🎩John Tyler

10th President · 1841–1845 · Whig (expelled)

John Tyler was the first Vice President to succeed a deceased president — and he insisted on being called "President" rather than "Acting President," establishing the precedent that every succeeding VP has followed. His successor-by-accident status and his willingness to veto Whig legislation got him expelled from the Whig Party. He spent most of his term as a president with no party, nicknamed "His Accidency."

The Tyler Precedent

When Harrison died, the Constitution was ambiguous about whether the Vice President became the new president or merely discharged the duties of the office. Tyler settled the question by moving into the White House, taking the oath, and rejecting all mail addressed to "Acting President." Congress grudgingly accepted. The Tyler Precedent governed every VP succession until the 25th Amendment in 1967 formalized it.

Expelled from His Party

Tyler had been picked as a Southern balance for the ticket and was more conservative than most Whigs. When Congress passed legislation to recharter the national bank — a core Whig goal — Tyler vetoed it twice. His entire Cabinet except Secretary of State Daniel Webster resigned in protest in September 1841. The Whig Party formally expelled him. He governed the rest of his term essentially without a party.

Texas Annexation

Tyler's single major accomplishment was the annexation of Texas. The Republic of Texas had been seeking U.S. statehood since 1837. Tyler pushed an annexation joint resolution through Congress in the last days of his term. Texas was admitted as a state in December 1845, nine months after Tyler left office, helping to trigger the Mexican-American War.

Confederate Congressman

Tyler is the only former president to hold a position in a government at war with the United States. He supported secession in 1861 and was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives just before his death. When he died in 1862, the U.S. government did not officially acknowledge his passing.

Tyler Trivia

• Tyler fathered 15 children by two wives — more than any other president.
• As of 2024, Tyler had living grandchildren, despite being born in 1790. (His son Lyon Tyler fathered children late in life, and so did Lyon's son Harrison Tyler.)
• Tyler had no Vice President during his entire term — the Constitution did not yet provide for filling a VP vacancy.
• He married his second wife, 24-year-old Julia Gardiner, in the White House in 1844 — he was 54.

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