John Tyler, the Accidental President [Hardcover]

Crapol Edward P. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2006

The first vice president to become president on the death of the incumbent, John Tyler (1790-1862) was derided by critics as "His Accidency." Yet he proved to be a bold leader who used the malleable executive system to his advantage. In this biography of the tenth President of the United States, Edward P. Crapol challenges previous depictions of Tyler as a die-hard advocate of states' rights, limited government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution.

In pursuit of his agenda, Tyler exploited executive prerogatives and manipulated constitutional requirements in ways that violated his professed allegiance to a strict interpretation of the Constitution. He set precedents that his successors in the White House invoked to create an American empire and expand presidential power.

Crapol also highlights Tyler's enduring faith in America's national destiny and his belief that boundless territorial expansion would preserve the Union as a slaveholding republic. When Tyler, a Virginian, opted for secession and the Confederacy in 1861, he was stigmatized as America's "traitor" president for having betrayed the republic he once led. As Crapol demonstrates, Tyler's story anticipates the modern imperial presidency in all its power and grandeur, as well as its darker side.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Most historians have dismissed John Tyler as an inept failure. In this remarkable study, Crapol, professor emeritus at the College of William and Mary, argues that Tyler was in fact a terrifically strong president who helped strengthen the executive branch. Tyler was William Henry Harrison's vice president. Before Harrison's death in 1841, presidential succession was murky: did the vice president become president, or was he merely a temporary stand-in until an emergency election could be held? Tyler decisively seized the office, setting a precedent that is followed to this day (and was codified in 1967 in the 25th Amendment to the Constitution). Yet Tyler's story, argues Crapol, is ultimately a "tragedy." Tyler's commitment to territorial expansion, which found its keenest expression in the annexation of Texas, was driven in part by his contorted thinking about slavery. The to-the-Virginia-manor-born president believed the contradictions of slavery would be best resolved not by abolition but by extending it into new territories, thus diffusing the slave population. That Tyler died a traitor to the Union, just about to assume his seat in the Confederate Congress, is the final, sad irony. This balanced, fascinating volume will introduce a new generation of readers to an oft-ignored president. (Oct. 9)
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Review

"The best study yet of Tyler's presidency and his important legacies….Any study of late Jacksonian America must now include Crapol's brilliant study."
-Pacific Historical Review

"Crapol is to be congratulated for giving us a concise scholarly discussion of a forgotten president."
— Virginia Magazine

"Valuable." -- North Carolina Historical Review

"A good book about an obscure, but important president."
-- Nymas Review

"A commendable study that judiciously measures Tyler's qualities and real accomplishments while acknowledging his personal faults and policy mistakes. . . . A fine study of the enigmatic career of John Tyler."
ӣ Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press; 1St Edition edition (September 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807830410
• ISBN-13: 978-0807830413
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #455,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A little disappointing--3.5 stars, October 10, 2006

By 

S. Heinen (Tulsa, OK United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John Tyler, the Accidental President (Hardcover)

I eagerly awaited the release of this book for several months and purchased a copy as soon as it was available. Maybe my expectations were out of whack, but I was a little disappointed.

It was well-written and had some good analysis of a much (and somewhat unfairly) maligned president, but I was expecting some NEW analysis or NEW scholarship regarding President Tyler. To me, this just seemed like a slightly updated version of Oliver Chitwood's (still) definitive biography of Tyler. I was hoping Crapol would replace Chitwood as THE word on Tyler, but he didn't.

At 283 pages, this is not a definitive biography. It details Tyler's personal and family life only briefly, focusing heavily on his public life. Whereas Chitwood's premise was that Tyler was steadfast in his championing of strict construction of the Constitution and Jeffersonian states' rights principles and no one should have been surprised or disappointed by his actions as president, which Chitwood claimed were wholly consistent with those principles; Crapol's premise is that Tyler frequently compromised those principles when it served his political interests--primarily expansionism through the annexation of Texas and new uses of executive power to get around areas reserved to Congress by a strict reading of the Constitution. While these (clearly correct) conclusions were new, this book just seemed like Chitwood run through a 21st Century filter. Nothing wrong with that--just not what I hoped it would be.

This is by no means a poor book, and I am glad it was written. I think there should be modern bios of all of our presidents available. If you have not read Chitwood and want a brief biography of Tyler, I would recommend this book (it has very little competition). But if you are looking for a definitive biography of John Tyler, I think you still have to go with the unabashedly apologetic Chitwood. I'm now going to try the out-of-print dual biography of John and Julia Tyler by Robert Seager. Maybe it will be the best of the lot?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Sections, but overall disappointing, October 17, 2007

By 

CJ (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: John Tyler, the Accidental President (Hardcover)

I picked this book out of the history pile as I am currently trying to learn more about the US presidents, particularly ones that I knew little about. This Tyler book is not a complete waste of time. It focuses mostly on Tyler's presidency and some post-presidency. There are several interesting passages, particularly on Texas, Hawaii and Tyler's role in the run-up to the civil war. However, like a lot of other books this one could have really used more editing to smooth some passages out and delete some repetitious thoughts. Overall, I definitely learned some things from this book, but we're still waiting for the modern day "definitive" biography.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fairly disappointing bio of John Tyler, September 15, 2007

By 

G. Zilly - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John Tyler, the Accidental President (Hardcover)

I am currently reading a biography of every President in order. For John Tyler the selection is a bit difficult. From what I understand, the most definitive biography available is Oliver Chitwood's dated and overly apologetic "John Tyler: Champion of the Old South". Robert Seager's "And Tyler Too" is also fairly easy to find, although at 600 pages a little longer than I was desiring to read. Ultimately, I decided on Crapol's volume because it was recently written, of manageable length, and the only one available at the library.

Unfortunately, Crapol's book is fairly disappointing. First, it should be noted that this is by no means a "full scale" biography as the author claims in the acknowledgements. Tyler's life prior to the Presidency is given a drive by treatment that was much too brief for my tastes. The bulk of the book is devoted to Tyler's Presidency, but the organization is fairly poor with quite a bit of redundancy between chapters and Crapol frequently wanders far off topic making for an awkward presentation. Crapol also interjects his own analysis frequently and unfortunately to the detriment of the book. Crapol makes many dubious comparisons between Tyler's presidency and modern events that generally border on the absurd and will only serve to quickly date the book. Crapol also seems to think that he has written a more important academic account of Tyler than he actually has.

Ultimately the best I can say about Crapol's book is it serves as a mediocre short biography of John Tyler. It's account of Tyler's Presidency and later life is comprehensive enough, although it suffers greatly from poor editing and analysis. The rest of Tyler's life is treated in barebones fashion. Crapol himself seems to be fairly ambivalent about his subject and you really begin to wonder why he decided to write the book.