Erin ’s Reviews > John Tyler, the Accidental President > Status Update

To avoid being forgotten and to assure he would be placed alongside his republican idols Jefferson and Madison in the pantheon of American heroes, Tyler made every effort to remind people that he and he alone was the architect of Texas annexation.

Julia Tyler like her husband and many defenders of slavery believed that the South's labor system was more benign and much less harsh than that of industrial capitalism.

Tyler believed that Black bondage was the only way to preserve white freedom and equality.

John Tyler had his eye on the prize of Texas from the moment he entered the White House.

For most of the 19th century Americans including old China hands, merchants, and missionaries it was an article of faith that the Chinese people held America in special favor.

Haiti and Cuba were the pariah nations of their time.

Over his lifespan of 72 years, Tyler probably owned a total of 700 Blacks as chattel.

Senator John Tyler resigned from the Senate on February 29, 1836 because he refused to obey the Virginia legislature's instructions to vote to expunge the censure of President Andrew Jackson.

"Tyler wanted America to be a haven to those who hungered for liberty. Displaying an appalling moral obtuseness, this man denied liberty to the more than 50 human beings he held as property urged opening America's shores to Europe's downtrodden."

John Tyler's father was roommates with Thomas Jefferson at the College of William and Mary.