John Tyler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Tyler
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| 10th President of the United States | |
| In office April 4, 1841 – March 4, 1845 |
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| Vice President | none |
| Preceded by | William Henry Harrison |
| Succeeded by | James Knox Polk |
| 10th Vice President of the United States | |
| In office 4 March 1841 – 4 April 1841 |
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| President | William Henry Harrison |
| Preceded by | Richard Mentor Johnson |
| Succeeded by | George M. Dallas |
| President pro tempore of the Senate | |
| In office March 4, 1835 – December 4, 1835 |
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| President | Andrew Jackson |
| Preceded by | George Poindexter |
| Succeeded by | William King |
| United States Senator from Virginia |
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| In office March 4, 1827 – February 29, 1836 |
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| Preceded by | John Randolph |
| Succeeded by | William Rives |
| 23rd Governor of Virginia | |
| In office December 10, 1825 – March 4, 1827 |
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| Preceded by | James Pleasants |
| Succeeded by | William Giles |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 23rd district |
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| In office December 17, 1816 – March 5, 1821 |
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| Preceded by | John Clopton |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Stevenson |
| Member of the Confederate States House of Representatives from Virginia's 1st Congressional District | |
| In office 1862–1862 |
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| Preceded by | none |
| Succeeded by | James Lyons |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 29, 1790 Charles City County, Virginia, U.S.A. |
| Died | January 18, 1862 (aged 71) Richmond, Virginia, C.S.A. |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Whig and none |
| Spouses | Letitia Christian Tyler (1st wife) Julia Gardiner Tyler (2nd wife) |
| Signature |  |
John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the 10th President of the United States of America, from 1841 to 1845. He was the first vice president to become president after the president before him died. He was also the first President born after the United States Constitution was ratified.
Early years
Tyler grew up in Virginia and became a lawyer. His father was also a lawyer who later became governor of Virginia. Tyler became a state representative in the United States Congress, and then also became governor of Virginia like his father.
Tyler started in government as a member of the Democratic Party, but later he changed to the Whig Party, which was very new. He was chosen to run as vice president next to William Henry Harrison. Whig Party people used to say "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" to get people to vote for them. (William Henry Harrison was famous for being a general in a battle in a place called Tippecanoe, and that was his nickname.)
Harrison and Tyler won the election, but Harrison died one month later. Tyler then became president.
Presidency
Some people thought that Tyler was not the real president, because he had not been elected. But the United States Constitution says that the vice president takes over if the president dies, and Tyler said that meant he was the new president. At first, the rest of the government agreed and declared him the new president. But the Whig Party did not want Tyler to be president, and a lot of people called him "the accidental president" or "His Accidency".
Tyler made the Whig Party angry when he picked people from the other party (the Democratic Party) to work in his government. He wanted to bring the two Parties to work together, but instead this made him unpopular. He rejected many of the Whigs' ideas. The Whig Party decided not to pick him to run for president in 1844.
While he was president, Florida became a new state. Texas was its own country, after winning a war against Mexico. Tyler wanted Texas to be a U.S. state and tried to make this happen while president, but it did not happen until a few months afterwards.
Later life
The Whig Party did not want Tyler to be president again, and did not pick him to run for president in 1844. He had some friends in the Democratic Party who sometimes asked him for ideas, but that Party did not like him enough to be president, either. Tyler was sometimes called "the President without a party" since both groups did not want him.
When the Confederate States of America was created, Tyler thought that states should be allowed to make their own laws, even about slavery. He did not want a civil war. Instead, he tried to get the United States to agree to let the southern states keep slavery. But the United States Congress said no, and Tyler decided that Virginia had to join the Confederacy. He later was elected to the Confederate congress, but died before taking the job.
Death
Throughout Tyler's life, he suffered from poor health. As he aged, he suffered more frequently from colds during the winter. On January 12, 1862, after complaining of chills and dizziness, he vomited and collapsed. Despite treatment, his health failed to improve, and he made plans to return to Sherwood Forest by the 18th. As he lay in bed the night before, he began suffocating, and Julia summoned his doctor. Just after midnight, Tyler took a sip of brandy, and told his doctor, "I am going. Perhaps it is best." He died shortly thereafter, most likely due to a stroke.
Tyler's death was the only one in presidential history not to be officially recognized in Washington, because of his allegiance to the Confederacy. He had requested a simple burial, but Confederate President Jefferson Davis devised a grand, politically pointed funeral, painting Tyler as a hero to the new nation. Accordingly, at his funeral, the coffin of the tenth president of the United States was draped with a Confederate flag; he remains the only U.S. president ever laid to rest under a foreign flag.
Tyler was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, near the gravesite of former President James Monroe. Tyler has since been the namesake of several U.S. locations, including the city of Tyler, Texas, named for him because of his role in the annexation of Texas.
Legacy
Tyler's presidency has divided responses among political commentators. It is generally held in low esteem by historians. Biographers and historians have argued that John Tyler was a hapless and inept chief executive whose presidency was seriously flawed." It has been observed observed that the Tyler presidency "is generally ranked as one of the least successful, that he was neither a great president nor a great intellectual. A survey of historians conducted by C-SPAN in 2017 ranked Tyler as 39th of 43 men to hold the office.
While academics have both praised and criticized Tyler, the general American public has little awareness of him at all. Several writers have portrayed Tyler as among the nation's most obscure presidents. As Seager remarked: "His countrymen generally remember him, if they have heard of him at all, as the rhyming end of a catchy campaign slogan."
Images for kids
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"Tippecanoe and Tyler Too"
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1888 illustration of President Tyler receiving the news of President Harrison's death from Chief Clerk of the State Department Fletcher Webster
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Official portrait of President Tyler by George Peter Alexander Healy, c. 1864
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Whig cartoon depicting the effects of unemployment on a family that has Jackson's and Van Buren's portraits on the wall
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The boundaries of the United States and neighboring nations as they appeared in 1843. The Webster–Ashburton Treaty had formalized the border of Maine in the northeast, while the Republic of Texas in the southwest had a disputed border with Mexico.
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A lithograph of the Princeton disaster (1844)
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An anti-Tyler satire lampoons his efforts to secure a second term. Tyler pushes the door shut on opponents Clay, Polk, Calhoun, and Jackson, as Uncle Sam demands that he let Clay in.
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An oil portrait of Tyler's first wife, Letitia Christian Tyler, by an unknown artist
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An obelisk marks Tyler's grave at Hollywood Cemetery.
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Tyler on a U.S. postage stamp, Issue of 1938
See also
In Spanish: John Tyler para niños
