Potus Geeks Book Review: President Without a Party - The Life of John Tyler by Christopher J. Leahy
In an era of cancel culture, the debate goes on among historians of how, in the present day, we judge the past lives of those who led the nation during the time when slavery was not only tolerated, but staunchly defended to a point where it would ultimately lead to civil war. Today the immorality of kidnapping human beings from other nations, placing them in bondage for servitude under penalty of torture and justifying this based on skin color, is something that no right thinking person would consider or could possibly defend. In John Tyler's time, this practice was not only tolerated, but viewed by many as a constitutional right. Christopher Leahy is one of many historians seeking to understand how and why persons like the subject of his book President Without a Party - The Life of John Tyler was such a strong supporter of such a reprehensible practice. This is not the central theme of the book however, it is really a journey to discover who John Tyler Jr. really was.
Tyler presents as a very challenging and complicated study for the author. The persona of the first "accidental President" is full of contradictions and mysteries. John Tyler is at times principled and community-minded, at other times selfish and ego driven. Quite often it is virtually impossible to discern his motives, though the author makes a valiant effort to do so. Raised among the slaveholding gentry in the "old south" by a father who fought in the Revolutionary War and who was once a roommate of Thomas Jefferson, the future president acquired both his father's desire to be a community leader as well as the Jeffersonian principles handed down to him. But as the author makes clear, Tyler was someone whose political beliefs rested on shifting sands. A Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democrat, Tyler first admired and later broke with Old Hickory (Andrew Jackson) before a later reconciliation with the hero of the Battle of New Orleans. He left the Democrats to join the newly formed Whig Party, only to refuse to tow the party line as dictated to him by his nemesis Henry Clay, once in the White House.Tyler would ultimately be expelled by the Whigs, but never trusted by the Democrats, giving rise to the book's title. Even in the final acts of his life, Tyler would present first as someone wanting to preserve the Union before becoming a strong supporter of the Confederacy.
In spite of the handicap of being a President without the support of a political party, Leahy carefully examines how Tyler was still able to accomplish significant things, including an important treaty with Great Britain and the ultimate annexation of Texas. Tyler even believed that he had a shot at being elected president with the support of a newly formed third party, and the author described why Tyler thought this possible, and why it would never happen.
Even in his personal life, Tyler was full of contradiction. Leahy describes how Tyler was an absentee father to his first family, leaving his first with Letitia to be a political widow for much of her life. Later, after Letitia's death, Tyler would court and woo the much younger Julia Gardner, thirty years her senior, and would become more active in the lives of his second batch of children, at a time when advancing age and health challenges made this difficult for him. (Tyler holds the record among Presidents for having fathered the most children, 8 with his first wife and 7 with his second, not including rumors of his fathering children with enslaved women.)
Throughout the book, Leahy uses his best efforts to understand his subject, while acknowledging how difficult this can be. He does not place his subject on a pedestal nor is the book a castigation of its subject. He takes Tyler as he finds him, defending Tyler when he is being unfairly treated, and calling him out when Tyler deserves it. In this respect Leahy deserves high marks for his fair treatment of his subject. At times the author goes into an overly detailed description of some of the less exciting aspects of Tyler's life, such as his vetoes of the Whigs' bank bills. At other times, subjects which might have garnered more attention are reduced to a few paragraphs, such as the famed "Princeton" incident (when an explosion on board the ship killed Julia Gardner's father as well as two members of Tyler's cabinet, among others.) The book can be slow reading at times, but this is due to the author's fairness in presenting all of the facts about his subject in order to allow the reader to reach conclusions that are not skewed by drama produced by selectivity in presenting the facts.
In the final analysis, John Tyler remains a riddle in many ways, despite the author's best efforts to examine Tyler's motives. Tyler was a product of his times. He supported slavery over union likely because that's how he was raised. His intellectual struggles appear to have been rooted in ego as much as in principle. Even with the author's laborious effort to understand John Tyler better, his legacy leaves the 10th President as difficult to understand as ever. Leahy doesn't try to explain or defend his subject. He does a superb job of simply laying out the facts and allowing readers to reach their own conclusions about who John Tyler was and why he was a president without a party.
Tyler presents as a very challenging and complicated study for the author. The persona of the first "accidental President" is full of contradictions and mysteries. John Tyler is at times principled and community-minded, at other times selfish and ego driven. Quite often it is virtually impossible to discern his motives, though the author makes a valiant effort to do so. Raised among the slaveholding gentry in the "old south" by a father who fought in the Revolutionary War and who was once a roommate of Thomas Jefferson, the future president acquired both his father's desire to be a community leader as well as the Jeffersonian principles handed down to him. But as the author makes clear, Tyler was someone whose political beliefs rested on shifting sands. A Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democrat, Tyler first admired and later broke with Old Hickory (Andrew Jackson) before a later reconciliation with the hero of the Battle of New Orleans. He left the Democrats to join the newly formed Whig Party, only to refuse to tow the party line as dictated to him by his nemesis Henry Clay, once in the White House.Tyler would ultimately be expelled by the Whigs, but never trusted by the Democrats, giving rise to the book's title. Even in the final acts of his life, Tyler would present first as someone wanting to preserve the Union before becoming a strong supporter of the Confederacy.
In spite of the handicap of being a President without the support of a political party, Leahy carefully examines how Tyler was still able to accomplish significant things, including an important treaty with Great Britain and the ultimate annexation of Texas. Tyler even believed that he had a shot at being elected president with the support of a newly formed third party, and the author described why Tyler thought this possible, and why it would never happen.
Even in his personal life, Tyler was full of contradiction. Leahy describes how Tyler was an absentee father to his first family, leaving his first with Letitia to be a political widow for much of her life. Later, after Letitia's death, Tyler would court and woo the much younger Julia Gardner, thirty years her senior, and would become more active in the lives of his second batch of children, at a time when advancing age and health challenges made this difficult for him. (Tyler holds the record among Presidents for having fathered the most children, 8 with his first wife and 7 with his second, not including rumors of his fathering children with enslaved women.)
Throughout the book, Leahy uses his best efforts to understand his subject, while acknowledging how difficult this can be. He does not place his subject on a pedestal nor is the book a castigation of its subject. He takes Tyler as he finds him, defending Tyler when he is being unfairly treated, and calling him out when Tyler deserves it. In this respect Leahy deserves high marks for his fair treatment of his subject. At times the author goes into an overly detailed description of some of the less exciting aspects of Tyler's life, such as his vetoes of the Whigs' bank bills. At other times, subjects which might have garnered more attention are reduced to a few paragraphs, such as the famed "Princeton" incident (when an explosion on board the ship killed Julia Gardner's father as well as two members of Tyler's cabinet, among others.) The book can be slow reading at times, but this is due to the author's fairness in presenting all of the facts about his subject in order to allow the reader to reach conclusions that are not skewed by drama produced by selectivity in presenting the facts.
In the final analysis, John Tyler remains a riddle in many ways, despite the author's best efforts to examine Tyler's motives. Tyler was a product of his times. He supported slavery over union likely because that's how he was raised. His intellectual struggles appear to have been rooted in ego as much as in principle. Even with the author's laborious effort to understand John Tyler better, his legacy leaves the 10th President as difficult to understand as ever. Leahy doesn't try to explain or defend his subject. He does a superb job of simply laying out the facts and allowing readers to reach their own conclusions about who John Tyler was and why he was a president without a party.