Tyler, John: Presidency

In 1840, Tyler was chosen running mate to the Whig presidential candidate, William Henry Harrison, and they waged their victorious “Tippecanoe and Tyler too” campaign. One month after his inauguration Harrison died, and on Apr. 4, 1841, Tyler became the first Vice President to succeed to the presidency. His antipathy toward many Whig policies soon became apparent (he had never concealed it), and a rift developed between him and Henry Clay, the party leader.

After his second veto of a measure creating a national bank with branches in the states (on the grounds that it violated the constitutional rights of the states), his cabinet, except for Daniel Webster, resigned (Sept., 1841). Webster stayed on as Secretary of State until the negotiations for the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with the British were completed (May, 1843). Bitterly denounced by the Whigs and with few friends among the Democrats, Tyler became a President without a party.

Nevertheless he accomplished much toward the annexation of Texas. Abel P. Upshur, Webster's successor, was killed when a gun on the U.S.S. Princeton blew up, and John C. Calhoun continued Upshur's negotiations for a treaty with Texas. The treaty was rejected by the Senate. Tyler then supported a plan for a joint resolution to annex Texas and had the satisfaction of seeing it accepted by Texas just before he left office in 1845. The completion of annexation was brought about under James K. Polk, Tyler's Democratic successor.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Later Career
• Presidency
• Early Career
• Bibliography

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