Zachary Taylor and John Clayton
Zachary Taylor was chosen as the presidential candidate for the Whig Party in 1848 because of his popularity as a general in the Mexican War, not for his skills as a politician. Taylor had won a number of battles in which his troops were outnumbered and did so despite not having the complete support of his President James K. Polk. Polk had hoped to find a popular Democrat to lead his army, but unfortunately for him, all of his best generals were Whigs.
Taylor had never actually declared for any political party, but he was suspected to be a Whig. It is said that he had never even voted before. According to one story, when the Whigs sent a letter to Taylor officially informing him that they had nominated him as their candidate, he refused to accept the letter because it had insufficient postage.
Even after his election victory, Taylor did not resign his military command until late January 1849. He spent the months following the election formulating his cabinet selections. He was quiet about his decisions, to the frustration of leading Whigs. When he did make his selections, he also avoided choosing prominent Whigs, such as Henry Clay. One man he trusted was another prominent Kentucky Whig, John J. Crittenden. He offered Crittenden the job of Secretary of State, but Crittenden insisted on serving out his term as Governor of Kentucky to which he had just been elected. Instead Taylor chose Senator John M. Clayton of Delaware, a close associate of Crittenden's.
Taylor began his journey to Washington in late January. Faced with bad weather and other delays, Taylor finally arrived there on February 24. He met with the outgoing President Polk. Polk had a low opinion of Taylor. Polk wrote of Taylor in his diary that Taylor was "without political information" and "wholly unqualified for the station" of President.With less than two weeks until his inauguration, Taylor met with Clayton and hastily finalized his cabinet.
Taylor and his new Secretary of State Clayton both lacked diplomatic experience. But they shared strong nationalism sentiments. Taylor entrusted foreign policy matters to Clayton with minimal oversight. They were both opponents of the autocratic European political order, and both supported German and Hungarian revolutionaries in the revolutions of 1848, although they offered little in the way of aid.
The inexperienced leadership in the diplomatic sector nearly turned a perceived insult from the French minister Guillaume Tell Poussin into to a break of diplomatic relations with France, but Poussin was replaced. The US was involved in a reparation dispute with Portugal. But the administration contributed two ships to assist in the United Kingdom's search for a team of British explorers, led by John Franklin, who had gotten lost in the Arctic. While previous Whig administrations had emphasized Pacific trade as an economic imperative, the Taylor administration seemed disinterested in the Far East.
Throughout 1849 and 1850, Narciso López, a Venezuelan radical, led repeated "filibustering" expeditions in an attempt to conquer the island of Cuba. López made generous offers to American military leaders to support him, but Taylor and Clayton saw the enterprise as illegal. They issued a blockade, and authorized a mass arrest of López and his fellows. They also confronted Spain, which had arrested several Americans on the charge of piracy, but the Spaniards eventually surrendered them to maintain good relations with the U.S.
The definitive foreign policy accomplishment of the Taylor administration was the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which dealt with the issue of a proposed inter-oceanic canal through Central America. The construction of such a canal was decades away from being built, but the mere possibility caused some tension between the two nations. Britain had been seizing strategic points, particularly on the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua. Negotiations were held with Britain that resulted in the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty in which both nations agreed not to claim control of any canal that might be built in Nicaragua. The treaty promoted development of an Anglo-American alliance. This treaty guaranteed the neutrality and encouragement of lines of travel across the isthmus at Panama, and laid the groundwork for America's eventual building of the Panama Canal.
On July 9, 1850, Zachary Taylor died from cholera. Clayton resigned along with all of Taylor's other cabinet on July 22, 1850. Incoming President Millard Fillmore retained only one member of Taylor's cabinet. Clayton returned to the Senate in 1853, serving until his death on November 9, 1856.
Taylor had never actually declared for any political party, but he was suspected to be a Whig. It is said that he had never even voted before. According to one story, when the Whigs sent a letter to Taylor officially informing him that they had nominated him as their candidate, he refused to accept the letter because it had insufficient postage.
Even after his election victory, Taylor did not resign his military command until late January 1849. He spent the months following the election formulating his cabinet selections. He was quiet about his decisions, to the frustration of leading Whigs. When he did make his selections, he also avoided choosing prominent Whigs, such as Henry Clay. One man he trusted was another prominent Kentucky Whig, John J. Crittenden. He offered Crittenden the job of Secretary of State, but Crittenden insisted on serving out his term as Governor of Kentucky to which he had just been elected. Instead Taylor chose Senator John M. Clayton of Delaware, a close associate of Crittenden's.
Taylor began his journey to Washington in late January. Faced with bad weather and other delays, Taylor finally arrived there on February 24. He met with the outgoing President Polk. Polk had a low opinion of Taylor. Polk wrote of Taylor in his diary that Taylor was "without political information" and "wholly unqualified for the station" of President.With less than two weeks until his inauguration, Taylor met with Clayton and hastily finalized his cabinet.
Taylor and his new Secretary of State Clayton both lacked diplomatic experience. But they shared strong nationalism sentiments. Taylor entrusted foreign policy matters to Clayton with minimal oversight. They were both opponents of the autocratic European political order, and both supported German and Hungarian revolutionaries in the revolutions of 1848, although they offered little in the way of aid.
The inexperienced leadership in the diplomatic sector nearly turned a perceived insult from the French minister Guillaume Tell Poussin into to a break of diplomatic relations with France, but Poussin was replaced. The US was involved in a reparation dispute with Portugal. But the administration contributed two ships to assist in the United Kingdom's search for a team of British explorers, led by John Franklin, who had gotten lost in the Arctic. While previous Whig administrations had emphasized Pacific trade as an economic imperative, the Taylor administration seemed disinterested in the Far East.
Throughout 1849 and 1850, Narciso López, a Venezuelan radical, led repeated "filibustering" expeditions in an attempt to conquer the island of Cuba. López made generous offers to American military leaders to support him, but Taylor and Clayton saw the enterprise as illegal. They issued a blockade, and authorized a mass arrest of López and his fellows. They also confronted Spain, which had arrested several Americans on the charge of piracy, but the Spaniards eventually surrendered them to maintain good relations with the U.S.
The definitive foreign policy accomplishment of the Taylor administration was the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty, which dealt with the issue of a proposed inter-oceanic canal through Central America. The construction of such a canal was decades away from being built, but the mere possibility caused some tension between the two nations. Britain had been seizing strategic points, particularly on the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua. Negotiations were held with Britain that resulted in the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty in which both nations agreed not to claim control of any canal that might be built in Nicaragua. The treaty promoted development of an Anglo-American alliance. This treaty guaranteed the neutrality and encouragement of lines of travel across the isthmus at Panama, and laid the groundwork for America's eventual building of the Panama Canal.
On July 9, 1850, Zachary Taylor died from cholera. Clayton resigned along with all of Taylor's other cabinet on July 22, 1850. Incoming President Millard Fillmore retained only one member of Taylor's cabinet. Clayton returned to the Senate in 1853, serving until his death on November 9, 1856.