Customer Reviews

John Tyler, the Accidental President

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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?

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.

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.

John Tyler was referred to derisively as "The Accidental President." Why? He was the Vice-President elected as Old Tippecanoe, William Henry Harrison, became President. Within a shockingly short period, Harrison dies and Tyler became acting President. Since he was the first Vice President to ascend to the presidency, there were no precedents to guide him and the country. One of his major contributions was, simply, to take firm hold of the Presidency and act as if he were President.

This biography does a nice job of introducing us to one of the lesser known presidents of the United States. Edward Crapol, the author, believes that (page 3) ". . .[Tyler] was a stronger and more effective president than generally remembered." If one accept that sentiment by book's end, then Crapol has written an effective work. If one does not accept that conclusion, then this book, obviously, will not be compelling.

Tyler was one of those cross-pressured southern politicians who was, on the one hand, most uncomfortable with slavery as an institution, but, on the other, wed to the ways of the South, which, of course, were based on slavery. Crapol argues that Tyler felt that by expanding the size of the republic, "diffusion" would occur. That is (page 37), "Development over space would thin out and diffuse the slave population and, with fewer blacks in some of the older slave states of the upper south, it might become politically feasible to abolish slavery in states like Virginia." Tyler himself, it should be mentioned, was a slaveholder.

As a result of this "diffusion" argument, Tyler was even more motivated to expand the republic when he became president. He appears to have believed in a national manifest destiny, with the scope of the American state expanding from sea to sea. Among key initiatives that suggested his expansive view of America's destiny: his keenness on advancing American interests around the Pacific Rim (from Hawaii to China); his movement toward annexing the Republic of Texas as one of the American states (as a slave state); his interest in considering California as a potential free state.

Interestingly, some have suggested that Tyler's efforts to exercise power mark him as historically important. The author notes that (page 281) "Arthur Schlesinger, a historian who has traced the development of what he has labeled `the imperial presidency,' credited John Tyler, along with James K. Polk, for the rescue and deliverance of the Jacksonian doctrine of presidential power and independence." In the end, Tyler's desire to serve a second term was thwarted, as the enemies within his party made that impossible.

The last part of his life is somewhat unfortunate. He ended up supporting secession and lived long enough to see the early part of the Civil War.

This book is interesting for making the case that Tyler is a more important figure than often recognized. The author provides good context and enough detail for readers to determine if they concur in that judgment.

John Tyler was the 10th president of the United states and led a troubled presidency. Crapol presents the information in a different way. It is a very thorough book but it is organized by topic and not chronologically so it can be hard to follow at times. Tyler helped shepard in the start of American ascendancy especially with regards to Texas. He helped bring about the acquisition of Hawaii as a protectorate and started making inroads in China. The prospects of the Civil war begin during his administration and his staunch southern stance continues to be a problem even after he leaves office. The book is very well written and does a great job of introducing a little know president.

Tyler's main claim to fame is that he was the first president who came into the job by the death of the president (in his case, William Henry Harrison), rather than his election for the job. I found the reactions of other politicians to be pretty interesting - John Quincy Adams insisted on calling him the Acting President, and Henry Clay continued to call him the Vice President long after Harrison was dead. (Clay hoped to be president for decades, and he never managed to be elected, but he hoped that he would be able to lead Tyler - unfortunately for him, Tyler did not intend to be led.) Tyler's precedent was followed by later Vice Presidents after the death of the president, but it wasn't until 1967 that the twenty-fifth amendment actually made it into the Constitution.

Crapol devoted a chapter to each of a number of different topics instead of going chronologically. This made the book feel a little like a collection of essays, rather than a biography, with Crapol often describing the same event in multiple chapters, as if the reader hadn't been informed of it fifty pages back. I think an editor who enforced a chronologically-based biography would have helped this book tremendously.

John Tyler was a far more skilled and important president than many assume as Edward P. Crapol aptly demonstrates in his biography John Tyle, The Accidental President. We learn that Tyler did not become president by accident when William Henry Harrison died, but deftly maneuvered his step into the presidential role in what came to be known as the Tyler precedent and was followed by all future vice president when the president died in office.We learn that Tyler had a vision of expanding the nation to the Pacific and that his ideas for establishing trade throughout the world opened the doors to China and put Hawaii under US protection.It was Tyler as well who worked tirelessly and with several Secretary of States and great tragedy to annex Texas. And yet despite these achievements Tyler's flawed moral thinking regarding the American tragedy of slavery left him the legacy of being the only American president to secede from the union. Crapol paints and interesting and detailed picture of Tyler the man during his presidency and later in life that will be of interest to any student of American History.

Author Edward P. Crapol writes a curious account of the Presidency of John Tyler that is overly detailed at times, while leaving out large chunks of Tyler's life. It is organized mainly on an issue by issue basis, rather than in a chronological fashion. We are told a bit about Tyler's early years, though not much about his first marriage. One might expect to read the story of Tyler's struggle to establish his authority when he ascends to the Presidency upon the death of William Henry Harrison and his battles with Henry Clay over whether his presidency would be real or figurehead, but this issue is touched on only in a very cursory fashion. Instead we are given long chapters on Tyler's diplomacy and intrigue with the British, his passion over slavery, his expansionist pursuits including his orchestration of the annexation of Texas, and his life after the White House. Parts of this book are very interesting, other parts contain a lot of superfluous information and are a labour to read. Some of the things we would expect more information on about Tyler are absent.

Crapol enlightens readers about Tyler's role in opening up relations with China, about the part he played in bringing about the acceptance of Hawaii by the United States and other nations, and about his role as an elder statesman. These are fascinating to read and we learn much about Tyler. We also learn about some of Tyler's closest associates and cabinet members, like Daniel Webster, Abel Upshur and John C. Calhoun. But there are huge chunks of Tyler's life that we are never told about. For example, what was his relationship like with Old Tippecanoe (William Henry Harrison), and why did Tyler abandon his Whig roots and become a man without a party? The book is sub-titled "The Accidental President", yet little of the fight between Tyler and Clay to establish Tyler's authority as President is discussed in the book.

There are some running themes throughout the book that Crapol tells us about which give us insight into John Tyler. These include his staunch defence of slavery, his "Anglophobia", and his use of secret operatives in the world of diplomacy. Tyler is presented as a man with ulterior motives. He presents as someone dedicated to preserving the union, though the author suggests that it is slavery that he really wishes to preserve. Crapol tells us about rumors that Tyler has fathered two children with a slave, alternately discussing why this rumor is plausible and why it is unlikely. Similarly, he presents anecdotes of Tyler being a benevolent slavemaster as well as a cruel one. It is also suggested that Tyler's conducting of a peace conference on the eve of the Civil War is a noble attempt to head off a terrible catastrophe, as well as a traitorous scheme to buy time for the Confederacy without ever intending sincerely to broker a peace.

Perhaps much of the author's missing pieces and his mixed messages stem from the fact that Tyler's personal papers and his autobiography were destroyed by Union soldiers who vandalized his Virginia plantation and therefore the historian is left without much source material to work with. Still Crapol does make it clear that he believes Tyler to be a defender of slavery, a sly and cunning politician capable of deceit, and in the final analysis a traitor to the union he purported to want to keep together.

There is much that I enjoyed about this book. It taught me much about John Tyler and the history of his times that I did not know. But if I was looking for a book that would present me with a complete biography of John Tyler, this would not be it.

Of all of my presidentail reads, I have probably learned more from this read than any of the prior reads because of two salient quotes by Crapol. First, I fell into this category, "If they have any memory of him at all, the American public today dismisses John Tyler as an unimaginative leader and a resounding failure who invariably lands near the bottom of hisotirans' randings of the most significant adn successful presdients." (pg 189). I suppose it depends on what your criteria is for ranking your presidents as to where you rank Tyler, but Crapol certainly challenges the charge that Tyler was an unimaginative leader.

Tyler, as the first president to assume the office upon the death of a president took decisive measures to ensure the continuity of power in the early days following the death of William Henry Harrison. Even though the Twenty-fifth Amendentment was not added to the constitution until 1967, the precedent was set that was followed by seven vice-presidents. While not as well known as the Monroe doctrine, the Tyler doctrine established by a president with limited travel experience set the stage for the Open Door Policy, set a new agenda for involvement in the Pacific realm and laid the foundation for Hawaii's eventual entrance into the union. Determined to secure Texas as a state in the union, Tyler sets the precedent for acquisition through joint resolution when a 2/3 vote to accept a treaty was in peril. This same path would be followed with Hawaii and attempted with the Dominican Republic. Finally, Tyler was the first to use the secret service fund to employ secret agents in the execution of diplomatic goals and to claim executive privilege to protect presidential communications from Congressional eyes. Thus, Crapol's statement, "John Tyler's initiatives and actions did influence the course of American history and in a few cases had a lasting impact." (pg 278) certainly holds merit.

John Tyler unabashedly pursued his objective and,for the most part, was successful in achieving them. I cannot help but wonder if John Tyler's unqiue distinction as being the only president to join forces with the Confederacy upon secession and his failure to secure the presidency in his own right has colored historians views of his impact on the office.

Crapol takes a topical approach to John Tyler. I think there are inherent problems with that approach. First, the book is sorely lacking in infromation on Tyler's personal life. This is particularly troublesome since his second wife, Julia, seems to be such a fascinating character based on the glimpses we do receive. Secondly, there are issues that are mentioned that the reader feels has a larger impact on Tyler. Some of these include: Diffusion therory, expansionism as a need for the health of a republic, the Crimean War, and the Hungarian revolution. However, I certainly commend Crapol for an attempt to present Tyler in an unbiased manner showing his strengths and flaws.

Dismissed by his contemporaries and forgotten by subsequent generations, John Tyler does not immediately stand out as one of America's more notable presidents. Yet as Edward Crapol demonstrates in this book, such obscurity unfairly obscures his contribution to American history. His assertion of authority upon taking over the White House after William Henry Harrison's death established a precedent that has since come to be taken for granted, his annexation of Texas and extension of the Monroe Doctrine to the Hawaiian Islands furthered the nation's scope, and his outreach to east Asia paved the way for the Open Door policy with China. Crapol's biography of Tyler seeks to give the tenth president his due, demonstrating that his years in the White House left a far more lasting imprint on the nation than is traditionally believed.

As was the case historically with vice presidents, Tyler was selected as Harrison's running mate for the geographical balance he brought to the Whig ticket. Upon taking office, though, Tyler soon demonstrated his indifference to Whig party goals. As president Tyler was a staunch defender of slavery and a strong supporter of national expansion, seeing the two as key to America's success as a nation. Despite being isolated politically by the Whigs, he nonetheless found supporters of his goals and achieved a number of foreign policy triumphs. Yet he failed to achieve his most cherished goal of winning the presidency in his own right, and he left office with the issues he championed serving increasingly to divide the nation - a divide that ultimately forced Tyler at the end of his life to make a momentous decision to renounce his allegiance to the union he had once led.

Though advertised as a biography of Tyler, Crapol's book is not so much a biography as it is a study of the issues that defined Tyler's presidency with an examination of the prevalence of those issues throughout his career. Much of his initial goal of writing a more narrowly focused study of Tyler's foreign policy as president is reflected in its pages; his pre-presidential career is addressed in passing, and details of both his personal life and his domestic agenda are scanty. Readers seeking an introduction to Tyler are better off starting off with Gary May's more concise John Tyler (The American Presidents Series), yet for anyone seeking to understand the legacy of our nation's tenth president this book is an indispensable and insightful study that cannot be missed.