John Tyler

The American Presidents Series: The 10th President, 1841-1845

The American Presidents

Gary May; Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Sean Wilentz, General Editors

Times Books

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The first “accidental president,” whose secret maneuverings brought Texas into the Union and set secession in motion

When William Henry Harrison died in April 1841, just one month after his inauguration, Vice President John Tyler assumed the presidency. It was a controversial move by this Southern gentleman, who had been placed on the fractious Whig ticket with the hero of Tippecanoe in order to sweep Andrew Jackson’s Democrats, and their imperial tendencies, out of the White House.

Soon Tyler was beset by the Whigs’ competing factions. He vetoed the charter for a new Bank of the United States, which he deemed unconstitutional, and was expelled from his own party. In foreign policy, as well, Tyler marched to his own drummer. He engaged secret agents to help resolve a border dispute with Britain and negotiated the annexation of Texas without the Senate’s approval. The resulting sectional divisions roiled the country.

Gary May, a historian known for his dramatic accounts of secret government, sheds new light on Tyler’s controversial presidency, which saw him set aside his dedication to the Constitution to gain his two great ambitions: Texas and a place in history.

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John Tyler
1The High Road to FameThe young John Tyler met the revered Thomas Jefferson, founding father and former president of the republic, on October 21, 1809, when Jefferson came to dine at the Tyler home. For Jefferson, recently retired from the presidency after the election of his protégé James Madison, the visit to Richmond was something of a homecoming, although perhaps not a pleasant one. Jefferson would be dining at "The Palace," the residence of the governor of Virginia, Judge John Tyler.

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About the Author

Gary May; Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Sean Wilentz, General Editors

Gary May is a professor of history at the University of Delaware. The author of three books, including the critically acclaimed The Informant: The FBI, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Murder of Viola Liuzzo, he lives in Newark, Delaware.

Gary May
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
Sean Wilentz

Dominique Nabokov
Denise Applewhite
Sean Wilentz

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John Tyler
The American Presidents Series: The 10th President, 1841-1845
The American Presidents
Gary May; Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Sean Wilentz, General Editors

Hardcover

Hardcover
Henry Holt and Co.
Times Books
December 2008
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780805082388
ISBN10: 0805082387
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 208 pages
$22.00
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Henry Holt and Co.
Times Books
December 2008
e-Book Agency
ISBN: 9781429939218
ISBN10: 1429939214
208 pages
$9.99
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