His Accidency
His Accidency
And his flawed interpretation of Madison's Theory
His Accidency
On March 4th, 1841, John Tyler was sworn in as Vice President of the United States. President William Henry Harrison died a month later, making John Tyler President. In September 1842, his wife, Letitia Christian, had a stroke and died in the White House. Five months later, aboard a Navel demonstration cruise on the Potomac, he was courting Julia Gardiner, thirty years his junior, and who would become his second wife. They were both aboard the Princeton to see the Peacemaker, a massive cannon that had barely been tested. After several demonstrations, the ship was floating by Mt. Vernon, home of George Washington. Those aboard began asking for another firing to honor the first President. The Captian refused. Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer pulled rank and the Peacemaker was fired one last time. This time something went wrong and a massive explosion rocked the ship. When the dust settled, President Tyler was horrified at the carnage. Gilmer, Secretary of State Abel Upsher, and David Gardiner, Julia’s father, were killed in the explosion.
Tyler was born in Virginia and was the first Vice President to succeed to the presidency upon the death of a sitting president. Dubbed “His Accidency,” Tyler was a controversial figure in his time. He faced intense opposition from the Whig Party, under which he had been elected, and the Democratic Party, which he eventually joined. Described as “weak & conceded,” Tyler strongly supported states' rights and the expansion of slavery. Tyler was a skilled, ambitious politician and diplomat, and he worked to improve relations with Britain and secure the annexation of Texas. After leaving office in 1845, Tyler returned to his home in Virginia, where he betrayed the Union, supported the Confederacy, and finally let the world see his real ambitions.
Foreign Policy
The U.S. and British relationship was tense during Tyler's administration. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty, negotiated by Daniel Webster, and signed in 1842, was a diplomatic agreement that addressed several long-standing disputes between the two nations. One of the key issues addressed by the treaty was the border dispute between the United States and British North America (now Canada) in the northeastern region of North America. The treaty established a new boundary between the two countries that resolved the longstanding dispute over the northern border of Maine. The treaty also addressed issues related to the extradition of criminals between the two countries, establishing procedures for transferring fugitives between the U.S. and British North America. The two sides also agreed to take measures to suppress the transatlantic slave trade.
Tyler and Webster secured the Webster-Ashburton Treaty through covert propaganda campaigns paid for out of the secret service funds that Congress appropriated for foreign diplomacy. However, they targeted not only the British people but the people of Maine. This means the administration violated a state’s sovereignty with propaganda paid for with misappropriated funds.
Tyler's administration focused on expanding American influence and sent several diplomatic missions to China during his presidency. These efforts culminated in the signing a treaty of commerce and friendship with China in 1844, which allowed for greater American access to Chinese markets. In addition to China, Tyler took a significant interest in the Hawaiian Islands and worked to establish closer ties between the United States and Hawaii. He sent a diplomatic envoy to Hawaii in 1842, which negotiated a treaty of friendship and commerce with the Hawaiian government. Known as the Tyler Doctrine, Tyler effectively extended the Monroe Doctrine to encompass part of the Pacific by establishing the islands’ independence and proclaiming the United States’ interests in their security and prosperity.
Annexation of Texas
Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 following a bloody conflict known as the Texas Revolution. Some countries recognized the new republic of Texas, but Mexico did not recognize its sovereignty, considering it a renegade province. Texas remained an independent republic for several years, establishing a close relationship with the United States, which saw it as a potential expansion of American territory.
President Tyler wanted to annex Texas, but current Secretary of State Daniel Webster thought it was a bad idea, as it stirred the slavery debate. Upon entry into the Union, Texas would secure power for the elite ruling class in the slaveholding states. Webster resigned and Tyler nominated fellow Virginian and trusted advisor Abel P. Upshur. Upshur had like-minded views as Tyler on the annexation of Texas. He privately confided the annexation of Texas was “the great object of my ambition.”
After 1833, the British sought to undermine slavery in Cuba, Brazil, and the United States. Tyler sent Duff Green as an “ambassador for slavery” with money from the secret service funds. Alarmed by unofficial intelligence about the British, Tyler, and Upshur opened secret treaty negations with Texas. They aimed to bring Texas into the Union and protect the slaveholding power in Congress. Before his Death on the Princeton, Upshur negotiated a draft treaty with Texas. Tyler nominated John C. Calhoun to take over as Secretary of State. Calhoun believed, “The great point, toward effecting of which all of our efforts ought to be directed is to unite the South.”
The annexation faced two constitutional issues. One, Texas wanted protection from the federal government if Mexico decided to go to war. Two, the constitution did not provide any mechanism for adding new territory to the Union. Bypassing Congress, Calhoun, and Tyler gave Texas assurance the Union would protect if Mexico decided to attack. Once the treaty was signed it was submitted to the Senate. Objecting that acquiring the territory would bring the country into war, the Senate soundly voted it down 35-16.
Tyler had an uphill battle for re-election in 1844 and decided not to run. Democrat James Polk was a dark horse candidate who ran on a traditional Jacksonian platform and supported annexing the Texas and Oregon territories. After Polk won the presidency, the lame-duck Tyler took it as a declaration the American people wanted Texas. The crafty Tyler proposed bringing Texas in as a state through a joint resolution of both Houses of Congress. After a tense back and forth, the Senate voted 27 to 25, admitting Texas into the Union.
While in office, Tyler practiced the Madisonian political theory of Extending the Sphere. He saw the Union’s expansion as the best way to secure and protect the nation's sovereignty. Establishing relations with China, and Hawaii, bringing Texas into the Union, and pushing back against the British helped extend and solidify Madison’s Sphere. However, he extended the limits of executive power and violated states’ rights in the process. His ambition wasn’t to extend the power of the Union it was to extend the power of the slaveholders. The extension of the power of states which counted people as 3/5th a person so they could maintain ownership while also benefiting from their representation is not how Extending the Sphere works. Madison’s theory works best when representation is balanced with the nation's people, not when a small group of wealthy elites manipulates it. Tyler was elected to the Confederate Congress when war broke out and became a vocal supporter of succession. Tyler believed the Union must be protected and extended, but only if slavery was preserved. When he died in 1862, there was no day of remembrance for the former president because he died a citizen of a hostile power at war with the Union he once swore to protect.