost the nomination of his party to General Winfield Scott in 1852.   In retirement, he opposed Lincoln throughout the Civil War and refused to join the new Republican Party as many of the former Whigs did.  He did run for president again in 1856 as part of the American Party (more commonly referred to as the Know-Nothing Party), but came in 3rd place.  His running mate in that election was the nephew of Andrew Jackson, Andrew Jackson Donelson.  He only carried one state, but got over 20% of the popular vote.  He died in 1874 after having a stroke.

There was a bit of controversy in 2010 when the Millard Fillmore presidential dollar coin was unveiled in Buffalo rather than his home town of Moravia, New York.

Trivia:

• Fillmore is one of 9 presidents that did not attend college: Washington, Jackson, Van Buren, Taylor, Lincoln, A. Johnson, Cleveland and Truman.
• He was the president who was born last in the 18th century (Jan 7th, 1800) although Buchanan was the last president born in the 18th century (1791).
• The last Whig president
• In 1846, he founded the private University of Buffalo, which today is the public State University of New York at Buffalo(SUNY Buffalo), the largest school in the New York state university system.
• He also founded the Buffalo Historical Society in 1862
• He started the White House library
• In 1850 he appointed Brigham Young as the first Governor of the Utah Territory
• Ordered the mission of Commodore Perry to Japan to open that country to western trade
• His first wife Abigail died on March 30th, 1853, just weeks after Fillmore left office
• He remarried in 1860 to Caroline McIntosh, a wealthy widow

12. Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor had a long and distinguished military career, followed by a rather short and unremarkable presidency. 

He joined the Army in 1808 as a First Lieutenant and served in the War of 1812.  During the defense of Fort Harrison against an attack by Tecumseh, Taylor and his 50 men held off 400 natives.  As a result of his actions he was given a brevet major rank (he had been promoted to captain in 1810).  He was the first person in the Army to be given a brevet rank (the brevet rank is temporary rank that often comes with more responsibility, but no more pay).  Once the war was over he was reduced back to a captain; this did not sit well with him and he left the Army.  It wasn’t long before he was back in.  Over the course of 40 years Taylor served in the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War (1832-37), fought the Seminole Indians (1837), and finally served in the war with Mexico.  During the Black Hawk War, he personally accepted the surrender of Chief Black Hawk.  He served with great distinction during wars with the Seminole Indians in Florida.  Eventually he was given command of all the troops in Florida.  By this time he had been promoted to brigadier general.  It was in Florida that he got his famous nickname “Old Rough and Ready”.

It was during the war with Mexico that Taylor gained national fame.  In 1845, President Polk sent Taylor down to the disputed border area between Texas and Mexico.  When Taylor’s men were attacked by Mexican forces Polk told Congress that a state of war existed.  On May 8, 1846, Taylor defeated a Mexican army 3 times the size of his force at Palo Alto.  Taylor’s use of artillery gave him the advantage over the Mexican forces.  Victory brought another promotion, this time to major general.

In September, he again defeated a much larger Mexican force at Monterrey in northern Mexico.  This battle involved fighting in the city literally in hand-to-hand combat in an urban setting.  The Mexican defenders surrendered after Taylor agreed to an 8 week armistice.  He faced criticism for allowing the Mexican army to leave with their weapons and did not get agreement that they would not fight again.  Polk, by this time, started to get uncomfortable with the success and praise that Taylor was receiving.  Even though Polk had pledged not to run for president again he was getting concerned that Taylor might be recruited to run for president from a rival party.  Polk was critical of Taylor after Monterrey, and might have removed him if Taylor wasn’t so popular.  Instead what Polk did was order Winfield Scott to take Mexico City and gave him many of Taylor’s best troops.

The Mexican general, Santa Anna, intercepted a letter that stated that Taylor was left with only about 5,000 men.  Santa Anna determined that he was going to attack Taylor with 15,000 – 20,000 Mexican troops.  This battle took place at the Battle of Buena Vista.  It lasted two days and ended as a huge victory for Taylor.  During the battle, Santa Anna had Taylor’s forces pinned down and sent a message to Taylor requesting his surrender.  The response that was sent back was “Tell him to go to hell!”.  After the battle, as Polk had feared, members of the Whig party began to encourage Taylor to run for president.

Taylor defeated Lewis Cass (Democrat) and Martin Van Buren (Free Soil) in the 1848 election.  With little experience in politics and believing himself to be independent, Taylor did not buy into the entire Whig platform.  He was opposed to the ideas of a national bank, increasing tariffs and spending federal money on internal improvements.  Even though he was a slave holder, he believed that the future states should have the right to decide in their own constitutions if they would allow slavery.  This did not endear him to southern politicians, some of whom began to discuss secession.  He reportedly told 3 southern congressmen speaking of secession, “If it becomes necessary, in executing the laws, I will take command of the army myself, and, if you are then taken in rebellion against the Union, I will hang you with less reluctance than I hanged deserters and spies in Mexico.”

The Compromise of 1850 was being hotly debated when Taylor died.  He did not come out strongly in favor or against the compromise.  I’ll cover this when I write up Millard Fillmore since that is when it passed, but in general, it consisted of 5 majors items: California statehood, Texan claims to New Mexico lands, the Fugitive Slave Law, slave trading in DC, and two new territories (Utah and New Mexico).

His only international accomplishment had to do with a proposed canal across Honduras.  The Clayton-Bulwer treaty was important because it stated that neither the US nor the UK could claim control over any canals built in Central America.

On July 4, 1850, after watching a dedication ceremony for the Washington Monument, Taylor returned to the White House where he reportedly ate a bowl of cherries and drank a glass of milk.  He died on July 9, just 16 months into his term of office.  His cause of death was listed as gastroenteritis.  There has been speculation that he was poisoned with arsenic.  He was even exhumed in 1991 so tests could be run; the results proving that the levels of arsenic in his body were several hundred times lower than a fatal dosage.

 

Fun Facts!

• Zachary Taylor’s son-in-law was Jefferson Davis (his daughter Sarah died from Malaria 3 months after marrying him)
• His only son, Robert, served as a lieutenant general in the Confederate army
• Due to religious reasons, Taylor refused to be inaugurated on March 4th (a Sunday) as stated in the Constitution at the time;  Because the Polk administration had officially ended, and no president or vice president was sworn in, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (David Atchison)was technically president for a day
• Taylor is the only president that died in office despite being elected in a year ending in a zero, although he did die in a year ending in “0” (1850)
• He is one of only 4 presidents that did not get to nominate a judge for the Supreme Court (William Henry Harrison, Andrew Johnson, Jimmy Carter)
• Taylor was the last southerner elected president until Lyndon Johnson
• Taylor has the 3rd shortest presidency after Harrison and Garfield
• Taylor never voted in an election as he never registered to vote
• He is the last president to own slaves while in office
• During the war with Mexico a controversy arose due to Taylor have two officers working for him of equal rank, but one held a brevet rank.  This led to an issue over which officer had seniority and eventually forced the army to review the brevet rank.

11. James K. Polk

OK, where to start with James Polk…  So far in my reading about each of the presidents none has surprised me with what they accomplished  more than James Polk.  He went into the presidency with very clear objectives and a pledge to only serve one term.  He accomplished all of his goals within the 4 years and died 3 months after leaving office.  For those of you who read my blog on Jefferson you’ll recall that I stated that only one other president added more land to the United States than Thomas Jefferson; that was James Polk.  Through a war and the threat of war he rounded out the remaining territories of the lower 48 states.  He is considered the strongest president between Jackson and Lincoln and is consistently rated in top quartile of US Presidents.  Polk has been called the “least known consequential president”.

Polk was the first of the “dark horse” presidents (others included Pierce, Lincoln, Hayes, Garfield and Harding).  The “dark horse” candidates were generally compromise candidates when two factions of a party have strong candidates and are unwilling to support the other.  The party conventions generally required more than a simple majority to win the nomination.  So while John Quincy Adams received a majority of the votes on the first ballot he was unable to garner the 2/3rds votes required.  On the 9th ballot Polk won the nomination of the Democratic party.

During the campaign against Henry Clay (the incumbent, Tyler, had lost the support of his party and was not re-nominated in 1844) in the regular election, Polk came out strongly for the annexation of Texas and went so far as to suggest that the US might be willing to go to war with England over the Oregon Territory.  The issue of the Oregon Territory led to the rallying cry of “54-40 or fight”.  This referred to the 54 degrees 40 minutes latitude that marks Alaska’s southern border.  Polk ended up settling for the 49th parallel.  On a side note, there is a great book called “How the States got Their Shapes” that explains all of the borders of the states and how they were decided (check out Delaware’s northern border that is a semicircle!).  Where was I…..

During the election, New York became the critical battleground state which Polk won thanks to the 19th century version of Ross Perot.  James Birney, from New York, was able to siphon off enough votes from Clay to allow Polk to take New York.  Of course I don’t think he had the ears or the charts of Perot!  During Polk’s inaugural address he outlined 4 goals for his presidency.

1. Reestablishing an independent treasury system
2. Lowering tariffs
3. Settling the Oregon issue with Great Britain
4. Acquiring California and New Mexico from Mexico

The first two objectives were met without too much trouble.  The Independent Treasury had been established in 1840 after Jackson vetoed the 2nd Bank of the United States.  It was established to store the nations funds and regulate currency.  The system was closed down by the Whigs in 1841.  The Polk administration with the support of the new Democratic majority in Congress reestablished the system in 1846 and it survived until 1913 when it was replaced by the current Federal Reserve system.  Also with the support of the Democrats in Congress, Polk was successful in lowering most tariffs.  Two down, two to go.

Polk believed in the eventual creation of a United States that stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans.  The phrase “Manifest Destiny” has been used to describe the policy of expansion west ward.  Both the 3rd and 4th goals were thorny at best.

The Oregon territory had been jointly administered by the US and Great Britain.  However, Americans were moving west in droves and staking claims in the territory under the assumption that it would eventually become part of the United States.  Polk put pressure on Great Britain to settle the issue at the 49th parallel.  When Great Britain refused to negotiate due to the rich lands around the Columbia River, Polk switched tactics and returned to the rallying cry of “54-40 or Fight” giving the impression that we was willing to go to war over the issue.  Eventually Great Britain agreed to set the boundary at the 49th parallel.

Now to the issue of Texas.  Texas became a hot topic for a couple of reasons; slavery and territorial disputes both with Mexico and with New Mexico.  So, Mexico fights a war for independence from Spain in the 1820’s.  Due to the low population levels of the Mexican state of Texas the government loosened the immigration laws to encourage settlers.  It didn’t take long before the Americans that were moving west (remember Manifest Destiny) vastly outnumbered the native Mexican population.  In 1835 Texas fought a war for independence against Mexico.  It was during this war that the battle at the Alamo was fought.  I’m not going to spend a lot of time here talking about that war, but it is important to have some background for what’s to come.  Texas gained it’s independence from Mexico (with at least the threat of American intervention from Andrew Jackson).

Now there are two separate but related issues going on in 1846.  Polk was very interested in buying California and New Mexico from Mexico.  At the same time, the US had annexed Texas in the closing days of the Tyler administration.  Polk sent an emissary out to negotiate the purchase of the new land from Mexico.  When the Mexican government, surprised that Polk was not offering some form of compensation for the loss of Texas, expelled the emissary Polk was more than a bit ticked off.  There had been a long standing dispute between Texas and Mexico over the southern border.  Polk decided to send some troops (under Zachary Taylor) down to test the border and to pressure Mexico to accept the offer for California and New Mexico.  What started out as a border dispute turned into the Mexican-American War.  It didn’t take long and instead of buying California and New Mexico we took it.  It has long been considered a black mark on the Polk administration because even at that time the US was a much stronger country than Mexico.  In the end Mexico lost almost 50% of its land area, while the US grew by 33% and added the area of the future states of California, Nevada, Utah and parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming.

There was also a dispute between Texas and New Mexico about the border between those states which was ultimately settled in favor of New Mexico.  In part because Texas was viewed as already being big enough.

While the concept of Manifest Destiny was very popular it also fueled the issue of slavery.  While Polk did not believe that slavery could survive in the newly acquire territories he felt that it should be up the population of those areas to decide.  He did suggest extending the line set up in the Missouri Compromise of 1820 to the Pacific.  The issue of slavery continued to create problems and ultimately led to the Civil War 12 years after he left office.  You certainly can’t fault Polk for the Civil War; every time new states were added the issue of slavery popped up.

Polk lived up to his promise and did not run again in 1848.  In fact, as I mentioned he died 3 months after leaving office of cholera that it’s believed he contracted in New Orleans.  Polk is generally given high marks for having set the objectives of administration and achieving them. 

Now for the trivia to impress your friends!

• Polk is the only US President to have served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives
• At the time he was the youngest elected president at the age of 49
• He had the shortest retirement of any US President, 103 days
• He was the youngest president to die in retirement at the age of 53
• He is the first president to have surviving pictures of him when he was president
• Polk was the last of what are considered the Jacksonian presidents
• Polk oversaw the opening of the Naval Academy, the Smithsonian Institution, the ground breaking of the Washington Monument and the first issuance of US Postage stamps
• He sported what was probably the most famous mullet until Billy Ray Cyrus came along
• Graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Served as a US Congressmen from Tennessee from 1825 – 1839. He was 29 when he was elected to his first term
• Served one term as the Governor of Tennessee (1839 – 1841).  In the early years, many states Governors served 2 years terms.
• So, he was the 11th Governor of Tennessee and the 11th President of the United States, coincidence (yeah probably).
• He and his wife are buried on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capital in Nashville

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Sarah Childress 
• Children: None (ironic that Sarah Childress was Childless!) 
• Party affiliation: Democratic Party 
• Presidency: 1844-1848
• Born: November 2nd, 1795 (Pineville, North Carolina)
• Died: June 15th, 1845 (Nashville, Tennessee)

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)

8. Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was the first in a string of what my niece calls the “Forgotten Presidents”.  Of course it was difficult to follow a president with the stature of Andrew Jackson.  Much of his term in office was taken up with the Panic of 1837, the first major economic crisis to hit the United States.  This crisis was not due to anything that Van Buren did, but rather it had more to do with the vetoing of the re-chartering of the 2nd Bank of the United States by Jackson.  In those days, the president did not have many tools at his disposal to combat a  financial crisis, and they just had to wait it out and hope for the best, which is what Van Buren did.  He did establish the Independent Treasury System to try to control federal funds in 1840.  This was disbanded by W. H. Harrison, but revived later in the 1840’s and ultimately was replaced by the current Federal Reserve System.

Van Buren was born in 1782 in the small village of Kinderhook, New York.  His father owned a tavern and young Martin would listen to the political discussions going on.  Martin became a gifted politician and is credited with creating the Democratic Party and was instrumental in getting Jackson elected to two terms.  Van Buren helped create the system of campaigning that we see today with local committees that organize volunteers and grass roots campaigning.

Van Buren was twice elected a US Senator from New York and then elected Governor of New York in 1828.  His term as Governor of New York is the second shortest on record; he took office in January 1829 and resigned in March of 1829 to become Jackson’s Secretary of State.  While Secretary of State, Van Buren helped craft Jackson’s speech explaining his veto of the Maysville Road Bill that would have used federal money to build a road within the state of Kentucky.  Because the road did not link multiple states together (although supporters claimed it was part of the Cumberland Road system) Jackson did not support the use of federal money for a state improvement project.

Van Buren sided with Jackson in the Petticoat Affair.  Jackson was very unhappy with his cabinet over the whole Eaton affair and wanted to replace most of them.  Van Buren helped him save face by resigning first.  This allowed Jackson to ask the entire cabinet to resign (with the exception of the Postmaster).  Because of his support of the Eatons (and Jackson) he was appointed Minister to the Court of St. Jame’s (UK).  Although when he arrived in England to take over the post, he found out that the Senate had rejected his nomination, due in large part to the influence of John Calhoun, the vice president.  During his reelection run in 1832 Jackson replaced Calhoun with Van Buren as his vice president.

In the election of 1836 Van Buren won pretty easily (170-73) over William Henry Harrison due in large part to the endorsement of Jackson who was still very popular.  During his presidency he continued the policies of Jackson with respect to the Native American expulsion from Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina to Oklahoma.  During this forced march thousands of Native Americans died in what has become known as the Trail of Tears.

During the election of 1840 Van Buren was soundly defeated by William Henry Harrison.  In the election of 1840 he was in the lead at the Democratic convention for the nomination, however he did not have the required two-thirds.  His opposition to the annexation of Texas led to his defeat and the nomination went to James K. Polk.  He ran again in 1848 as a Free Soil candidate, but received no electoral votes.  His running mate in the election of 1848 was Charles Francis Adams, the son of John Quincy Adams.

Van Buren’s major lasting legacy is the creation of the system of electioneering that we have today.  The concept of local party chair’s and organizing volunteers to promote a candidate was created by Martin Van Buren.

Party Favors:

• There are 5 towns (Indiana, Arkansas, Maine, Michigan, New York) and 3 counties (Iowa, Arkansas, Tennessee) named after Van Buren.  I lived in Van Buren, Indiana from birth until we moved to Michigan just before I turned 5.
• Van Buren is one of only two people to serve as Secretary of State, Vice-President and President; the other was Jefferson
• He was the first president who was not of British descent; he was Dutch
• He is the only president not to have spoken English as his first language; he grew up speaking Dutch
• He was the first president born an American, all previous presidents were born British subjects
• The term O.K. is generally traced back to Van Buren’s 1840 reelection campaign.  One of his nicknames was “Old Kinderhook” and OK clubs were started around the country to support his reelection bid.
• Van Buren is one of two widowers elected president; Chester Arthur was the other.  Jackson’s wife died after the election but before he took office.
• He is probably the president with the most nicknames.  The most common were Old Kinderhook, the Magician, Matty Van and Martin Van Ruin.
• When he wrote is autobiography he did not mention his wife of 12 years

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Hannah Hoes, died in 1819 at the age of 35
• Children: 5 sons, one daughter (one son died as an infant and the daughter was stillborn)
• Party affiliation: Democratic-Republican Party (before 1825), Democratic Party (1828-1848), Free Soil Party (1848-1854)
• Presidency: 1836-1840
• Born: Dec 5th, 1782 (Kinderhook, New York)
• Died: Jul 24th, 1862 (Kinderhook, New York)