McCormick messenger. (McCormick, S.C.) 1902-current, March 28, 1940, Image 6
i*
McCormick Messenger. McCormick, s. c.. Thursday,, march 28,
1940
John Tyler, Born 150 Years Ago,
Is One of Least-Known Presidents
But Had a Career That Is Unique
• *
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
(Released by Western Newspaper Union.)
J OHN TYLER, who was
born just 150 years ago,
is one of the least-known
Presidents of the United
States, yet few of our Chief
Executives have had a more
interesting or more unusual
career. Here are some of the
facts which make his unique:
He was the first vice presi
dent to become President
upon the death of the Chief
Executive.
He was the first vice presi
dent to be defeated for that
office in one election and then
stage a come-back and win in
the next one.
He was the first President
• to surround himself with a
’‘Brain Trust” of college pro
fessors and experts (even
though that name had not yet
been coined for it) and in do
ing so he antedated Franklin
D. Roosevelt by nearly a
hundred years.
He was the only President
who was “purged” by mem
bers of his party ... and they
were more successful in do
ing that than President
Roosevelt was in his attempt
ed “purge” of his party!
He was the only President
who ever renounced his alle
giance to the United States.
After leaving the White
House, he accepted the lowli
est office ever filled by an ex-
President—that of road over
seer.
His wife was the first Presi
dent’s wife to die in the White
House.
In fact, the dark thread of
Death was woven all through the
pattern of John Tyler’s life. The
death of a Virginia congressman,
John Clopton, in 1816 resulted in
Tyler’s being chosen to fill the
vacancy in the house of repre
sentatives and thus brought him
on the stage of national affairs.
The death of John Taylor in 1824
resulted in the nomination of Ty
ler to fill the vacancy thus creat
ed in the United States senatq but
his frieqd, Littleton Tazewell,
was elected to the post. The
death of William Henry Harrison
made Tyler President of the Unit
ed States in 1841 and a little
more than a year after he moved
into the White House, it was
draped in black in mourning for
his wife, Letitia Christian Tyler,
who died September 10, 1842. And
finally his own death prevented
his holding the last office to which
he was ever elected—member
ship in the congress of the Con
federate States of America.
Tyler was bom at Greenway in
Charles City county, Virginia,
March 29, 1790, the son of John
Tyler who had served as gover
nor of the Old Dominion from
1808 to 1811. Fourteen years
later another John Tyler (the
junior) was chief executive of
Virginia but after serving one
term was elected to the United
States senate. When the doctrine
of nullification was proposed by
the South Carolinians, Tyler
broke with his party and resigned
from the senate.
By 1835 there was a serious
schism in the Democratic party.
Not only had the “nullifiers,” un
der the leadership of John C. Cal
houn, broken away, but a much
larger party, which was formed
in the South under the name of
State-Rights Whigs, were opposed
to the policies of Jackson and
the administration “regulars.”
j Lost His First Race.
In the campaign of 1836 these
State-Rights Whigs nominated
Hugh L. White of Tennessee for
President and Tyler for vice pres
ident. The National Republicans
nominated Gen. William Henry
Harrison for President and Fran
cis Granger for vice president.
But the influence of “Old Hick
ory,” who had forced the nomina
tion of Martin Van Buren by the
Democrats, was potent enough to
bring about his election and with
it the election of Richard M.
Johnson for vice president. So
John Tyler lost out in his first
race for vice president.
But it was a different story four
years later. As the campaign of
1840 approached, Henry Clay pre
pared to make his third bid for
the Presidency. Leaders in the
Whig party, though certain that
Van Buren, would go down to de
feat in his race for re-election,
did not believe that Henry Clay
was the man who could carry the
Whig banner io victory.
Taking a tip from the Demo
crats’ success in electing a mili
tary hero—“Old Hickory” Jack-
son, they decided upon William
Henry Harrison, a noted Indian
fighter and general in the War of
1812. As a running mate for “Old
Tippecanoe” they selected the ex-
Democrat, John Tyler. They be
lieved that this cultured Southern
gentleman would attract South
ern votes and his friendship for
Henry Clay would hold the sup
port of the Clay faction in the
party. In the tumultuous cam
paign which followed, Harrison
and Tyler won an easy victory
but within a month after taking
the oath of office as President,
the aged Indian-fighter, worn out
by the demands of Whig office-
seekers, died on April 4, 1841.
Upon succeeding to the presi
dency, Tyler announced that he
would retain the cabinet chosen
by Harrison and would carry out
the latter’s policies. What they
were, no one knew for the Whig
convention had not adopted any
platform and in the campaign
there was no discussion of issues
between the two parties. As a
matter of fact, the Whigs had
nominated Harrison because they
believed he could be “managed”
and Henry Clay intended to do
the managing.
Early-Day ‘Brain Trust.*
Although retaining Harrison’s
cabinet, Tyler immediately as
sembled about him a group of
unofficial advisers (the first
“Brain Trust”) which included
Prof. Nathaniel Beverly Tucker,
professor of law at William and
Mary college, who first suggest
ed an Exchequer Bank plan
which Tyler later proposed and
whose recommendations about a
public lands policy were incorpo
rated in the Homestead Law of
1862; Caleb Cushing of Massa
chusetts, one of the greatest au
thorities on constitutional law,
who was later nominated for
chief justice of the Supreme
court; Littleton W. Tazewell of
Virginia, called by Thomas Jef
ferson “one of the most brilliant
minds I have ever known”; and
Robert J. Walker of Mississippi,
later President Polk’s secretary
of the treasury and author of the
tariff of 1846, who became Tyler’s
spokesman in the senate.
As soon as Henry Clay and the
other Whig leaders began trying
to dictate to Tyler, they discov
ered that the man in the White
House had a mind of his own.
They first pushed through a bill
to establish a United States bank.
Tyler vetoed it, and their effort
to pass it over his veto failed.
When the Whig leaders re
proached Tyler for his action, he
reminded them that he had sub
scribed to no platform and that
they should have known his opin
ions before they nominated him.
Somewhat crestfallen, they
asked him for an outline of a
bank bill he would sign. The re
sult was Tucker’s Exchequer
Bank plan, which they changed
and pushed through both houses.
Thereupon Tyler vetoed it and
again an attempt to pass it over
his disapproval failed. Then con
gress passed a protective tariff
bill which Tyler vetoed. A pro
gram for internal improvements
to be financed by the federal gov
ernment met with the same fate,
because Tyler believed that the
states should make their own in
ternal improvements.
Swiftly the breach between the
President and his party widened.
The cabinet, with one exception,
resigned. Daniel Webster re
mained long enough to complete
negotiations for the Webster-Ash-
burton treaty. Then he resigned.
The party was beginning its
“purge” of its President. Next
the Whig newspapers went into
action and filled their columns
with denunciations of the Presi
dent. There were even threats of
assassination: But Tyler stood
firm in his determination to be
true to his oath of office. Then
10 members pt congress, headed
by ex-President John Quincy Ad
ams, now a member of the house
of representatives, brought in a
report charging Tyler with vio-
. lating a promise he had made
before his nomination and threat
ening to impeach him. Tyler re
plied that he had never pledged
anything to the Whigs.
Despite this denial, the Whig
congressmen issued a series of
“Addresses to the People” in
which they charged that the Pres
ident had gone into office fully
committed to a program which
he now repudiated, thus “selling
out the party.” They listed the
reforms which they desired and
which they declared, the Presi
dent was “impeding.” Finally,
when Tyler filled his cabinet with
Southern Democrats, headed by
John C. Calhoun as secretary of /
state, it was the last straw. The
Whigs issued a proclamation that
“all political connection between
them and John Tyler was at an
end from that day henceforth.”
The party had completely purged
its President.
The remainder of Tyler’s term
of office was marked by the dis
pute over the slavery question
and the annexation of Texas, fa
vored by the Democrats and op
posed by the Whigs. Having been
“read out of the party,” Tyler
now had nothing to lose and sup
ported the. move for annexation,
but without success at first. As
the 1844 campaign approached,
this question became the princi
pal issue. James K. Polk, the
Democratic nominee, indorsed
annexation. Tyler had tried to
build up a party of his own and
seek re-election. Although he was
nominated by a small faction, he
was persuaded to withdraw from
the race and Polk won. Just be
fore leaving office Tyler had the
satisfaction of seeing his plan for
the annexation of Texas accepted •
by the Lone Star republic and
the next year it came into the
Union.
‘Robin Hood of Virginia.*
Tyler’s political career was
now ended. He retired to his
home, Sherwood Forest, where,
in a facetious mood, he often re
ferred to himself as the “Robin
Hood of Virginia.” It was during
this period of retirement that he
accepted the lowly office of road
overseer.
Although a Virginian and a
slaveholder, Tyler was opposed
to the institution of slavery and
became president of the African
Colonization society, formed with
the view of recolonizing the
slaves in Africa. Early in his
career he looked forward to the
time when slavery would disap
pear from the South as it already
had from some of the Northern
states but being a strict construc
tionist he wanted to bring that
about by Constitutional means.
As the clouds of the threatened
civil war lowered, the ex-Presi
dent used his influence to help
avert it. His last great effort to
preserve the Union was as presi
dent of the Washington Peace
Convention of 1860, assembled in
a last-minute effort to seek some
compromise between the North
and the South. He looked upon
the convention as an attempt to
preserve the Constitution and the
laws of the nation, which he con
sidered the North had sought to
ignore, not change.
When his native state seceded,
Tyler, like Robert E. Lee, be
lieved that his first duty was to
Virginia and he renounced his
loyalty to the United States. He
was elected to the Confederate
congress but died January 17,
1862, before the congress assem
bled.
OP° SEW
4*"“ Ruth Wyeth Spears
I WIDTH OF
WINDOW^
FRAME W
/riE-fiACK
/HOLDER
FOR
VALANCE
1 'T'HAT lace curtains are in fash-
ion again is news! This easy-to-
make and easy-to-hang valance is
something that many of you have
been wanting. All the dimensions
for cutting it are given here. The
glass curtains are hung on the
lower rod; the side drapes on the
upper rod; and the valance is
draped over knob holders screwed
into the extreme upper corners of
the window frames.
The color plan for this window
began with the glazed chintz dra
pery material in tones of green,
beige and golden yellow. The
darkest green—a soft olive tone,
was used in sateen to line the
valance and make the tie-backs.
The brass holders for the valance
repealed the golden yellow. The
cream glass curtains toned into
the drapery background, and a
plain olive green window shade
was used.
• • *
NOTE: Mrs. Spears has pre
pared four booklets for our read
ers with illustrated directions for
making 128 thrifty homemaking
ideas. Each book contains an as
sortment of 32-pages of curtains;
slip covers; rag rugs; toys; gifts
and novelties for bazaars. Books
are 10 cents each—please order
by number—No. 1, 2, 3 and 4—
With your order for four booklets
you will receive a FREE set of
three Quilt Block patterns of Mrs.
Spears’ Favorite Early American
Quilts. Send orders to:
MRS. RUTH WYETH SPEARS
Drawer 10
Bedford Hills New York
Enclose 10 cents for one book, or
40 cents for four books and set of quilt
block patterns.
Name
Address
Life and Friendship
Life is to be fortified by many
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