Customer Reviews

John Tyler: Champion of the Old South

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

John Tyler had the dubious distinction of being the only president of his era with consistent principles. While Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe occasionally deviated from the states' rights creed, Tyler was as good as his word. This infuriated the Whigs, who -- as Chitwood makes clear -- elevated Tyler to Vice President precisely to appeal to their own states' rights wing, then ran him out of the party when he proved true to his position in the federal government's top executive office.

Readers interested in the controversy over Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings will find page 102 of this book especially interesting; Texans will cheer Tyler, even if they don't like Secretary of State John C. Calhoun's tactics; and Virginia natives will appreciate a politician who promised to put Virginia first, then did. Tyler's only period of sordid, political calculation came in the constitutional convention of 1829-1830, when he took a back seat to B.W. Leigh in order to avoid riling one section of the state against himself. This minor glitch can surely be overlooked in a career as laudable as Tyler's.

Chitwood criticizes Tyler for not helping smoothe the way from slavery to a free society, and there's much to lament there. The fact that this book was published in 1939 means that it is devoid of the republican/liberal debate that dominated the historiography over the past 20 years. Rush out, then, and buy it! (I got my copy at "Sherwood Forest," President Tyler's James River estate in Virginia, which is run as a public attraction by the president's descendants. Although John Tyler was born in 1790, his *grandson* lives in the house today!)

This is part of my personal project of reading a biography on each of our presidents. The book got high marks from me because it taught me a lot about a president---and man---about whom little is known. One also learns by association a lot about Clay, Calhoun and Webster. Even considering that it was written in the 30's, it still reads very well and it also benefits from having at least one of the president's surviving children as one of the main sources of information and interpretation.

Where the book falls short for me is in its bias toward the subject. Most of the other biographies I have read have some kind of bias toward their subject; that may be inevitable. But I thought this one had a little more than I thought was adequate. Clearly, Tyler was a likable and principled man and politics then were possibly uglier than they are now, but I think that he had more to do with his own political misfortunes than the author claims.

Still, despite my three-star rating, I thought this is a must-read for aficionados interested in this particular president. If you're interested in the period leading to the Civil War, I can think of many other books and biographies that may provide a better account.

In my title of this review, I'm referring to both the author and subject. If any president deserves to be the subject of an exhaustive psychoanalytical study, it is President John Tyler. Tyler agreed to be Vice President for a Whig party with which he had very little agreement. Reading between the lines of this book, one gets the sense that Tyler was a vain, insecure, at times paranoid (even though people really were out to get him) man. He took the Vice Presidency because he wanted to be accepted. After becoming president upon the death of President Harrison, Tyler quickly alienated the Whigs by first being against, then for, then against again, a national bank. Losing all credibility with the Whigs, he then began kow-towing to the Democrats for acceptance. Of course the Democrats would never fully accept a former Whig, so President Tyler became a "President without a Party" and accomplished very little. Standing up for a principle, no matter how noble, is useless unless you can use the political mechanisms to enact your principles. Tyler's playing his 'states rights' card against each party eventually led to his downfall.

Now, for the author. Chitwood is a classic apologist. He tried so hard to defend Tyler that his narrative turned defensive. He also did not criticize Tyler when it was obviously necessary and heaped praise upon him for confusing and inconsistent views. For example, when John Tyler argued in 1820 that slavery could be abolished if it were allowed to expand into the Missouri territory, Chitwood called the argument "brilliant."(p. 49) His argument may have been novel, innovative, creative, but not brilliant!

This book does a nice job of explaining the complexities associated with John Tyler becoming president and then his challenges once he gets to the White House. Tyler's misfortunes appear to be as much an extension of circumstances as his own fault, but the author helps us understand all the influences. The struggle between the Whigs and the Democrats (with Tyler caught in the middle - left out in the cold) is well documented here and I recommend this book for anyone interested in 19th century politics and particularly our presidents.

John Tyler's presidency was a failure in almost every way possible. Tyler was a patrician from one of Virginia's oldest families. Well educated and polished, he also had a strong sense of superiority, and had a great deal of trouble accepting the idea that the common man should participate in democracy. He owned many slaves and was an unyielding supporter of slavery. He had a great sense of honor and almost no ability to compromise. Tyler left the Democratic Party because he would not yield to party policies, but his stubborness led him to join the Whigs which was an even poorer match. Then, as the Whigs followed a policy of winning the White House any way possible (like not having a party platform), they nominated Tyler for Vice President The rest is the history.

Chitwood's biography was written during the New Deal. It is the primary Tyler biography, and I would rate it in the average / below average category. Its strengths are the fascinating events of the Tyler administration and Chitwood's engaging style of writing. The portion of Tyler's life before he becomes president is particularly well written.

There are two problems with this book. First, Chitwood tries hard to be an apologist for Tyler. His effort to improve Tyler's standing as a president from one of the worst up to mediocre is transparent and a bit tiresome. Second, the last two years of Tyler's administration are presented more along the lines of the issues than in a chronological fashion. This part of the narrative choppy and occasionally frustrating. Chitwood mentions the Princeton explosion and tragedy and Tyler's second marriage several times before actually presenting these events. Still, with these qualifications I would recommend this book.

It would be insincere for me to give this book higher than a 2-star rating. I did enjoy the book but as I read it I could have sworn it was written by Jefferson Davis. The author appears at times to glorify Tyler's pro-slavery, pro-confederate, and pro-small minded philosophy.

First the good... this was a thorough book that I'm sure was well researched. It is an older book, having been written I believe in the 1930s, so I'm sure since then additional research and/or historical findings have been secured which would give a Tyler book written in the last 8-10 years a distinct advantage. The book also deals fairly with the pickle that Tyler found himself in. That pickle aptly described as Tyler a Democrat in Whig clothing being placed on the 1840 Presidential ticket behind W H Harrison and then being vaulted into the Presidency. The author treats that issue fairly because quite frankly history has shown that Tyler was right in his anti-bank stance and in his anti-Clay/Whig positions. So he got that part right... clearly.

Now for the bad... the author lays it on REALLY thick at times. Every time that a Tyler shortcoming or odd decision is identified the author explains how it really wasn't Tyler's fault and he was just doing the honorable thing. It got to be repetitive and obvious. The author saved the best for the end when he was trying to justify and it appeared almost glorify Tyler's confederate outlook and machinations during the tail end of the Buchanon Presdency especially.

There is no way that every single time Tyler was on the wrong side of history he was actually "standing on his principles" or "doing the honorable thing," but this is what the author had me believe and it really got kind of sickening. Especially during the leadup to the civil war.

You have to remember that this book was written during a different time. The author grew up during a time of segregation and Jim Crow laws so some of the inferences and conjecture in the book may not have hit him over the head as it does a reader in 2010.

This is a good book if you want a generic, yet happy-handed overview of John Tyler's life but I will most definitely do some further digging because this period of American History is incredibly interesting and unfortunately good and unbiased biographies and historical accounts can be lacking. I would recommend it but not as the only John Tyler book you would ever read... I would let this be a precursor to further study.

If you are going to read a biography on the life of John Tyler, this is the one to read. Well research and well written, Chitwood does an excellent job of explaining the environment, politically and socially that develops the relevancy of John Tyler as governor, senator and President.

This book turned out to be much more interesting than I expected. It certainly portrayed Tyler in a sympathetic light. Despite the age of this book, it was not written in the somewhat stilted manner of Freeman Cleave's biography of William Henry Harrison, which was written around the same time.

Pros: Well-written, entertaining, fascinating subject, little competition (I am anxious to read Edward Crapol's new biography of Tyler which just came out!)

Cons: Author tried too hard to defend Tyler--going to extremes at times (it's one thing to say history has given Tyler a raw deal--I can buy that--it's another to say that all of Tyler's problems were solely a function of his strict adherence to his Jeffersonian principles even when politically inexpedient. I don't buy that); precious little is told about Tyler's private life, including his marriages and children; author engages in much speculation and frequently puts words (and ideas) in Tyler's head without substantiation (I understand that was common to biographies of that era).

Summary: Really good read on an all but forgotten and probably somewhat unjustly-maligned President, but there is definitely still an opportunity for someone to write THE definitive biography of John Tyler (unless Dr. Crapol has pulled it off already).

This was one very enjoyable biography and one I would highly recommend to anyone interested in the history of the US or with an interest in the biographies of the presidents. It turned out to be a surprising gem.

Tyler has been slandered and mispresented throughout history, much of which has come down from the tremendous animosity felt towards him during his presidency from both parties. Much of the negative spoken about him today, is merely reiteration of the same spoken about him during the 1840s. The author does an excellent job allowing us to see the true Tyler, and to examine the man who was our 10th president.

No study of the presidents or collection of presidential biographies would be complete without this volume.

There is not much material available on John Tyler so this is about as good as it gets. The book is interesting if you know much about what was happening at the time during his Presidency. The chapters are a little disjoint but if anyone is looking to read a biography of John Tyler you are probably more than just a passive studier of history and probably will be able to understand much of what is going on during this time. I would not recommend this to someone that does not know much about history but if you really enjoy reading all that history has to offer this would be a good read for you.