Early life and marriage

John Tyler was born on March 29, 1790, at Greenway, the family plantation about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Richmond, Virginia. He was the son of Mary Armistead and John Tyler, Sr., a judge and former governor of Virginia. At the age of 12 he was sent to the grammar school division of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. After graduating in 1807, Tyler studied law with his father. At age 19 he became a lawyer.

Tyler married Letitia Christian on his 23rd birthday in 1813. The couple had eight children.

State and national politics

Tyler's career in politics began with his election to the Virginia legislature in 1811. Tyler had a talent for public speaking and soon became popular. He was reelected to the state legislature four times. In 1816 he was elected a representative to the United States Congress. Ill health kept him from seeking reelection in 1821.

Tyler returned to political life in 1823. He served again in the Virginia legislature before becoming governor of Virginia in 1825. Two years later he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served until 1836.

From vice president to president

Tyler's political commitments shifted during the 1830s. Although he was a Democrat, he opposed some of the policies of Democratic president Andrew Jackson. Tyler became a member of the opposition Whig Party. Many Southern Democrats joined him. In 1840 the Whigs nominated Tyler for vice president in an effort to attract Southern voters. The party's presidential candidate was William Henry Harrison, the hero of an 1811 battle against the Shawnee Indians at Tippecanoe River in Indiana. Campaigning with the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler too,” Harrison and Tyler won the election.

President Harrison died suddenly just one month after taking office. His death created a constitutional crisis. It was unclear whether, upon the death of a president, the vice president would become president or merely “vice president acting as president.” In spite of his opponents, Tyler assumed all the powers and responsibilities of the presidency.

Tyler lacked support among either the Whigs or the Democrats. He was a president without a party. Nevertheless, his administration managed to accomplish much. Tyler led Congress to reorganize the United States Navy and establish the United States Weather Bureau. His leadership brought an end to the expensive wars against the Seminole Indians in Florida. Tyler also helped to put down a rebellion against the state government of Rhode Island in 1842. Finally, in his last days as president he obtained a resolution from Congress to annex the territory that is now the state of Texas.

Remarriage and retirement

Letitia Tyler died in the White House in 1842. Two years later Tyler married Julia Gardiner, becoming the first president to marry while in office. Julia and John Tyler had seven children.

Tyler entered the presidential election of 1844 as the candidate of his own party, which he created from a group of loyal appointees. His candidacy attracted little support, however, and in August 1844 he withdrew in favor of the Democratic nominee, James K. Polk.

After leaving office Tyler continued to take an active interest in public affairs. In the years leading up to the American Civil War, he argued for the rights of Southern states but tried to keep those states from leaving the Union. Early in 1861 Tyler presided over the Washington Peace Conference in an attempt to resolve differences between the North and the South. When the conference failed, he supported the Confederacy and was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives. He died in Richmond before taking office, on January 18, 1862.