Zachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849-1850 (American Presidents (Times)) [Hardcover]

John S. D. Eisenhower (Author), Arthur M. Schlesinger (Editor), Sean Wilentz (Editor)

Book Description

Series: American Presidents (Times) | Publication Date: May 27, 2008

The rough-hewn general who rose to the nation’s highest office, and whose presidency witnessed the first political skirmishes that would lead to the Civil War

Zachary Taylor was a soldier’s soldier, a man who lived up to his nickname, “Old Rough and Ready.” Having risen through the ranks of the U.S. Army, he achieved his greatest success in the Mexican War, propelling him to the nation’s highest office in the election of 1848. He was the first man to have been elected president without having held a lower political office.

John S. D. Eisenhower, the son of another soldier-president, shows how Taylor rose to the presidency, where he confronted the most contentious political issue of his age: slavery. The political storm reached a crescendo in 1849, when California, newly populated after the Gold Rush, applied for statehood with an anti- slavery constitution, an event that upset the delicate balance of slave and free states and pushed both sides to the brink. As the acrimonious debate intensified, Taylor stood his ground in favor of California’s admission—despite being a slaveholder himself—but in July 1850 he unexpectedly took ill, and within a week he was dead. His truncated presidency had exposed the fateful rift that would soon tear the country apart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Eisenhower (So Far from God: The U.S. War with Mexico), a military historian and retired army general, has a secure mastery of his subject and his era in this addition to the American Presidents series of nutshell biographies. Taylor's career, in Eisenhower's retelling, had two principal foci. First, he was a general in the American incursion into Mexico in 1846, and his campaign, crisply recounted here, was perceived as a success by the American populace, catapulting Taylor (1784–1850) to national prominence. Second, Eisenhower spotlights Taylor's equivocal relationship to slavery. A lifelong slave owner himself, he opposed abolishing slavery where it existed to preserve the Union. Yet Taylor claimed to oppose slavery on principle as well as its spread to California, New Mexico and other new states. Taylor lived only 16 uneventful months after his inauguration in March 1849, so Eisenhower's treatment of his presidency necessarily deals more with congressional debates on slavery than with Taylor himself. Eisenhower takes a nuanced view of the 12th president, finding Taylor gentle in civilian life, something of a disappointment as a soldier, but most fundamentally a man who aimed to preserve the Union. 1 map. (June)
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From Booklist

Eisenhower puts his subject’s best foot forward by recalling a remark to the effect that Taylor (1784–1850), a slaveholder who opposed extending slavery into new states, might have prevented the Civil War. A career army officer until mere weeks before his inauguration, Taylor also owned extensive plantations. He was wealthy but not haughty. Willingness to share his soldiers’ discomforts and, while maintaining military discipline, dressing informally endeared him to the troops. He served without great distinction until the Mexican War, which President Polk gave him discretion to start. By winning the war’s first great battle at the right time to attract the attention of Whig Party kingmakers looking for a winner in 1848, he wound up in the White House, intending to be a president for all the people—vainly, Eisenhower thinks. He died rather suddenly, in the wake of the Compromise of 1850, one constituent of which, the Fugitive Slave Act, he despised. Eisenhower doesn’t venture a guess, but would Taylor have vetoed it? The piquancy of such a question makes Taylor’s biography curiously ponderable. --Ray Olson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Times Books (May 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805082379
• ISBN-13: 978-0805082371
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A splendid little book, June 27, 2008

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Thomas Quale (Centerville, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849-1850 (American Presidents (Times)) (Hardcover)

Eisenhower handles Taylor's military career and his exploits in the Mexican War very neatly and offers selections from other Taylor biographers like Hamilton and Bauer to aid his case and offer the casual reader alternate windows into the life. A very neat summary of a very brief administration, Eisenhower's account never seems rushed or unduly cursory. The books in the American Presidents series vary wildly in quality. This particular volume is not a breath-taking small gem like Hans Trefousse on Hayes or a specialist treasure like Ira Rutkow's book on Garfield, but Eisenhower nevertheless provides a splendid small book on an unfortunately overlooked president.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Introduction to President Zachary Taylor, April 12, 2009

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Michael Taylor "Michael Taylor" (Indian Trail NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849-1850 (American Presidents (Times)) (Hardcover)

"Zachary Taylor" by John Eisenhower is a good introduction for anyone who wants to learn more about Zachary Taylor, US President from 1849-1850.

The book covers areas of Taylor's life, including:

1. Birth in Virginia and move to Kentucky while still a very young child.
2. Military career that included important service in the Mexican War.
3. Happy home life and tragic loss of a daughter.
4. Encouragements from politicians to run for president.
5. Presidential campaign and election.
6. Brief term and premature death.
7. Analysis of life (family, military, business, politics).

The author comes up with an interesting point - if Taylor were re-elected, the Civil War could have been avoided. Whether or not you agree with the point, one cannot help but wonder.

The book flows freely and is an easy read. The book is a good introduction to President Taylor. However, I am sure there are more comprehensive biographies for readers who wish to learn more.

Recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful overview of one of our little known presidents, March 25, 2009

By 

R. C Sheehy "deadsox" (Foxboro,MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849-1850 (American Presidents (Times)) (Hardcover)

Usually the presidents between Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln are all lumped together as failures. While some just before the Civil War were, there were some very interesting stories that sadly never came to fruition. Zachary Taylor is one of those presidents. A strong leader and a national here, he died just as the country was hitting that vital cross roads between reconciliation and War. Taylor's military career was equally impressive and again he was a key player in one of our lesser known events, the Mexican/American War

John Eisenhower is a sharp and crisp writer who does a wonderful job evoking the era and the passions that drove on not only a professional and political level, but also on a personal level. A book well worth reading!