John Tyler | whitehouse.gov Air Force One John Tyler John Tyler became the tenth President of the United States (1841-1845) when President William Henry Harrison died in April 1841. He was the first Vice President to succeed to the Presidency after the death of his predecessor. Dubbed "His Accidency" by his detractors, John Tyler was the first Vice President to be elevated to the office of President by the death of his predecessor. Born in Virginia in 1790, he was raised believing that the Constitution must be strictly construed. He never wavered from this conviction. He attended the College of William and Mary and studied law. Serving in the House of Representatives from 1816 to 1821, Tyler voted against most nationalist legislation and opposed the Missouri Compromise. After leaving the House he served as Governor of Virginia. As a Senator he reluctantly supported Jackson for President as a choice of evils. Tyler soon joined the states' rights Southerners in Congress who banded with Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and their newly formed Whig party opposing President Jackson.

The Whigs nominated Tyler for Vice President in 1840, hoping for support from southern states'-righters who could not stomach Jacksonian Democracy. The slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" implied flag waving nationalism plus a dash of southern sectionalism. Clay, intending to keep party leadership in his own hands, minimized his nationalist views temporarily; Webster proclaimed himself "a Jeffersonian Democrat." But after the election, both men tried to dominate "Old Tippecanoe." Suddenly President Harrison was dead, and "Tyler too" was in the White House. At first the Whigs were not too disturbed, although Tyler insisted upon assuming the full powers of a duly elected President. He even delivered an Inaugural Address, but it seemed full of good Whig doctrine. Whigs, optimistic that Tyler would accept their program, soon were disillusioned. Tyler was ready to compromise on the banking question, but Clay would not budge. He would not accept Tyler's "exchequer system," and Tyler vetoed Clay's bill to establish a National Bank with branches in several states. A similar bank bill was passed by Congress. But again, on states' rights grounds, Tyler vetoed it.

In retaliation, the Whigs expelled Tyler from their party. All the Cabinet resigned but Secretary of State Webster. A year later when Tyler vetoed a tariff bill, the first impeachment resolution against a President was introduced in the House of Representatives. A committee headed by Representative John Quincy Adams reported that the President had misused the veto power, but the resolution failed. Despite their differences, President Tyler and the Whig Congress enacted much positive legislation. The "Log-Cabin" bill enabled a settler to claim 160 acres of land before it was offered publicly for sale, and later pay $1.25 an acre for it. In 1842 Tyler did sign a tariff bill protecting northern manufacturers. The Webster-Ashburton treaty ended a Canadian boundary dispute; in 1845 Texas was annexed. The administration of this states'-righter strengthened the Presidency. But it also increased sectional cleavage that led toward civil war. By the end of his term, Tyler had replaced the original Whig Cabinet with southern conservatives. In 1844 Calhoun became Secretary of State. Later these men returned to the Democratic Party, committed to the preservation of states' rights, planter interests, and the institution of slavery.

Whigs became more representative of northern business and farming interests. When the first southern states seceded in 1861, Tyler led a compromise movement; failing, he worked to create the Southern Confederacy. He died in 1862, a member of the Confederate House of Representatives. The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association. The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Michael Beschloss and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2009 by the White House Historical Association. Learn more about President Tyler's first wife Letitia Christian Tyler , who died during her term. Learn more about President Tyler's second wife Julia Gardiner Tyler . First Ladies' Trivia Which first lady was a British subject and the daughter of a British army officer? Elizabeth Korthright Monroe’s father served with the British Army during the American Revolution. Lawrence Korthright was a captain in the army who remained loyal to the King. He was a wealthy Tory merchant who saw most of his fortune confiscated during the Revolution.

Which first lady interviewed her future husband for a newspaper before he became president? Jacqueline Bouvier was an inquiring “camera girl” for the Washington Times Herald shortly after her graduation from George Washington University in 1951. That year she interviewed Congressman John F. Kennedy. She married Kennedy in 1953 in Newport, Rhode Island. Which first ladies were divorcees when they married their husbands? Florence “Flossie” King DeWolfe, a divorcee with one son, married Warren Harding, five years her junior in 1891. Elizabeth Ann Bloomer divorced her fist husband, William Warren, in 1947; she married Gerald Ford a year later. Which first lady was the first first lady to earn a graduate degree? Pat Nixon was the first United States First Lady to earn a graduate degree. Following four years of study at the University of Southern California she graduated and became a teacher. She continued to teach for the first year of her marriage. Which first lady was once national president of the Girl Scouts? Lou Hoover, a graduate of Stanford, served as president of the Girl Scouts while her husband was secretary of commerce under Harding and Coolidge.

More First Ladies' Trivia Did you know... ...that Dolley Madison’s cousin was Angelica Singleton Van Buren? (Angelica’s mother was a Coles as was Dolley’s mother, so they were first cousins.) …that in her youth Jane Pierce was considered such a good pianist that she was encouraged to consider a musical career? …that Lucy Hayes thought herself “too light” to be married to Rutherford B. Hayes? By “light” she meant her mind being too lightweight. …that Sarah Polk disagreed with her husband about banks? She encouraged him to put their money in the bank - he preferred carrying it with them in their luggage. …that Florence Harding supported herself, after being abandoned by her husband, giving piano lessons for $ .50 an hour? One of her students was Warren G. Harding’s sister, Charity. ...that Abigail Fillmore, a former schoolteacher, obtained congressional funds in 1850 for the first official library in the Executive Mansion? ...that Grace Coolidge was a former teacher of children with hearing impairments at the Clarke School for the Deaf, and became one of the school's trustees after her tenure in the White House?

Little-known facts about our First Ladies... Martha Washington, 1731-1802 George Washington’s wife was the first to be given the title “lady” by the press, as in “Lady Washington,” and the first wife of a president to appear on U.S. postage stamp. Abigail Adams, 1744-1818 John Adams’ wife urged her husband to “remember the ladies” when he was writing the nation’s Declaration of Independence in 1776. She also was the first woman to be both a president’s wife and the mother of a president, and the first to live in the White House. Martha Jefferson, 1748-1782 No known portrait exists of Thomas Jefferson’s wife, who died 18 years before her husband was elected president. Their daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph served as White House hostess, and was the first to give birth in the presidential mansion in Washington, D.C. Dolley Madison, 1768-1849 James Madison’s wife is the only first lady given an honorary seat on the floor of Congress, and was the first American to respond to telegraph message—sent by inventor Samuel Morse.

Elizabeth Monroe, 1768-1830 James Monroe's wife ended the custom of a president's wife making the first social call on the wives of other officials in Washington - and the insulted women boycotted her White House receptions. Louisa Adams, 1775-1852 John Quincy Adams’ wife was the only first lady born in a foreign country—England. She played the harp, wrote satirical plays and raised silkworms. Rachel Jackson, 1767-1828 Andrew Jackson’s wife was a bigamist, having married Jackson before she was divorced from her first husband. She died after Jackson was elected president but before his inauguration. Her niece Emily Donelson served as White House hostess during most of the Jackson administration. Hannah Van Buren, 1783-1819 Martin Van Buren’s wife—his second cousin—died 18 year before her husband was elected president. Their daughter-in-law Angelica Van Buren served as White House hostess during the last two years of the Van Buren administration.

Anna Harrison, 1775-1864 William Henry Harrison’s wife is the only spouse of a president and grandmother of another. She never lived in the White House because her husband died a month after his inauguration. Their daughter-in-law Jane Harrison served as White House hostess for the shortest time—30 days. Letitia Tyler, 1790-1842 John Tyler’s first wife was a stroke victim and the first president’s wife to die in the White House. Their daughter Letty Tyler Semple and daughter-in-law Priscilla Cooper Tyler served as White House hostesses until Tyler eloped with his second wife, Julia (1820-1889), who became the first photographed first lady. Sarah Polk, 1803-1891 James Polk’s wife worked as the president's secretary without taking a salary, and forbid dancing and card playing the White House. Margaret “Peggy” Taylor, 1788-1852 Zachary Taylor’s wife learned to shoot a gun when she lived with her husband on the Western frontier.

When she lived in the White House, she refused to serve as hostess, giving that role to their daughter Betty Taylor Bliss. Abigail Fillmore, 1798-1853 Millard Fillmore’s wife was the first presidential spouse to work and earn a salary before marriage—as a schoolteacher. She died three weeks after leaving the White House, and her husband later married Caroline Fillmore, a widower who was wealthier than he was. Jane Pierce, 1806-1863 Franklin Pierce’s wife discouraged her husband’s interest in politics. Two months before his inauguration, Mrs. Pierce was overtaken with grief and depression when she witnessed the gruesome death of their only living son in a train accident. She never completely recovered from the trauma. Harriet Lane, 1830-1903 James Buchanan’s niece was the White House hostess for the only president to remain a bachelor. An avid art collector, Lane upon her death bequeathed her collection to the Smithsonian Institution, which today includes the National Gallery of Art.

Mary Lincoln, 1818-1882 Abraham Lincoln’s wife was the first to hold séances in the White House, to be attacked in the press for lavish purchases during wartime and to fight for the abolition of slavery. Eliza Johnson, 1810-1876 Andrew Johnson’s wife taught her husband how to spell and pronounce words properly, but tuberculosis prevented her from being hostess, a role assumed by their daughter Martha Patterson, who milked cows at the White House every morning. Julia Grant, 1826-1902 Ulysses S. Grant’s wife was cross-eyed, and owned slaves during the Civil War while her husband served as general of the Union Army. Lucy Hayes, 1831-1889 Rutherford B. Hayes’ wife was the first to ban all alcoholic beverages from the White House. She also hosted the first Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn. Lucretia Garfield, 1832-1918 James A. Garfield’s wife began efforts to conduct historical research on the White House rooms and served as her husband’s primary caretaker for two months after an assassin shot him.

Ellen Arthur, 1837-1880 Chester A. Arthur’s wife was a contralto singer who developed pneumonia after a concert and died 20 months before her husband took office. Arthur’s sister Mary Arthur McElroy served as White House hostess and later joined the anti-suffrage movement. Frances Cleveland, 1864-1947 Grover Cleveland’s wife was the youngest first lady—age 21—and the only bride of a president to marry—and give birth—in the White House. Before their marriage, Cleveland’s sister Rose Elizabeth Cleveland served as House hostess of the bachelor president. Caroline Harrison, 1832-1892 Benjamin Harrison’s wife was the first to use electricity and have a Christmas tree in the White House. She was the second first lady to die in the White House. After her death, her husband married her social secretary and niece Mary Dimmock Harrison. Ida McKinley, 1847-1907 William McKinley’s wife was the only first lady to work as a bank teller and manager, and successfully urged her husband to retain the Philippines after the Spanish-American War.

Alice Roosevelt, 1861-1884 Theodore Roosevelt’s first wife died in 1884, 17 years before he was elected president. A year later, he remarried and Edith Roosevelt joined her husband in the White House upon the assassination of President McKinley. Helen “Nellie” Taft, 1861-1943 William Howard Taft’s wife was the first first lady to own and drive a car, to ride in her husband’s inaugural parade, to support women's suffrage, to publish her memoirs, to smoke cigarettes, and successfully lobby for safety standards in federal workplaces. Ellen Wilson, 1860-1914 Woodrow Wilson’s first wife was the only professional artist to become first lady. After her death in the White House, her husband married Edith Wilson, a direct descendant of American Indian princess Pocahontas. Florence Harding, 1860-1924 Warren G. Harding’s wife was first first lady to vote, fly in an airplane, operate a movie camera, own a radio, and invite movie stars to White House.

She also was accused of poisoning her husband, who died during his third year in office. Grace Coolidge, 1879-1957 Calvin Coolidge’s wife worked as a teacher of deaf students, and became the first first lady to speak in sound newsreels. Lou Hoover, 1874-1944 Herbert Hoover’s wife was the first woman to graduate from Stanford University with a geology degree. She also spoke Chinese fluently. Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962 Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wife was the first first lady to hold regular press conferences, write a daily newspaper column and a monthly magazine column, and host a weekly radio show. Bess Truman, 1885-1982 Harry S. Truman’s wife worked as her husband's salaried Senate aide and never gave an interview as first lady. Mamie Eisenhower, 1896-1979 Dwight D. Eisenhower’s wife appeared in television commercials when her husband ran for president, and enjoyed watching TV soap operas in the White House. Jacqueline Kennedy, 1929-1994 John F.

Kennedy’s wife was the first first lady to hire a press secretary and a White House curator. She also won an Emmy Award for her television tour of the White House. Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, 1912-2007 Nicknamed Lady Bird as a child, Lyndon B. Johnson’s wife conducted her own campaign for her husband's election and lobbied for environmental protection. Pat Nixon, 1912-1993 Richard Nixon’s wife created White House tours for the blind and deaf, and was the first first lady to wear pants in public. Betty Ford, 1918-2011 Gerald Ford’s wife once worked as a professional dancer with the Martha Graham Company. She also founded an alcohol and drug treatment center in California that bears her name. Rosalynn Carter, 1927- Jimmy Carter’s wife was the first to have a VCR in the White House, and to keep her own office in the East Wing. Nancy Reagan, 1921- Ronald Reagan’s wife worked as a professional actress, appearing in movies and in a music video—an anti-drug abuse message.

Barbara Bush, 1925- George H.W. Bush’s wife is the second first lady to be both the wife and mother of a president, and the only one to write a memoir from her dog's perspective. Hillary Clinton, 1947- Bill Clinton’s wife hosted the first White House webcast, and is the only first lady elected to public office—the U.S. Senate, and to seek the presidency. Laura Bush, 1946- George W. Bush’s wife is the only first lady to give birth to twins, to work as a librarian and to substitute for a president in his weekly radio address. What are some interesting facts about presidents and first ladies? - White House Historical Association Have you ever wondered... What are some interesting facts about presidents and first ladies? Three presidents married while in office.

John Tyler, whose wife Letitia had died a year and nine months before, wed Julia Gardiner in New York City on June 26, 1844; bachelor Grover Cleveland (the only president to be married in a White House ceremony) wed Frances Folsom, the daughter of a former law partner, on June 2, 1886; Woodrow Wilson, whose wife Ellen had died a year and four months before, married Edith Bolling Galt at the bride's Washington, D.C. home on December 18, 1915. Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to travel outside the United States on official business. His destination was Panama and he arrived there on November 14, 1906. Lucy Webb Hayes was the first first lady to earn a college degree; she received a degree in liberal arts from Cincinnati Wesleyan Female College in 1850. William Howard Taft was the first president to have an official White House automobile, a White Motor Company Model M seven-passenger steam-powered touring car.

The Fourth of July is a date on which three presidents died – John Adams and Thomas Jefferson (both in 1826) and James Monroe (1831). It is also the birthday of a president: Calvin Coolidge in 1872. Woodrow Wilson was the first president to hold a doctorate – he received a degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University in 1886. His dissertation was entitled "Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics." The Gilbert Stuart likeness of George Washington, obtained in 1800, is the oldest remaining possession of the White House. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to fly overseas. In January 1943 he took a Boeing 314 flying boat from Miami with stops in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Belém, Brazil to Bathurst, British Gambia (now Banjul, The Gambia), where a TWA C-54 then took him to Morocco for the Casablanca Conference. Benjamin Harrison brought the first Christmas tree inside the White House in 1889.

William Howard Taft was the only man ever to serve as president and chief justice of the United States; he is also one of two presidents buried in Arlington National Cemetery (John F. Kennedy is the other). During the War of 1812, Dolley Madison saved the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington before approaching British troops torched the White House on August 24, 1814. Letitia Tyler (1842), Caroline Harrison (1892) and Ellen Wilson (1914) are the three first ladies who died while their husband was in office. In 1812, Dolley Madison arranged the first nuptials held at the White House – the wedding of her widowed sister, Lucy Payne Washington, to Supreme Court Justice Thomas Todd. Woodrow Wilson was the first president to cross the Atlantic Ocean, traveling from December 4 to December 13, 1918 aboard the U.S.S. George Washington to the Paris Peace Conference. In 1881, a metal detecting device invented by Alexander Graham Bell was used in an attempt to locate a bullet and save President Garfield's life after an office-seeking fanatic shot him.

The bed's steel springs were not removed, as Dr. Bell had ordered, and the attempt failed. The first first lady to fly in an airplane was Eleanor Roosevelt, on April 20, 1933. Following a White House dinner with famed aviator Amelia Earhart and other guests, Mrs. Roosevelt, Ms. Earhart and some of the guests went to Hoover Field (where the Pentagon stands today), boarded a Curtis Condor twin-motor Eastern Air Transport plane and took a flight over the area between Washington D.C. and Baltimore. On February 25, 1828, young John Adams, grandson of one president and son of President John Quincy Adams, married Mary Catherine Hellen in the White House. The event marks the only time that a President's son has been married in the mansion. The first president to ride in an automobile was William McKinley, who took a ride in November 1899 in a Stanley Steamer driven by Stanley Motor Carriage Co. co-founder Freelan O. Stanley. The first president to use an automobile on official government business and be photographed in a car was Theodore Roosevelt, on August 22, 1902 in Hartford, Connecticut.

The first president who knew how to drive was Warren G. Harding. No alcoholic beverage was served at any function during the Rutherford B. Hayes administration (1877-81) – a prohibition earning the First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes the nickname of "Lemonade Lucy." After applauding war hero Andrew Jackson's first inaugural address at the Capitol on March 4, 1829, a crowd of thousands descended on the White House to enjoy the reception for the "People's President" – to the accompaniment of crashing china and glassware. President Jackson escaped the crush of the crowd of merrymakers and would-be handshakers by leaving through a window. Abigail Fillmore, a former schoolteacher, obtained congressional funds in 1850 for the first official library in the Executive Mansion. Eight presidents have died in office: William Henry Harrison (1841, pneumonia); Zachary Taylor (1850, acute gastroenteritis); Abraham Lincoln (1865, assassination); James Garfield (1881, assassination); William McKinley (1901, assassination); Warren G. Harding (1923, apoplexy); Franklin D.

Roosevelt (1945, cerebral hemorrhage); John F. Kennedy (1963, assassination). All of the presidents from Ulysses S. Grant to Chester A. Arthur wore beards. Cleveland broke the custom, although he did wear a mustache. Very few cut flowers were used in the White House during the James K. Polk administration (1845-49) because it was a commonly held belief at that time that flowers in close quarters gave off unhealthy vapors and absorbed valuable elements from the air. Rutherford B. Hayes was the first president to have a telephone and a typewriter in the White House – the telephone was installed in May 1879 and the typewriter arrived in February 1880. In 1881, President James Garfield was the first to review the inaugural parade from a specially built platform in front of the White House. In 1897 William McKinley became the first president to review the parade from a glass-enclosed stand as protection from the weather. The White House's first web site was developed during the Clinton administration and made its debut on October 20, 1994.

Ronald Reagan was the first president to have been leader of a union – he served as president of the Screen Actors Guild during 1947-52 and 1959-60. Only two elected vice presidents were then elected president – Martin Van Buren (1836) and George H.W. Bush (1988). Jimmy Carter was the first president to be born in a hospital – in the Wise Sanitarium in Plains, Georgia on October 1, 1924. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president whose mother was able to vote for him for president. Calvin Coolidge was both the first president sworn into office by his father (notary public John Coolidge, August 3, 1923), and the first sworn into office by a former president (Chief Justice William H. Taft, March 4, 1925). Woodrow Wilson was the only president to have two daughters get married in the White House–Jessie to Francis B. Sayre, Sr. on November 25, 1913, and Eleanor to Secretary of the Treasury William G.

McAdoo on May 7, 1914. James Garfield's mother Eliza was the first mother to witness her son's inauguration as president. George W. Bush was the first president to complete a marathon, finishing the Houston Marathon with a time of 3 hours, 44 minutes and 52 seconds on January 24, 1993. Three presidents have won Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album – Bill Clinton (2005), Jimmy Carter (2007) and Barack Obama (2006, 2008). John Tyler - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com Google John Tyler’s Early Life and Family John Tyler was born on March 29, 1790, at his family’s plantation, Greenway, in Charles City County, Virginia . He was the son of John Tyler Sr. (1747-1813), a prosperous planter and Virginia politician, and Mary Armistead (1761-97). The younger Tyler graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1807, then studied law under private tutors.

He began his political career in 1811, when he was elected to the Virginia legislature at age 21. Did You Know? President Tyler reportedly named his Virginia plantation Sherwood Forest because he identified with the legendary character Robin Hood and saw himself as a political outlaw. The home, which the president bought in 1842, remains in the Tyler family today and is open to the public for tours. In 1813, the 23-year-old Tyler married fellow Virginian Letitia Christian (1790-1842), with whom he would have eight children. In 1839, Letitia suffered a stroke that left her partially paralyzed and incapable of handling the responsibilities of first lady when her husband became president two years later. Her daughter-in-law, Priscilla Cooper Tyler (1816-89), a former actress, assumed the role of official White House hostess. In 1842, Letitia Tyler suffered a second stroke and died at age 51, becoming the first president’s wife to pass away while her husband was in the White House.

In 1844, John Tyler became the first president to marry while in office when he wed Julia Gardiner (1820-89), a wealthy New Yorker 30 years his junior. The couple went on to have seven children. With a total of 15 offspring from his two marriages, Tyler fathered more children than any other U.S. president in history. Tyler Serves Virginia Tyler served in the Virginia legislature from 1811 to 1816, and was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1817 to 1821. Elected to Congress as a Democratic-Republican, the party founded in the early 1790s by Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) and James Madison (1751-1836), Tyler favored states’ rights and a strict adherence to the U.S. Constitution, and opposed policies granting additional power to the federal government. He returned to the Virginia legislature from 1823 to 1825, and was governor of Virginia from 1825 to 1827.

(In this role, he delivered the state’s official eulogy for Jefferson, America’s third president, who died on July 4, 1826.) Tyler represented his home state in the U.S. Senate from 1827 to 1836. During this time, he grew unhappy with the policies of President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), a Democrat who was in the White House from 1829 to 1937. In 1834, the Senate censured Jackson over issues surrounding his removal of government funds from the Bank of the United States . Two years later, in 1836, Tyler resigned from the Senate to avoid complying with the Virginia legislature’s instructions to reverse the censure vote. The ex-senator became affiliated with the Whig Party , which was established in the early 1830s in opposition to Jackson Tyler Assumes the Presidency In 1840, the Whigs selected Ohio politician William Henry Harrison to run for president and chose Tyler as their vice presidential nominee in an attempt to attract states’ rights Southerners.

The Whigs positioned Harrison as a symbol of the common man and promoted his image as an Indian fighter on the American frontier, using the campaign slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler too” (a reference to Harrison’s military leadership against a coalition of Indian forces at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana ). Harrison’s Democratic opponent, President Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), who was unpopular with Americans for his mismanagement of the financial crisis known as the Panic of 1837, was painted by the Whigs as an out-of-touch, wealthy elite. In fact, he came from humble roots while Harrison and Tyler were well-educated and hailed from prominent families. The Harrison-Tyler ticket won the White House with an electoral vote of 234-60 and approximately 53 percent of the popular vote. The 68-year-old Harrison was inaugurated on March 4, 1841. He died a month later, on April 4, from pneumonia.

In the immediate aftermath of Harrison’s death, there was confusion about whether Tyler would assume the full powers and salary of the presidency as if elected to the office, or remain vice president acting as president. The U.S. Constitution was unclear on the matter of presidential succession; however, Tyler moved into the White House and was sworn into office on April 6. At 51 years old, the man dubbed “His Accidency,” was younger than any previous president. (The ambiguity surrounding the order of succession issue was officially clarified with the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1967 and states that if the president dies or resigns, the vice president becomes president.) John Tyler in the White House In his new role, Tyler soon found himself in opposition to the Whigs’ legislative agenda. He had kept Harrison’s cabinet in place; however, all but one of them resigned after Tyler vetoed bills designed to create a new national bank. The president was disavowed by the Whigs, who in 1843 tried–but failed–to impeach him. Despite the fact that he was a man without a party, Tyler was still able to rack up a list of achievements as chief executive.

In 1841, he signed the Pre-Emption Act, which spurred Western settlement by allowing a person to stake a claim on 160 acres of public land and purchase it from the government. In 1842, Tyler’s administration ended the Seminole War in Florida and settled a dispute between the U.S. and British North American colonies over boundary issues (including the Maine-Canada border) with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. In 1844, the U.S. signed the Treaty of Wanghia with China, giving America access to Asian ports. In March 1845, shortly before Tyler left office, he signed a bill annexing Texas (which officially joined the Union as the 29th state in December of that year). On his final full day as president, Tyler signed a bill making Florida the 27th state. During the presidential election of 1844, Tyler made a brief attempt to run as a third-party candidate before dropping out due to lack of support. Democratic candidate James Polk (1795-1845) won the election and became the 11th U.S. president.

Tyler’s Later Years After departing the White House, Tyler moved to his 1,200-acre plantation, Sherwood Forest, on the James River between Williamsburg and Richmond, Virginia, and raised his family with his second wife. In 1861, with America on the brink of civil war, he chaired a peace conference in Washington , D.C., in an effort to preserve the Union. The conference failed to meet its objective, and after war broke later that same year Tyler voted in favor of Virginia seceding from the United States. He was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives, but before he could take his seat, Tyler died at age 71 on January 18, 1862, in Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. President Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) and the U.S. government did not publicly acknowledge Tyler’s death, as the Virginian was seen as a traitor to the Union. Tyler was buried at Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery, which is also the resting place of James Monroe (1758-1831), America’s fifth president, and Jefferson Davis (1808-89), president of the Confederacy.

Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault . Start your free trial today. Tags Little-known facts about our First Ladies... Little-known facts about our First Ladies... Martha Washington, 1731-1802 George Washington’s wife was the first to be given the title “lady” by the press, as in “Lady Washington,” and the first wife of a president to appear on U.S. postage stamp. Abigail Adams, 1744-1818 John Adams’ wife urged her husband to “remember the ladies” when he was writing the nation’s Declaration of Independence in 1776. She also was the first woman to be both a president’s wife and the mother of a president, and the first to live in the White House. Martha Jefferson, 1748-1782 No known portrait exists of Thomas Jefferson’s wife, who died 18 years before her husband was elected president. Their daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph served as White House hostess, and was the first to give birth in the presidential mansion in Washington, D.C.

Dolley Madison, 1768-1849 James Madison’s wife is the only first lady given an honorary seat on the floor of Congress, and was the first American to respond to telegraph message—sent by inventor Samuel Morse. Elizabeth Monroe, 1768-1830 James Monroe's wife ended the custom of a president's wife making the first social call on the wives of other officials in Washington - and the insulted women boycotted her White House receptions. Louisa Adams, 1775-1852 John Quincy Adams’ wife was the only first lady born in a foreign country—England. She played the harp, wrote satirical plays and raised silkworms. Rachel Jackson, 1767-1828 Andrew Jackson’s wife was a bigamist, having married Jackson before she was divorced from her first husband. She died after Jackson was elected president but before his inauguration. Her niece Emily Donelson served as White House hostess during most of the Jackson administration. Hannah Van Buren, 1783-1819 Martin Van Buren’s wife—his second cousin—died 18 year before her husband was elected president.

Their daughter-in-law Angelica Van Buren served as White House hostess during the last two year of the Van Buren administration. Anna Harrison, 1775-1864 William Henry Harrison’s wife is the only spouse of a president and grandmother of another. She never lived in the White House because her husband died a month after his inauguration. Their daughter-in-law Jane Harrison served as White House hostess for the shortest time—30 days. Letitia Tyler, 1790-1842 John Tyler’s first wife was a stroke victim and the first president’s wife to die in the White House. Their daughter Letty Tyler Semple and daughter-in-law Priscilla Cooper Tyler served as White House hostesses until Tyler eloped with his second wife, Julia (1820-1889), who became the first photographed first lady. Sarah Polk, 1803-1891 James Polk’s wife worked as the president's secretary without taking a salary, and forbid dancing and card playing the White House.

Margaret “Peggy” Taylor, 1788-1852 Zachary Taylor’s wife learned to shoot a gun when she lived with her husband on the Western frontier. When she lived in the White House, she refused to serve as hostess, giving that role to their daughter Betty Taylor Bliss. Abigail Fillmore, 1798-1853 Millard Fillmore’s wife was the first presidential spouse to work and earn a salary before marriage—as a schoolteacher. She died three weeks after leaving the White House, and her husband later married Caroline Fillmore, a widower who was wealthier than he was. Jane Pierce, 1806-1863 Franklin Pierce’s wife discouraged her husband’s interest in politics. Two months before his inauguration, Mrs. Pierce was overtaken with grief and depression when she witnessed the gruesome death of their only living son in a train accident. She never completely recovered from the trauma. Harriet Lane, 1830-1903 James Buchanan’s niece was the White House hostess for the only president to remain a bachelor.

An avid art collector, Lane upon her death bequeathed her collection to the Smithsonian Institution, which today includes the National Gallery of Art. Mary Lincoln, 1818-1882 Abraham Lincoln’s wife was the first to hold séances in the White House, to be attacked in the press for lavish purchases during wartime and to fight for the abolition of slavery. Eliza Johnson, 1810-1876 Andrew Johnson’s wife taught her husband how to spell and pronounce words properly, but tuberculosis prevented her from being hostess, a role assumed by their daughter Martha Patterson, who milked cows at the White House every morning. Julia Grant, 1826-1902 Ulysses S. Grant’s wife was cross-eyed, and owned slaves during the Civil War while her husband served as general of the Union Army. Lucy Hayes, 1831-1889 Rutherford B. Hayes’ wife was the first to ban all alcoholic beverages from the White House. She also hosted the first Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn. Lucretia Garfield, 1832-1918 James A.

Garfield’s wife began efforts to conduct historical research on the White House rooms and served as her husband’s primary caretaker for two months after an assassin shot him. Ellen Arthur, 1837-1880 Chester A. Arthur’s wife was a contralto singer who developed pneumonia after a concert and died 20 months before her husband took office. Arthur’s sister Mary Arthur McElroy served as White House hostess and later joined the anti-suffrage movement. Frances Cleveland, 1864-1947 Grover Cleveland’s wife was the youngest first lady—age 21—and the only bride of a president to marry—and give birth—in the White House. Before their marriage, Cleveland’s sister Rose Elizabeth Cleveland served as House hostess of the bachelor president. Caroline Harrison, 1832-1892 Benjamin Harrison’s wife was the first to use electricity and have a Christmas tree in the White House. She was the second first lady to die in the White House. After her death, her husband married her social secretary and niece Mary Dimmock Harrison.

Ida McKinley, 1847-1907 William McKinley’s wife was the only first lady to work as a bank teller and manager, and successfully urged her husband to retain the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. Alice Roosevelt, 1861-1884 Theodore Roosevelt’s first wife died in 1884, 17 years before he was elected president. A year later, he remarried and Edith Roosevelt joined her husband in the White House upon the assassination of President McKinley. Helen “Nellie” Taft, 1861-1943 William Howard Taft’s wife was the first first lady to own and drive a car, to ride in her husband’s inaugural parade, to support women's suffrage, to publish her memoirs, to smoke cigarettes, and successfully lobby for safety standards in federal workplaces. Ellen Wilson, 1860-1914 Woodrow Wilson’s first wife was the only professional artist to become first lady. After her death in the White House, her husband married Edith Wilson, a direct descendant of American Indian princess Pocahontas.

Florence Harding, 1860-1924 Warren G. Harding’s wife was first first lady to vote, fly in an airplane, operate a movie camera, own a radio, and invite movie stars to White House. She also was accused of poisoning her husband, who died during his third year in office. Grace Coolidge, 1879-1957 Calvin Coolidge’s wife worked as a teacher of deaf students, and became the first first lady to speak in sound newsreels. Lou Hoover, 1874-1944 Herbert Hoover’s wife was the first woman to graduate from Stanford University with a geology degree. She also spoke Chinese fluently. Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962 Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wife was the first first lady to hold regular press conferences, write a daily newspaper column and a monthly magazine column, and host a weekly radio show. Bess Truman, 1885-1982 Harry S. Truman’s wife worked as her husband's salaried Senate aide and never gave an interview as first lady.

Mamie Eisenhower, 1896-1979 Dwight D. Eisenhower’s wife appeared in television commercials when her husband ran for president, and enjoyed watching TV soap operas in the White House. Jacqueline Kennedy, 1929-1994 John F. Kennedy’s wife was the first first lady to hire a press secretary and a White House curator. She also won an Emmy Award for her television tour of the White House. Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, 1912-2007 Nicknamed Lady Bird as a child, Lyndon B. Johnson’s wife conducted her own campaign for her husband's election and lobbied for environmental protection. Pat Nixon, 1912-1993 Richard Nixon’s wife created White House tours for the blind and deaf, and was the first first lady to wear pants in public. Betty Ford, 1918- Gerald Ford’s wife once worked as a professional dancer with the Martha Graham Company. She also founded an alcohol and drug treatment center in California that bears her name.

Rosalynn Carter, 1927- Jimmy Carter’s wife was the first to have a VCR in the White House, and to keep her own office in the East Wing. Nancy Reagan, 1921- Ronald Reagan’s wife worked as a professional actress, appearing in movies and in a music video—an anti-drug abuse message. Barbara Bush, 1925- George H.W. Bush’s wife is the second first lady to be both the wife and mother of a president, and the only one to write a memoir from her dog's perspective. Hillary Clinton, 1947- Bill Clinton’s wife hosted the first White House webcast, and is the only first lady elected to public office—the U.S. Senate, and to seek the presidency. Laura Bush, 1946- George W. Bush’s wife is the only first lady to give birth to twins, to work as a librarian and to substitute for a president in his weekly radio address. President John Tyler 1807 John Tyler graduated from the College of William and Mary. 1816 Tyler was elected to U.S. House of Representatives. 1825 Tyler became governor of Virginia.

1827 John became a U.S. Senator. 1840 John Tyler was elected Vice President. 1841 President Harrison died and Tyler became President. 1862 John Tyler died. 1841 - 1845 Tenth President John Tyler was born in Charles City County, Virginia on March 29, 1790. He was one of seven Presidents from Virginia. His family's estate was called the Greenway. (He is the great uncle of Harry S. Truman.) He was raised on a slave plantation. John attended William and Mary College. John Tyler had two wives (Not at the same time!) Letitia Tyler and Julia Tyler Tyler served in the military during the War of 1812. He was a lawyer. John Tyler was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates when he was only 21 years old. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives and was a U.S. Senator. John was also governor of Virginia. He had a library of over 1,200 books. Shakespeare was his favorite author. Tyler had between 60 and 90 slaves on his plantation, Sherwood Forest, at different times.

John Tyler was a member of the Whig Party. However, when he became president he did not support the Whig party's desire for a national bank and higher tariffs. He was denounced by Henry Clay and Whig newspapers. He was on his knees playing marbles when informed that he had become president upon the death of President Harrison. (Some people say this is a tale.) Since he was the first vice president to take office after a president's death he was regarded by some as the "accidental president." He moved quickly to say he was president not acting president. John Tyler wanted to convince people he now had all of the powers of the presidency. So he had a federal judge give him the oath of office and gave an inaugural address. This act was later referred to as the "Tyler president." This was later confirmed by the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. President Tyler was never elected President. In his attempt to get elected to a second term he had a biography written titled: Life of John Tyler. He then pressured post master he had appointed to buy and distribute copies of the booklet. John Tyler didn't have a Vice President (a first). He had been William Henry Harrison's VP, and the position was not filled when Tyler assumed the presidency.

He was the first Vice President to replace a President due to death. John Tyler was the first President whose wife died while he was holding the office of the President. Tyler was the first president to marry while in office. No U.S. president had more children. With 2 wives, Tyler had15 children. John was the first President to get married on his birthday. John Tyler. Library of Congress His family had two Italian wolfhounds and a greyhound dog during the time they lived in the White House. He also had a pet canary called Johnny Ty. The tombstone of he grave of his horse reads: "Here lies the body of my good horse "The General." For twenty years he bore me around the circuit of my practice, and in all that time he never made a blunder. Would that his master could say the same!" President Tyler would often play his violin at White House parties. At one time he wanted to be a concert violinist. In 1842, Charles Wilkes return from a four year mission surveying and exploring the Pacific Coast of North and South America. Wilkes also discovered Antarctica. He reinforced Tyler's goal of expansion of the U.S. into the Pacific.

On December 30, 1842, President Tyler his policy on Hawaii. His policy was later referred to as the Tyler Doctrine. It featured the U.S. protecting the Hawaiian Islands from foreign colonization and his intent to open trade with China. (Tyler expanded the Monroe Doctrine to the islands in the Pacific.) On July 3, 1844, U.S. Commissioner Cushing signed the first U.S. Treaty with China. The treaty opened China ports to U.S. ships for trading. President Tyler was over joyed with this accomplishment. Tyler's main goal as president was to annex Texas to the United States. Mexico had been at war with Texas for eight years. One of the obstacles to annexation was the issue of slavery. Tyler and other southerners wanted it to be a slave state. Upshur, Secretary of State, did an outstanding job negotiating a treaty with Texas for annexation. He completed his wok in February of 1844. He didn't get to finish the task. He was killed in an accident on the U.S. Navy ship Princeton. A large gun called the "Peacemaker" exploded killing several people and injuring more.

President Tyler was below deck and was not harmed. (Upshur was the third cabinet member to die while serving with Tyler. On April 12, 1844, Tyler submitted a treaty annexing Texas to the United States. The Senate could not get a 2/3 vote for annexation. After the 1944 election of Polk as president, Tyler sent a resolution to congress as a joint resolution to annex Texas. Since it wasn't a treaty he only need a majority of votes in the house and senate. The resolution passed. On March 1, 1845, Tyler got his wish and signed the resolution to annex Texas to the U.S. Tyler signed the resolution with a gold pen that his wife, Julia, wore on a chain around her neck as a trophy. President Tyler was the first president to have his veto overridden by Congress (March 3, 1845). During his term in office Florida was admitted as a state in 1845. He was the first president to have security protecting him. I consisted of four men who guarded the doors to the White House.

Tyler's second wife started the tradition of having "Hail to the Chief" when he appeared at state functions. (President Polk's wife also had "Hail to the Chief" played and it became a tradition.) After Tyler left office the State of Texas named a city and county after him. During the last two weeks of Tyler's time in office John and Julia Tyler hosed a series of dinners and parties. Tyler wished to be remembered that he was the president that brought Texas into the union. After leaving the presidency he spoke in favor of California becoming a free state even though Tyler supported slavery. John and Julia where very upset with John Brown's raid and his call to slave to stage an uprising against their masters. Immediately following the election of Abraham Lincoln, North Carolina withdrew from the union. Others southern states including Virginia succeeded. He joined the Confederacy when the Civil War started. Tyler was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives. He died before taking his seat in that office. During the war Union forces destroyed their summer home. Julia called the Massachusetts troops who destroyed the house "the scum of the earth." Union troops latter ransacked Tyler's plantation, Sherwood Forest. Most of his possessions were broken or burned.

General Wild the commander of the Black troops sent two canes and a secession flag to the north to sell for money to support the troops. People considered him a traitor to the United Sates. John Tyler died in 1862 in a hotel in Richmond, Virginia. Tyler is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. His death was pointedly ignored by the Federal Government as a sworn enemy of the U.S. He was 71 years and 295 days old. His last child was born a year and a half earlier. Tyler was the first president whose death brought no official response or recognition from the U. S. Government. He was an official of the Confederate Government when he died so no recognition was given. Many people thought of him as a traitor. President Jimmy Carter restored Tyler's U.S. citizenship more than a century later. Topics

Question: Who, in 1842, became the first US President's wife to die in the White House?
Answer: Letitia Tyler