Zachary Taylor: Soldier in the White House

by Holman Hamilton

This tome is the second volume of Holman Hamilton’s landmark biography of Zachary Taylor (1784-1850), the 12th President of the United States. It examines Taylor’s brief but important political career and traces Taylor’s life from his return to the U.S. in December of 1847 from the bloody Mexican battlefields, to his death on July 9, 1850, a mere sixteen months after assuming the office of the presidency.

As interesting as the history surrounding Zachary Taylor’s life is the man himself. Taylor was no politician. Throughout his life, he never voted in an election. He knew little of the party that nominated him. And he candidly admitted no opinion on certain political questions, and on others was reluctant to comment at all. At the end of his famous Allison letter that secured him the presidency in 1848, he stated: “I do not know that I again shall ever write upon the subject of national politics.” How and why he was elected President are just some of the questions that Hamilton answers about one of America’s most unusual presidencies.

Zachary Taylor: Soldier in the White House is the sequel to Zachary Taylor Soldier of the Republic. Together, both volumes represent what is considered by historians to be the definitive biography of the 12th President of the U.S. Lauded for his meticulous research and highly readable style, the late Holman Hamilton, a noted journalist and editor, set out to “write entertainingly and even artistically about men and events in the realm of actuality.” Both volumes of this extraordinary biography are ample proof that he accomplished his goal.

Genres: Biography, Presidents, History, Politics, American History

496 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1941

Reviews

[Aaron Million · Rating 2 out of 5]

This second volume of Zachary Taylor's life picks up with the hero of Buena Vista in the War with Mexico returning home to his plantations in Louisiana and Mississippi. In what was becoming a trend in American politics, successful generals were being considered for President, and Taylor was no exception. Despite his importance in that war and in this narrow slice of time, there are few biographies existing of Taylor today.

Published in 1951, this volume definitely shows its age. The writing is dated and, at times, jarring to modern eyes. The worst passages occur early. Writing on page 25, Holman Hamilton refers to Taylor's enslaved people as "helpful servants". My goodness, that seems - at its extreme best view - awfully out-of-touch. On pages 31-33, Hamilton lauds Taylor for being "...insistent that the best care be taken of them", and that his "paternalistic policies" like providing so much milk and food per day to each person resulted in abundant loyalty being given to him by the enslaved. "In view of all this, it is hardly surprising that, when Taylor debarked from his packet, the boat was met by some of his Negroes, who shook hands with their master, instead of groveling, and appeared delighted to see him once more." Good God, that's bad. It's disturbing to me that a professional historian like Hamilton, writing eighty-five years after the end of the Civil War, could still attempt to portray slavery in this angelic light. After reading that passage, I had to stop and stare out the window for a minute, shake my head, and then resume reading.

Thankfully, Hamilton does not return to this subject for the rest of the book. While you could easily argue that, since Taylor had enslaved people with him when he was President, they should be part of the story, given how Hamilton viewed this relationship, I am glad he did not venture any further into what a benevolent "master" Taylor supposedly was. And look, Taylor may very well have been a nice and caring man to them and everyone else. I don't doubt that. But they were still human beings that he owned. Recognize the times and places that he lived in, acknowledge that what he did - while accepted in a large part of the country - was morally wrong, and then continue on with his story. Don't make it out to be somehow a good thing when it so clearly was reprehensible.

Now with that out of the way, Hamilton spends a significant (way too long in my view) chunk of time writing about Taylor's eventual nomination as the 1848 Whig presidential candidate. Several chapters are devoted to this, and Hamilton really digs into it: who were his supporters, who were his detractors, how did all of the various states vote at the convention, and the machinations of Henry Clay. In these chapters, and elsewhere, Taylor fades into the background, left to watch events from the sidelines. To be fair, Taylor did no active campaigning, and aside from writing a couple of letters for public consumption, did almost nothing to get elected. I think he really was one of the few people to attain the presidency who legitimately didn't care if he won or not.

The 1848 election is also covered in detail. Hamilton discusses the Democrats' campaign and their nominee, Lewis Cass. So many names are thrown about in this part of the book, and in later sections, that it makes it difficult to keep all of the names straight. Hamilton has too many names in here as they really do not add overall to the story of Taylor's life. Taylor does not become President until page 156 when he gives his Inaugural Address.

Taylor's Cabinet selection process is given a chapter of its own. This is generally an important part of presidential biographies, especially of earlier Presidents when the Cabinet seemed much more important than it is today (although it certainly still is). While up to this point Hamilton has been very favorable to Taylor, here he criticizes him for choosing a mediocre, bland group of men who are not dynamos. Lincoln's Cabinet this is not. While most of Taylor's selections were not outright horrible, none were particularly good either. And Taylor made things worse by settling for their mediocrity, and not making any changes even after three members became compromised in the Galphin claim controversy (which Hamilton devotes an entire chapter to).

Even though Taylor is not well-remembered today, there was a lot going on during his sixteen months in office. The seeds of Civil War had been planted and were continuing to grow; sectional controversy over admission of new territories and states as free or slave was becoming acute; a boundary dispute between New Mexico and Texas was threatening to erupt into violence; ad there were some foreign affairs issues as well (Cuban revolts against Spanish rule, claims against Portugal, and negotiations with Britain concerning Nicaragua and Central America in general).

Unfortunately, once again Taylor recedes into the background. Several chapters fixate on what is going on in Congress, with Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun taking center stage. Hamilton, as he did with the 1848 nominating process, went on far too long about Congressional machinations. Taylor did not have a majority in either house of Congress, so his authority was somewhat limited. Clay was basically Mr. Whig, and was a constant thorn in Taylor's side as the two disagreed about the extension of slavery (Taylor - despite being a slaveowner himself - was adamantly against it, while Clay was for it). Clay's attempt at "compromise" (I use quotations around that word because Clay's version of compromise meant the South getting everything it wanted except for the admission of California as a free state, which Clay was willing to give to the North to essentially shut them up) was rejected by Taylor, which threw Congress into turmoil.

One nuance of Hamilton's writing that I had to laugh at was his willingness to be blunt about how people looked. On page 245, he refers to Howell Cobb of Georgia as "the fat boy". On page 278, he describes Clay as "downright ugly." He also has choice descriptions for Cass and a few others.

I have been fairly critical of Hamilton here so I want to be fair and acknowledge some good parts of the book as well. First, even though this biography is flawed, he still took the time to work on an in-depth study of Taylor. Even over seventy years later, few others have attempted that. As he admits in the final chapter, any scholar of Taylor is severely hampered because most all of Taylor's papers were destroyed in a fire during the Civil War. That is huge. So that forces the biographer to look elsewhere in efforts to reconstruct the man's life. And Hamilton did that. Second, Hamilton attempts to present as much of a private side to Taylor as he can, devoting one chapter to what Taylor's average day was like as President.

Third, the last two chapters of the book are, in my view, the best. Hamilton attempts as best as the historical record will allow to explain how Taylor died and from what (given that there is still some controversy about that today). He reviews Taylor's last days, what he ate, what the doctors did, and comes up with what he most likely believes happened. Page 389: "Here was a man in his middle sixties who had led a hard life and nearly died the year before. in less than the best of health, he sat two hours in the broiling sun, walked about beneath its rays, ate raw stuff and drank cold liquids. This, plus symptoms that developed, spelled 'cholera morbus' to his doctors."

The final chapter is devoted to a review of Taylor's "place in history". I found this chapter to be a thoughtful, and mostly well-balanced assessment of Taylor and how he has been viewed since his death up to the time of this book's writing. Hamilton goes into how Taylor's death radically altered the political situation of the nation in the summer of 1850, with the Southern-sympathizing Millard Fillmore taking over and ushering through a compromise which ultimately helped continue the country on its path to war a decade later. Hamilton goes into the debate re: would Civil War have come much sooner had Taylor lived, and would the North still have won? I liked how he did this as he did not engage in wild speculation, but rather used reasoned analysis to provide arguments for both sides of the debate, ultimately saying that we only know the path would have been different than what it ended up being. And while the book finishes well, just keep in mind some of the dated language and views espoused here in case you decide to read it. If there were a plethora of books about Taylor, I would not recommend this two volume set. As it stands though, this is one of the few full Taylor biographies out there, so it does still have some merit if you are willing accept that a few sections would not pass muster today.

Grade: D+

[Adam Carman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As noted in my review of the first volume of this set, modern historians have been reluctant to touch the Taylor presidency due to paucity of sources from his perspective. This has also colored historians' views of him as President. Hamilton has at least taken up the call even if his position as a member of the more conservative consensus school of the mid-20th century makes his biases towards white US government obvious. The attention to detail in the discussion of congressional debates and political ins and outs here are suggestive and intriguing as is the ruminations on Taylor's place in history at the end. Hamilton doesn't suggest Taylor was near-great, although he says if ranking opposition to slavery and national feeling above other things, he would rank him above average at least. The discussion of Taylor's role in standing up to Texas's aggression against New Mexico is fascinating and Hamilton also wonders what would have happened had he lived--some have said he would have been able to stamp out southern anti-Unionism, others suggest secession and civil war would have come sooner and a more united and stronger South might have prevailed in the 1850s. Hamilton is wise enough to know we cannot know for certain, but also introduces some interesting thoughts. If you're a Presidential History buff, the set is worth the effort, but I keep hoping some more modern historian will take a crack at this presidency as well.

[The other John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtitled "Soldier in the White House", this book is a look at Taylor's election and short term as President of the United States. It is very much a book of politics, dissecting the political world surrounding the 1848 election. If you're ever tempted to think that America has gone downhill and that our elected officials in times past we're of nobler stock than our current politico's, this book will show that it wasn't the case. Mr. Hamilton shows how Whig politics and Taylor's fame from the Mexican-American war combined to bring him to the White House. He then goes on to document the how Taylor's administration fared both with the issues of the day and the men who were squabbling over them. Also on view is an apparent shift during the controversies of 1850 as both the Democrat and Whig parties began to split along Northern and Southern lines. The book was surprisingly comfortable to read, despite the fact that it was written in 1951 and used a number of words that I really should have looked up. It's very pro-Taylor, of course, but that's about the only thing I can say that comes close to being a complaint.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right off the bat, the second volume of Hamilton’s Zachary Taylor biography addresses some of the deficiencies of volume one, which leaves the reader feeling that they don’t quite know Taylor as a person. This book, which picks up just as Taylor is starting to be talked about as a presidential candidate, begins with a full description of the state of the nation at the time, then offers a close look at Taylor’s character, his appearance, his family, his activities as a plantation manager and his everyday life. While it would have been more satisfying had some of these observations been interspersed throughout volume one, I’m glad Hamilton corrected course a bit in volume two, in order to provide a fuller picture of Taylor as a man before diving into his political career.

In this same vein, later in the book, we’re treated to detailed descriptions of president-elect Taylor’s journey to Washington, his inauguration, everyday life in the White House and the presidential tours he took outside the capital. And Hamilton offers astute observations of how Taylor adapted his skills as a soldier to governance, for better or worse: “What Taylor brought to the presidency was the military mind,” he writes, “with all the bluntness, directness, practicality and absence of theory that the term implies."

But the bulk of this book about Taylor’s political career is, appropriately, about the politics of the era. An incredibly detailed state-by-state look at each candidate’s chances in the 1848 election is but one example of a section of the book that’s exhaustively thorough and informative, if not necessarily compelling storytelling. The same is true when newly-inaugurated President Taylor names not only his Cabinet members, but appoints ambassadors and Indian agents and collectors and commissioners, the names of whom are all mentioned but are never heard from again.

There are also several similarly detailed chapters on the various domestic and foreign policy challenges that Taylor faced. But the last third of the book is dominated by the congressional debates during the Crisis of 1850. Hamilton makes a case that Taylor was much more vocal and involved in setting the tone and tenor of these debates, though his conclusion is belied a bit by the fact that Taylor himself is scarcely present and mostly relegated to the background throughout the description of the debates.

While many parts of the book are so detailed as to be dry, you can’t fault this book for not being thorough. And the compelling parts about Taylor himself, and the contentious political environment he wandered into as president, more than make up for the drier parts.

There is, however, one incredibly cringeworthy part that certainly hasn’t aged well in the decades since Hamilton wrote it - namely, his earnest portrayal of Taylor as a benevolent slaveholder. Taylor represented "the planter at his best," Hamilton writes. His "hands" were "servants to him, rather than slaves," he goes on. "Slavery at Cypress Grove was perhaps as idyllic as it ever became... If all plantations had been like Cypress Grove, if all slaveholders had shared Taylor's kindness, the northern anti-slavery forces would have had less cause for complaint." He even suggests that Harriet Beecher Stowe would never have written Uncle Tom's Cabin had she seen how content the slaves at Taylor’s Cypress Grove plantation were.

The book was published in 1951. But even for the time, the myth of the happy slaves and their sympathetic slaveowner is quite a bit over the top.

In total, though, despite their drawbacks, these two books provide the fullest, best picture of Zachary Taylor than any other available. Hamilton tries mightily to avoid speculating what might have been had Taylor lived for one or two full terms, but he gives in a bit and supposes that the Civil War might never have happened had Taylor the Unionist not been succeeded by Fillmore the more eager compromiser (though there’s an equal argument to be made that the war might have come even sooner). Hamilton would have done better to skip the speculation altogether, because he’s provided a thorough enough telling of Taylor’s entire life and career, allowing us to appreciate that Taylor was something more than just an empty suit who was out of his depth as president, while allowing us to speculate for ourselves what might have been.

[Clem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Imagine you’re having a conversation with someone and they’re telling you about a 30-minute television show that they just watched. How long should it take the person to summarize the show? 30 seconds? 1 minute? 5 minutes? What if they described every single line of dialogue? In addition to that, they described every piece of clothing that each character wore, along with a detailed analysis of all the camera angles. Then, they gave you a detailed biography of every single person that worked on the production of the show. I would challenge you that it would take this person several hours to describe this 30-minute show. The real question then becomes, “If they took 8-10 hours to describe a 30-minute show, how soon would you become bored out of your skull?”

This is how I felt while reading this dreary, overlong biography. The author simply doesn’t know how to summarize, tell a good story, nor just shut his mouth. I can’t believe the excruciating detail that he finds necessary to slog his reader through. This is actually a two-volume set. I read the first one and had similar reservations. The first one, however, was twice as short and about four times as interesting. Even that book was weighted down, so the author goes from mediocre to awful. Had he combined these two books and cut about 75% of the material, I probably would have endured better.

When one looks at the life of Zachary Taylor, the twelfth U.S. president does seem to have a more colorful life as a military general as opposed to a politician. Taylor joins the ever-growing list of presidents who mainly became president because of their record in battle. When reading both of these volumes, the question that begs to be asked is, why is the man’s 16-month presidency (he died in office) detailed in a much longer book than the first one that details his many military escapades? I really do think the author was forced to write this book. Maybe he signed a bad contract or something. He finds it necessary to quote Taylor’s entire inaugural address as well as devote an entire chapter to a party at the executive mansion where he feels obligated to describe every guest’s features as well as the outfits they wore.

The one significant event that happened during Taylor’s presidency was the ongoing debate of The Compromise of 1850. From what I understand, the author is a bit of an astute expert on the Compromise – he wrote an entire book on it – but, sadly, that doesn’t mean he does a good job translating it into a somewhat bearable narrative. By the time I arrived at the last 100 pages or so of this book, I confess that I basically just skimmed through the remainder. This was an unbearable read. In fact, I’ve probably read about 40 biographies of U.S. Presidents and other key stately figures, and most I’ve enjoyed (4 to 5-star reviews on Amazon), yet this one was by far the worst I’ve ever read. Since the author was a professor (this is a 75-year-old book), I can only imagine how unbearable it was to have to sit through one of his lectures at the university where he taught.

From what I know about Zachary Taylor, he deserves a better account of his life than this.

[Bruce Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set expectations right, and this is a 5 star work. It's an entertaining fun read (this is Vol. 2, Vol.1 is a different story) about a President for whom there is very little available. A President who died too soon, who came to Washington almost from nowhere...from the edges of the frontier and instantly, was made the country's leader, and all that happens from there. What was it like? And to tell you, Hamilton has to recreate the disputes of the day and all of the major players and issue positions, while also giving you day-to-day life.

I will address two critiques in reviews which I think are a bit

- One is that it is indeed a book from the 1950's. Don't expect a modern 2020's point of view. Yes there will be references to slavery, particularly Taylor's own ownership of a large number of enslaved people, and terms like servants can be used, they will talk about how he "treated them well" Not good modern comments, but again, one must judge by time of writing and then the time Taylor lived in.

- The other is that it has a number of stories of other people. Yes this is true, but this is America and Washington D.C. in the 1840's. Clay is alive, Calhoun is alive, Webster is alive, Jefferson Davis is alive, Stephen Douglas is alive, and so is Abraham Lincoln who plays just a passing role. Less known but important folks like Rufus King, John Crittenden, Hannibal Hamlin and Thomas Hart Benton are around. It would be simply impossible to tell the story of Zachary Taylor solo, without these people, and once you say, talk about the Wilmot Proviso or the Omnibus, you've got to get into detail on things Taylor wasn't driving. Nonetheless, the discussion is pertinent. All of it represents things the Old Soldier has to adjudicate when he gets his chance.

Within this context, you tell me who would get into Taylor's treaty with Britain, his role in supporting Hungarian independence, or blocking a Cuban invasion attempt. Or his Cabinet and their shortcomings and accomplishments. And of course the scandal that rocked his Presidency more than the Compromise of 1850, and frankly, wasn't his fault.

I'd say you should also read Elbert B. Smith's book for a balance.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow I can't believe it's been 8 months since starting this book.

In general, I like this book. I did find it less interesting than the first part and it must be stated it took so long because I found it not as interesting. But it makes sense. Taylor's presidency was about 16 months long and this book is even longer than A Soldier of the Republic.

Now having picked it back up again, I can tell you this reads more as a "history of US politics during Taylor's presidency" rather than a Taylor biography.

The point was made of Taylor influence on the times and I agree with it, but especially in the back half of the big, you read 80% of the time from and about other people than Taylor and 20% of Taylor's life and perspective.

So Taylor had a large influence on the Compromise of 1850 and he was a staunch Unionist.

I find this book to be a "research" book more than a history book. Meaning if one is interested in diving deep between these two years and learning all the intricate details, then this book is for you. If one just cares to have a holistic picture of Taylor's character, this book does that, but also includes way too much information you will not find interesting.

[Martin Lowery · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the second volume of Taylor's biography, it covers his inauguration and his 18 months as President.

For such a short term, Hamilton is able to fill in extremely detailed information about the crisis that was spawning around the country.

While a majority of the volume covers senatorial procedures around the 1850 compromise, the reader is also informed on the few treaties and controversies that surrounded the Taylor Presidency.

[Wayne Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting bio on a lesser known president. One can speculate that had Zachary Taylor survived to complete his first term in office the Compromise of 1850 would never have been passed and the Civil War might have never happened.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

As noted in the subtitle, this book (the first of two) focuses on the military career of Zachary Taylor, in the years before he gained the White House. A brisk and cursory overview of Taylor's childhood sets the stage for an enthusiastic rendering of his life as a soldier and general. From the first line, Hamilton hints at the theme of conflict that was to characterize Taylor's life, and casts his upbringing as a vigorous and martial one- his father being himself a soldier and frontiersman.

The main conflict in Taylor's life was to be with the people indigenous to the American frontier he called home. Holman relates a lengthy series of skirmishes and actions against the Indians, with a kind of romantic style that betrays the datedness of his account. The tone is one of excited engagement with his subject, but not on a very intellectual level; Holman seems to think the matter a great adventure and pays little attention to the human cost of either Indian or white. He does show an enviable facility with narrative here. The action rushes along, carried by his excitement, and buoyed by his engagement. But there is no somberness, as the subject wants, no human element beyond "Great American Hero Vanquishes Savage". The same holds true for the Mexican-American War, thought would be false to say this is not useful or enlightening. The prose, plain and workmanlike, does much to provide a basic understanding of the conflict and Holman's enthusiasm for the action even adds a little interest. However, it is not corralled under a final objective, at least in this volume, which makes getting a real sense of Holman's intent difficult. I sadly realize how the unavailability of the second volume cripples the validity and objectivity of any review of the first, and I'm sorry to judge it so.

Holman has given us a brisk though dry account of a brisk and dry man, a product of its time, like it's subject was of his. Lacking a certain spirit, and an empathy, this is a standard-issue biography that sets a faulty though not invaluable foundation for a life lived in it's own more troubled time.

[Earl Ecklund III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holman Hamilton's second volume on Zachary Taylor focuses on Taylor's political career from his successful candidacy for the presidency in 1848 to his death in 1850. Hamilton delves into Taylor's attempts to select a cabinet, the struggles over patronage, his dealings with foreign policy and the great debate over slavery in the lands gained from Mexico in the Mexican War. In Foreign Policy the main issues were relations with Britain, France, Portugal, the Hungarian revolt and filibuster attempts to take Cuba. The most consequential of these was the relationship with Britain which consummated in the Clayton-Bulwer treaty that helped eased tensions for decades to come. In the debate over the lands acquired from Mexico Taylor opposed the extension of slavery beyond where it already existed, this put him at odds with some of the elders in the Whig party who sided with the Democrats. Yet it was Taylor's opposition that prevented what ultimately was adopted from moving forward. History has long diminished Taylor's role in the debate and his consistent opposition to slavery's extension and his support for the Union over the region he called home. Hamilton does an excellent job of establishing Taylor's role in things as well as describing the political climate as the debate over the eventual Compromise of 1850. A must read for anyone interested in Zachary Taylor, and American politics in the antebellum age.

[David Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second half of Hamilton's Taylor biography covers the 1848 presidential campaign and the sixteen months of his presidency. The core of the book is a thorough analysis of the Compromise of 1850. Many at the time felt that Clay's grand plan would avert disunion forever, but we all know how that turned out. Here we learn what Taylor's plans were. It is interesting to speculate on what might have happened had Taylor not fallen ill on July 4th and died a few days later.

On the whole, I really enjoyed the two volumes. The writing was never dry, the books were well organized, and just the right length - I never felt shortchanged on any topic raised, and never felt we were too deep in the weeds, either.

[Nate Lanning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was.. okay. Not as bad as I expected but not great either. Zachary Taylor is more of a background character in this book. The majority of the pages are spent on events happening in the senate, good historical context. That’s about it.

[Duane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned much about the war with Mexico, and the politics surrounding it.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

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