John Tyler - The Forgotten President
John Tyler was the 10th President of the United States, but his impact on history was about as memorable as a fart in a hurricane. He was born in 1790 in Virginia and died in 1862, and in between he managed to serve one term as President, which lasted from 1841 to 1845.
Tyler was not just any ordinary President, he was a true rebel. Not in the sense that he had a leather jacket and rode a motorcycle (although that would have been rad), but because he didn’t agree with his own party. In fact, he was such a thorn in the side of the Whig Party that he got kicked out of it during his Presidency.
Tyler wasn’t much of a public speaker, but he did have a way with words. When asked by a journalist about his plans for the future, Tyler said, “I am like a man who has just taken a cold bath. I have been plunged into a cold bath, and it has made me feel so much better.” I don’t know about you, but if Tyler’s plan for the country was to take a cold bath, then we were in trouble.
His most notable accomplishment was probably annexing Texas, but even that was overshadowed by his nickname “His Accidency”. That name was given to him because he never actually got elected as President. He was Vice President under William Henry Harrison, but when Harrison died after only 31 days in office, Tyler became President. Some people thought it was illegitimate for him to be President, and the nickname stuck.
Tyler wasn’t exactly a looker, either. He was described as having “a face like a toasted apple dumpling” and “the complexion of a dried fig”. Ouch. He was also the first President to get married while in office, which was scandalous at the time. The public was so outraged that they burned Tyler’s effigy in the streets, but I don’t think Tyler really cared.
Overall, John Tyler was a forgettable President who did forgettable things. He had a face like a dried fig, he took cold baths, and he got kicked out of his own party. So let’s all take a moment to remember John Tyler, the President who was like a fart in a hurricane.