rubber soul

8.MARTIN VAN BUREN (Machines, Machines, they keep right on going)



Born: December 5, 1782, Kinderhook, New York
Died: July 24, 1862, Kinderhook, New York

Term: March 4, 1837- March 4, 1841
Political Party: Democrat

Vice President: Richard Johnson

First Lady: Angelica Singleton Van Buren (daughter in law 1838-1841)

Before the Presidency: Van Buren grew up in what I guess would be considered a middle class family by today’s standards. One of six children, the Van Buren’s were not rich, but they were affluent enough to own six slaves, still legal in New York in the late eighteenth century. The son of Dutch immigrants, he would be the first President not to have had British lineage. His father owned a tavern, and it would be frequented by various Government figures, giving the young Van Buren his first taste in politics.

Van Buren didn’t attend college but, as it turned out, he had connections. His father arranged to have him hired as a law clerk. He worked, more or less, as a gopher for seven years before gaining admission to the state bar in 1803. He, with his brother, opened a successful law practice and it wasn’t much longer after that when his political career began, joining the Democratic- Republicans in a Federalist dominated region. Van Buren, like his father, was a devoted Jeffersonian, and truly believed in a limited Government.

Van Buren was known for his political savvy as he latched on to the George Clinton bandwagon, sensing that Aaron Burr’s star was fading (this was about the time of the Hamilton-Burr duel). He was rewarded with his first political post in 1808.

His first elected office was in 1812 when he was elected to the New York State Senate. In New York, the Democratic-Republicans were divided into factions, something that distressed Van Buren. Nevertheless, he formed his own faction known as the Bucktails. They embraced Jeffersonian values while vehemently opposing the then most powerful Democrat- Republican in New York, Dewitt Clinton. It was his battles with this Clinton that sealed Van Buren’s reputation as an unscrupulous opportunist.

Van Buren, was, though most of the 1810’s, New York’s Attorney General, and his battles with Governor Clinton were somewhat legendary, at least in New York circles anyway.

Tragedy hit in 1819 when his wife passed away, but he nonetheless forged on and solidified his standing, probably not for the better, in New York politics. For he would head up one of the first party machines, derisively known as the Albany regency.

Now one of the most powerful politicians in New York, Van Buren was appointed to the US Senate in 1821 and very quickly became something of a Washington insider.

Van Buren was quite the powerful Senator as he was influential on the financial committee as well as chairing the Judicial Committee. He was frustrated with the factions within his own party, however, as truly believed in party unity, even though he was still something of a machine boss in his own home state.

In the bizarre election of 1824, Van Buren backed Crawford, feeling that he shared Van Buren’s Jeffersonian beliefs. He didn’t win the Presidency, obviously, and Van Buren was infuriated when the House voted in John Quincy Adams by way of the “corrupt bargain.” As such he led the opposition to Adams’ policies in the Senate and became an ardent supporter of Andrew Jackson (talk about a corrupt bargain).

And Jackson and Van Buren seemed to go hand in hand from 1828 on. Van Buren had been elected Governor of New York but Jackson asked him to be his Secretary of State, which Van Buren took gratefully.

The Jacksonians were now more or less simply called the Democratic Party but there were factions even within the White House. Van Buren was at odds with Vice President Calhoun. It all came to a head in the Peggy Eaton affair as it was especially Calhoun’s wife who found her beneath her standards for allegedly living in sin and such. Van Buren, on the other hand, was gracious towards the Eatons, having no issue with inviting them to his functions. Jackson appreciated this, and became one of his insiders as a result becoming part of Jackson’s kitchen cabinet along with John Eaton.

President Jackson, angry with his cabinet overall wanted to fire the whole lot. He reluctantly accepted the resignations of Van Buren and Eaton as they both thought it would make it easier for him to fire the rest of the cabinet. Van Buren subsequently would be appointed as Minister to England. That lasted six months as the Senate rejected his nomination. No matter, when election time came around in 1832, Jackson picked Van Buren as his running mate.

As Vice President, he supported Jackson’s war against the Bank of America though he did have some reservations about it. More importantly, he became something of a unifier within the Democratic Party itself and he was all but handpicked to be Jackson’s successor in 1836.

Summary of offices held:

1808-1813: Surrogate of Columbia County, New York

1813-1820: New York Senate

1815-1819: New York Attorney General

1821-1828: United States Senate

1829: Governor, New York

1829-1831: Secretary of State

1831-1832: Minister to United Kingdom

1833-1837: Vice President of the United States


What was going on: Panic of 1837, the telegraph, Amistad

Scandals within the administration: none that we know of

Why he was a good President: For the record, he wasn’t, but he did a decent job of keeping America out of war at least, even helping to end the Aroostook War in 1839.

Why he was a bad President: He did virtually nothing to alleviate the aftermath of the 1837 panic. And was perhaps the first President to learn the hard way that it was the economy, stupid. He was also way too busy trying to gauge the political wind, and even with that, he was pretty lousy.

What could have saved his Presidency: Being less concerned about his political ambitions and caring more about people would have helped. He could have done more to alleviate the hardships many Americans were feeling in the late 1830s. Not being an advocate of slavery despite once having owned slaves himself, maybe he could have stood up to the likes of Calhoun. I don’t think Van Buren was a true abolitionist but again, his political ambitions always got in the way of doing anything noble, or even brave.

What could have destroyed his Presidency: What didn’t? Jackson left him with a disastrous economy from which he couldn’t get from under. Then Jackson would later turn against him after Van Buren initially opposed the annexation of Texas, and for noble reasons actually. Anyway, there wasn’t much that could have destroyed the Presidency because it was already destroyed to begin with.

Election of 1836: The Democratic nomination was for Van Buren to lose and there was virtually no opposition to his nomination in 1836. Van Buren promised to continue the Jacksonian policies and there was no reason to doubt his sincerity, at least on that note.

Meanwhile, there was a new party on the horizon. They called themselves the Whigs. This relatively conservative group was led by figures such as Henry Clay and John Quincy Adams. The Whigs were very anti- Jackson, seeing him as a wannabe monarch. Van Buren himself was being portrayed as nothing but a political hack. The Whigs were only forming and could not decide on one candidate, so they went with three, William Henry Harrison, Daniel Webster, and Hugh White.

As it was, Van Buren would have won even with one opponent, no doubt, thanks to the popularity of Jackson. 1836 was especially important, however, for setting the two party system standard that the US has to this day.

First term: Jackson’s shenanigans with the bank war came to its fruition just two months after Van Buren took office as the markets collapsed, setting of the panic of 1837. This was the biggest financial crisis to date and Americans wouldn’t suffer economically to this extent until the Great Depression nearly a century later. This, needless to say, made President van Buren not the most popular of Presidents almost from the start. It didn’t help that Van Buren believed in laissez-faire policies, which basically meant that the average American was on his own.

President van Buren came out against the annexation of Texas (can’t imagine that making Andrew Jackson’s day), mainly because he didn’t want to go to war with Mexico. He also didn’t want to go to war with Britain again either and he tolerated some of their actions such as the Caroline incident. The US Caroline had been transporting Canadian rebels (Canada was in its own revolution against the British it seems albeit on a lower level). The British seized the ship, killing one American in the process. Van Buren pledged neutrality nonetheless and even passed a Neutrality Act. It didn’t deter American sympathizers, however.

And, thanks to Steven Spielberg, many of us are aware of the Amistad incident. This was the Spanish slave ship that suffered a rebellion by the would be slaves. They ended up in the US and a legal battle was underway for their freedom. I don’t know how many of you saw the movie, but Van Buren is not seen in the finest light. Feeling the political wind (he was already thinking about his re-election) and pressured by the great beacon of human rights (yes, I’m being sarcastic, Batty), John Calhoun, Van Buren tried to rig it so the Africans could be sent to Cuba instead of being allowed to go home. Ultimately, the Supreme Court agreed with John Quincy Adams and the Africans went home.

And Van Buren lost his re-election bid anyway.


Election of 1840: And boy did he lose. This time the Whigs were united, and they nominated the popular general William Henry Harrison. Van Buren really didn’t stand much of a chance as the country was in the middle of a depression.

So, he lost in a landslide, but he didn’t give up the ghost.

Post Presidency: For he again tried for the Presidency in 1844 with the race wide open. The Democrats, however, said thanks but no thanks and went with James Polk instead. Originally opposed to the annexation of Texas (which most surely would have been a slave state), he waffled on the issue in hopes of gaining some support. It didn’t work. He then supported Polk, originally hoping to take advantage of the spoils system. That didn’t work either and he ended up on the outs with President Polk.

So, Van Buren would head a splinter group known as the Free- Soil party which was a combination of disgruntled Democrats as well as some unhappy Whigs. This was essentially an abolition party, and they never really got much traction.

He finally got out of politics after the 1848 election, traveling and writing mostly. He did write of political party organizing and would support President Lincoln’s decision to keep the Union together with force when Van Buren died in 1862.

Odd notes: He spoke English as a second language (He actually spoke Dutch as his first language)

The phrase OK became popular based on Van Buren’s nickname, Old Kinderhook

https://www.ducksters.com/biography/uspresidents/martinvanburen.php


Final Summary: With one eye always on the political front, Van Buren comes off as a bit of a pushover despite the fact that he was a pioneer in the dirty world of machine Politics, which New York would all but perfect as the century dragged on. He put his own ambitions in front of the welfare of people from the financial crisis to the subject of slavery, where he was, at best, ambivalent (he took a more anti-slavery stance after the Presidency). Indeed, the only noble thing he did that I could find was his kindness towards the Eatons during the Petticoat Affair ( I honestly think that’s the only thing he did that wasn’t politically motivated). It’s true that he was handed a pretty bad deck, but he didn’t seem to try to play it. I mean even Hoover at least tried to do something when the Great Depression hit, half hearted as those efforts may have been.

Needless to say, I don’t think Van Buren is one of our better Presidents. On the plus side and, from a personal standpoint at least, he didn’t share the same kind of blatant racism his predecessor had.

But, oh those minuses.

Overall rating: D

https://millercenter.org/president/vanburen

__________________

music_collector

Thanks for that bit of trivia. I'll have to quiz my father in law.

rubber soul

9. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON (You give me fever)




Born: February 9, 1773, Charles City County, Virginia
Died: April 4, 1841, Washington DC (died in office, pneumonia)

Term: March 4, 1841- April 4, 1841
Political Party: Whig

Vice President: John Tyler

First Lady: Jane Irwin Harrison (daughter-in-law)

Before the Presidency: William Henry Harrison grew up in an elite Virginia family and was old enough to remember at least some of the events of the Revolutionary War, particularly since he was raised just 30 miles from Yorktown where the British surrendered in 1781. The youngest of seven children, his father, Benjamin Harrison, wanted William Henry to pursue a medical career, but the elder Harrison died in 1791, and William Henry had other plans.

So, he went into the military. Harrison used his family connections with the Lee’s and Washington’s and procured an officer’s rank in the infantry. He started out as an Ensign, but he rose through the ranks rather quickly, becoming the aide to General Mad Anthony Wayne at Fort Washington. He fought bravely against Indian raids on this fort in Western Ohio and won praise from his General. Harrison, by this time in 1794, was now a Lieutenant.

In 1796, he took command of Fort Washington but after marrying into a well-to-do family despite his now father-in-law’s objections, he resigned his commission as a captain. His father-in-law was not pleased, but as a judge with connections of his own, he was able to get President John Adams to make Harrison secretary to the Northwest Territory. He also would become a delegate representing that territory.

In 1800, Harrison was named as the Governor of Indiana. Harrison, as Governor, was known as something of a land grabber. But he also had a reputation for being honest and was credited in improving the infrastructure and roads in his territory.

But he was primarily charged with acquiring as much land as he could from the Native Americans and exploited them into signing seven treaties from 1802 to 1805. He took advantage of the weaknesses and naivety of the Sac tribe and was able to wrestle much of Indiana and one third of Illinois as well as parts of Wisconsin and Missouri for use by settlers.

But not all of the natives were so easily duped. There was a chief known as Tecumseh, who was angered at the rush of white settlers. So, he formed an alliance with the British, still holding hope of getting the colonies back. Harrison, meanwhile, was trying to purchase more land, three million acres in fact, in hopes of establishing Indiana as a state. Tecumseh wasn’t invited to the negotiations and when the treaty of Fort Wayne was signed, Harrison found himself with a formidable nemesis.

The territory of Indiana found itself at war with Tecumseh and his warriors and it all led to what would become known as the battle of Tippecanoe. Harrison was taking charge of a group of 950 men when they were surprised by Tecumseh. It looked like all was lost.

But Harrison was not a man who liked retreat. He rallied with his surviving soldiers. The Indians couldn’t break though and Harrison ordered a counter attack and would rout the Indians by the next day. Unfortunately, they celebrated by also desecrating some Indian graves.

News of the battle reached the press and Harrison was touted as something of a national hero. And, while it made Tecumseh a legend among Native Americans (and still a force to be reckoned with), it also propelled Harrison into greater military glory as the War of 1812 broke out. Harrison, proved to be a crafty General, holding out on an invasion of Detroit until he knew that the supply lines to the British had been cut off. Once that happened, all systems were go, and Harrison’s forces retook Detroit in 1813.

After taking Detroit, General Harrison again pursued Tecumseh along with the British forces. They engaged and, after routing the outnumbered British, they killed Tecumseh, and thus, ended the Indian threat, at least for the time being.

So, like Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison would be seen as a great military hero. Unlike Jackson, however, who seemed hungry for more war, Harrison basked in his celebrity status, touring the East until he resigned from the Army in 1814.

His political career proved to be a mixed bag losing as many elections as he won. He did serve in the House of Representative for two terms and won a State senate seat in Ohio but lost a bid for Governor the next year. He lost three more political contests before finally winning a Senate seat in 1824. He still had connections and, through Henry Clay, won an ambassadorship to Colombia.

The Ambassadorship wasn’t Harrison’s finest moment. He sided with the opposition against the Government led by Simon Bolivar. Jackson was now President and had Harrison recalled and he settled to a private life in Ohio.

For a while anyway. For, in 1836, he found himself as one of the leaders of an anti-Jacksonian faction known as the Whigs. This was a conservative party to be sure and Harrison would be one of the candidates to run against Van Buren, representing the West in his case. Like the other two, he couldn’t defeat the Jackson backed Van Buren, but he made a strong showing, and he was more or less anointed to be the Whig’s candidate in 1840.

Summary of offices held:

1791-1798: United States Army

1798-1799: Secretary of the Northwest Territory

1799-1800: US Delegate, Northwest Territories

1801-1812: Governor, Indiana Territory

1811: Major General, Indiana Militia

1812-1814: Major General, US Army

1816-1819: House of Representatives

1819-1821: Ohio Senate

1825-1828: US Senator

1829: Minister to Grand Colombia

1836: Whig candidate for US President




What was going on: Not a lot, March 1841 was quiet.

Scandals within the administration: he didn’t have any time for a scandal

Why he was a good President: Maybe because he died before he could do any damage. Judging from his early life, he was just as bad as Van Buren, putting his own interests ahead of the American people.

Why he was a bad President: Because he again put his ego first which led to his cold and, consequently, his death

What could have saved his Presidency: The dummy could have at least worn a coat.

What could have destroyed his Presidency: Had he lived, I fear he might have been another Van Buren, albeit with a more Populist edge.

Election of 1840: President Van Buren, it’s safe to say, was not a popular man in 1840 and the Whigs seized the opportunity to put their man in the White House. The obvious candidates were the legislative stalwarts Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, but neither could garner widespread support.

But Harrison, even with all his foibles, proved to be immensely popular. I mean, everybody loves a military hero, right? He wouldn’t be the first to be elected President and he certainly wouldn’t be the last.

So, the Whigs nominated the war hero to run against Van Buren. Van Buren was counting on the varying factions within the Whig party and there were quite a few.

But he didn’t count on the one thing that unified all the Whigs, their hatred of Andrew Jackson. They weren’t too crazy about Van Buren either as they painted him as being uncaring, which may have been true. Meanwhile, they advertised the ticket of Harrison and John Tyler as Tippecanoe and Tyler too, taking advantage of Harrison’s glory as a war hero. They even used the Democrats’ attack of Harrison as a log cabin and hard cider candidate, the Dems not realizing that proved to be appealing to the Populist mood of the country. Indeed, this election was something of an entertainment spectacle, as the gregarious Harrison toured the country entertaining the masses with native American war whoops among other things.

And with that, Harrison won in pretty much of a cakewalk, winning 234 electoral votes to Van Buren’s 60. The next four years were about to become quite interesting.



First term: But not for the reasons you would expect, for the fun began as early as inauguration day. For now President Harrison, sixty -eight years old, but still wanting the attention like a rambunctious puppy, refused to wear a coat in the chilly Washington weather (It was early March for Caesar’s sake). He didn’t go inside very quickly either as he orated his nearly two hour inauguration speech.

So, the dummy caught a cold and, three weeks later, that cold developed into pneumonia.

And, after 33 days in office, President Harrison was dead, and the first true Constitutional Crisis in American History was upon us.

Post Presidency: As noted, the death of President Harrison left us with a Constitutional crisis. The Constitution has stated that the Vice President, in this situation, would more of less act as acting President, but it didn’t stipulate whether he would in fact be the President or even if a special election would be held to determine the next President.

But more on that later as we cover the administration of John Tyler.

Odd notes: His father in law refused to give Harrison his daughters hand in marriage.

https://www.ducksters.com/biography/...ryharrison.php

Final Summary: As noted, I wasn’t too impressed with his early history as he relied on important connections as he stepped up the ladder. He certainly had a bit of military acumen, but he was too easily swayed by the accolades his military conquests afforded him.

As far as his Presidency goes, we really don’t know what direction he would have taken the nation. I imagine he would have at least tried to address the financial depression that was still gripping the nation as he deeply had the need to be popular, but I saw no real indications of anything he stood for during his campaign, which was very much personality driven.

But, I’ll be fair and let him go down as the only President not to get a grade.

Overall rating: I (Incomplete)

https://millercenter.org/president/harrison

__________________

rubber soul

10.JOHN TYLER (Accidents will happen)





Born: March 29, 1790, Charles City County, Virginia
Died: January 18, 1862, Richmond, Virginia

Term: April 4, 1841- March 4, 1845
Political Party: Whig/Independent

Vice President: none

First Lady: Letitia Christian Tyler (died 1842), Julia Gardner Tyler (married 1844)

Before the Presidency: John Tyler was born into an aristocratic family in Virginia. His father was involved in politics as he served as a US District Court judge in Richmond. His father was an avid states’ rights advocate. He also opposed the Constitution on the grounds that it gave voting rights to commoners.

Yes, Virginia, John Tyler Sr. was an elitist, and the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree. The junior Tyler also had an air of superiority about him and began his political career quite early, following his now Governor father to Richmond in 1809. Tyler worked with Edmund Randolph, Virginia’s first Attorney General, but really wanted a political career.

So, Randolph arranged for Tyler to be elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. He quickly went after legislators who supported the Bank of the United States. Tyler did not believe in a centralized bank, or a centralized national government for that matter.

In the War of 1812, Tyler supported the conflict and headed a small militia company, but they wouldn’t see any action. It didn’t hurt him politically, however, as he would be elected to the House of Representatives in 1816.

While in the House, Tyler fit in quite well with his elitist background, and was a fixture at Dolley Madison’s parties. Politically, he was vehemently opposed not only to the centralized Bank of America, but the idea of Western settlement as well as a shift to an industrial economy, which he felt would be at the expense of the agrarian South. He especially didn’t like Andrew Jackson who, by now, had his star on the rise.

The final straw for Tyler was the Missouri Compromise of 1820. With dozens of slaves of his own, Tyler felt that slavery should be allowed in any state that wanted it. He was frustrated with the limits the Government was putting on future states and he left the House in 1821. He returned to law and the Virginia State Legislature. While there, he fought against the popular vote as he thought only the state legislatures should be allowed to choose the electors.

The State legislature elected Tyler as Virginia Governor in 1825 but he had no real power as the state was controlled mainly by cotton and tobacco interests, so he convinced the legislature to elect him to the US Senate.

And it was here where Tyler would flourish. He was one of the leaders of the loyal opposition to Jackson’s policies, even to the point of supporting John Quincy Adams for President. He would reluctantly switch to Jackson in 1828 as Tyler couldn’t deal with Adams’ political philosophy. He nonetheless still despised Jackson and he joined the new Whig party that Clay and Webster would form. Tyler hated the spoils system seeing it (rightfully) as rather corrupt.

The second half of Jackson’s administration was an interesting period for Tyler. He didn’t like South Carolina’s take on the tariff issue but he was horrified as what he saw as saber rattling by President Jackson as he more or less threatened war on South Carolina. Tyler would be the lone nay vote against a compromise known as the Force Act that did lower the tariff on South Carolina but didn’t address the issue of South Carolina’s rights as a state.

The Bank of America was yet another schizophrenic issue of sorts. Tyler certainly would have supported the dissolution of the bank but he despised the method by which President Jackson was doing it. He voted for Jackson’s censure but would later leave the Senate after the Virginia Legislature (now a Jacksonian body) ordered him to vote to expunge said censure.

So, now all that was left was the quest for Presidential politics. Tyler didn’t necessarily have any Presidential desires but he was popular enough with the Whigs that he was named on two of the three Presidential tickets as Vice President.

Then came 1840.

Summary of offices held:

1811-1816 Virginia House of Delegates

1813: Military Captain, War of 1812.

1816-1821: House of Representatives

1825-1827: Governor of Virginia

1827-1836: US Senate

1836: Vice Presidential Candidate, Whig Party

1841: Vice President of the United States







What was going on: The Oregon trail, second Seminole War

Scandals within the administration: none that we know of

Why he was a good President: The one thing Tyler really accomplished was the assurance that the Vice President would automatically be the President in the event of a Presidential vacancy (i.e., death). It ensured that there would always be stability in the Executive branch, at least initially.

Why he was a bad President: Well, he was pro slavery. He was an elitist to the end, and he didn’t necessarily work well with others.

What could have saved his Presidency: A better relationship with Congress for starters, but maybe that was a bit impossible with the Machiavellian Clay running the House. Maybe a compromise with the Texas annexation on the slavery issue may have helped also but he and his second Secretary of State, John (the humanitarian) Calhoun, were way too pro slavery to even consider a more reasonable path.

What could have destroyed his Presidency: If the economy hadn’t started to improve, which it did at least a bit during Tyler’s term.

How he became Vice President: The 1840 Campaign proved to be an interesting one for John Tyler. On the Whig side, he supported Henry Clay’s candidacy for President. Clay wasn’t to be the nominee however as Northern Whigs opposed Clay’s pro slavery stance; thus, the nomination would go to the popular William Henry Harrison. Tyler, if anything, was even more pro-slavery than Clay but he nonetheless proved to be the popular choice as Harrison’s running mate. In many ways, Tyler was the exact opposite of Harrison. Harrison was an extrovert, Tyler wasn’t. Harrison appealed to the North, Tyler to the South, anyway, you get the picture.

And, combined with the unpopularity of President Van Buren, Harrison and Tyler would win in a landslide.

First term: When President Harrison died in April 1841, Tyler was home in Virginia. He was told of the news by Daniel Webster’s son, and he rushed back to Washington. The city was in disarray. No one seemed to know what to do in case of a Presidential vacancy.

So, Tyler settled the matter in the only way he could, he took the oath of office and declared himself President.

But this wasn’t a power grab by any means. Whatever Tyler’s flaws, and he had many, he was at least wise enough to know that someone had to be in charge and since he was the Vice President, it seemed logical it should be him. Of course, not everyone agreed, and his term was not to be a pleasant one.

Indeed, he would lose his entire cabinet with the exception of Secretary of State Daniel Webster when he refused to sign a bill creating a new Bank of the United States.

It wasn’t all bad. During his term, the Webster- Ashburton treaty was enacted which settled some border disputes between British Canada and the US. He also pushed for the annexation of Texas though the treaty itself would fail, but, with the election of expansionist crazy James Polk, the annexation would be a foregone conclusion and President Tyler signed the annexation bill in one of his last acts.

But overall, things would not be pleasant for President Tyler. The Whigs, frustrated that he was opposing many of their policies, expelled him from the party. As the Democrats didn’t want him either (nor did he want them), he spent most of his tenure as an independent, the only President to have such a designation

Still, considering he had just about no support in the Congress, he still managed to accomplish more than Presidents like John Quincy Adams and Martin Van Buren.


Election of 1844: Amazingly, Tyler was up to the idea of a second term, and he had enough support to place him as a third party candidate, but it was a quixotic campaign, and he wouldn’t be much of a factor in the election. With the urging of former President Jackson, Tyler formally withdrew in August and endorsed James Polk.

Post Presidency: After leaving office, he mostly lived a quiet life with his second wife, Leticia.

That all changed around 1860, however as the South threatened secession. Tyler supported secession and would even be elected to the first Confederate legislature. Sadly, however, he died before he could serve and would be labeled as a traitor upon his death in 1862.

Odd notes: Tyler still has a living grandson as of 2021.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/...out-john-tyler

Tyler was considered a traitor when he died in 1862.



Final Summary: This is a tough one. Personally, I pretty much dislike the man. He obviously thought he was better than most people given his upbringing. He not only looked down on nonwhites, particularly blacks, but he also looked down on basically average people. And, like many Southerners circa 1860, he all but betrayed the country.

But at least as President, he tried to do what he felt was the right thing. He refused to follow the party line and he paid the price for it. If nothing else, he was a man of principle. And he did save us from possibly Alexander Haig had things not gone so well in 1981 though he couldn’t have possibly known that at the time.

Still with those Confederate tendencies…

Overall rating: C-


https://millercenter.org/president/tyler

__________________

music_collector

It appears as though I need to read more. I didn't know of this president, Tyler. It looks like he would fit in today's society.

rubber soul

11. JAMES POLK (California, here I take)




Born: November 2, 1795, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Died: June 15, 1849, Nashville, Tennessee

Term: March 4, 1845- March 4, 1849
Political Party: Democrat

Vice President: George Dallas

First Lady: Sarah Childress Polk

Before the Presidency: James Polk was born in the wilderness of North Carolina, but the family followed his Grandfather to Tennessee when he was ten. His father would prosper there with a thousand acres of land and more then fifty slaves. Samuel Polk also got involved in politics and was an ardent supporter of Andrew Jackson.
James was a sickly child. That and his strict religious upbringing, via his mother, gave the young Polk something of a hard work ethic. He was bright and articulate though he was mostly home taught. He did finally get a formal education when he entered the University of North Carolina in 1816, graduating in 1818.

Polk studied law under the tutelage of future Senator Felix Grundy in Nashville. Grundy would also become Martin Van Buren’s Attorney General. In 1820, he passed the bar and secured a job in the Tennessee State Senate. This was the beginning of his political career, and he was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1823. Two years later, he would be elected to the US House of Representatives and became one of Andrew Jackson’s biggest supporters. This paid off for him as, with Jackson’s influence, he would become the Speaker of the House in 1835.

As a Representative, and then Speaker, he proved to be President Jackson’s biggest supporter. He supported Jackson’s war against the National Bank and supported his stance during the South Carolina nullification crisis. In 1839, he left the House to become Governor of Tennessee. There, he lobbied for bank reform, but the Whigs, buoyed from a political standpoint over the financial crisis Jackson precipitated, were able to link Polk with the Jacksonian policies and he would lose re-election, losing again in 1843.

So, he went back to his plantation with his supportive wife while the Whigs weren’t exactly doing themselves any favors either. The political atmosphere in 1844 made it ripe for a James Polk comeback.

Summary of offices held:

1823-1825: Tennessee House of Representatives

1825-1839: US House of Representatives

1835-1839: Speaker of the US House of Representatives

1839-1841: Governor of Tennessee


What was going on: Mexican- American war, Annexation of Texas, slavery issue, Irish potato famine

Scandals within the administration: none that we know of unless you count invading a sovereign country

Why he was a good President: The Continental United States that we know of today is due mainly to Polk’s Manifest Destiny policy. His expansionist policies would add most of the Southwest, including California, to the United States. Yes, it came at a moral price (we’ll get into that later), but, like it or not, there might not have been a Hollywood were it not for James K. Polk.

Why he was a bad President: While obsessed with gaining new territories, he tended to ignore more domestic matters. Yes, he did arrange for an independent treasury and honored his pledge for lower tariffs.

But he totally ignored the elephant in the room, the slavery issue. Polk himself was a slave owner, but it likely wasn’t a factor in his expansionist activities. As such , he was oblivious to the raucous divide between North and South even at this early stage. It would be something that would become a front burner issue in the Taylor- Fillmore years.

What could have saved his Presidency: More attention to the slavery issue. Polk did own slaves, but he had it in his will that his slaves would be freed upon the death of his wife, so he clearly wasn’t unsympathetic to their plight. Maybe a stand against slavery would have made him less of a forgotten President.

What could have destroyed his Presidency: This is an easy one. If we had lost the Mexican- American war (and don’t think the Mexicans weren’t a formidable foe), Polk almost certainly would have gone down as one of the worst Presidents in history. This very easily could have been Polk’s Vietnam and history would not have been kind to him.

Election of 1844: When the Democratic Party met in Baltimore, no one had Polk on their radar. Indeed, the early betting was that former President Van Buren had the inside track.

But Van Buren didn’t enjoy the same support he had in 1836 or even 1840 within his own party. Some Democrats thought he didn’t have a chance in the general election, others felt he was part of the old dynasty if you will. In a sense, Jacksonian politics was becoming a bit, well, passe in some minds.

But the clincher was probably Van Buren’s curious stand against the annexation of Texas. He did it for political reasons as he didn’t want to lose the North (plus President Tyler was supporting it). But, of course, he lost the South as a result and that was pretty much the Democratic base.

So, the delegation spent five ballots deciding between Van Buren and Lewis Cass, who was very strong in the North. Obviously, there were some other candidates as well as neither were able to muster a majority. Finally, angry that Cass had ruined his chances of regaining the Presidency, Van Buren shocked everybody and threw his support behind Polk. Polk, to this point, was nothing more than a dark horse candidate. Now he was a compromise candidate and he ended up getting the nomination on the sixth ballot.

The Whigs, down but not out, nominated Henry Clay, who finally got the chance he had wanted for years. They wanted to distance themselves from Tyler.

The platforms for the two parties could not have been more different. The Democrats campaigned on a stricter interpretation of the Constitution, lower tariffs, more federal funds for infrastructure and roads, the annexation of Texas and the reoccupation of Oregon, and, most importantly, states’ rights, or to be blunt, the right to slavery.

The Whigs, on the other hand, opposed Texas annexation, supported a national bank, restrictions on the Presidential veto, and a one term Presidency. On top of that, they nominated Theodore Frelinghuysen for Vice President, an evangelical who vehemently opposed slavery. On this issue especially the lines were drawn between the Whig north and the Democrat south.

This would be a close election as the Whigs not only had to contend with the relatively unknown Polk, but also had a third party threat, the anti-slavery Liberty party. Now, they didn’t have much of a chance to win the election, but the Whigs feared they could siphon just enough votes to put Polk into the White House. Thus, Clay found himself waffling on the Texas issue going from opposing annexation of Texas to supporting it, much like Polk had been all along.

And it was likely Andrew Jackson’s endorsement of Polk that put him over the top. Jackson remained a popular ex- President and his distaste of Clay was enough to convince President Tyler to withdraw from the race as an independent and endorse Polk.

So, Polk won the popular vote with a 49.5% plurality but won the electoral vote a little more handily in an election that was closer than the electoral vote indicated.

And James Birney also got his pound of flesh. He likely cost Clay New York which would have been enough for Clay to win the election.

And maybe keep California in Mexico.

First term: It’s safe to say Polk was something of an activist President. He was certainly pro-slavery, but more importantly, he was hungry for more land. He adopted the term coined by Democrat James O’Sullivan known as Manifest Destiny. The idea of Manifest Destiny being that all of North America should belong to the United States.

He started slow at first, going after Britain in a border dispute with Western Canada. The term, 54’40 or fight, was coined and there was no doubt Polk would have sent in the artillery to get just that. Meanwhile, Texas became a state at the end of 1845, a slave state, which would also cause some tensions in the Government.

The Oregon dispute was peacefully settled with the 49th parallel compromise. This enabled the US to gain what is now Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington state while the British retained British Columbia and all points east north of said parallel.

Polk engineered the compromise because he had even bigger fish to fry. For after annexing Texas, he had his eyes set on all points west and even south. Thus, the seeds for the Mexican American War was underway.

It started with a fairly flimsy excuse. General Zachary Taylor was engaged at the Rio Grande River, and it was enough for President Polk to ask for a declaration of war. He even had a strategy. Taylor would fight the Mexicans in the Northern regions, another general, Stephen Kearny, would take what is now New Mexico and California, and a third force under Winfield Scott would drive the Mexicans all the way to Mexico City.

As it turned out, Kearny would have the easiest road as he found New Mexico all but abandoned. He subsequently would take both the New Mexico territory and California by early 1847. Taylor, despite a depleted force, was able to take northern Mexican towns, including the important city of Monterrey. He then was sent to bolster Scott’s forces at Vera Cruz, probably the most famous battle of the war and the battle that gave both Taylor and Scott national fame.

By late 1847, after Scott took Mexico City, it was clear that Mexico was losing the war and Polk seized on the opportunity to expand the nation’s borders. In 1848, through envoy Nicholas Trist, he negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Basically, under the agreement, the US would buy New Mexico and California for $15 million and assume the outstanding debts incurred from the war. Probably not the best deal for Mexico, but it could have been worse. Polk could have just taken the territory and not paid a dime.

Of course, popular as the war was at home (everybody likes a war as long as they don’t have to fight in it), there was some vociferous opposition from the Whigs including one relatively unknown congressman from Illinois.

His name happened to be Abraham Lincoln.

As for his domestic policy, Polk kept his promise and lowered tariffs and also signed a bill to create an independent treasury.

There were a couple things going on independent of Polk, or even Congress. First, there was the Gold Rush in California that would garner the attention of some politicians during the Taylor administration.

Then there was the Seneca Falls convention led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, It was here where the long campaign for women’s suffrage in the US would begin.

But, for President Polk, his work was pretty much done. He would fulfill another promise by not running for a second term. He was likely satisfied as he was responsible for pretty much the Western third of the Continental US and he was ready to retire to his home in Tennessee.


Post Presidency: The post retirement period started off well enough as Polk embarked on a tour of the South. Not surprisingly, the popular Polk was received warmly, and he seemed genuinely touched. Unfortunately, it would be short lived as Polk became sick in New Orleans, likely with cholera, and he died just three months after leaving office.

Odd notes: Polk had surgery to remove bladder stones at age 16

Polk was said to be remarkably boring

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/550281/james-k-polk-facts


Final Summary: From a domestic standpoint, Polk isn’t remembered for doing very much as he was much more interested in foreign affairs. He carried a big stick when it came to the Northwest United States, and it paid off with a peaceful treaty thet established the US on the Pacific Ocean once and for all.

But it wasn’t so peaceful on the Southwest side, as we waged a Napoleonic two year war with Mexico. It certainly paid off as we now have New Mexico, most of Arizona (there would be the Gadsden Purchase a few years later) and, of course, California. Yes, we paid Mexico for it and it’s hard to imagine Los Angeles or San Francisco not as part of the United States.

But I wonder if it was worth losing our souls.

Overall rating: C

https://millercenter.org/president/polk

__________________

music_collector

You forgot to mention that Al Bundy scored four touchdowns in a single game while playing for Polk High.

rubber soul

And went on to be the greatest shoe salesman to ever live



Anyway...


12. ZACHARY TAYLOR (Life is a bowl of cherries)





Born: November 24, 1784, Barboursville, Virginia
Died: July 9, 1850, Washington DC (died in office)

Term: March 4, 1849- July 9, 1850
Political Party: Whig

Vice President: Millard Fillmore

First Lady: Margaret Smith Taylor

Before the Presidency: Taylor was born into an agricultural family in 1784. He wasn’t the brightest of students and decided early on for a military career, something that began in earnest as he was assigned to command the garrison at Fort Pickering, where modern day Memphis is today. He went from military outpost to military outpost for much of his career until 1840. Even so, General Taylor earned a reputation as a formidable fighter as he battled various Indian tribes such as the Sacs in 1832 and the Seminoles in Florida later in the decade.

This wasn’t another Andrew Jackson hell bent on genocide, however. He was just as willing to protect Indian lands from would be white settlers. He actually admired their military tactics and felt sympathy for what was happening to them. He felt the best solution was to be a buffer between the Native Americans and the white settlers hoping that both sides could live in peace.

His real fame, of course, would come in the Mexican-American War. After Texas became a state late in 1845, President Polk ordered Taylor into disputed lands on the US- Mexico border. This incited Santa Ana to attack Taylor, giving Polk his excuse to declare war.

It didn’t end there, of course. Taylor, outnumbered but with superior artillery, won battle after battle, peaking at the battle of Monterrey. Meanwhile, General Scott, in his quest to take (successfully) Mexico City, had half of Taylors troops sent to him to battle at Vera Cruz. Santa Ana thought he had Taylor right where he wanted him and threw his forces against the depleted Taylor at Buena Vista. Needless to say, Santa Ana failed. Taylor’s men were victorious and the Mexican Napoleon, as Santa Ana liked to call himself, exited with his proverbial tail between his legs.

Taylor became the talk of mythical legend not unlike George Washington in many ways. Stories of how he took the enemy in hand to hand combat were floated around and by 1848, everyone knew all about Ol’ Rough and Ready.


Summary of offices held:

1808-1849: Major General, United States Army.

Fought in War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, the Second Seminole War, and the Mexican-American War.


What was going on: Slavery, Post Mexican- American war, Compromise of 1850

Scandals within the administration: The Galphin Affair

Why he was a good President: He was perhaps the first President to take a stand against slavery, albeit a baby step. He was also the first President to assert that the Union must hold together (It could be argued that Jackson asserted that first, but I suspect that was more to do with the conflict with John Calhoun).

Why he was a bad President: Quite simply, he wasn’t the most forceful of Presidents. He opposed the Compromise of 1850 and even helped to impede its passage, but he didn’t offer any solutions to the impasse.

What could have saved his Presidency: A more forceful approach to the slavery question. Maybe he could have made a gesture by freeing his own slaves. Judging from his early history, Taylor seemed to be a fairly compassionate man, and it would have been nice to see him take a stand, even if it was unpopular, as it most certainly would have been in 1850.

What could have destroyed his Presidency: The same thing that probably destroyed Fillmore’s. The indecision over the slavery issue wasn’t going to make matters better and, as we will discover, Fillmore’s decisions would be nothing short of disastrous.

Election of 1848: General Taylor, much like Eisenhower a century later, didn’t wear his politics on his sleeve. In fact, he had never even voted in an election. Various political parties were in demand for his services.

In the end, he chose the Whig party. As it turned out, Taylor was anything but Jacksonian, especially on the money issue. He didn’t like the concept of the spoils system (maybe he was born thirty years too early) and even wasn’t too keen on expanding slavery, even though he was a slave owner himself. He also agreed with the Whig philosophy of a stronger Congress as well as a strong cabinet (future Presidents would agree with him on the latter). He also was a Nationalist. He was not a fan of secession, much like Abraham Lincoln more than a decade later. And to top things off, he didn’t really like President Polk.

So, in a sense, Taylor was running against the lame duck President Polk, who did what he could to torpedo Taylor’s campaign. Taylor may not have done himself any favors politically either as he suggested he might not veto legislation prohibiting slavery in the Western lands. He firmly believed a President should only veto a bill if he thought it was unconstitutional. Needless to say, that didn’t endear him to the South. Abolitionists in the North weren’t all that crazy about him either as he was a well-known slave owner.

Still, most people didn’t really know Taylor’s positions and that was how the Whigs ran him. In the end, like Polk before him, he won with just a plurality of the popular vote with that crazy Martin Van Buren siphoning 10% of the vote. The real race, of course, was against Democrat Lewis Cass of Michigan but he ended up winning a relatively close victory in the electoral vote.

First term: As soon as Taylor took office, the issue of slavery would be front and center. He urged Congress to admit California and New Mexico as states without addressing the issue of slavery. Taylor had assumed that neither proposed state would support slavery nor would the other western territories. Utah was being occupied by a sect known as the Mormons. They believed in polygamy and were probably considered more of a cult in those days, but they were also vehemently opposed to slavery. President Taylor clearly had no taste to expand slavery any more than it already had so he had hoped a free west would end the spread of slavery for good.

Of course, it only angered Southern Whigs not to mention most of the Democrats. The Southern Democrats in fact were threatening to secede, the last thing Taylor wanted. So, Henry Clay came up with something called the Compromise of 1850 which would allow California as a free state and leave the rest as territories that would still technically allow slavery. Some more moderate Southerners supported the compromise feeling it would still ensure slavery in the South where it really mattered to them anyway. But there was strong opposition from Webster, Calhoun, and a new face, one Stephen A Douglas who was soon to make his own political mark on American politics. Another opponent would prove to be quite notorious; his name was Jefferson Davis.

Taylor himself seemed ambivalent on the compromise but he was leaning against it for different reasons than the Southern Democrats and Whigs. He wasn’t for expanding slavery, but he was willing to let the states decide (which he rightfully expected would vote to oppose slavery). I suspect he just wanted the states.

On the foreign front, there wasn’t much in terms of accomplishments, but the Clayton- Bulwer treaty was signed on his watch. There was a dispute with British Honduras with the American interest to build a canal in Nicaragua. In the end, they signed a treaty renouncing any control or dominion on any canal that might be built. It effectively ended Polk’s dream of Manifest Destiny, but it did strengthen American interests and influence in Central America.

Death: It was the Fourth of July 1850. It was a day of celebration as it was Independence Day. It was a hot summery day as the President relaxed under the blazing sun as he listened to various speakers. Later he took a walk along the Potomac and by late afternoon retired to the White House. There he ate a chilled bowl of cherries along with some milk. He became ill later that day but I’m sure it was assumed it was a touch of food poisoning, certainly common in the unsanitized 1850s.

But the President’s condition worsened within two days, and it was obvious that something serious was going on. A doctor was called in and he was diagnosed with having something called cholera morbus. This didn’t mean he necessarily had cholera, just a serious gastrointestinal condition. Taylor took ice chips for as long as he could, but the body would eventually reject it.

Zachary Taylor died on July 9 leaving a very incomplete Presidency.

Odd notes: Taylor could read but barely write

Doctors thought Taylor was killed by cherries and milk

https://facts.net/zachary-taylor-facts/

Final Summary: Taylor’s short reign was certainly incomplete, and he didn’t really have a lot of vision. He obviously was troubled by the slavery issue and maybe even felt guilty of having slaves of his own. I also wonder if maybe the Civil War could have started a decade earlier and maybe it would have been Taylor who could have gotten the accolades Lincoln would receive in historical retrospect.

But he clearly had compassion for people not as fortunate as himself. He may very well have been a friend to the Native Americans. And he did score at least one diplomatic victory with the Ashburton- Bulwer treaty.

But, alas, a contaminated bowl of cherries and milk pretty much screwed it all up for him- and maybe the country.

For, compared to his Vice- President and successor, Taylor looked like Teddy Roosevelt.

Overall rating: C

https://millercenter.org/president/taylor

__________________

rubber soul

13. MILLARD FILLMORE (I know nothing)





Born: January 7, 1800, Cayuga County, New York
Died: March 8, 1874, Buffalo, New York

Term: July 9, 1850- March 4, 1853
Political Party: Whig

Vice President: none

First Lady: Abagail Powers Fillmore

Before the Presidency: Millard Fillmore grew up in poverty in upstate New York. His family owned a farm, but it wasn’t very successful, and the family often went hungry. Millard had little formal schooling but was known to have quite a bit of curiosity.

As a young man, Fillmore worked in the cloth trade. It was hard, grueling work, and Fillmore wanted a way out. As Fillmore was an apprentice, this amounted to what was slavery and Fillmore had to buy his way out of the apprenticeship.

While an apprentice, Fillmore taught himself how to read. He then learned his studies with the help of his future wife, Abagail Powers. Meanwhile, Fillmore’s father was impressed enough that he arranged for his son to work for a local judge. There he could continue his law studies.

Fillmore moved with his family to a town near Buffalo, where he taught school, and was admitted to the bar in 1823. With his now fiancée, then wife, young Fillmore prospered, and seemed quite happy with his lot in life.

Fillmore’s entry into politics was under strange circumstances to say the least. Many of the politicians of the day were Freemasons, a rather controversial fraternity that exists to this day. In some ways it could be compared to Scientology as they were something of a secretive organization. One disaffected Mason, William Morgan, mysteriously disappeared and it was big news around Buffalo at the time.

So, Fillmore found himself as a member of the Anti-Masonic party. Soon, he was drafted to run for the New York State legislature, and he would be elected in 1829. Fillmore proved to be an able politician, pushing through legislation to end the practice of putting debtors in jail. As someone raised in poverty, debtors’ prisons was something that our Millard was not comfortable with.

Fillmore’s compassion for the less fortunate proved popular with constituents and he found himself elected to the House of Representatives in 1832.

By 1834, the Anti- Masonic party was fading, and they merged with the anti-Jacksonian Whigs. It wasn’t necessarily an easy transition for Fillmore as he found himself at odds with New York Whig party boss Thurlow Weed. Weed was decidedly anti-slavery. So was Fillmore, but Fillmore preferred the route of compromise.

In the meantime, Fillmore’s star rose in the House as he would become chairman of the powerful Ways and Means committee which controlled the tax and financial issues of the day. Fillmore left the House in 1843 in hopes of landing a Vice-Presidential candidacy. Boss Weed ordered him to run for Governor of New York instead, which he did, and lost. Fillmore was bitter as he not only blamed Weed, but the abolitionists as well as the Catholics. The ugly side of Millard Fillmore was beginning to come through.

Afterwards, he broke with Weed, Fillmore was able to win election as New York State Comptroller in 1847. Because he won in a landslide, the National Whig party was looking at Fillmore as a viable Presidential candidate.


Summary of offices held:

1829-1833: Member, New York State Assembly

1837-1843: US House of Representatives

1841-1843: Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee

1848-1849: New York State Comptroller

1849-1850: Vice President of the United States





What was going on: Missouri Compromise repeal, slavery issue, immigration

Scandals within the administration: none that we know of

Why he was a good President: The one smart thing Fillmore did was tagging the legendary Daniel Webster as his Secretary of State. Through him, he was able to open trade with Japan (though technically started in the Pierce Administration, it was through the work of the Fillmore Administration).

Why he was a bad President: Just about everything else, but especially his clumsiness with the slavery issue. Like Taylor, he should have simply chucked it and dealt with the Civil War, if it was inevitable anyway.

What could have saved his Presidency: Perhaps had he rejected Stephen Douglass’ ridiculous compromises and simply stopped slavery in the bud, even if it meant war. Also maybe had the trade talks with Japan been a little more publicized at the time.

What could have destroyed his Presidency: It already was the moment he signed the Fugitive Slave Act, then tried to enforce it.

How he became Vice President: In 1848, Fillmore supported Clay’s candidacy for the Presidency but Clay wasn’t trusted by the pro-slavery Whigs, so this was not to be his year.

Instead, the Whigs actively pursued the two Mexican war heroes, Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. Meanwhile enter Boss Thurlow Weed. While Scott was obviously much more refined than Rough and Ready Taylor, Weed threw his weight behind Taylor and Taylor won nomination on the fourth ballot.

Even though Taylor was the nominee, it didn’t necessarily go well with the anti-slavery North so it was decided to find a Vice Presidential candidate that could balance the ticket.

And that was how Millard Fillmore was chosen. After all, he was from the North, and though he, like Taylor, believed in compromise, there was no doubt in their minds he was in the anti-slavery camp. So, Fillmore was on the ticket.

It was a bitter campaign as both the Whigs and the Democrats desperately tried to avoid the slavery issue. The election really could have gone either way and, but for Martin Van Buren’s Free Soil party (He ran out of distaste for Democratic candidate Lewis Cass). Van Buren’s third candidacy is credited (blamed?) for getting Zachary Taylor into the White House.

As far as the Vice Presidency goes, Fillmore was pretty typical. Like most VP’s he had little to do with the Taylor administration. In fact, President Taylor didn’t really like the more gentlemanly man. And he, along with Boss Weed and William Seward, all but kept him shut out of the White House. Probably a fatal mistake as he was at least well respected by the Senate he presided over.

The big issue in 1850 was Henry Clay’s latest compromise to slavery. Known as the 1850 compromise, it was the subject of heated and bitter debate. President Taylor all but opposed it. The Vice President supported the compromise, but he was in a position where he really couldn’t do anything about it.

Then President Taylor died.

First term: As it was, there would be no pledge to continue the policies of the late President, which would become a common practice from Garfield on. Indeed, the first thing now President Fillmore did was clean out Taylor’s cabinet and backing the Compromise of 1850, which would be quickly passed. He signed the Fugitive Slave Act which criminalized the assistance of runaway slaves. He signed it mainly to appease the South but in so doing he angered the North. The Fugitive Slave Act would also inspire Harriet Beecher Stowe to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin which also inflamed the tensions between North and South.

So, nobody was really happy with the various compromises, and in particular, the North with the Fugitive Slave Act, a law that Fillmore clumsily tried to enforce, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

He fared a little better on the foreign front as Japan opened its doors to trade on Fillmore’s watch through the efforts of Secretary Daniel Webster and Commodore Matthew Perry. He also kept Hawaii protected from would be French and British colonists which might have seen silly at the time, but maybe if he didn’t, Hawaii might have been a French territory or, with a little luck, an independent nation of its own. In any event, it seemed to work out.

But the subject of slavery would all but ruin any chances for the Fillmore administration. He already had alienated the North and he likely wasn’t all that popular in the South either.

But, if you think he was bad then, just wait until the next Presidency.

Post Presidency: Fillmore decided not to even try to run in 1852. He very quickly had two tragedies befall him during 1853. His beloved wife died of pneumonia, having gotten sick at the Pierce inauguration, then he lost his daughter to cholera. Fillmore needed something to preoccupy him.

So, he reentered the world of politics. The Whigs, mainly because of Fillmore, had quickly began to disintegrate and some of the Whigs joined up with a new party, known as the Know-Nothings. This was not the most tolerant of parties. People who were once vehemently opposed to slavery were now even more opposed to immigrants and Catholics. Fillmore joined this party despite not sharing those intolerant views. It didn’t matter; he was propped up as their candidate in 1856 as did the surviving Whigs. He proved to be a strong third party candidate and he likely prevented John Fremont, now of the new Republican Party, to win election, thus condemning the nation to four years of James Buchanan.

After the 1856 election, he retired and remarried. He managed to rehabilitate his image somewhat during the Civil War. He was a staunch Unionist, organizing enlistments and fund raising drives. He died in 1874 as one of the most respected people in Buffalo.

Odd notes: Fillmore married his teacher

Fillmore refused an honorary degree from Oxford

https://constitutioncenter.org/media...s_funfacts.pdf


Final Summary: Fillmore’s biggest fault was that he seemed desperate to please everybody and ended up pleasing no-one. He had his own strong views, but he wouldn’t emphasize them. Perhaps he was too fearful of any consequences, often a fatal flaw in our Presidents. I mean there is a reason that Presidents like Lincoln, the two Roosevelts, Kennedy, even Reagan, have been considered great or near great Presidents by historians. They never cowered down from their own convictions. Unfortunately, Fillmore did, and it cost his standing in history dearly. At least I was able to learn (and be relieved) that while the Know Nothings may have been a bunch of hatemongers overall, Fillmore himself wasn’t.

In any event, as in the immortal words of William Dozier of Batman TV fame: The worst was yet to come.

Overall rating: D+

https://millercenter.org/president/fillmore

__________________

rubber soul

14. FRANKLIN PIERCE (Hey, good lookin)




Born: November 23, 1804, Hillsboro, New Hampshire
Died: October 8, 1869, Concord, New Hampshire

Term: March 4, 1853- March 4, 1857
Political Party: Democrat

Vice President: Rufus King

First Lady: Jane Appleton Pierce

Before the Presidency: Franklin Pierce was the son of a Revolutionary War hero, or at least where his home base of Hillsboro, New Hampshire was concerned. This gave young Franklin some advantages. He enjoyed a formal education and was even befriended by famous author Nathaniel Hawthorne. He was something of a social animal in college and was last in his class for a time. Finally, he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1824.

He became quite adept at public speaking and quickly found a home in the world of politics. He was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1829. Pierce, along with his father, were admirers of Andrew Jackson and supported him throughout his Presidency. He went to the US House of Representatives and strictly voted along with the Democrats. It was while in the House that Pierce, unhappy with the general atmosphere in Washington, began to have a drinking problem, something that would plague him the rest of his life.

He married the daughter of the President of his Alma Mater. It was a family of Whigs, and, by all accounts, it was something of an unhappy marriage.

Pierce entered the Senate in 1837 and, as in the House, served with an undistinguished record, again simply voting with the Democratic line. The one thing he was passionate about was his opposition to the abolitionist movement. It was an odd position for someone in the North, even a Democrat. It didn’t help that he was friendlier with the Southern Democrats, including the fiery Jefferson Davis, who became his closest political ally. In the end, though, Pierce resigned from the Senate and returned to New Hampshire.

Back in New Hampshire, Pierce stopped drinking and joined the temperance movement. He was able to outlaw liquor in Concord, where he was now living. Pierce became popular as a trial lawyer, even gaining something of a celebrity status. He became a popular figure in New Hampshire and was active in james Polk’s campaign in 1844. Polk was grateful enough to offer Pierce several patronage positions but he refused them all.

Still politically savvy, Pierce entered the Mexican American War as a Private, enlisting men in the New England Volunteers. He then asked President Polk for a commission, which he received, becoming a Brigadier General and was active in the battle of Vera Cruz. He was also in the drive to Mexico City, but the inexperienced Pierce broke his leg after being thrown from his horse. It led to the unflattering nickname of Fainting Frank. It seemed that the politically minded Pierce was not very popular with his troops.

Still, Pierce had a new notch on his political record and became head of the New Hampshire Democrats upon his return.

1852 would prove to be a monumental year for Pierce and the Democrats were looking for someone who could not only appeal to the proslavery South, but also be able to garner some votes in the North.

And being good looking couldn’t be a bad thing either.


Summary of offices held:

1829-1833: New Hampshire House of Representatives (Speaker 1831-1833)

1833-1837: US House of Representatives

1837-1841: US Senate

1847-1848: Brigadier General, US Army, Mexican-American War


What was going on: The Kansas- Nebraska act, slavery, Bleeding Kansas

Scandals within the administration: none that we know of

Why he was a good President: I’m not even going to try and come up with something here. Okay, I got one, he didn’t start a war with Mexico, or Spain for that matter.

Why he was a bad President: Gee, where do I start? Yes, he approved the Gadsden Purchase, but supporting slavery, especially when you were from the North, wasn’t a cool move. And he sure wasn’t exactly active in trying to quell the violence in Kansas either

What could have saved his Presidency: I don’t know, maybe done a 180 and taken an anti-slavery stance could have helped in history? It would not have saved his Presidency though.

What could have destroyed his Presidency: Do I really have to go there? I guess he had to be James Buchanan, yikes!

Election of 1852: With the Whigs in disarray, you would have thought the Democrats would have an easy path to the Presidency, but there were so many factions within the party and a majority could not get behind the leading candidates that included Lewis Cass, James Buchanan, and Stephen Douglas. There was no way a Southerner was going to attract any Northern votes and a Northern Democrat was not going to appeal to the proslavery South.

They went through 34 ballots as no one could garner a two thirds majority as were the party rules at the time. There was a feeling they needed another dark horse as James Polk had been for them eight years earlier. After all, Polk had been a fairly successful President so why not roll the dice again.

The Democrats needed someone pleasant enough to be attractive to all the factions. There was also the thought that a proslavery Northerner could very well be that man.

So, Franklin Pierce’s name was put in on the 35th ballot and Virginia jumped on it, giving him all of its delegates. It took a while, but finally, on the 48th ballot, Pierce found himself the Democratic nominee and he was paired with Alabama Senator Rufus King.

The Whigs, meanwhile, had one last gasp, and went to well with another war hero, this time the victim was Winfield Scott, who had commanded Pierce during the Mexican war.

As it was, the Whigs would be disappointed with Scott, who proved to be his own man. Scott, to the dismay of the Whigs, voiced his support for the Compromise, very unpopular in the South. Pierce, on the other hand, said nothing, on anything really. In fact, he didn’t even campaign.

It was just as well as the campaign got personal. The Fainting Frank accusations came up as well as well as tales of his drunkenness. Scott was accused of having the audacity of refusing to duel Andrew Jackson (those were weird days indeed) and accusations of becoming a military dictator.

It didn’t matter. Scott’s anti-slavery stance all but repelled the South and Pierce would win in a landslide.

First term: Pierce’s Presidency got off to a bad start even before he took office. The Pierce’s were involved in a train wreck and their only son was killed. His wife blamed Pierce as she saw it as an omen for his running to begin with and became a recluse. Pierce himself entered the White House full of grief and never really recovered.

In his inauguration, President Pierce called for more expansion, something that angered the Northerners who feared it would expand slavery. He named Jefferson Davis as his Secretary of State, and through Minister to Mexico James Gadsden, they purchased what is now Southern Arizona for $15 million, thus completing what we know now as the Continental United States. This should have been Pierce’s big accomplishment, especially since he didn’t have to wage a war for it.

But the slavery issue had both sides boiling and ratification was in doubt. Nevertheless, it went through.

The stickier issue would be the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854. Introduced by Stephen Douglas, it would repeal the Missouri Compromise and give each territory its own discretion on whether to allow slavery or not. By this time, there was great violence between the pro and anti-slavery forces and Kansas had an unwanted nickname as the territory was known as Bleeding Kansas. Pierce signed the bill, but it would have devastating consequences and it brought the nation closer to Civil War. The act all but split the Democrats , Pierce being the lone Northerner to support slavery.

The slavery issue also reared its ugly head when President Pierce wanted to annex Cuba, but their minister to Spain, Pierre Soule, all but sabotaged those plans when he suggested a US invasion by way of the Ostend Manifesto, one of the signers who happened to be James Buchanan. The State Department reacted by firing Soule.

Meanwhile, the Kansas- Nebraska act continued to stir the pot in Kansas, which now had two Governments, one supporting slavery and one that didn’t. The violence continued in Kansas as well as in Nebraska. And, the lowest point in Pierce’s administration had to have taken place in Congress when things got physical. In May 1856, things got so heated that Representative Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with his cane.

And, with radical abolitionist John Brown all but at war in Bleeding Kansas (he figures to be very notorious in the Buchanan era), it was all but time for Franklin Pierce to go.

Election of 1856: Pierce had hoped to go for re-election but by now, the Democrats had more than enough of him and refused to nominate him.

Post Presidency: Pierce retired to New Hampshire after his term. As it were, he would end up supporting the Union during the Civil War. That didn’t make him a Lincoln supporter however as Pierce remained a loyal Democrat and blamed Lincoln for the war.

After Lincoln’s assassination, a mob assembled at Pierce’s house and he had to use his orator skills to disperse the crowd.

But ultimately, Pierce was a broken man. He returned to drinking and was all but forgotten in the annals of Presidential history.

Odd notes: Pierce, still distraught over the death of his son, didn’t swear an oath at his inauguration


https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/...resident-facts

He was lifelong friends with writer Nathaniel Hawthorne

https://www.wmur.com/article/new-ham...erce/38331574#




Final Summary: I think it’s safe to say that Pierce was in way over his head. Yes, he was handsome, and he could charm the fleas off a lion.

But like with just about everything he did, he didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Pierce was a man of all glitz and glamour but absolutely no substance. If he wasn’t such a tragic figure, he would have fit in quite well as the bumbling President in a political sitcom.

So, amazingly enough, he goes down as being even worse than Millard Fillmore.

And it even gets worse from here.

Overall rating: D

https://millercenter.org/president/pierce

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