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John Tyler: United States
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Tyler advocated annexation of Texas to the Union. Whigs opposed this expansion because it would upset the balance between North and South and risked war with Mexico. However the Whigs lost the 1844 election to James K. Polk, who favored annexation. When the Senate blocked a treaty (which needed a 2/3 vote), Tyler pushed Congress to annex Texas through an adopted joint resolution. The tactic worked and it passed the House 132-72 and the Senate 27-25. The Missouri Compromise helped to promise security to the west of the United States with the line of 36°30'N.
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During the War of 1812, Tyler enlisted in the militia as a Captain. His unit... saw no combat. From 1816- 1821, Tyler, who was elected on a states' rights platform, served in the House of Representatives. In January of 1821, after consistently finding himself in the minority on most issues, he resigned. From 1823-1825, he was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and from 1825-27 was Governor of Virginia. For the next nine years, Tyler served in the US Senate.
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After leaving the White House, Mr. Tyler took up his residence on an estate that he had purchased three miles from Greenway, on the bank of James river. To this estate he gave the name of "Sherwood Forest," and there he lived the rest of his life. In a letter published in the Richmond " Enquirer" on 17 January, 1861, he recommended a convention of border states--including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, as well as Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri--for the purpose of devising some method of adjusting the difficulties brought on by the secession of South Carolina. The scheme adopted by this convention was to be submitted to the other states, and, if adopted, was to be incorporated into the Federal constitution. In acting upon Mr. Tyler's suggestion, the Virginia legislature enlarged it into a proposal of a peace convention to be composed of delegates from all the states. At the same time Mr. Tyler was appointed a commissioner to President Buchanan, while Judge John Robertson was appointed commissioner to the state of South Carolina, the object being to persuade both parties to abstain from any acts of hostility until the proposed peace convention should have had an opportunity to meet and discuss the situation. In discharge of this mission Mr. Tyler arrived on 23 January in Washington.
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After that, Tyler worked more closely with the Southern Democrats. With their aid, he was able to accomplish much in the field of foreign policy. In 1842 he and Secretary of State Daniel Webster negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty with Britain, which settled the boundary between Maine and Canada. More important, in 1845, Tyler brought about the annexation of Texas to the United States. He considered this his most important contribution. It made up for all the defeats and disappointments he suffered in the presidency.
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Throughout his career Tyler displayed a political independence and a commitment to state rights. He became a member of the House of Representatives and served from 1816 to 1821. While in the House, Tyler voted against most nationalist legislation and opposed the Missouri Compromise. Tyler consistently opposed the Bank of the United States with state branches throughout the tenure of his career. This he saw as a federal infringement of the constitutional rights of the states. Tyler served five years in the state legislature.
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Tyler had long been an advocate of states' rights, believing that the question of a state's "free" or "slave" status ought to be decided at the state level, with no input from federal government. He was a slaveholder for his entire life. He re-entered public life to sponsor and chair the Virginia Peace Convention in February 1861. The convention sought a compromise to avoid civil war while the Confederate Constitution was being drawn up at the Montgomery Convention. When the Senate rejected his plan, Tyler urged Virginia's immediate secession.
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