TYLER, JomsN (1790-18(i2). The tenth President of the United States. He was born at Greenway, in Charles City County, Virginia, March 20, 1790. Ile was the son of Judge John Tyler, who was Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, Governor of Virginia, and at different times a judge of the State and Federal courts. The son graduated at William and Mary College in 1807; was admitted to the bar in 1809; and became a member of the Legislature in 181I, where he acted with the Republicans and sup ported the war with Great Britain. He was con tinuously elected to the Legislature five times in succession until 1816, when he was chosen to Congress. In the House of Representatives, during the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Congresses, he acted with the States-Rights Republicans, con demned General Jackson's course in Florida, and opposed the United States Bank and the Missouri Compromise. In 1825 lie was elected Governor of Virginia by the Legislature, and was unanimous ly reelected the following year. At the close of his second term as Governor he was elected over John Randolph to the United States Senate. in which he opposed the tariff measures of 1828 and 1832, opposed nullification, but condemned Jack son's nullification proclamation, although lie sup ported Jackson for the Presidency in 1832 and stood alone among the Senators in voting against the 'Force Bill' of 1833. Ile was reelected to the Senate for a second term, and in 1834 made a re port censuring President Jackson for removing the deposits from the United States Bank, and voted for Clay's resolution of censure against the President. Having subsequently been instructed by the Legislature of Virginia to vote for the ex punging of the resolution of censure, he refused to obey the instructions, and in February. 1836, resigned his seat and retired to private life. Tyler was one of the leading members of the new Whig Party, and was one of the unsuecessful camli dates for the Vice-Presidency in 1836. In 1840
lie was elected Vice-President on the Whig ticket with General W. H. Harrison (q.v.). President Harrison died April 4, 1341, one month after his inauguration, and was succeeded by Tyler, who completely broke with the party that had elected him. lie vetoed the bill to recharter the Bank of the United States. and when it was modified partly in accordance with his suggestions and re passed lie vetoed it again. The bill to revise the tariff met a similar fate. Thereupon. on Sep tember I841, all the members of the Cabinet except Webster, who was then engaged in negoti ations with Great Britain concerning the boun dary between the United States and Canada. re. signed, and a year later Webster followed. Short ly thereafter some of the leading Whigs issued a public address declaring that "all political con nection with them and John Tyler was at an end from that day henceforth." The chief events of Tyler's administration were the conclusion of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (q.v.) with Great Britain and the annexation of Texas. At the close of his term Tyler retired to his estate in Charles City County, Va., where he remained un til 1861, when he was called out to preside the Peace Convention at Washington. Failing in his efforts at compromise. he gave his adhesion to the Confederate cause, voted for secession in the Virginia convention, served in the Confed erate Provisional Congress, and was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives, but died at Richmond, January 18, 1862, before he could take his seat. For his biography and that of his father, consult : The Letters and Times of the Tylers (Richmond. 1884-85), written by his son, Lyon G. Tyler. For a more detailed account of the events of his administration, see the section on History in the article UNITED STATES.