Remembering John Tyler
On January 18, 1862, 149 years ago today, John Tyler Jr., the 10th President of the United States, died in Richmond Virginia at the age of 71. Tyler was the first Vice-President to assume the office of the Presidency upon the death of a sitting President. He became President on April 6, 1841 upon the death of President William Henry Harrison. At first, many refused to recognize Tyler's authority as President. Members in Congress such as former President John Quincy Adams argued that Tyler's role was as a caretaker under the title of "Acting President" and should remain Vice President in name. Whig leader Henry Clay intended to become an acting president. Clay "kept referring to Tyler as 'the Vice-President' and insisted that Tyler would be more in the nature of a regent. Tyler set the standard for later presidential successions by asserting that he was not merely "acting president" but had in fact acquired the full powers of the presidency.Tyler reportedly said to Clay: "Go you now, Mr. Clay, to your end of the avenue, where stands the Capitol, and there perform your duty to the country as you shall think proper. So help me God, I shall do mine at this end of it as I shall think proper."
On June 1, 1841, both houses of Congress passed resolutions declaring Tyler the tenth President of the United States. Tyler become the first U.S. vice president to assume the office of president upon the death of his predecessor, establishing a precedent. Tyler's detractors would refer to him as "His Accidency" and when his political opponents would send correspondence to the White House addressed to the "Vice President" or "Acting President," Tyler had it returned unopened.
As President, Tyler quickly broke with his party on a number of issues, including the annexation of Texas. in June 1842, the House of Representatives initiated the first impeachment proceedings against a president in American history. A committee headed by former president John Quincy Adams, condemned Tyler's use of the veto and stated that Tyler should be impeached. On January 10, 1843, a resolution introduced in the House which charged "John Tyler, Vice President acting as President" with nine counts of impeachable offenses, including corruption, official misconduct, and other high crimes and misdemeanors.The resolution was defeated, 83-127. The Whigs were unable to pursue further impeachment proceedings in the subsequent 28th Congress, as in the elections of 1842 they lost control of the House
The last year of Tyler's presidency. a freak accident killed two of his Cabinet members. During a ceremonial cruise down the Potomac River on February 28, 1844, the main gun of the USS Princeton blew up during a demonstration firing. Tyler was unhurt, but Tyler's Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of State were among those killed. Tyler's future second wife, Julia Gardiner, whom Tyler had met two years earlier at a reception, was also aboard the Princeton that day. Her father, David Gardiner, was among those killed during the explosion. Upon hearing of her father's death, Gardiner fainted into the President's arms. Tyler and Gardiner were married not long afterwards in New York City, on June 26, 1844. This made Tyler the first of three sitting presidents to be married in office. (The other two were Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson.)
The Whigs refused to renominate Tyler in 1844. He offered his services to the Democrats but they were not interested. He tried to run as a third party candidate, but failed to gain enough support, and ended up supporting James K. Polk. Tyler retired to a Virginia plantation which he renamed "Sherwood Forest" to signify that he had been "outlawed" by the Whig party. On the eve of the Civil War, Tyler chaired the Virginia Peace Convention, held in Washington, D.C. in February 1861 as an effort to devise means to prevent a war. When war broke out, Tyler sided with the Confederacy, and became a delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress in 1861. He was then elected to the House of Representatives of the Confederate Congress, but died before he could assume office.Tyler's death was the only one in presidential history not to be officially mourned in Washington, because of his allegiance to the Confederacy.
On June 1, 1841, both houses of Congress passed resolutions declaring Tyler the tenth President of the United States. Tyler become the first U.S. vice president to assume the office of president upon the death of his predecessor, establishing a precedent. Tyler's detractors would refer to him as "His Accidency" and when his political opponents would send correspondence to the White House addressed to the "Vice President" or "Acting President," Tyler had it returned unopened.
As President, Tyler quickly broke with his party on a number of issues, including the annexation of Texas. in June 1842, the House of Representatives initiated the first impeachment proceedings against a president in American history. A committee headed by former president John Quincy Adams, condemned Tyler's use of the veto and stated that Tyler should be impeached. On January 10, 1843, a resolution introduced in the House which charged "John Tyler, Vice President acting as President" with nine counts of impeachable offenses, including corruption, official misconduct, and other high crimes and misdemeanors.The resolution was defeated, 83-127. The Whigs were unable to pursue further impeachment proceedings in the subsequent 28th Congress, as in the elections of 1842 they lost control of the House
The last year of Tyler's presidency. a freak accident killed two of his Cabinet members. During a ceremonial cruise down the Potomac River on February 28, 1844, the main gun of the USS Princeton blew up during a demonstration firing. Tyler was unhurt, but Tyler's Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of State were among those killed. Tyler's future second wife, Julia Gardiner, whom Tyler had met two years earlier at a reception, was also aboard the Princeton that day. Her father, David Gardiner, was among those killed during the explosion. Upon hearing of her father's death, Gardiner fainted into the President's arms. Tyler and Gardiner were married not long afterwards in New York City, on June 26, 1844. This made Tyler the first of three sitting presidents to be married in office. (The other two were Grover Cleveland and Woodrow Wilson.)
The Whigs refused to renominate Tyler in 1844. He offered his services to the Democrats but they were not interested. He tried to run as a third party candidate, but failed to gain enough support, and ended up supporting James K. Polk. Tyler retired to a Virginia plantation which he renamed "Sherwood Forest" to signify that he had been "outlawed" by the Whig party. On the eve of the Civil War, Tyler chaired the Virginia Peace Convention, held in Washington, D.C. in February 1861 as an effort to devise means to prevent a war. When war broke out, Tyler sided with the Confederacy, and became a delegate to the Provisional Confederate Congress in 1861. He was then elected to the House of Representatives of the Confederate Congress, but died before he could assume office.Tyler's death was the only one in presidential history not to be officially mourned in Washington, because of his allegiance to the Confederacy.