The Presidencies of William Henry Harrison and John Tyler

by Norma Lois Peterson

Overview

Wearied by the hotly contested "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign that unseated the Democratic incumbent, Martin Van Buren, Harrison succumbed to pneumonia after only one month in office, the first chief executive to die in the White House. His death precipitated a governmental crisis, which Vice President John Tyler promptly resolved—to the consternation of his Whig Party—by claiming the office and title of president, thus setting a precedent that only later was codified in the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

Instead of the pliable Harrison, the Whigs confronted in Tyler a tenacious defender of presidential prerogative and a formidable foe of their plan to establish congressional supremacy over the executive branch. Threatened with impeachment, repeatedly exhorted to resign, banished from the Whig Party, abandoned by his cabinet, and burned in effigy, Tyler stood firm and maintained the integrity of the presidential office.

Peterson argues that the Tyler administration deserves more credit than it has received for what was accomplished—and preserved—under difficult circumstances.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700604005
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	06/29/1989
Series:	American Presidency Series
Pages:	344
Sales rank:	729,335
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

1. The Gropings of a Growing Nation

2. “This Discordant Combination”

3. The Short Month of Harrison’s Presidency

4. The Succession

5. The Special Session

6. The Whigs Expel a President

7. The Trying Summer of 1842

8. The Peacemakers

9. Pacific-Mindedness

10. The President, the Cabinet, and the White House

11. Moderation Gone Awry

12. Texas: Misinformation, Rumors, and Secrecy

13. “Mr. Tyler’s Abominable Treaty”

14. “The Apoplexy of the Constitution”

15. A Flawed Presidency

Notes

Bibliographical Essay

Index

Editorial Reviews

"Peterson has rendered a balanced, highly readable, and enjoyable account of presidential politics during the terms of Harrison and Tyler. She has brought life and meaning to a period frequently thought of as a void in American political history."—Journal of Southern History

"Peterson has worked her way through the tangled skein of the Harrison-Tyler presidencies with clarity and authority. . . . A worthy addition to the successful American Presidency Series, Peterson’s study will become a standard account of these hitherto neglected years."—Journal of the Early Republic

"A significant reinterpretation."—Library Journal

"An excellent narrative. . . . Recommended most highly."—Choice

"Peterson forces us to revise our pictures of one of American history’s more blurry eras and shows us its importance as well. An educated general public, college students, and professional historians will all benefit from this fine work."—History: Reviews of New Books

From the Publisher

Peterson has worked her way through the tangled skein of the Harrison-Tyler presidencies with clarity and authority. . . . A worthy addition to the succesful American Presidency Series, Peterson's study will become a standard account of these hitherto neglected years.

Journal of the Early Republic

Peterson has rendered a balanced, highly readable, and enjoyable account of presidential politics during the terms of Harrison and Tyler. She has brought life and meaning to a period frequently thought of as a void in American political history.

Journal of Southern History

Peterson forces us to revise our pictures of one of American history's more blurry eras and shows us its importance as well. An educated general public, college students, and professional historians will all benefit from this fine work.

History: Reviews of New Books

An excellent narrative. . . . Recommended most highly.

Choice

The 21st volume of the series is a reinterpretation of the Tyler presidency. Harrison's sudden death in office left Tyler to handle the antagonism of those who had expected to dominate Harrison. Tyler was a strong executive who made achievements in foreign affairs and who zealously guarded the right of the executive branch to refuse to submit to Congressional directives. Threatened with impeachment, banished from his party, abandoned by his cabinet, Tyler insisted on honoring the Constitutional system of checks and balances. Peterson has contributed a new view of a period of political turmoil. Her exhaustive use of primary and secondary sources supports her picture of Tyler. This is a significant revision, appropriate for public, academic, and research libraries.-- Susan E. Parker, Harvard Law Sch. Lib.

Library Journal