John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the
tenth President of the United States (1841-1845), and the first
ever to obtain that office via succession.
Born in Virginia in 1790, he was raised believing that the
Constitution must be strictly construed. He never wavered from this
conviction. He attended the College of William and Mary and studied
law.
Serving in the House of Representatives from 1816 to 1821, Tyler
voted against most nationalist legislation and opposed the Missouri
Compromise. After leaving the House he served as Governor of
Virginia. As a Senator he reluctantly supported Jackson for
President as a choice of evils. Tyler soon joined the states'
rights Southerners in Congress who banded with Henry Clay, Daniel
Webster, and their newly formed Whig party opposing President
Jackson.
The Whigs nominated Tyler for Vice President in 1840, hoping for
support from southern states'-righters who could not stomach
Jacksonian Democracy. The slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" implied
flagwaving nationalism plus a dash of southern sectionalism.
Clay, intending to keep party leadership in his own hands,
minimized his nationalist views temporarily; Webster proclaimed
himself "a Jeffersonian Democrat." But after the election, both men
tried to dominate "Old Tippecanoe."
Suddenly President Harrison was dead, and "Tyler too" was in the
White House. At first the Whigs were not too disturbed, although
Tyler insisted upon assuming the full powers of a duly elected
President. He even delivered an Inaugural Address, but it seemed
full of good Whig doctrine. Whigs, optimistic that Tyler would
accept their program, soon were disillusioned.
Tyler was ready to compromise on the banking question, but Clay
would not budge. He would not accept Tyler's "exchequer system,"
and Tyler vetoed Clay's bill to establish a National Bank with
branches in several states. A similar bank bill was passed by
Congress. But again, on states' rights grounds, Tyler vetoed
it.
In retaliation, the Whigs expelled Tyler from their party. All
the Cabinet resigned but Secretary of State Webster. A year later
when Tyler vetoed a tariff bill, the first impeachment resolution
against a President was introduced in the House of Representatives.
A committee headed by Representative John Quincy Adams reported
that the President had misused the veto power, but the resolution
failed.
Despite their differences, President Tyler and the Whig Congress
enacted much positive legislation. The "Log-Cabin" bill enabled a
settler to claim 160 acres of land before it was offered publicly
for sale, and later pay $1.25 an acre for it.
In 1842 Tyler did sign a tariff bill protecting northern
manufacturers and the Webster-Ashburton treaty ended a Canadian
boundary dispute. However, arguably the most famous and significant
achievement of Tyler's administration was the annexation of the
Republic of Texas in 1845.
The administration of this states'-righter strengthened the
Presidency. But it also increased sectional cleavage that led
toward civil war. By the end of his term, Tyler had replaced the
original Whig Cabinet with southern conservatives. In 1844 Calhoun
became Secretary of State. Later these men returned to the
Democratic Party, committed to the preservation of states' rights,
planter interests, and the institution of slavery. Whigs became
more representative of northern business and farming interests.
When the first southern states seceded in 1861, Tyler led a
compromise movement; failing, he worked to create the Southern
Confederacy. He died in 1862, a member of the Confederate House of
Representatives.
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The Cache
President Tyler's home, Sherwood Forest, survived the Civil War in
1864 when Union soldiers damaged the house, as testified by marks
on woodwork and doors. Also unique to the house is the legend of a
ghost, known as the Gray Lady, who has been heard rocking in the
Gray Room for more than 200 years.
This cache was placed along Sherwood Forest St. in recognition
of Tyler's beloved estate.
This cache placed by a
Member
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