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Zachary Taylor (U.S. president)
Zachary Taylor (b. on November 24, 1784, in Barboursville, Virginia) was the 12th president of the United States. He served from 1849 until his death on July 9, 1850. He was 65 when he died.
Taylor was a member of the Whig Party. His vice president was Millard Fillmore, who succeeded him upon his death.
Following the Mexican–American War, which ended in 1848, the U.S. acquired 525,000 square miles of land from Mexico, including California. Taylor was president at a time when the nation was debating the expansion of slavery into the new western territories. He opposed the expansion of slavery outside the South, but died before any laws could be passed to reduce the tension between slaveholding and free states.[1][2]
Prior to serving as president, Taylor had a 40-year career in the U.S. Army. He led troops in the Mexican–American War and was promoted to major general before seeking the presidency.[3][4][5]
Biography
Timeline of life events
Below is an abbreviated outline of Taylor's professional and political career:[6]
- 1784: Born in Orange County, Virginia, near Barboursville
- 1785: Moved to Louisville, Kentucky
- 1808: Joined the U.S. Army, serving as first lieutenant of the Kentuckian Seventh Infantry Regiment
- 1812-1815: Served in the War of 1812
- 1819: Promoted to lieutenant colonel
- 1832: Served in the Black Hawk War
- 1835-1840: Served in the Second Seminole War
- 1837: Promoted to brevet brigadier general
- 1840: Moved to Louisiana near Baton Rouge
- 1846-1848: Led the U.S. Army of Occupation in the Mexican–American War
- 1846: Promoted to major general
- February 2, 1848: U.S. victory in the Mexican–American War
- June 9, 1848: Nominated as a presidential candidate by the Whig Party
- November 7, 1848: Elected president of the United States
- March 5, 1849: Inaugurated as president of the United States
- July 9, 1850: Died of a gastrointestinal illness
Before the presidency
Zachary Taylor was born in Orange County, Virginia, on November 24, 1784, to Richard Taylor, who served as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and Sarah Dabney Taylor. In 1785, Taylor's family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he was raised on a tobacco plantation. His father owned 10,000 acres and 26 slaves. In 1808, he left home to serve as a first lieutenant for the U.S. Army's Kentuckian Seventh Infantry Regiment.[3][4]
Taylor was assigned to forts in the western frontier during the War of 1812. He resigned from the U.S. Army after the War of 1812, but reenlisted in 1816. In 1819, he attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. He commanded troops in Black Hawk War in 1832 and the Second Seminole War from 1835 through 1840. In 1837, Taylor was promoted to brevet brigadier general, commanding all U.S. forces in the southern United States.[3][4]
In 1840, Taylor established a home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was stationed. He purchased plantations in Louisiana and Mississippi and owned an estimated 300 slaves.[7]
In 1845, President James K. Polk ordered Taylor to command the U.S. Army in securing the annexed state of Texas and forts along the Rio Grande River between Texas and Mexico. In 1846, President Polk declared that war had begun due to actions that were taken by Mexico. Taylor led troops into northern Mexico, leading to victories in the cities of Palo Alto and Monterrey. He was promoted to major general. Mexican General Santa Anna led 20,000 troops into a battle against Taylor's 6,000-man army in Buena Vista, which resulted in General Santa Anna retreating. Taylor's victory in the Battle of Buena Vista made him a well-known and popular military leader.[3][4][5]
Major General Taylor declared his candidacy as a Whig candidate for president six weeks before the party's convention. He won the nomination, despite the party's opposition to the Mexican-American War.[3] In the general election in November, he faced Democrat Lewis Cass, the U.S. Secretary of State under former President James Buchanan, and former President Martin Van Buren, who was a candidate for the Free Soil Party. Taylor won 47.4 percent of the popular vote and 163 electoral votes. He needed to secure 146 electoral votes to win.[8]
Presidency
President Zachary Taylor was inaugurated as president on March 5, 1849, at a time when the nation was debating the expansion of slavery into new western territories, such as California, acquired after the Mexican–American War. Taylor opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories, which resulted in South Carolina legislators threatening to secede in 1850. Taylor responded, saying that secessionists would "taken in rebellion against the Union" and that "he would hang [them] with less reluctance than he had hanged deserters and spies in Mexico." He pressed for immediate statehood of the California and New Mexico territories.[1][2]
President Taylor's administration negotiated the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty with Great Britain, with the two counties agreeing to joint control over any canal built across Panama.[9]
Members of Congress developed a compromise between slaveholding and free states, which became known as the Compromise of 1850, to present to President Taylor. However, President Taylor died of a gastrointestinal illness on July 9, 1850, before taking a position on the compromise.[1][2] Taylor was the second president to die in office and had the third-shortest tenure as of 2018. Upon his death, he was succeeded by Vice President Millard Fillmore.[3]
Personal
Taylor was married to Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor from 1810 until his death in 1850. The couple had six children: Ann, Sarah, Octavia, Margaret, Mary, and Richard. Margaret and Mary died in childhood.[6]
His 40-year career in the U.S. Army earned him the nickname "Old Rough and Ready."[3]
Elections
1848 presidential election
In 1848, Taylor defeated Lewis Cass (D) and Martin Van Buren (Free Soil) in the general election for the United States presidency.
| U.S. presidential election, 1848 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Whig |  Zachary Taylor/Millard Fillmore |
47.4% | 1,360,099 | 163 | |
| Democratic | Lewis Cass/William Butler | 42.5% | 1,220,544 | 127 | |
| Free Soil | Martin Van Buren/Charles Adams | 10.1% | 291,501 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 2,872,144 | 290 | |||
| Election results via: 1848 official election results | |||||
State of the Union addresses
Every year in office, the president of the United States addresses Congress on the present state of affairs as well as the administration's goals for the coming year.[10] Following is the transcript from Taylor's sole State of the Union address.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Constitution Center, "Remembering Zachary Taylor: Military hero, obscure President," November 24, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Constitution Center, "Zachary Taylor's shocking death amid the slavery expansion crisis," October 2, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 History, "Zachary Taylor," accessed May 31, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Ohio History Central, "Zachary Taylor," accessed May 31, 2018
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 University of Virginia Miller Center, "Zachary Taylor: Life Before the Presidency," accessed May 31, 2018
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Library of Congress, "Timeline," accessed May 29, 2018
- ↑ Know Louisiana, "Zachary Taylor," accessed May 31, 2018
- ↑ 270 to Win, "1848 Presidential Election," accessed May 31, 2018
- ↑ University of Virginia Miller Center, "Zachary Taylor: Foreign Affairs," accessed May 31, 2018
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," January 24, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Polk (D) |
President of the United States 1849-1850 |
Succeeded by Millard Fillmore (Whig) |
| |||||||
