John Tyler
John Tyler

Author: Gary May

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2008-12-09

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 1429939214

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The first "accidental president," whose secret maneuverings brought Texas into the Union and set secession in motion When William Henry Harrison died in April 1841, just one month after his inauguration, Vice President John Tyler assumed the presidency. It was a controversial move by this Southern gentleman, who had been placed on the fractious Whig ticket with the hero of Tippecanoe in order to sweep Andrew Jackson's Democrats, and their imperial tendencies, out of the White House. Soon Tyler was beset by the Whigs' competing factions. He vetoed the charter for a new Bank of the United States, which he deemed unconstitutional, and was expelled from his own party. In foreign policy, as well, Tyler marched to his own drummer. He engaged secret agents to help resolve a border dispute with Britain and negotiated the annexation of Texas without the Senate's approval. The resulting sectional divisions roiled the country. Gary May, a historian known for his dramatic accounts of secret government, sheds new light on Tyler's controversial presidency, which saw him set aside his dedication to the Constitution to gain his two great ambitions: Texas and a place in history.

The American Presidents, Washington to Tyler
The American Presidents, Washington to Tyler

Author: Robert A. Nowlan

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-01-10

Total Pages: 461

ISBN-13: 1476601186

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As of 2012, only 43 men have held the office of the President of the United States. Some have been sanctified and some reviled. This historical work addresses the careers of the first ten presidents, men who made vital contributions not only to the office of the presidency, but to the course of the fledgling nation. From Washington through Tyler, every term is recounted in detail and each presidential profile provides as many as a hundred quotations (with full source notes) by the president, his friends, family, historians, and others. Each profile ends with an extensive bibliography of books about the president, his principles and policies, and also provides suggestion for further reading. Rigorously nonpartisan in approach, this detail-rich text describes the early years of what may well be one of the most demanding jobs in the world.

The Presidents and the Constitution
The Presidents and the Constitution

Author: Ken Gormley

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2016-05-10

Total Pages: 711

ISBN-13: 1479839906

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Shines new light on America's brilliant constitutional and presidential history, from George Washington to Barack Obama. In this sweepingly ambitious volume, the nation’s foremost experts on the American presidency and the U.S. Constitution join together to tell the intertwined stories of how each American president has confronted and shaped the Constitution. Each occupant of the office—the first president to the forty-fourth—has contributed to the story of the Constitution through the decisions he made and the actions he took as the nation’s chief executive. By examining presidential history through the lens of constitutional conflicts and challenges, The Presidents and the Constitution offers a fresh perspective on how the Constitution has evolved in the hands of individual presidents. It delves into key moments in American history, from Washington’s early battles with Congress to the advent of the national security presidency under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, to reveal the dramatic historical forces that drove these presidents to action. Historians and legal experts, including Richard Ellis, Gary Hart, Stanley Kutler and Kenneth Starr, bring the Constitution to life, and show how the awesome powers of the American presidency have been shapes by the men who were granted them. The book brings to the fore the overarching constitutional themes that span this country’s history and ties together presidencies in a way never before accomplished.

John Tyler, the Accidental President
John Tyler, the Accidental President

Author: Edward P. Crapol

Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press

Published: 2012-01-18

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 0807882720

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The first vice president to become president on the death of the incumbent, John Tyler (1790-1862) was derided by critics as "His Accidency." In this biography of the tenth president, Edward P. Crapol challenges depictions of Tyler as a die-hard advocate of states' rights, limited government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Instead, he argues, Tyler manipulated the Constitution to increase the executive power of the presidency. Crapol also highlights Tyler's faith in America's national destiny and his belief that boundless territorial expansion would preserve the Union as a slaveholding republic. When Tyler sided with the Confederacy in 1861, he was branded as America's "traitor" president for having betrayed the republic he once led.