John Tyler: A Short Biography - Tenth President of the United States
By Doug West
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About this ebook
John Tyler holds the distinction of being the first president to take office due to the death of a sitting president. Tyler was thrust into office on the death of President William Henry Harrison in 1841 after being vice president for only a month. He was at home in Richmond when he got word of Harrison’s death. Immediately he rushed to Washington, D.C., to be embroiled in a Constitutional crisis over the secession of power.
The Whig Political Party had chosen Tyler as Harrison’s running mate in the election of 1840, primarily because he was from the very populous state of Virginia and it was hoped he could bring in the Southern vote. The Whigs were shocked when Tyler became president and didn’t fall in line with the party. He vetoed much of their legislation, so they kicked him out of the party!
After his one term in office, he was relegated to political obscurity. As the tensions grew between the North and South leading up to the Civil War, Tyler and his new wife, thirty years his junior, became outspoken advocates for slavery and Southern plantation life. Just before his death he was elected as a representative to the Confederate States of America and would be buried in a coffin draped with a Confederate flag. To the Northerners, John Tyler was considered a traitor to the Union cause, making him one of the most controversial presidents in United States history.
“John Tyler: A Short Biography” reveals the life and times of the tenth president of the United States.
30-Minute Book Series
This is the 38th book in the 30-Minute Book Series. Books in this series are fast-paced, accurate, and cover the story in as much detail as a short book possibly can. Most people complete each book in less than an hour, which makes the books in the series a perfect companion for your lunch hour or a little down time.
About the Author
Doug West is a retired engineer and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with special expertise in history, science, biographies, and “How To” topics. Doug has a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University.
Doug West
Doug West is a retired engineer, small business owner, and an experienced non-fiction writer with several books to his credit. His writing interests are general, with expertise in science, history, biographies, numismatics, and “How to” topics. Doug has a B.S. in Physics from the Missouri School of Science and Technology and a Ph.D. in General Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He lives with his wife and little dog “Millie” near Kansas City, Missouri.
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John Tyler - Doug West
John Tyler: A Short Biography
Tenth President of the United States
By Doug West, Ph.D.
John Tyler: A Short Biography
Tenth President of the United States
Copyright © 2019 Doug West
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
For my grandson Orion
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 – Early Years
Chapter 2 – National Politician
Chapter 3 – United States Senate
Chapter 4 – Election of 1840
Chapter 5 – President John Tyler
Chapter 6 – Annexation of Texas
Chapter 7 - Retirement and the Confederate States of America
Timeline of John Tyler
Biographical Sketches
References and Further Reading
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Additional Books by Doug West
Preface
Welcome to the book, John Tyler: A Short Biography. This book is volume 38 of the 30 Minute Book Series and, as the name of the series implies, if you are an average reader this book will take less than an hour to read. Since this short book is not meant to be an all-encompassing biography of John Tyler, you may want to know more about this man and his accomplishments. To help you with this, there are several good references at the end of this book. I have also provided a Timeline, in order to link together the important events in Tyler’s life, and a section titled Biographical Sketches,
which includes brief biographies of some of the key individuals in the book.
Thank you for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoy your time reading about this American president.
Doug West
April 2019
Introduction
John Tyler holds the distinction of being the first president to take office due to the death of a sitting president. Tyler was thrust into office on the death of President William Henry Harrison in 1841. He was at home in Richmond when he got word of Harrison’s death and rushed to Washington, D.C., to be embroiled in a Constitutional crisis. The Constitution wasn’t clear on the role of the new president; was he an acting president or was he the president in every way? Tyler was decisive and, critics be damned, he ordered his inauguration as president shortly after arriving in Washington.
Tyler was a member of the recently formed Whig political party, which was a loose confederation of different factions with their only common denominator that they were bitterly opposed to Andrew Jackson’s Democratic Party. The Whigs had chosen Tyler as Harrison’s running mate in the election of 1840, mainly because he was from the very populous state of Virginia. The Whigs were shocked when Tyler took office and didn’t fall in line with the party. He vetoed much of their legislation, so they kicked him out of the party!
After his one term in office, he was relegated to political obscurity. He had always been pro-slavery