John Tyler was the tenth president of the United States, holding office from 1841 to 1845 after briefly serving as the tenth vice president in 1841; he was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig ticket with President William Henry Harrison. Tyler ascended to the presidency after Harrison's death in April 1841, only a month after the start of the new administration. He was a stalwart supporter and advocate of states' rights, and he adopted nationalistic policies as president only when they did not infringe on the powers of the states. His unexpected rise to the presidency posed a threat to the presidential ambitions of Henry Clay and other politicians, and left Tyler estranged from both major political parties. Tyler was born to a prominent Virginia family of slaveholders and became a national figure at a time of political upheaval. In the 1820s, the nation's only political party was the Democratic-Republican Party, and it split into factions.
Born: | March 29, 1790, Charles City County, Virginia, U.S. |
Died: | January 18, 1862, Richmond, Virginia |
Cause of death: | Stroke |
Resting place: | Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
Political party: | Independent (1841–1844, 1844–1862) |
Other political affiliations: | Democratic-Republican (1811–1828), Democratic (1828–1834), Whig (1834–1841), New Democratic-Republican (1844) |
Children: | 15, including Letitia, Robert, David, John Alexander, and Lyon Tyler |
Parents: | John Tyler Sr, Mary Armistead |
Alma mater: | College of William & Mary |
Profession: | Politician, lawyer, farmer |
Vice President: | None |
Preceded by: | William Henry Harrison |
Succeeded by: | James K. Polk |
About John Tyler
Tenth U.S. president and the first to succeed a president because of the officeholder's death. He led the way for the annexation of Texas in 1845.
John Tyler Before Fame
He was raised with his two brothers and five sisters on Greenway Plantation in Virginia. He started practicing law when he was 19 years old.
Achievement of John Tyler
He was an adamant advocate of states' rights and supported the Confederate government during the Civil War, serving in the Confederate House of Representatives until his death.
John Tyler Family Life
He married twice, fathering eight children with his first wife and seven more with his second.
Associations of John Tyler
He succeeded William Henry Harrison, who served as president for only 31 days before dying of complications caused by pneumonia.
Information related to John Tyler
- John Tyler Category
- Virginia National Republicans
- Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Virginia
- Chancellors of the College of William & Mary
- Whig Party (United States) vice presidential nominees
- William Henry Harrison administration cabinet members
- John Tyler family
- Page family of Virginia
- Vice Presidents of the United States
- Virginia Whigs
- Presidents of the United States
- Whig Party Presidents of the United States
- Governors of Virginia
- Burials at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)
- Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate
- 18th-century American Episcopalians
- Virginia Democratic-Republicans
- Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States
- American militia officers
- 19th-century American Episcopalians
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia
- College of William & Mary alumni
- American slave owners