⚔️ China Could Invade Taiwan – Will It Lead to War? ⚠️

China seems intent on taking over Taiwan and most of the world is intent on stopping them.   [New Trading View Logo]( [New Trading View Logo]( ["Motivation is the catalyzing ingredient for every successful innovation". – Clayton Christensen]( Sometimes, colleagues of New Trading View share special offers with us that we think our readers should be made aware of. Below is one such special opportunity that we believe deserves your attention. Hello Fellow American! [Things are getting scary…]( China seems intent on taking over Taiwan and most of the world is intent on stopping them. It’s looking more and more like conflict will be unavoidable… Only this time, it could be a war. And that’s not good for any of us. [Click here and I’ll show you what’s happening…and how to prepare for the destruction that could come.]( "The Buck Stops Here," Dylan Jovine Founder & CEO, Behind the Markets   You are receiving our newsletter because you opted-in for it on one of our sister websites. Make sure you stay up to date with finance news by [whitelisting us](. This ad is sent on behalf of Behind The Markets, 4260 NW 1st Avenue, Suite # 55 Boca Raton, FL 33431 – 4264. If you would like to unsubscribe from receiving offers from Behind The Markets please [click here](. Copyright © 2023 New Trading View.com All Rights Reserved[.]( 234 5th Ave, New York, NY 10001, United States [Privacy Policy]( l [Terms & Conditions]( Thinking about unsubscribing? We hope not! But, if you must, the link is below. [Unsubscribe]( Oregon and the West Further information: Oregon boundary dispute, Mexican California, and Rocky Mountains Tyler had an interest in the vast territory west of the Rockies known as Oregon, which extended from the northern boundary of California (42° parallel) to the southern boundary of Alaska (54°40′ north latitude). [121] As early as 1841, he urged Congress to establish a chain of American forts from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to the Pacific.[115][121] The American forts would be used to protect American settlers on a route or trail to Oregon.[121] Frémont's second expedition party reached Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley in March 1844 Tyler's presidency had two popular successes in western exploration, including Oregon, Wyoming, and California. Captain John C. Frémont completed two interior scientific expeditions (1842 and 1843-1844), which opened the West to American emigration.[123][124][h] In his 1842 expedition, Frémont boldly climbed a mountain in Wyoming, Frémont's Peak (13,751 feet), planted an American flag, and symbolically claimed the Rocky Mountains and the West for the United States. [126] In his second expedition starting in 1843, Frémont and his party entered Oregon following the Oregon Trail. Traveling west on the Columbia River, Frémont sighted the Cascade Range peaks and mapped Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood.[127] In early March 1844, Frèmont and his party descended the American River valley to Sutter's Fort in Mexican California.[127] Given a cordial greeting by John Sutter, Frémont talked to American settlers, who were growing numerous, and discovered Mexican authority over California was very weak.[127] Upon Frémont's triumphal return from his second expedition, at General Winfield Scott's request, Tyler promoted Frémont with a double brevet.[128][i] Florida On Tyler's last full day in office, March 3, 1845, Florida was admitted to the Union as the 27th state.[130] Dorr rebellion (Rhode Island) Thomas Dorr In May 1842 when the Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island came to a head, Tyler pondered the request of the governor and legislature to send in federal troops to help suppress it. The insurgents under Thomas Dorr had armed themselves and proposed to install a new state constitution. Before such acts, Rhode Island had been following the same constitutional structure that was established in 1663. Tyler called for calm on both sides and recommended that the governor enlarge the franchise to let most men vote. Tyler promised that in case an actual insurrection should break out in Rhode Island he would employ force to aid the regular, or Charter, government. He made it clear that federal assistance would be given only to put down an insurrection once underway, and would not be available until violence had taken place. After listening to reports from his confidential agents, Tyler decided that the 'lawless assemblages' had dispersed and expressed his confidence in a "temper of conciliation as well as of energy and decision" without the use of federal forces. The rebels fled the state when the state militia marched against them, but the incident led to broader suffrage in the state.[131] Indian affairs The Seminoles were the last remaining Indians in the South who had been induced to sign a fraudulent treaty in 1833, taking away their remaining lands. Under Chief Osceola, the Seminoles for a decade resisted removal harassed by U.S. troops. [121] Tyler brought the long, bloody, and inhumane Seminole War to an end in May 1842, in a message to Congress. Tyler expressed interest in the forced cultural assimilation of Native Americans.[132][121] In May 1842, the House demanded President Tyler's Secretary of War John Spencer hand over information of an investigation by the U.S. Army into the matter of alleged Cherokee frauds. In June, Tyler ordered Spencer not to comply. Tyler, whose executive privilege was challenged, insisted the matter was ex parte and against the public interest. The House responded with three resolutions, in part, that claimed the House had a right to demand information from Tyler's cabinet. The House also ordered the Army officer in charge of the investigation into the Cherokee frauds to turn over the information. Tyler made no attempt to respond until Congress returned from recess in January. [133] Administration and cabinet The Tyler cabinet[134] Office Name Term President John Tyler 1841–1845 Vice President None 1841–1845 Secretary of State Daniel Webster (W) 1841–1843 Abel P. Upshur (W) 1843–1844 John C. Calhoun (D) 1844–1845 Secretary of the Treasury Thomas Ewing (W) 1841 Walter Forward (W) 1841–1843 John Canfield Spencer (W) 1843–1844 George M. Bibb (D) 1844–1845 Secretary of War John Bell (W) 1841 John Canfield Spencer (W) 1841–1843 James Madison Porter (W) 1843–1844 William Wilkins (D) 1844–1845 Attorney General John J. Crittenden (W) 1841 Hugh S. Legaré (D) 1841–1843 John Nelson (W) 1843–1845 Postmaster General Francis Granger (W) 1841 Charles A. Wickliffe (W) 1841–1845 Secretary of the Navy George Edmund Badger (W) 1841 Abel P. Upshur (W) 1841–1843 David Henshaw (D) 1843–1844 Thomas Walker Gilmer (D) 1844 John Y. Mason (D) 1844–1845 Official portrait of President Tyler by George Peter Alexander Healy, c. 1864 The battles between Tyler and the Whigs in Congress resulted in a number of his cabinet nominees being rejected. He received little support from Democrats and, without much support from either major party in Congress, a number of his nominations were rejected without regard for the qualifications of the nominee. It was then unprecedented to reject a president's nominees for his Cabinet (though in 1809, James Madison withheld the nomination of Albert Gallatin as Secretary of State because of opposition in the Senate). Four of Tyler's Cabinet nominees were rejected, the most of any president. These were Caleb Cushing (Treasury), David Henshaw (Navy), James Porter (War), and James S. Green (Treasury). Henshaw and Porter served as recess appointees before their rejections. Tyler repeatedly renominated Cushing, who was rejected three times in one day, March 3, 1843, the last day of the 27th Congress.[135] No cabinet nomination failed after Tyler's term until Henry Stanbery's nomination as Attorney General was rejected by the Senate in 1868.[136] Judicial appointments Main article: List of federal judges appointed by John Tyler Judicial Appointments[137][138] Court Name Term U.S.S.C. Samuel Nelson 1845–1872 E.D. Va. James D. Halyburton 1844–1861 D. Ind. Elisha M. Huntington 1842–1862 E.D. La. W.D. La.[j] Theodore H. McCaleb 1841–1861[k] D. Vt. Samuel Prentiss 1842–1857 E.D. Pa. Archibald Randall 1842–1846 D. Mass. Peleg Sprague 1841–1865 Two vacancies occurred on the Supreme Court during Tyler's presidency, as Justices Smith Thompson and Henry {NAME} died in 1843 and 1844, respectively. Tyler, ever at odds with Congress—including the Whig-controlled Senate—nominated several men to the Supreme Court to fill these seats. However, the Senate successively voted against confirming John C. Spencer, Reuben Walworth, Edward King and John M. Read (Walworth was rejected three times, King rejected twice). One reason cited for the Senate's actions was the hope that Clay would fill the vacancies after winning the 1844 presidential election.[135] Tyler's four unsuccessful nominees are the most by a president.[137] Finally, in February 1845, with less than a month remaining in his term, Tyler's nomination of Samuel Nelson to Thompson's seat was confirmed by the Senate—Nelson, a Democrat, had a reputation as a careful and noncontroversial jurist. Still, his confirmation came as a surprise. {NAME}'s seat remained vacant until James K. Polk's nominee, Robert Grier, was confirmed in 1846.[137] Tyler was able to appoint only six other federal judges, all to United States district courts.[138] Annexation of Texas See also: Texas annexation Tyler made the annexation of the Republic of Texas part of his agenda soon after becoming president. Tyler knew he was a President without a party, and was emboldened to challenge party leaders of Clay and Van Buren, unconcerned how Texas annexation would affect the Whigs or Democrats.[139] Texas had declared independence from Mexico in the Texas Revolution of 1836, although Mexico still refused to acknowledge its sovereignty. The people of Texas actively pursued joining the Union, but Jackson and Van Buren had been reluctant to inflame tensions over slavery by annexing another Southern state. Though Tyler intended annexation to be the focal point of his administration, Secretary Webster was opposed, and convinced Tyler to concentrate on Pacific initiatives until later in his term.[140] Tyler's desire for western expansionism is acknowledged by historians and scholars, but views differ regarding the motivations behind it. Biographer Edward C. Crapol notes that during the presidency of James Monroe, Tyler (then in the House of Representatives) had suggested slavery was a "dark cloud" hovering over the Union, and that it would be "well to disperse this cloud" so that with fewer blacks in the older slave states, a process of gradual emancipation would begin in Virginia and other upper Southern states.[141] Historian William W. Freehling, however, wrote that Tyler's official motivation in annexing Texas was to outmaneuver suspected efforts by Great Britain to promote an emancipation of slaves in Texas that would weaken the institution in the United States.[142] Early attempts Historical U.S. map, 1843. Most of the eastern states have been established, while the western half remains loosely divided into territories. Mexico and the Republic of Texas share a disputed border. The boundaries of the United States and neighboring nations as they appeared in 1843. The Webster–Ashburton Treaty had formalized the border of Maine in the northeast, while the Republic of Texas in the southwest had a disputed border with Mexico. In early 1843, having completed the Webster–Ashburton treaty and other diplomatic efforts, Tyler felt ready to pursue Texas. Now lacking a party base, he saw annexation of the republic as his only pathway to independent election in 1844. For the first time in his career he was willing to play "political hardball" to see it through. As a trial balloon he dispatched his ally Thomas Walker Gilmer, then a U.S. Representative from Virginia, to publish a letter defending annexation, which was well received. Despite his successful relationship with Webster, Tyler knew he would need a Secretary of State who supported the Texas initiative. With the work on the British treaty now completed, he forced Webster's resignation and installed Hugh S. Legaré of South Carolina as an interim successor.[143] With the help of newly appointed Treasury Secretary John C. Spencer, Tyler cleared out an array of officeholders, replacing them with pro-annexation partisans, in a reversal of his former stand against patronage. He elicited the help of political organizer Michael Walsh to build a political machine in New York. In exchange for an appointment as consul to Hawaii, journalist Alexander G. Abell wrote a flattering biography, Life of John Tyler, which was printed in large quantities and given to postmasters to distribute.[144] Seeking to rehabilitate his public image, Tyler embarked on a nationwide tour in the spring of 1843. The positive reception of the public at these events contrasted with his ostracism back in Washington. The tour centered on the dedication of the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston, Massachusetts. Shortly after the dedication, Tyler learned of Legaré's sudden death, which dampened the festivities and caused him to cancel the rest of the tour.[145] Tyler appointed Abel P. Upshur, a popular Secretary of the Navy and close adviser, as his new Secretary of State, and nominated Gilmer to fill Upshur's former office. Tyler and Upshur began quiet negotiations with the Texas government, promising military protection from Mexico in exchange for a commitment to annexation. Secrecy was necessary, as the Constitution required congressional approval for such military commitments. Upshur planted rumors of possible British designs on Texas to garner support among Northern voters, who were wary of admitting a new pro-slavery state.[146] By January 1844 Upshur told the Texas government that he had found a large majority of senators in favor of an annexation treaty. The republic remained skeptical, and finalization of the treaty took until the end of February.[147] USS Princeton disaster See also: USS Princeton disaster of 1844 Historical illustration of the Princeton cannon explosion, with dozens of guests aboard. Caption reads "Awful explosion of the Peace-Maker on board the U.S. steam frigate Princeton". A lithograph of the Princeton disaster (1844) A ceremonial cruise down the Potomac River was held aboard the newly built USS Princeton on February 28, 1844, the day after completion of the annexation treaty. Aboard the ship were 400 guests, including Tyler and his cabinet, as was the world's largest naval gun, the "Peacemaker". The gun was ceremoniously fired several times in the afternoon to the great delight of the onlookers, who then filed downstairs to offer a toast. Several hours later, Captain Robert F. Stockton was convinced by the crowd to fire one more shot. As the guests moved up to the deck, Tyler paused briefly to watch his son-in-law, William Waller, sing a ditty.[148] At once an explosion was heard from above: the gun had malfunctioned. Tyler was unhurt, having remained safely below deck, but a number of others were killed instantly, including his crucial cabinet members, Gilmer and Upshur. Also killed or mortally wounded were Virgil Maxcy of Maryland, Rep. David Gardiner of New York, Commodore Beverley Kennon, Chief of Construction of the United States Navy, and Armistead, Tyler's black slave and body servant. The death of David Gardiner had a devastating effect on his daughter, Julia, who fainted and was carried to safety by the president himself.[148] Julia later recovered from her grief and married Tyler on June 26.[149] For Tyler, any hope of completing the Texas plan before November (and with it, any hope of re-election) was instantly dashed. Historian Edward P. Crapol later wrote that "Prior to the Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln", the Princeton disaster "unquestionably was the most severe and debilitating tragedy ever to confront a President of the United States".[147] Ratification issue Historical political cartoon. Caption reads "Uncle Sam and his servants." An anti-Tyler satire lampoons his efforts to secure a second term. Tyler pushes the door shut on opponents Clay, Polk, Calhoun, and Jackson, as Uncle Sam demands that he let Clay in. In what the Miller Center of Public Affairs considers "a serious tactical error that ruined the scheme [of establishing political respectability for him]",[150] Tyler appointed former Vice President John C. Calhoun in early March 1844 as his Secretary of State. Tyler's good friend, Virginia Representative Henry A. Wise, wrote that following the Princeton disaster, Wise on his own volition extended Calhoun the position as a self-appointed emissary of the president and Calhoun accepted. When Wise went to tell Tyler what he had done, the president was angry but felt that the action had to stand. Calhoun was a leading advocate of slavery, and his attempts to get an annexation treaty passed were resisted by abolitionists as a result. When the text of the treaty was leaked to the public, it met political opposition from the Whigs, who opposed anything that might enhance Tyler's status, as well as from foes of slavery and those who feared a confrontation with Mexico, which had announced that it would view annexation as a hostile act by the United States. Both Clay and Van Buren, the respective frontrunners for the Whig and Democratic nominations, decided in a private meeting at Van Buren's home to come out against annexation.[151] Knowing this, Tyler was pessimistic when he sent the treaty to the Senate for ratification in April 1844.[152] Tyler's Secretary of State John C. Calhoun sent a controversial letter informing the British minister to the U.S. that the motivation for Texas annexation was to protect American slavery from British intrusion. The letter also claimed Southern slaves were better off than Northern free blacks and English white laborers.[153] Election of 1844 Main article: 1844 United States presidential election Further information: Tyler Party Following Tyler's break with the Whigs in 1841, he attempted a return to his old Democratic party, but its members, especially the followers of Van Buren, were not ready to accept him. As the election of 1844 approached, Van Buren appeared to have a lock on the Democratic nomination, while Clay was certain to be the Whig candidate. [154] With little chance of election, the only way to salvage his presidential legacy was to threaten to run for President and force public acceptance of Texas annexation. [154] Tyler used his vast presidential patronage power,[154] and formed a third party, the National Democratic, with the officeholders and political networks he had built over the previous year. Multiple supportive newspapers across the country issued editorials promoting his candidacy throughout the early months of 1844. Reports of meetings held throughout the country suggest that support for the president was not limited to officeholders, as is widely assumed. Just as the Democratic Party was holding its presidential nomination in Baltimore, Maryland, the Tyler supporters, in that very city, were holding signs reading "Tyler and Texas!", and with their own high visibility and energy, they gave Tyler their nomination. His new Democratic-Republican Party renominated Tyler for the presidency on May 27, 1844.[155] However, Tyler's party was loosely organized, failed to nominate a Vice President, and had no platform.[156] Regular Democrats were forced to call for annexation of Texas in their platform, but there was a bitter battle for the presidential nomination. Ballot after ballot, Van Buren failed to win the necessary super-majority of Democratic votes, and slowly fell in the rankings. It was not until the ninth ballot that the Democrats turned their sights to James K. Polk, a less prominent candidate who supported annexation. They found him to be perfectly suited for their platform, and he was nominated with two-thirds of the vote. Tyler considered his work vindicated, and implied in an acceptance letter that annexation was his true priority rather than election.[155] In the spring of 1844, Tyler ordered Secretary of State John C. Calhoun to begin negotiations with Texas president Sam Houston for the annexation of Texas. To bolster annexation and keep Mexico at bay, Tyler boldly ordered the U.S. Army to the Texas border on western Louisiana. He strongly supported Texas annexation.[157][158] Annexation achieved Tyler was unfazed when the Whig-controlled Senate rejected his treaty by a vote of 16–35 in June 1844; he felt that annexation was now within reach by joint resolution rather than by treaty, and made that request to congress. Former President Andrew Jackson, a staunch supporter of annexation, persuaded Polk to welcome Tyler back into the Democratic Party and ordered Democratic editors to cease their attacks on him. Satisfied by these developments, Tyler dropped out of the race in August and endorsed Polk for the presidency. Polk's narrow victory over Clay in the November election was seen by the Tyler administration as a mandate for completing the resolution. Tyler announced in his annual message to Congress that "a controlling majority of the people and a large majority of the states have declared in favor of immediate annexation".[159] On February 26, 1845, the joint resolution that Tyler, the lame-duck president, had strongly lobbied for, passed Congress.[160] The House approved a joint resolution offering annexation to Texas by a substantial margin, and the Senate approved it by a bare 27–25 majority. On his last day in office, March 3, 1845, Tyler signed the bill into law.[161][162] Immediately afterward, Mexico broke diplomatic relations with the U.S., mobilized for war, and would recognize Texas only if Texas remained independent.[162][160] But after some debate,[163] Texas accepted the terms and entered the union on December 29, 1845, as the 28th state.[164] Post-presidency (1845–1862) Tyler left Washington with the conviction that the newly inaugurated President Polk had the best interest of the nation.[165] Tyler retired to a Virginia plantation, originally named Walnut Grove (or "the Grove"), located on the James River in Charles City County. He renamed it Sherwood Forest, in a reference to the folk legend Robin Hood, to signify that he had been "outlawed" by the Whig Party.[166] He did not take farming lightly and worked hard to maintain large yields.[167] His neighbors, largely Whigs, appointed him to the minor office of overseer of roads in 1847 in an effort to mock him. To their displeasure, he treated the job seriously, frequently summoning his neighbors to provide their slaves for road work, and continuing to insist on carrying out his duties even after his neighbors asked him to stop.[168] The former president spent his time in a manner common to Virginia's First Families, with parties, visiting or being visited by other aristocrats, and spending summers at the family's seaside home, "Villa Margaret".[169] In 1852, Tyler happily rejoined the ranks of the Virginia Democratic Party and thereafter kept interested in political affairs.[165] However, Tyler rarely received visits from his former allies and was not sought out as an adviser. Occasionally requested to deliver a public speech, Tyler spoke during the unveiling of a monument to Henry Clay. He acknowledged their political battles but spoke highly of his former colleague, whom he had always admired for bringing about the Compromise Tariff of 1833.[170] Prelude to the American Civil War Tyler, c. 1861 After John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry ignited fears of an abolitionist attempt to free the slaves or an actual slave rebellion, several Virginia communities organized militia units or reenergized existing ones. Tyler's community organized a cavalry troop and a home guard company; Tyler was chosen to command the home guard troops with the rank of captain.[171] On the eve of the Civil War, Tyler re-entered public life as presiding officer of the Washington Peace Conference held in Washington, D.C., in February 1861 as an effort to prevent the conflict from escalating. The convention sought a compromise to avoid civil war even as the Confederate Constitution was being drawn up at the Montgomery Convention. Despite his leadership role in the Peace Conference, Tyler opposed its final resolutions. He felt that they were written by the free state delegates, did not protect the rights of slave owners in the territories, and would do little to bring back the lower South and restore the Union. He voted against the conference's seven resolutions, which the conference sent to Congress for approval late in February 1861 as a proposed Constitutional amendment. On the same day, the Peace Conference started, local voters, elected Tyler to the Virginia Secession Convention. He presided over the opening session on February 13, 1861, while the Peace Conference was still underway. Tyler abandoned hope of compromise and saw secession as the only option, predicting that a clean split of all Southern states would not result in war.[172] In mid-March he spoke against the Peace Conference resolutions, and on April 4 he voted for secession even when the convention rejected it. On April 17, after the attack on Fort Sumter and Lincoln's call for troops, Tyler voted with the new majority for secession. He headed a committee that negotiated the terms for Virginia's entry into the Confederate States of America and helped set the pay rate for military officers. On June 14, Tyler signed the Ordinance of Secession, and one week later the convention unanimously elected him to the Provisional Confederate Congress. Tyler was seated in the Confederate Congress on August 1, 1861, and he served until just before his death in 1862.[173] In November 1861, he was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives but he died of a stroke in his room at the Ballard Hotel in Richmond before the first session could open in February 1862.[169][174] Death A large obelisk in a graveyard, with a bust of Tyler, and a black cast iron cage partially visible behind it. An obelisk marks Tyler's grave at Hollywood Cemetery. Throughout his life, Tyler suffered from poor health. As he aged, he suffered more frequently from colds during the winter. On January 12, 1862, after complaining of chills and dizziness, he vomited and collapsed. Despite treatment, his health failed to improve, and he made plans to return to Sherwood Forest by the 18th. As he lay in bed the night before, he began suffocating, and Julia summoned his doctor. Just after midnight, Tyler took a sip of brandy, and told his doctor, "Doctor, I am going", to which the doctor replied, "I hope not, Sir."[175] Tyler then said, "Perhaps it is best."[175] Tyler died in Richmond shortly thereafter, most likely due to a stroke. He was 71.[176][165] Tyler's death was the only one in presidential history not to be officially recognized in Washington, because of his allegiance to the Confederate States of America. He had requested a simple burial, but Confederate President Jefferson Davis devised a grand, politically pointed funeral, painting Tyler as a hero to the new nation. Accordingly, at his funeral, the coffin of the tenth president of the United States was draped with a Confederate flag; he remains the only U.S. president ever laid to rest under a flag not of the United States.[177] Tyler had been more loyal to Virginia and his own principles than to the Union of which he had been president.[165] Tyler was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, near the gravesite of President James Monroe.[177] He has since been the namesake of several U.S. locations, including the city of Tyler, Texas, named for him because of his role in the annexation of Texas.[178] Historical reputation and legacy Main article: List of memorials to John Tyler Tyler's presidency has provoked highly divided responses among political commentators. It is generally held in low esteem by historians; Edward P. Crapol began his biography John Tyler, the Accidental President (2006) by noting: "Other biographers and historians have argued that John Tyler was a hapless and inept chief executive whose presidency was seriously flawed."[179] In The Republican Vision of John Tyler (2003), Dan Monroe observed that the Tyler presidency "is generally ranked as one of the least successful".[180] Seager wrote that Tyler "was neither a great president nor a great intellectual", adding that despite a few achievements, "his administration has been and must be counted an unsuccessful one by any modern measure of accomplishment".[1] A survey of historians conducted by C-SPAN in 2021 ranked Tyler as 39th of 44 men to hold the office.[181] In 2002, bucking the trend of historically poor evaluations of Tyler's presidency, historian Richard P. McCormick said "[contrary] to accepted opinion, John Tyler was a strong President. He established the precedent that the vice president, on succeeding to the presidential office, should be president. He had firm ideas on public policy, and he was disposed to use the full authority of his office." McCormick said that Tyler "conducted his administration with considerable dignity and effectiveness."[182] Historical ten-cent stamp with Tyler's profile Tyler on a U.S. postage stamp, Issue of 1938 Tyler's assumption of complete presidential powers "set a hugely important precedent", according to a biographical sketch by the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs.[1] Tyler's successful insistence that he was president, and not a caretaker or acting president, was a model for the succession of seven other vice presidents (Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Arthur, Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson) to the presidency over the 19th and 20th centuries upon the death of the president. The propriety of Tyler's action in assuming both the title of the presidency and its full powers was legally affirmed in 1967, when it was codified in the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[183] Some scholars in recent years have praised Tyler's foreign policy. Monroe credits him with "achievements like the Webster–Ashburton treaty which heralded the prospect of improved relations with Great Britain, and the annexation of Texas, which added millions of acres to the national domain". Crapol argued that Tyler "was a stronger and more effective president than generally remembered", while Seager wrote, "I find him to be a courageous, principled man, a fair and honest fighter for his beliefs. He was a president without a party."[1] Author Ivan Eland, in an update of his 2008 book Recarving Rushmore, rated all 44 US presidents by the criteria of peace, prosperity, and liberty; with the finished ratings, John Tyler was ranked the best president of all time.[184] In a History Today article, Louis Kleber wrote that Tyler brought integrity to the White House at a time when many in politics lacked it, and refused to compromise his principles to avoid the anger of his opponents.[169] Crapol argues that Tyler's allegiance to the Confederacy overshadows much of the good he did as president: "Tyler's historical reputation has yet to fully recover from that tragic decision to betray his loyalty and commitment to what he had once defined as 'the first great American interest'—the preservation of the Union."[185] In her book on Tyler's presidency, Norma Lois Peterson suggests that Tyler's general lack of success as president was due to external factors that would have affected whoever was in the White House. Chief among them was Henry Clay, who brooked no opposition to his grand economic vision for America. In the aftermath of Jackson's determined use of the powers of the executive branch, the Whigs wanted the president to be dominated by Congress, and Clay treated Tyler as a subordinate. Tyler resented this, leading to the conflict between the branches that dominated his presidency.[186] Pointing to Tyler's advances in foreign policy, she deemed Tyler's presidency "flawed ... but ... not a failure".[187] While academics have both praised and criticized Tyler, the general American public has little awareness of him. Several writers have portrayed Tyler as among the nation's most obscure presidents. As Seager remarked: "His countrymen generally remember him, if they have heard of him at all, as the rhyming end of a catchy campaign slogan."[1] Family, personal life, slavery Portrait of Letitia Christian Tyler An oil portrait of Tyler's first wife, Letitia Christian Tyler, by an unknown artist Tyler fathered more children than any other American president.[188] His first wife was Letitia Christian (November 12, 1790 – September 10, 1842), with whom he had eight children: Mary (1815–1847), Robert (1816–1877), John (1819–1896), Letitia (1821–1907), Elizabeth (1823–1850), Anne (1825–1825), Alice (1827–1854) and Tazewell (1830–1874).[189] Portrait of Julia Gardiner Tyler An oil portrait of Tyler's second wife, Julia Gardiner Tyler, by Francesco Anelli Letitia died of a stroke in the White House in September 1842. On June 26, 1844, Tyler married Julia Gardiner (July 23, 1820 – July 10, 1889), with whom he had seven children: David (1846–1927), John Alexander (1848–1883), Julia (1849–1871), Lachlan (1851–1902), Lyon (1853–1935), Robert Fitzwalter (1856–1927) and Margaret Pearl (1860–1947).[190] Although Tyler's family was dear to him, during his political rise he was often away from home for extended periods. When he chose not to seek reelection to the House of Representatives in 1821 because of illness, he wrote that he would soon be called upon to educate his growing family. It was difficult to practice law while away in Washington for part of the year and his plantation was more profitable when Tyler was available to manage it himself.[191] By the time he entered the Senate in 1827, he had resigned himself to spending part of the year away from his family. Still, he sought to remain close to his children through letters.[192] Tyler was a slaveholder, at one point keeping 40 slaves at Greenway.[193] Although he regarded slavery as an evil, and did not attempt to justify it, he never freed any of his slaves. Tyler considered slavery a part of states' rights, and therefore the federal government lacked the authority to abolish it. The living conditions of his slaves are not well documented, but historians surmise that he cared for their well-being and abstained from physical violence against them.[193] In December 1841, Tyler was attacked by the abolitionist publisher Joshua Leavitt, with the unsubstantiated allegation that Tyler had fathered several sons with his slaves, and later sold them. A number of black families today maintain a belief in their descent from Tyler, but there is no evidence of such genealogy.[194] Tyler's wealth exceeded $50 million (2020 peak value), but he became indebted during the Civil War and died much poorer.[195] As of December 2021, Tyler has one living grandson through his son Lyon Gardiner Tyler, making him the earliest former president with a living grandchild. Harrison Ruffin Tyler was born in 1928 and maintains the family home, Sherwood Forest Plantation, in Charles City County, Virginia.[196][197][198] [New Trading View Logo](