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DEAD
VICE PRESIDENTS |
1789 to Pre-Civil War
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William
R. King |
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Richard
M. Johnson |
John
C. Breckinridge |
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John Adams
Federalist Served:
April 30, 1789 to March 3, 1797
It was Adam's drive and perseverance, aided by bull-headed
stubbornness, which pushed through the idea of independence. However, this is
often overlooked. Adams never thought he would be remembered, though it is
not known if he actually believed that or not. All my
not be hopeless, I have heard they are planning a memorial for John Adams,
and his son John Quincy, to be built in Washington D.C. Let us hope so.
You go down a narrow stone staircase to the right of the main
entrance. This brings you into a narrow corridor which runs the width of the
church. As you walk down the corridor, there is an entrance on the left that
leads you into the room. There is a marble plaque outside of the entrance put
up by the Daughters of the American Revolution. There are four granite
sarcophaguses lined up side by side. On the far left is John Adams. Next to
him is his wife Abigail. His son, John Quincy is next and at the far right is
his wife Louisa. Both presidents had flags draped over their tombs. Adams
flag has only 15 stars in it, just like when he was president.
Adams spent two terms as Washington's vice-president. A
Federalist, he became president by narrowly beating out Thomas Jefferson. By
a strange quirk in our electoral system, Jefferson became his vice-president.
Adams did not enjoy the success that Washington had. This is because there
was only one Washington. He tried to stay above, or at least between, Thomas
Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Adams did gain some popularity during the
XYZ Affair, but lost it when he supported the Alien and Sedition Acts. One of
things about Adams that struck me the most is how much he loved his wife
Abigail. When he was in Congress in Philadelphia, they wrote to each other
constantly.
Adams ran for re-election in 1800, but lost to Jefferson.
The friendship between the two became severely strained. He was however, the
first president to live in the White House when it was finished in 1800, if
for only four months. He was so upset at losing he refused to be part of the
Inaugural ceremonies on March 4, but instead left for home. Adams was one of
only three presidents not to attend the inauguration of his successor. He
would live for another 25 years on his farm in Quincy. He rekindled his
friendship with Jefferson through letters. Adams was in his 90's when the
50th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was
approaching. He, along with Jefferson and Charles Carroll, were the only
signers still living. He was invited to join in the celebrations, but since
he wasn't feeling well, he declined. On the 50th Anniversary, July 4th, 1826,
Adams lay dying in bed. Late in the afternoon, his last words before he died
were "Jefferson still survives". This wasn't true, Jefferson died
earlier in the afternoon. Until very recently, Adams lived longer than any
other president (Ronald Reagan just passed him by).
The next time we were in the Boston area, visited the John
Adams' House. It was very interesting. If anyone is interested in reading an
excellent biography on John Adams, pick up David McCullough's book; John
Adams.
Adams
National Historical Park |
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Thomas Jefferson
Democratic-Republican Served:
March 4, 1789 to March 3, 1797
Not to waste a day sitting in our hotel room while the
hurricane raged outside, we decided to drive inland to Monticello. We took
I64 through Richmond to Charlottesville. It took us a little over two hours.
Keep in mind, we were driving out of the hurricane. Charlottesville is a very
pleasant city. We walked around the pedestrian mall and had lunch in an
outdoor cafe. After lunch, we drove out of the city toward Monticello. We
first stopped in the Visitor Center for some background information and
souvenirs. Then we drove up the mountain toward his home. We parked in the
lot and walked the rest of the way. There was a wait in line to get in.
His home is phenomenal. Jefferson was a very inventive man
with everything he did. His home is proof of it. You enter through the main
door into the Entrance Hall where there is a large clock that he designed.
You move from room to room, from his library to a greenhouse to his office to
his bedroom. The most interesting thing here is that his bed is in the wall
between his office and his bedroom. So when he wakes up he can go into either
room. The back of the house has the parlor, which opens up into the back
porch. You continue through the dining room and tea room.
HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA BORN APRIL 2, 1743 O.S. DIED JULY 4. 1826
Jefferson was born in 1743, the third of ten children, at
the family home in Shadwell in Goochland County (now part of Albemarle
County), during the reign of King George II. His father Peter Jefferson was a
successful planter and surveyor and his mother Jane Randolph a member of one
of Virginia's most distinguished families. At age 16, he entered the College
of William & Mary in Williamsburg and met the law professor George Wythe
who became his influential mentor. He graduated in 1762, completing his
studies in only two years. He then worked as a law clerk for Wythe in
Williamsburg. During these years in Williamsburg, Jefferson read the writing
of people like John Locke. Beside practicing law,
Jefferson represented Albemarle County in the Virginia House of Burgesses
beginning from 1769 to June of 1775. Following the passage of the Intolerable
Acts by the British Parliament in 1774, Jefferson wrote a set of resolutions
against the acts. These were later expanded into A Summary View of the Rights of British America, in which he
expressed his belief that people had the right to govern themselves.
Having inherited a considerable amount of land from his father,
Jefferson began building Monticello when he was twenty-six years old. Three
years later on News Year Day in 1772, he married 23-year-old widow Martha
Wayles Skelton, with whom he lived happily for ten years until her death.
Jefferson played the violin and Martha was an accomplished piano player.
Their marriage produced six children, but only two (Martha and Mary) survived
to adulthood.
Jefferson’s views on the institution of slavery and African slaves are
complex. He opposed slavery yet was an owner of slaves. He inherited slaves
from both his father and father-in-law. In a typical year, he owned about
200, almost half of them under the age of sixteen. About eighty of these
lived at Monticello; the others lived on other land he owned. Jefferson freed
two slaves in his lifetime and five in his will and chose not to pursue two
others who ran away. All were members of the Hemings family; the seven he
eventually freed were skilled tradesmen. He always claimed he wanted to free
his slaves but his personal debts prevented it.
Jefferson left the Congress after this and returned to Virginia. In
1779, he was elected governor of Virginia and led the state through the
Revolution. As governor, he moved the state capital from Williamsburg to
Richmond to keep it further from the British Army. In 1781, during British
general Charles Cornwallis march north towards Virginia, a cavalry force led
by Banastre Tarleton almost captured Governor Jefferson at Monticello.
Jefferson, warned at the last minute, managed to escape west. He suffered an
inquiry into his conduct during this last year in office that, although
finally fully repudiated, left him with a life-long adverse reaction in the
face of criticism.
On September 6, 1782, his wife Martha, who may have suffered from
diabetes, died. Jefferson took her death very hard. He did not remarry and
remained a widower for the rest of his life. Later, when Jefferson was
serving in Paris, it is reported that he began a relationship with one of his
female slaves, Sally Hemings (Jefferson’s father-in-law John Wayles was also
Sally’s father making her Martha’s half-sister.) DNA testing have confirmed that Jefferson was the father of Sally’s
children.
In 1783, a new United States Constitution created a new government.
George Washington, hero of the Revolution, became the first president.
Washington asked Jefferson to be his Secretary of State and a member of his
four-man cabinet. Jefferson had a vision for the country that was
pro-agrarian and against banks and monetary interest. This ran contrary to
Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton plan for the country. Jefferson
and Hamilton’s different visions became the basis for a two-party political
system. Jefferson and his followers became known as Democratic-Republicans
who opposed Hamilton and his Federalist supporters. The two fought over
almost every major issue that occurred during Washington’s Administration.
The biggest division came over who the country should support in the war
between Great Britain and France. Jefferson, who supported the French
Revolution, as an extension of the American one, wanted the country to
support France who had supported America during the Revolution. Washington
and Hamilton were more pragmatic and saw the problems the British Navy could
have on American shipping
After Washington decided not to run for a third term in 1796, the
country faced its first contested presidential election. Washington’s vice
president and Federalist supporter John Adams ran for president. Jefferson
decided to oppose him. At the time, presidential elections were decided in
the electoral college not by popular vote. Jefferson, who had the support of
most of the southern states, lost a close election to Adams (71 to 68
electoral votes). Technically, since Jefferson came in second, he became vice
president (the Constitution would be changed so this didn’t happen again.)
Hamilton remained as Secretary of the Treasury so the political feud between
Hamilton and Jefferson continued. Adams, who was opposed by Jefferson and
disliked by Hamilton, was caught in the middle. When the Federalist
controlled Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Act in 1797, Jefferson and
his friend James Madison wrote the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
advocating the concept of nullification – that is a state nullifying and
federal law they thought was unconstitutional.
In 1800, Jefferson again ran against Adams. Again he was supported
with the southern states, whose electoral votes were enhanced due to their
slave population due to the Three-Fifths Compromise in the Constitution, and
defeated Adams 73 to 65 electoral votes. Despite defeating Adams, he had to
endure another election since Aaron Burr, who was the Democratic-Republican
choice for vice president ended with 73 electoral votes also. This sent the
election into the House of Representatives where Jefferson ultimately
prevailed – ironically with the help of Hamilton.
In 1804, Jefferson successfully ran for re-election against Federalist
Charles C. Pinckney carrying 15 of the 17 states. Jefferson would suffer what
historians would call second-term let-down – which would plague future
presidents. Jefferson encouraged passage of the Embargo Act in 1807 to
maintain American neutrality in the Napoleonic Wars. It caused major economic
problems in the country and in the end did not avoid war as the country would
eventually be involved in the War of 1812. The Embargo made Jefferson very
unpopular and he was happy when his term came to an end in 1809 and he could
return to Monticello. Before leaving, he helped his friend James Madison
secede him as president.
Jefferson spent the last seventeen years of his life at Monticello.
Despite being a genius with words, architecture, engineering, botany, etc.,
he was not good financially. He went into debt a number of times. Jefferson
even had to sell his personal book collection to the Library of Congress (to
replace the books that were destroyed when the British burned the Capitol
Building during the War of 1812.) Jefferson embarked on his last great public
service at the age of 76, with the founding of the University of Virginia. He
spearheaded the legislative campaign for its charter, secured its location,
designed its buildings, planned its curriculum, and served as the first
rector. In his last years, he renewed his friendship with John Adams,
exchanging letters. In July of 1825 his health started to deteriorate. He suffered from a combination of various illnesses and conditions probably including toxemia, uremia and pneumonia. As the 50th Anniversary of the approval of the Declaration of Independence approached, it was hoped that he would be able to attend the celebrations in Washington D.C. Jefferson, along with Adams and Charles Carroll, were the only signers still living. Jefferson was 83 years old and not feeling well and was forced to decline the invitation. He was determined to hang on until the 4th of July. At a little before one in the afternoon, on July 4, 1826, he died in his bedroom at Monticello. John Adams would follow him six hours later. Jefferson's funeral was held July 5 and was a simple and quiet affair, by his own request. No invitations were sent, but some friends and visitors came to the ceremony and burial. He is buried on the grounds of Monticello next to his wife, Martha. Jefferson has been portrayed in a number of movies. Ken Howard portrayed him in one of my favorite, if somewhat inaccurate, movies 1776. Among his other portrayals are; Montaguu Love (Alexander Hamilton in 1931), Nick Nolte (Jefferson in Paris in 1995), Sam Neill (Sally Hemings: An American Scandal in 2000), Sam Waterson (Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery in 1997 and Thomas Jefferson in 1997) and Stephen Dillane (the 2008 HBO mini-series “John Adams”). He even has appeared in episodes of South Park and The Simpsons. We returned to Monticello in August of 2003. My wife Debbie, our nephew Damian and I spent a weekend in Lexington, Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley. On our way home, we stopped at Monticello and toured the mansion again. This was Damian's first time here. After visiting with Tom at the cemetery, we drove on to Montpelier and visited James Madison. We also visited the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. back in 1996. Monticello |
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Aaron Burr
Democratic-Republican Served:
March 4, 1801 to March 4, 1805
Aaron Burr was one of the most maligned and mistrusted public figures of his era and, without question, the most controversial vice president in our history. His father was a Presbyterian pastor and president of Princeton College, but died before Burr was two years old. His mother died shortly after that. He was an orphan at age two. Burr graduated from Princeton in 1772 wanting to be a lawyer. The Revolutionary War would interrupt this. Burr joined the army and fought outside Quebec in 1775 and was commended on his bravery. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, but somehow was not liked by General Washington.
In the Election of 1800, Burr was the vice president on the Democratic-Republican's ticket, headed by Thomas Jefferson. Their opponent was incumbent president John Adams. The election was especially ugly as both sides looked to discredit the other. However, it was after the election that the real fun began. Elections were different in 1800 than they are Today. The Electors would cast two ballots, the man with the most votes would be president and the second with be vice president. Before voting, one Elector was to cast his ballot for someone beside the chosen vice president so he would come in second. Somehow, the Democratic-Republicans did not select anyone to cast this vote. Consequently, Jefferson and Burr tied for the most electoral votes with 73 each. Since Burr was his party’s selection for vice president, he should have stepped aside. According to the Constitution, if the election is tied, it goes to the House of Representatives with each state getting one vote. The representatives from each state would poll their delegations to determine how their state would vote. Federalist in the House of Representatives hoped to disrupt Jefferson's victory by voting for Burr. Hamilton, not thinking very highly of Burr, supported Jefferson (another man who he disliked). Needing a majority of the 16 sates, it would take 36 ballots in over a week before Jefferson won the election. After this, he would not be trusted by Jefferson or the Democratic Republicans. Not surprisingly, Burr was not re-nominated by his party in the Election of 1804. So he decided to run for New York Governor. He lost badly. He blamed Hamilton, who referred to Burr as, "a dangerous man, and who ought not to be trusted." Burr, who was still vice president, challenged Hamilton to a duel. On July 11, 1804 on a cliff in Weehawken, New Jersey, Burr mortally wounded Hamilton. Even though it was illegal, dueling was socially accepted. However, Burr was heavily criticized for it. He was indicted for murder in New York and New Jersey but never stood trial for it. Burr returned to Washington D.C. to continue to preside of the Senate. He left the vice presidency in 1805, heavily in debt. Burr entered in a strange plot with Louisiana Governor James Wilkinson. Burr was going to lead an attack against Mexico hoping to get many Western States to leave the Union and make a southeastern confederacy under his leadership. Before it began, Wilkinson betrayed Burr, who was arrested on the charge of treason. He was tried for treason in Richmond, Virginia in 1807. Chief Justice John Marshall presided over the trial and was responsible for Burr's acquittal. After the trial, Burr left for Europe.
Burr returned to New York five years later. In 1813, his
daughter, Theodosia, was lost at sea. Burr never overcame the loss of his
beloved daughter. He remarried in 1833 to a wealthy widow, but she soon found
out he was squandering her money and sued for divorce. Burr was incapacitated
by a series of strokes, eventually dying on Staten Island. Burr was buried
with full military honors. British actor Holmes Herbert portrayed Aaron Burr in the 1937 film The Man Without a Country (the film has actor John Litel’s character planing on joining Burr during the supposed treason.) |
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George Clinton Democratic-Republican
When Clinton took office in 1805,
he was replacing Aaron Burr (who was 17 years younger than him), Jefferson's
first vice president, whose perceived disloyalty had almost cost Jefferson
the presidency. Strangely enough, Clinton was an Anti federalist who opposed
the ratification of the Constitution, especially the establishment of the
Office of the Vice President. He became the first of two vice presidents to
serve two different presidents (the other being Calhoun) and Being born in upstate New York, Clinton fought in the French and Indian War in 1757 at the age of 18. After the war, he became a lawyer and entered politics. He married Cornelia Tappan, who was related to the Livingston's (one of the richest families in New York). He became a patriot in the years before the American Revolution. He was elected to the Second Continental Congress. He disliked it, and he soon resigned to accept an appointment as a brigadier general in the New York militia. He was elected the First Governor of New York in 1777, but was shortly back on the battlefield when he led forces to stop British General Clinton for marching north to help General Burgoyne (who ultimately surrendered at the Battle of Saratoga). He continued to serve as Governor of New York until 1795. He served again from 1801 to 1804. His 21 years as governor make him the longest serving chief executive in New York State's history. He was an Anti-Federalist who opposed the Constitution, but he realized that its ratification was inevitable. When the new government was established in 1787, Clinton wanted to be the first vice president. These early elections are different than Today. There were no presidential tickets. Presidential Electors simply voted for someone to be president and someone to be vice president. Federalist, like Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, were horrified that an Anti-Federalist might be the vice president. They successfully pushed for John Adams who received 34 of the 69 votes (Clinton received 3 votes). Clinton tried again in 1792, and his chances were better. Hamilton and Madison were not happy with the abrasive John Adams as vice president and wanted someone new. Adams received 77 electoral votes, but Clinton did well, coming in second with 50 votes. Clinton, suffering from poor health, retired as governor in 1795. He decided not to run as Jefferson's vice president in 1796 (they changed the format in 1796). Jefferson lost the election, but since he had the second highest amount of votes, he became vice president. Clinton and Jefferson did not get along. Clinton ran again for Governor of New York in 1801, fearing that Aaron Burr (who he once made Attorney General but since grew to distrust him), would resign the vice presidency and run for governor. He won easily. Even though he was governor, his nephew, De Witt Clinton, was the real power in New York. In the Election of 1804, the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans dumped their disloyal vice president Aaron Burr in favor of Clinton. Thomas Jefferson supported him mostly because at age 65 he would be too old to run against his chosen successor, James Madison, in the Election of 1808. Clinton, however, had other plans. New York Democratic Republicans were tired of Virginians dominating their party and saw this as a chance to get some control. They won the election, making Clinton the first Vice President to be elected as a "running mate" under the terms of the Twelfth Amendment, however President Jefferson ignored his vice president so as not to encourage his presidential ambitions. While in Washington D.C., Clinton kept to himself socially. As the Election of 1808 approached, support in the party was between Madison and Clinton. Madison was nominated by the Democratic Republicans, but to keep the support of New Yorkers, nominated Clinton as the vice president. Clinton was not thrilled at this prospect. In the Election of 1808, Clinton actually received 3 electoral votes for the presidency. In the end, he was elected Madison’s vice president. As President of the Senate, he was unable, due to poor health, to come to any sessions in 1811. He opened the 12th Congress at the end of 1811, but by March of 1812 was too ill to continue. He died a month later. He was the first person to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol building. |
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Elbridge Gerry Democratic-Republican
The son of a former British sea captain, Gerry graduated from Harvard College in 1758. After graduation, he returned home to Marblehead to join the families thriving mercantile and shipping business. He got interested in politics as the Colonies started to move toward independence. Gerry was elected to the Second Continental Congress in December 1775, serving until 1780 and again from 1783 to 1785. As a member, he signed the Declaration of Independence which he considered the greatest single act of his life.
Federalist in Massachusetts felt betrayed by Gerry and he was defeated in his bid to be governor. He was, however, elected to the House of Representatives for two terms. Tiring of the constant fighting between Hamiltonian Federalists and Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans, he retired from the House in 1793. At the age of 41, he married Ann Thompson. Ann Gerry's had ten children between 1787 and 1801, severely straining her health and causing Gerry to stay at home. President John Adams made Gerry an envoy to France where he became involved in the XYZ Affair. Disliked by Federalists, Gerry slowly moved into the Democratic Republican political party. In 1810, Gerry was elected Governor of Massachusetts. He was re-elected to a second term. It was during this term that Gerry approved a controversial redistricting plan designed to give Democratic Republicans an advantage of Federalists in the state senatorial elections. The Federalist newspapers responded to this plan with cartoon figures of a salamander-shape election district, called the "Gerrymander", adding to the American political lexicon a term that is still used Today whenever a political party in power changes a political district to gain a political advantage. In the Election of 1816, James Madison wanted a stable New Englander on his ticket to replace the dead George Clinton. Despite some misgivings over Gerry's age (he was 67 at the time), he ran and was elected with Madison. Strangely enough, he did very little to attach electors in Massachusetts, two voted for him and none voted for Madison. Gerry remained at home in Massachusetts on inauguration day, March 4, 1813, taking his oath of office there. He did go to Washington D.C. to preside over the Senate. He actively supported the War of 1812, despite the fact that most New Englanders did not. The war brought great divisions in Congress and caused Gerry's health to get worse. Gerry spent the summer of 1814 in Massachusetts. When he returned to Washington D.C., he found the capital had changed. The British troops had burned most of the city's public buildings, including the Capitol, and the Senate would meet in temporary quarters for the remainder of his term. Gerry defended the administration, but the pressure of the war was draining his health. He became seriously ill in late November 1814. On November 22, he retired early in the evening. The next morning he was complaining of chest pains. He died at his boardinghouse later that day. I added Gerry to my list on July 28, 2002 on a weekend trip to Manassas, Virginia with my wife Debbie and my nephew Damian. We had gone to the National Cathedral for 11 am Sunday service that morning and also visited President Woodrow Wilson. It was incredibly hot that day in Washington D.C., the temperature hovering at around 100 degrees. We also visited Governor Samuel Lewis Southard of New Jersey. Actor Tom Beckett portrayed Elbridge Gerry in the 2008 HBO mini-series “John Adams.” |
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Daniel D. Tompkins Democratic-Republican
Daniel D. Tompkins was one of eleven children of Jonathan
Griffin Tompkins and Sarah Ann Hyatt Tompkins, tenant farmers from a farm
near Scarsdale. During the American Revolution, Tomkin's father served in the
militia and after the war, he served as a delegate to the state legislature.
Tompkins graduated from Columbia University, first in his class, in 1795. He
became a lawyer and married Hannah Minthorne, the daughter of a
well-connected Democratic-Republican merchant. Tompkins' father-in-law was a
prominent member of the Tammany Society (also known as "Bucktails,"
after the distinctive plumes worn at official and ceremonial gatherings), a
political organization that would one day challenge the Clinton dynasty for
control of the New York Democratic-Republican party.
Tompkins' was in poor health, the result of a fall from
his horse in 1814. His health problems kept him for the most part at his home
in Staten Island instead of Washington D.C. presiding over the senate as was
the job of the vice president. Tompkins' health eventually improved enough to
permit his return to public life, but his financial affairs were in such a
chaotic state by 1817 that he found little time to attend the Senate. In his
haste to raise the huge sums required for New York's wartime defense, he had
failed to keep good records, commingling his money with state and federal
funds. Tompkins claimed he was owed money, setting the stage for a long and
bitter battle that continued through his first term as vice president.
Tompkins financial position grew worse as he couldn't pay off his debts.
Tompkins slid deeper into debt and began to drink heavily.
Tompkins managed to avoid the slavery question, despite being a
leader in the fight to abolish slavery in New York State, which would
certainly have alienated President Monroe, an important consideration since
Tompkins had every intention of remaining on the ticket as Monroe's running
mate in 1820.
Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan, once a salt marsh owned
by Peter Stuyvesant and later by Tompkins was drained and developed in 1834,
into a park named after the vice president. His college essays were collected
in A Columbia College Student in the Eighteenth Century (ed. by R. W.
Irwin and E. L. Jacobsen, 1940). |
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John C. Calhoun Democrat John
Quincy Adams's vice president and
Debbie and I went to Charleston in 2009 for a couple of days. I had some awesome shrimp and grits. We visited St. Philip’s again so I could get some better photos of Calhoun’s grave.
St. Philip's has a churchyard adjacent to three sides and another one across
the street. I have read that St. Philip's only allows people that were born
in the city of Charleston to buried next to the church. Since Calhoun was
not, he was buried across the street. His wife, who was born in Charleston,
was buried next to the church. I guess she took 'death do us part' literally. Calhoun is an interesting person whose life was full of contradictions. Considered among the three greatest senators from the first half of the 19th Century. He has been called one of the "Great Triumvirate" of Congressional leaders, along with his Congressional colleagues Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. He began his political career as a ‘War Hawk’ who supported nationalist policies like internal improvements and protective tariffs. Later, as he grew older, his views shifted to being an extreme sectionalist who believed in States’ Rights over Federal government. He is mostly known for his fierce dedication to the preservation of slavery. He was a staunch believer of liberty, except for slaves, above everything else, even the union of the country. Calhoun died 11 years before the start of the American Civil War, but he was an inspiration to the secessionists who pulled the country apart in 1860 and 61.
In 1810, at age 28, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he would display his brilliant intellectual and oratory skill that would make him famous. He joined the other young congressmen who wanted war with Great Britain. Called War Hawks, they pushed President James Madison into declaring war against their former enemy. The war did not go well for America as the British Navy blockaded American ports. In addition, invasions of Canada failed disastrously. The war would have been a total disasters if not for a number of naval victories. In 1814, the British Army captured Washington D.C. and burned the capitol building and the executive mansion (future White House). A stubborn defense outside Baltimore, especially at Fort McHenry, staved off complete disaster. The two sides concluded a peace treaty before Christmas – not before a collection of Americans, led by General Andrew Jackson, completely defeated a British force set on capturing New Orleans. Calhoun was upset about the handling of the war and was determined to make the United States stronger in the future. Calhoun aggressively pushed for protective tariffs (to build up industry), a national bank and internal improvements (such as roads and canals). President James Monroe appointed Calhoun to be Secretary of War, serving until 1825, during which time he set out to build up the army and navy. During that time, he supported the Missouri Compromise in 1820 even though other Southern politicians were opposed to it. Calhoun continued his role as a leading nationalist during the "Era of Good Feeling". Calhoun originally was a candidate for President of the United States in the election of 1824. After failing to win the endorsement of the South Carolina legislature, he decided to be a candidate for Vice President. At age 42 he felt there was time in the future to be president. Although no presidential candidate received a majority in the Electoral College and the election was ultimately resolved by the House of Representatives, the Electoral College elected Calhoun vice president by a landslide. Calhoun served four years under John Quincy Adams, but he was shocked at what he thought was a deal that Henry Clay and Adams allegedly made that has been dubbed “The Corrupt Bargain.” Despite being a member of the government, he did all he could to stop the nationalist programs of Adams and Clay. In 1828, Calhoun ran for reelection as the running mate of Andrew Jackson. With Jackson’s victory, he became one of two vice presidents to serve under two presidents. Despite both men being Southern slave owners, Jackson and Calhoun were constantly at odds. In the 1997 Steven Spielberg film Amistad, Calhoun was portrayed by actor Arliss Howard (known for playing Pvt. Cowboy in Full Metal Jacket). Actor Ted Osborne portrayed Calhoun in two 1939 short films; The Monroe Doctrine and Old Hickory. |
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Martin Van Buren
Federalist Served:
March 4, 1833 to March 4, 1837
"The Red Fox of Kinderhook", as he was called,
was the first president to born an American, the son of a Dutch tavern owner.
He was friendly, sociable and always well dressed. His wife, Hannah, died
when he was 37. Van Buren was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1921 and
immediately set about politicking. He supported Andrew Jackson in the
Election of 1828. When Jackson won, he named Van Buren his Secretary of
State. Van Buren and Jackson became very close. One person at the time said,
"when Jackson dances, it is Van Buren who plays the fiddle." In 1836, with Jackson's endorsement, Van Buren was
elected president defeating Whig candidate William Henry Harrison by an over
2-1 margin. Unfortunately for Van Buren, he paid the price for his
predecessor's financial policies. A financial panic became a depression which
doomed Van Buren's presidency. He did, however, create the Treasury
Department. He wasn't very good with humanitarian issues either. His
continuation of Jackson's Indian removal policy caused the death of thousands
of Indians (known as the Trail of Tears). When African slaves mutinied aboard
the ship Amistad, he ordered them returned into slavery. He was easily
defeated for re-election in 1840 by Harrison and he returned to Kinderhook. Considered Pro-Slavery while he was president, he
re-invented himself to join the "Free-Soil" Party and ran as their
presidential candidate in 1848. His comeback fell short as he received only
10% of the popular vote. Van Buren suffered from chronic asthma. He came down
with pneumonia in 1861 and was bedridden. On Thursday, July 24, 1862,
"The Little Magician" died of heart failure at Lindenwald.
His funeral from the Reformed Dutch Church of Kinderhook was the following
Monday. He was buried in a rosewood coffin next to his wife, Hannah. In the 1997 Steven Spielberg
film Amistad, Van Buren was
portrayed by British actor Nigel Hawthorne. In the film, John Quincy Adams is
portrayed by British actor Anthony Hopkins. So Spielberg had two American presidents
portrayed by two British actors. Lindenwald |
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John Tyler
Federalist Served:
March 3, 1841 to April 6, 1841
One month into his presidency, Harrison died. Tyler, who
was at home in Virginia didn't even know Harrison was sick. On Sunday
morning, in April of 1841, a messenger came to his home in Williamsburg,
Virginia to inform him that the president was dead. This started a major
controversy. He was the first vice president to become president. A southern
slave owner, he was not seen as being presidential enough. Also, no one
seemed to know if he was the president or the acting president. John Quincy
Adams referred to him as "His Accidency".
His own cabinet (actually it was Harrison's) told him that they had to approve
everything he did. Tyler stood up to them and everyone else feeling he was
the president, just as if he was elected. The cabinet backed down as did
everyone else and Tyler was sworn in as president three days later. As a Whig president, Tyler immediately got into trouble
with his own party when he started going against many of their plans. A
stubborn and uncompromising man, he was being called a traitor to the Whig
Party. Within six months, all but one of Tyler's cabinet members resigned in
protest. Prominent Whig politicians Henry Clay and Daniel Webster even
introduced Impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives (It went no where). Of course, at the end of his term, he was not
nominated for re-election. He left Washington D.C. for his plantation
"Sherwood Forest" (I haven't been there yet, but I plan to visit
it). In 1842, while he was president, his wife Letitia, who had already suffered a stroke, died. Tyler
was the first president to become a widower while in office. Within months,
he was remarried to Julia Gardiner, who was 30 years younger than him. This
marriage produced seven kids, to go along with the seven from his first wife.
Tyler was easily our most prolific president. Incidentally, it was his wife
Julia that started the tradition of playing "Hail to the Chief". After the White House, Tyler stayed involved in politics
in Virginia. In 1861, after Virginia seceded from the Union and joined the
Confederacy, he was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives. He
moved into a Richmond (the Confederate capitol) hotel in early January. On
January 12, after his wife joined him he became sick and collapsed in the
hotel dining room. The doctors diagnosed him as suffering from bronchitis and
a liver disorder. He planned to return to his Virginia plantation, but died
the night before. He never got the chance to serve in the Confederate
Congress. Tyler's body lay in state in the Confederate Congress draped with a Confederate flag. His funeral was in St. Paul's Episcopal Church and a large procession (around 150 carriages), which included Confederate President Jefferson Davis, escorted him to Hollywood Cemetery. Ironically, he was buried right next to President James Monroe who was a staunch Federalist. Considered a traitor by many in Washington D.C., his death was officially ignored. It wouldn't by until the 20th Century when an official marker was placed on his grave by Congress. Sherwood Forest |
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George Mifflin Dallas Democratic Born: July 10, 1792 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
George Mifflin Dallas was born in Philadelphia while it was the capital of the United States. He was the son of Alexander Dallas, a prosperous attorney who served as President Madison's Secretary of the Treasury. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1810 and became a lawyer. He worked as a private secretary to Albert Gallatin, the U.S. Minister to Russia. Dallas returned in 1814 and commenced the practice of law in New York City. After working for the United States Bank from 1815 to 1817, he returned to Philadelphia and was appointed deputy attorney general in 1817. In 1828, Dallas was elected the mayor of Philadelphia. He left the position six months later to be the United States district attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania. In 1831, he was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Isaac D. Barnard and served from December 13, 1831, to March 3, 1833, where he was chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs. He declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1832 and resumed his law practice. However, a year later he became attorney general of Pennsylvania. In 1837, Dallas was appointed by President Martin Van Buren as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia (this is what ambassadors were called back then, the title was changed to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in the 1890's and is still used today). He returned from St. Petersburg, Russia to the United States in 1839 at his own request. In the years following, he was engaged in a long struggle with James Buchannan for party leadership in Pennsylvania. In 1844, Dallas was chosen by the Democrats to be the vice-president on the ticket with Tennessee governor, James Knox Polk. They won easily over Whig candidates Henry Clay and Theodore Frelinghuysen, though the popular vote was close (only 38,000 votes separated the two tickets). Polk, the Manifest Destiny president declared war on Mexico shortly after the election. As vice-president, Dallas was very loyal to Polk. Though his struggle with Buchannan, who was Polk's secretary of state, continued. In 1846, Dallas cast the tie-breaking vote on low tariff legislation, voting for the bill which Polk supported but which was opposed by the majority of those in his own state. He was hated so much so that he was hung in effigy there and he had to move his family away for their own safety. He never again held political office in Pennsylvania.
Five presidents (John Adams, John Quincy Adams, James Monroe, Martin Van Buren and Buchannan) and two vice-presidents (Dallas & Charles Dawes) served as ambassadors to Great Britain, along with a president's father (John Kennedy) and two president's sons (John Q. Adams & Abraham Lincoln). Incidentally, many people think the City of Dallas was named after George Dallas. However, the Dallas city webpage says it most likely is not. Dallas County, which was named three years after the city, was named for George Dallas at the same time Polk County was named after James Polk. According to city records, Dallas had its name in 1843, before George Dallas was elected VP. This makes it somewhat unlikely they would have named the city after him. Some think it may have been named after George Dallas' brother Commodore Alexander James Dallas, who was stationed in the Gulf of Mexico and was the U. S. Treasury Secretary around the end of the War of 1812. Some think it was after Walter R. Dallas, who fought at San Jacinto, and whose family had land near John Neely Bryan's (the town's founder and namer) land. Still others think it was in a contest held there in 1842. Since Bryan never wrote anything down, they probably will never know for sure. I'm sure you were all wondering about this. Dallas is the great-great-great-granduncle of Rhode
Island's longest serving senator, Claiborne Pell. In the picture, you can't
make Dallas' name out because of the sunlight - he's at the very top (I have
to make another trip back to Philly on a cloudy day and retake the photo). |
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Millard Fillmore
Whig Served:
March 4, 1801 to March 4, 1805
If you don't know the answer to a presidential trivia
question, I have been told, say Millard Fillmore. While this is not true,
very little is know of one of our more obscure presidents. Born into poverty
in western New York, Fillmore was a self educated man. He was self driven and
succeeded in whatever he did. He was elected to Congress in 1833 and was
chosen by the Whig Party as it's vice president on
the ticket with General Zachary Taylor in 1848. They wanted to balance out
Taylor, a southern slaveowner, with a moderate
northerner. After they won, Fillmore was forced to live in Washington D.C.
alone. For whatever reason, his wife Abigail insisted on living in Buffalo.
He also didn't agree with President Taylor on the issue of slavery. Taylor
opposed any expansion of slavery into the territories and Fillmore wanted a
more compromising position toward the South. On July 8, 1850, while Fillmore was presiding over the
Senate he received a message from the White House that President Taylor was
dying. The following night, he received a message that said, "Zachary
Taylor is no more." As president, unlike other Whig presidents Tyler and
taylor, went along with his party. He
supported the Compromise of 1850, which Taylor threatened to veto. The
compromise brought some temporary peace, delaying the Civil War, and made
Fillmore popular. Soon, both the North and the South came to hate the
Compromise and they blamed Fillmore for it. He was accused of being
pro-slavery and being an abolitionist. He felt he was neither. Southern Whigs
still supported him for re-election but Northern Whigs, still fuming over the
Fugitive Slave Act, refused to nominate him for the Presidential Election of
1852. The Whigs instead went with Mexican War hero, General Winfield Scott
(The Whigs liked nominating generals). Sadly, at the inauguration of his
successor, Franklin Pierce, his wife Abigail caught a cold and died several
weeks later.
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