Harrison's death in office was an unprecedented event that caused considerable uncertainty about presidential succession.
Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 of the United States Constitution, which governed intra-term presidential succession at the time (now superseded by the
Twenty-fifth Amendment), states: Interpreting this Constitutional prescription led to the question of whether the actual office of president devolved upon Tyler, or merely its powers and duties. However, Tyler firmly and decisively asserted that the Constitution gave him the full and unqualified powers of the office. Accordingly, he had himself sworn in immediately as president, moved into the White House and assumed full presidential powers. This set the
Tyler Precedent for an orderly transfer of power following a president's death, though it was not codified until the passage of the 25th Amendment in 1967. Judge
William Cranch administered the
presidential oath in Tyler's hotel room. Tyler considered the oath redundant to his oath as vice president, but wished to quell any doubt over his accession. When he took office, Tyler, at 51, became the
youngest president to that point. His record was in turn surpassed by his immediate successor
James K. Polk, who took office at age 49. "Fearing that he would alienate Harrison's supporters, Tyler decided to keep Harrison's entire cabinet even though several members were openly hostile to him and resented his assumption of the office.") The Cabinet fully expected the new president to continue this practice. Tyler was astounded and immediately corrected them: Tyler delivered an informal written inaugural address to the
Congress on April 9, in which he reasserted his belief in fundamental tenets of
Jeffersonian democracy and limited federal power. Tyler's claim to be president was not immediately accepted by
opposition members of Congress such as
John Quincy Adams, who felt that Tyler should be a
caretaker under the title of "acting president", or remain vice president in name. Among those who questioned Tyler's authority was Clay, who had planned to be "the real power behind a fumbling throne" while Harrison was alive, and intended the same for Tyler. Ratification of the decision by Congress came through the customary notification that it makes to the president, that it is in session and available to receive messages. In both houses, unsuccessful amendments were offered to strike the word "president" in favor of language including the term "vice president" to refer to Tyler. Mississippi Senator
Robert J. Walker, in opposition, said that the idea that Tyler was still vice president and could preside over the Senate was absurd. On May 31, 1841, the House passed a joint resolution confirming Tyler as "President of the United States" for the remainder of his term. Regardless, Tyler never wavered from his conviction that he was the rightful president. When his political opponents sent correspondence to the White House addressed to the "vice president" or "acting president", he had it returned unopened. Tyler was considered a strong leader for his decisive action on his accession to the presidency. However, he generally held a limited view of presidential power, that legislation should be initiated by Congress, and the presidential veto should be only used when a law was unconstitutional or against the national interest.
Economic policy and party conflicts Like Harrison, Tyler had been expected to adhere to Whig Party Congressional public policies and to defer to Whig party leader Clay. The Whigs especially demanded that Tyler curb the veto power, in response to Jackson's perceived authoritarian presidency. Clay had envisioned Congress to be modeled after a
parliamentary-type system where he was the leader. Initially Tyler concurred with the new Whig Congress, signing into law the
preemption bill granting "squatters' sovereignty" to settlers on public land, a Distribution Act (discussed below), a new bankruptcy law, and the repeal of the
Independent Treasury. When it came to the great banking question, Tyler was soon at odds with the Congressional Whigs, and twice vetoed Clay's legislation for a national banking act. Although the second bill was originally tailored to meet his objections in the first veto, its final version did not. This practice, designed to protect Clay from having a successful incumbent president as a rival for the Whig nomination in 1844, became known as "heading Captain Tyler", a term coined by Whig Representative
John Minor Botts of Virginia. Tyler proposed an alternative fiscal plan known as the "Exchequer", but Clay's friends who controlled the Congress would have none of it. On September 11, 1841, after the second bank veto, members of the cabinet entered Tyler's office one by one and resigned—an orchestration by Clay to force Tyler's resignation and place his own lieutenant, Senate President
pro tempore Samuel L. Southard, in the White House. The only exception was Webster, who remained to finalize what became the 1842
Webster–Ashburton Treaty, and to demonstrate his independence from Clay. When told by Webster that he was willing to stay, Tyler is reported to have said, "Give me your hand on that, and now I will say to you that Henry Clay is a doomed man." Whigs in Congress were so angry with Tyler that they refused to allocate funds to fix the White House, which had fallen into disrepair.
Tariff and distribution debate By mid-1841, the federal government faced a projected budget deficit of $11 million. Tyler recognized the need for higher tariffs, but wished to stay within the 20% rate created by the
1833 Compromise Tariff. He also supported a plan to distribute to the states any revenue from the sales of public land, as an emergency measure to manage the states' growing debt, even though this would cut federal revenue. The Whigs supported high protectionist tariffs and national funding of state infrastructure, and so there was enough overlap to forge a compromise. The Distribution Act of 1841 created a distribution program, with a ceiling on tariffs at 20%; a second bill increased tariffs to that figure on previously low-tax goods. Despite these measures, by March 1842 it had become clear that the federal government was still in dire fiscal straits. cartoon depicting the effects of unemployment on a family that has Jackson's and Van Buren's portraits on the wall The root of the trouble was an economic crisis—initiated by the
Panic of 1837—that was entering its sixth year in 1842. A
speculative bubble had burst in 1836–39, causing a collapse of the financial sector and a subsequent depression. The country became deeply divided over the best response to the crisis. Conditions got even worse in early 1842 because a deadline was looming. A decade earlier, when the economy was strong, Congress had promised Southern states that there would be a reduction in hated federal tariffs. Northern states welcomed tariffs, which protected their infant industries, but the South had no industrial base and depended on open access to British markets for their cotton. The defiant Whig Congress would not raise tariffs in a way that would affect the distribution of funds to states. In June 1842 they passed two bills that would raise tariffs and unconditionally extend the distribution program. Believing it improper to continue distribution at a time when federal revenue shortage necessitated increasing the tariff, Tyler vetoed both bills, burning any remaining bridges between himself and the Whigs. Congress tried again, combining the two into one bill; Tyler vetoed it again, to the dismay of many in Congress, who nevertheless failed to override the veto. As some action was necessary, Whigs in Congress, led by the
House Ways and Means chairman
Millard Fillmore, passed in each house (by one vote) a bill restoring tariffs to 1832 levels and ending the distribution program. Tyler signed the
Tariff of 1842 on August 30,
pocket vetoing a separate bill to restore distribution.
New York Customs House reform In May 1841, President Tyler appointed three private citizens to investigate fraud in the New York Customs House that supposedly took place under President
Martin Van Buren. The commission was led by
George Poindexter, former governor, and Mississippi U.S. Senator. The commission uncovered fraudulent activities by Jesse D. Hoyt, the New York Collector under Van Buren. The commission's investigation caused controversy with the Whig-controlled Congress, which demanded to see the investigation report and was upset that Tyler paid the commission without Congressional approval. Tyler responded and said it was his constitutional duty to enforce the laws. When the report was finished on April 29, 1842, the House asked for the report, and Tyler complied. Poindexter's report proved embarrassing to the Whig New York Collector as well as to Hoyt. To curb Tyler's power, Congress passed an appropriations law that made it illegal for the president to appropriate money to investigators without Congressional approval.
House petition of impeachment Shortly after the tariff vetoes, Whigs in the House of Representatives initiated that body's first
impeachment proceedings against a president. The congressional ill will towards Tyler derived from the basis for his vetoes; until the presidency of the Whigs' archenemy Andrew Jackson, presidents rarely vetoed bills, and then only on grounds of constitutionality. Tyler's actions were in opposition to the presumed authority of Congress to make policy. Congressman
John Botts, who opposed Tyler, introduced an impeachment resolution on July 10, 1842. Botts levied nine formal articles of impeachment for "high crimes and misdemeanors" against Tyler. Six of the charges against Tyler pertained to political abuse of power, while three concerned his alleged misconduct in office. A House
select committee headed by John Quincy Adams, an ardent abolitionist who disliked slaveholders like Tyler, condemned Tyler's use of the veto and assailed his character. While the committee's report did not formally recommend impeachment, it clearly established the possibility, and in August 1842 the House endorsed the committee's report. Adams sponsored a constitutional amendment to change both houses' two-thirds requirement for overriding vetoes to a simple majority, but neither house approved it. The Whigs were unable to pursue further impeachment proceedings in the subsequent
28th Congress—in the elections of 1842, they retained a majority in the Senate but lost control of the House. On the last full day of Tyler's term in office, March 3, 1845, Congress overrode his veto of
a minor bill relating to
revenue cutters—the first override of a presidential veto. Tyler was not without support in Congress, including fellow Virginia Congressman
Henry Wise. A handful of House members, known as the "Corporal's Guard", led by Wise, supported Tyler throughout his struggles with the Whigs. As a reward, Tyler appointed Wise as U.S. Minister to Brazil in 1844.
Foreign affairs Tyler's difficulties in domestic policy contrasted with his accomplishments in foreign policy. He had long been an advocate of
expansionism toward the Pacific and
free trade, and was fond of evoking themes of national destiny and the spread of liberty in support of these policies. His positions were largely in line with Jackson's earlier efforts to promote American commerce across the Pacific. Eager to compete with Great Britain in international markets, he sent lawyer
Caleb Cushing to China, where he negotiated the terms of the
Treaty of Wanghia (1844). The same year, he sent
Henry Wheaton as a minister to
Berlin, where he negotiated and signed a trade agreement with the
Zollverein, a coalition of German states that managed tariffs. This treaty was rejected by the Whigs, mainly as a show of hostility toward the Tyler administration. Tyler advocated an increase in military strength and this drew praise from naval leaders, who saw a marked increase in warships. In an 1842 special message to Congress, Tyler also applied the
Monroe Doctrine to Hawaii (dubbed the "Tyler Doctrine"), told Britain not to interfere there, and began a process that led to the eventual annexation of Hawaii by the United States.
Webster-Ashburton treaty A foreign crisis erupted in an offshoot of the
Aroostook War, that ended in 1839. Citizens of
Maine clashed with citizens of
New Brunswick over disputed territory, that covered 12,000 square miles. In 1841, an American ship, the
Creole, was transporting slaves from
Virginia to
New Orleans. A mutiny took place, and the ship was captured by the British and taken to the
Bahamas. The British refused to return the slaves to their masters. Tyler's Secretary of State,
Daniel Webster, eager to settle the matter with England, had Tyler's full support and confidence. In 1842, the British dispatched emissary Lord Ashburton (
Alexander Baring) to the United States. Soon, favorable negotiations were started. The negotiations culminated in the
Webster–Ashburton Treaty, which determined the border between Maine and Canada. That issue had caused tension between the U.S. and Britain for decades and had brought the two countries to the brink of war on several occasions. The treaty improved Anglo-American diplomatic relations. To resolve the slave issue, the U.S. and England agreed to grant the "right to visit" when ships from both nations were suspected of holding slaves. Additionally, in a joint oceanic venture, a U.S. squadron, and the British fleet would cooperate and stop slave trafficking off of African waters. The issue of the Oregon border in the West was another matter and was attempted to be resolved during the negotiations of the Webster–Ashburton Treaty. At this time Britain and the United States shared Oregon by joint occupation, according to the Convention of 1818. American settlement had been minimal compared to the British, whose fur trading Hudson Bay Company established posts in the
Columbia River Valley northward. During the negotiations, the British wanted to divide the territory on the Columbia River. This was unacceptable to Webster, who demanded that Britain pressure Mexico to cede California's
San Francisco Bay to the United States. The Tyler administration was unsuccessful in concluding a treaty with the British to fix Oregon's boundaries.
Oregon and the West Tyler had an interest in the vast territory west of the Rockies known as Oregon, which extended from the northern boundary of California (42° parallel) to the southern boundary of Alaska (54°40′ north latitude). As early as 1841, he urged Congress to establish a chain of American forts from
Council Bluffs, Iowa, to the Pacific.
Dorr Rebellion In May 1842, when the
Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island came to a head, Tyler pondered the request of the governor and legislature to send in federal troops to help suppress it. The insurgents under
Thomas Dorr had armed themselves and proposed to install a new state constitution. Before such acts, Rhode Island had been following the same constitutional structure that was established in 1663. Tyler called for calm on both sides and recommended that the governor enlarge the franchise to let most men vote. Tyler promised that in case an actual insurrection should break out in Rhode Island he would employ force to aid the regular, or Charter, government. He made it clear that federal assistance would be given only to put down an insurrection once underway, and would not be available until violence had taken place. After listening to reports from his confidential agents, Tyler decided that the "lawless assemblages" had dispersed and expressed his confidence in a "temper of conciliation as well as of energy and decision" without the use of federal forces. The rebels fled the state when the state militia marched against them, but the incident led to broader suffrage in the state.
Indian affairs The Seminoles were the last remaining Indians in the South who had been induced to sign a fraudulent treaty in 1833, taking away their remaining lands. Under Chief
Osceola, the Seminoles for a decade resisted removal harassed by U.S. troops. Tyler brought the long, bloody, and inhumane
Seminole War to an end in May 1842, in a message to Congress. Tyler expressed interest in the forced
cultural assimilation of
Native Americans. In May 1842, the House demanded President Tyler's Secretary of War
John Spencer hand over information of an investigation by the U.S. Army into the matter of alleged Cherokee frauds. In June, Tyler ordered Spencer not to comply. Tyler, whose executive privilege was challenged, insisted the matter was
ex parte and against the public interest. The House responded with three resolutions, in part, that claimed the House had a right to demand information from Tyler's cabinet. The House also ordered the Army officer in charge of the investigation into the Cherokee frauds to turn over the information. Tyler made no attempt to respond until Congress returned from recess in January.
Administration and cabinet , The battles between Tyler and the Whigs in Congress resulted in a number of his cabinet nominees being rejected. He received little support from Democrats and, without much support from either major party in Congress, a number of his nominations were rejected without regard for the qualifications of the nominee. It was then unprecedented to reject a president's nominees for his Cabinet (though in 1809,
James Madison withheld the nomination of
Albert Gallatin as Secretary of State because of opposition in the Senate). Four of Tyler's Cabinet nominees were rejected, the most of any president. These were
Caleb Cushing (Treasury),
David Henshaw (Navy),
James Porter (War), and
James S. Green (Treasury). Henshaw and Porter served as recess appointees before their rejections. Tyler repeatedly renominated Cushing, who was rejected three times in one day, March 3, 1843, the last day of the
27th Congress.
Judicial appointments Two vacancies occurred on the Supreme Court during Tyler's presidency, as Justices
Smith Thompson and
Henry Baldwin died in 1843 and 1844, respectively. Tyler, ever at odds with Congress—including the Whig-controlled Senate—nominated several men to the Supreme Court to fill these seats. However, the Senate successively voted against confirming
John C. Spencer,
Reuben Walworth,
Edward King and
John M. Read (Walworth was rejected three times, King rejected twice). One reason cited for the Senate's actions was the hope that Clay would fill the vacancies after winning the 1844 presidential election. Tyler's four unsuccessful nominees are the most by a president. Tyler was able to appoint only six other federal judges, all to
United States district courts.
Annexation of Texas Tyler made the annexation of the
Republic of Texas part of his agenda soon after becoming president. Tyler knew he was a President without a party, and was emboldened to challenge party leaders Clay and Van Buren, unconcerned how Texas annexation would affect the Whigs or Democrats. Texas had declared independence from
Mexico in the
Texas Revolution of 1836, although Mexico still refused to acknowledge its sovereignty. The people of Texas actively pursued joining the Union, but Jackson and Van Buren had been reluctant to inflame tensions over slavery by annexing another Southern state. Though Tyler intended annexation to be the focal point of his administration, Secretary Webster was opposed, and convinced Tyler to concentrate on Pacific initiatives until later in his term. Tyler's desire for western expansionism is acknowledged by historians and scholars, but views differ regarding the motivations behind it. Biographer Edward C. Crapol notes that during the presidency of
James Monroe, Tyler (then in the House of Representatives) had suggested slavery was a "dark cloud" hovering over the Union, and that it would be "well to disperse this cloud" so that with fewer blacks in the older slave states, a process of gradual emancipation would begin in Virginia and other upper Southern states. Historian
William W. Freehling, however, wrote that Tyler's official motivation in annexing Texas was to outmaneuver suspected efforts by
Great Britain to promote an emancipation of slaves in Texas that would weaken the institution in the United States.
Early attempts had formalized the border of
Maine in the northeast, while the
Republic of Texas in the southwest had a disputed border with
Mexico. In early 1843, having completed the Webster–Ashburton treaty and other diplomatic efforts, Tyler felt ready to pursue Texas. Now lacking a party base, he saw annexation of the republic as his only pathway to independent election in 1844. For the first time in his career he was willing to play "political hardball" to see it through. As a
trial balloon he dispatched his ally
Thomas Walker Gilmer, then a U.S. Representative from Virginia, to publish a letter defending annexation, which was well received. Despite his successful relationship with Webster, Tyler knew he would need a Secretary of State who supported the Texas initiative. With the work on the British treaty now completed, he forced Webster's resignation and installed
Hugh S. Legaré of South Carolina as an interim successor. With the help of newly appointed Treasury Secretary
John C. Spencer, Tyler cleared out an array of officeholders, replacing them with pro-annexation partisans, in a reversal of his former stand against patronage. He elicited the help of political organizer
Michael Walsh to build a
political machine in New York. In exchange for an appointment as
consul to Hawaii, journalist
Alexander G. Abell wrote a flattering biography,
Life of John Tyler, which was printed in large quantities and given to postmasters to distribute. Seeking to rehabilitate his public image, Tyler embarked on a nationwide tour in the spring of 1843. The positive reception of the public at these events contrasted with his ostracism back in Washington. The tour centered on the dedication of the
Bunker Hill Monument in Boston, Massachusetts. Shortly after the dedication, Tyler learned of Legaré's sudden death, which dampened the festivities and caused him to cancel the rest of the tour. Tyler appointed
Abel P. Upshur, a popular
Secretary of the Navy and close adviser, as his new Secretary of State, and nominated Gilmer to fill Upshur's former office. Tyler and Upshur began quiet negotiations with the Texas government, promising military protection from Mexico in exchange for a commitment to annexation. Secrecy was necessary, as the Constitution required congressional approval for such military commitments. Upshur planted rumors of possible British designs on Texas to garner support among Northern voters, who were wary of admitting a new pro-slavery state. By January 1844 Upshur told the Texas government that he had found a large majority of senators in favor of an annexation treaty. The republic remained skeptical, and finalization of the treaty took until the end of February.
USS Princeton disaster A ceremonial cruise down the Potomac River was held aboard the newly built on February 28, 1844, the day after completion of the annexation treaty. Aboard the ship were 400 guests, including Tyler and his cabinet, as was the world's largest naval gun, the "Peacemaker". The gun was ceremoniously fired several times in the afternoon to the great delight of the onlookers, who then filed downstairs to offer a toast. Several hours later, Captain
Robert F. Stockton was convinced by the crowd to fire one more shot. As the guests moved up to the deck, Tyler paused briefly to watch his son-in-law, William Waller, sing a ditty. At once an explosion was heard from above: the gun had malfunctioned. Tyler was unhurt, having remained safely below deck, but a number of others were killed instantly, including his crucial cabinet members, Gilmer and Upshur. Also killed or mortally wounded were
Virgil Maxcy of Maryland, Rep.
David Gardiner of New York, Commodore
Beverley Kennon, Chief of Construction of the
United States Navy, and Armistead, Tyler's black slave and body servant. The death of David Gardiner had devastated his daughter,
Julia, who fainted and was carried to safety by the president himself. For Tyler, any hope of completing the Texas plan before November (and with it, any hope of re-election) was instantly gone. Historian Edward P. Crapol later wrote that "Prior to the Civil War and the
assassination of Abraham Lincoln", the
Princeton disaster "unquestionably was the most severe and debilitating tragedy ever to confront a President of the United States". Tyler appointed former Vice President
John C. Calhoun in early March 1844 as his Secretary of State. Tyler's good friend, Virginia Representative
Henry A. Wise, wrote that following the
Princeton disaster, Wise on his own volition extended Calhoun the position as a self-appointed emissary of the president and Calhoun accepted. When Wise went to tell Tyler what he had done, the president was angry but felt that the action had to stand. Calhoun was a leading advocate of slavery, and his attempts to get an annexation treaty passed were resisted by abolitionists as a result. When the text of the treaty was leaked to the public, it met political opposition from the Whigs, who opposed anything that might enhance Tyler's status, as well as from foes of slavery and those who feared a confrontation with Mexico, which had announced that it would view annexation as a hostile act by the United States. Both Clay and Van Buren, the respective frontrunners for the Whig and Democratic nominations, decided in a private meeting at Van Buren's home to come out against annexation. Knowing this, Tyler was pessimistic when he sent the treaty to the Senate for ratification in April 1844. Secretary of State Calhoun sent a controversial letter informing the British minister to the U.S. that the motivation for Texas annexation was to protect American slavery from British intrusion. The letter also claimed Southern slaves were better off than Northern free blacks and English white laborers.
Election of 1844 Following Tyler's break with the Whigs in 1841, he attempted a return to his old Democratic party, but its members, especially the followers of Van Buren, were not ready to accept him. As the election of 1844 approached, Van Buren appeared to have a lock on the Democratic nomination, while Clay was certain to be the Whig candidate. With little chance of election, the only way to salvage his presidential legacy was to threaten to run for president and force public acceptance of Texas annexation. Tyler used his vast presidential patronage power, and formed a third party, the
Tyler Party, with the officeholders and political networks he had built over the previous year. Multiple supportive newspapers across the country issued editorials promoting his candidacy throughout the early months of 1844. Reports of meetings held throughout the country suggest that support for the president was not limited to officeholders, as is widely assumed. Just as the Democratic Party was holding its presidential nomination in Baltimore, Maryland, the Tyler supporters, in that very city, were holding signs reading "Tyler and Texas!", and with their own high visibility and energy, they gave Tyler their nomination. His party nominated Tyler for the presidency on May 27, 1844. However, Tyler's party was loosely organized, failed to nominate a vice president, and had no platform. Regular Democrats were forced to call for annexation of Texas in their platform, but there was a bitter battle for the presidential nomination. Ballot after ballot, Van Buren failed to win the necessary super-majority of Democratic votes, and slowly fell in the rankings. It was not until the ninth ballot that the Democrats turned their sights to
James K. Polk, a less prominent candidate who supported annexation. They found him to be perfectly suited for their platform, and he was nominated with two-thirds of the vote. Tyler considered his work vindicated, and implied in an acceptance letter that annexation was his true priority rather than election. On February 26, 1845, the joint resolution that Tyler, the
lame-duck president, had strongly lobbied for, passed Congress. The House approved a joint resolution offering annexation to Texas by a substantial margin, and the Senate approved it by a bare 27–25 majority. On his last day in office, March 3, 1845, Tyler signed the bill into law. Immediately afterward, Mexico broke diplomatic relations with the U.S., mobilized for war, and would recognize Texas only if Texas remained independent. However, after some debate, Texas accepted the terms and entered the union on December 29, 1845, as the 28th state. ==Post-presidency (1845–1862)==