Super weird reading about Lady Bird Johnson and pivoting to John Tyler. Also unusual that I’m chasing Tyler with a book about his second wife. That’s a whole lotta Tyler, but I have a presentation about him coming up in October and didn’t doodle my way through the book I read way back when.

I looked to Best Presidential Bios before selecting a book and landed on John Tyler by Gary May.

Let’s get this over with.*

*JK. Really interesting to learn about him, despite who he was.

Flip through my sketchbook.

Then scroll through more doodles. As always, my doodles don’t necessarily highlight the most important parts of the book. And they are in no particular order. Certainly not chronological. No spoilers.

Biggest surprises

Not all of the surprises. I need to save some for my presentation! But here are a few…

More experienced than his predecessors

Before becoming president, Tyler was a state legislator, governor, U.S. congressman, senator, and vice president. That last job was just for a month, if we’re being honest.

Into Patrick Henry

While his father (Judge John Tyler) helped enforce England’s control on Virginia’s trade, teenage John Tyler went with his friend (and dad’s contemporary) Thomas Jefferson to hear Patrick Henry speak. He was really into it and started publishing anti-King George III stuff.

“Ah! John,” warned the elder Tyler, “they will hang you yet for a rebel; they will hang you yet.”

At least I think that’s what happened. Honestly, I had to read this paragraph over a few times. There are two Johns Tyler. The elder was the same age as Jefferson and attended law school with him. The younger was friends with him. And it shifts from talking about the elder as “Judge Tyler” to “Marshall Tyler”. But I think I’ve got it.

Spoke of the importance of women’s education

At 16 years old, he delivered the commencement speech at his William & Mary graduation and spoke of the need for female education. He knew his dad always hoped his daughters would be as educated as his sons someday. (Huh? You’re a rich, connected white dude. Make it happen, buddy!) In any case, many agreed it was “the best commencement oration.”

Not his favorite teacher / college president / second cousin of future president James Madison though. Reverend Bishop James Madison was piiiiiissed, “gesticulating wildly with his hands and walking cane” despite the thunderous applause given to Tyler.

Four years to kiss Letitia’s hand

It took Tyler forever to work up the courage to kiss his fiancé Letitia’s hand, which isn’t all that interesting until contrasted with how he behaved chasing his not-at-all-yet-but-at-some-point second wife around (as a newly-widowed middle-aged President of the United States of America).

Also, John Randolph…?

John Randolph of Virginia brought a whip to work and was occassionally “besotted by drink and opium,” according to Gary May.

Written with an implied series of eye rolls…?

It was difficult to read some of this with my eyeballs rolled so far back into my head. I can’t tell if some of this was written with eye rolls or not.

Tyler was “a slaveowner with a conscience”, that is to say he didn’t whip those he enslaved. And he was, according to May, “physically sickened by the most barbaric aspects of slavery” (that is to say, slave markets).

Then there was his ridiculous “diffusion” theory of slavery, whereby if we let everyone enslave people in Texas then eventually it will peter out altogether...?

After his retirement, he’d ride through his fields at harvest time for hours “among the slaves, encouraging them by his presence.” (Chitwood). 😶

Fired his son

Tyler warned his family not to be “tempted” by their “station,” but the message didn’t sink in for John Tyler, Jr.

John Quincy Adams said the “Upstart Prince” had visiting cards made up. Wish I could have found what they actually looked like, but apparently they declared: “John Tyler, Jr. Private and confidential secretary of his Excellency, John Tyler, President of the United States.”

Also, he did a shitty job and drank too much. Dad had to fire him.

Eventually.

Everybody quit on the same day

Secretary of the Navy George Badger hosted a cabinet dinner after Tyler vetoed something-or-other. Secretary of State Daniel Webster realized something was up when Henry Clay was there. (What the…?!? He’s not in the cabinet!!) Webster left.

Saturday, September 11 between 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., five guys in the cabinet slowly streamed through Tyler’s office individually to hand in their resignations.

Jr. noted the time of each.

The thought was that Henry Clay carefully orchestrated this and drew it out so Tyler wouldn’t have time to react and he’d be so shaken that he’d resign himself and bada boom bada bing — a Clay man (pro tempore of the senate — excuse the typo in the doodle—would be president).

Kicked out by his party!!

The Whigs kicked him TFO of their party! A sitting president!! That made me wonder two things:

You can do that?! Huh. Seems like good information to know.
But, like, did it backfire…?
Kick him out ➡ compare him to Benedict Arnold ➡ ➡ ➡ he joins the Confederacy

When I thought that second thought, I didn’t know what happened in between. Turns out, that’s not what forced him into the arms of the Confederacy.

But we’ll get to that.

Henry Clay (OMG I’m getting so sick of this guy) sends more and more bills to Tyler that he can’t possibly not veto, squealing with delight (or “chortled”, according to May): “the more vetoes the better. The inevitable tendency of events is to impeachment.”

He didn’t meet Julia aboard the USS Princeton

Not sure why, but I always assumed he did. In any case, Tyler’s wife died on September 10, 1842…. there’s some squabbling with the British and Canada… blah blah blah… he has some successes there and in China.

Regarding the White House vibe in December 1842, May writes: “Despite these triumphs on the international stage, Tyler remained a lonely, unhappy man. Time did not heal the wound of Letitia’s death.”

Time?!

What time?! She’s been dead like 30 seconds! Is this written with an eye roll…? A little playful sarcasm…? I can’t tell.

In any case (three months after his wife of nearly 30 years died), May said Tyler began to perk up: “Later that month, however, Tyler’s depression began to lift.”

He grieved one month for each decade of their marriage—onward and upward! Here comes a “buxom” 22-year-old Julia Gardiner! And her sister!

There’s scandal surrounding Julia Gardiner because—can you even imagine!—she posed for an advertisement! For a store that wasn’t even a high-end store! (Check out the ad for yourself.) GASP!

Tyler flirts with both Julia and her sister in February of 1843. Julia is originally into John Tyler, Jr.: “He laid quite a siege to my heart.” (Again, ignore the typo in the doodle.)

Tyler kisses Margaret’s hand and then chases Julia around to kiss hers. (Mind you, it took him four years to kiss his fiancé’s hand now he’s chasing a random girl he barely knows who happens to be roughly the same age as his daughter.)

Here’s a little graphic showing the flirtations / attractions (not necessarily reciprocated):

Secretly got hitched

He only told/invited Junior (you know, the one his fiancé was previously into). Didn’t tell his six other kids.

His second batch of kids wasn’t born until after his presidency

Not sure why that surprised me, but it did. Guess I never really thought about the timeline. He and Julia married while he was president, but toward the end. (He served as president a smidge less than one full term.) And she was only First Lady for seven-ish months. That’s not enough time to grow one baby, let alone seven!

John Brown swayed him

Finally!

Getting to the bottom of how he ended up a traitor. John Brown and Harper’s Ferry finally swung Tyler to secession. Except he was still part of a peace commission trying to avoid war…? Every time I think he’s now in the Confederacy, he’s not. But close…? I found this transition a little confusing.

In any case, Tyler (too old to fight with the militia) joins the “Silver Greys” to protect his family and neighbors.

I drew out the family tree below, thinking I’d have little things to add for each person. His second batch of kids were all young — his oldest was only 15 when the Civil War began… so this family tree wasn’t at all necessary. Nevertheless:

Julia’s brother David was into the Union and it caused a lot of tension between Julia and her Copperhead mother and David.
Robert was almost lynched for his views; worked for the Confederate Treasury
John, Jr. was a major in the Confederate army
Tazewell served as a Confederate surgeon
Three of Tyler’s grandsons served; one was killed in action

Tyler is elected to the Confederate House of Representatives in 1861, but never actually serves. Julia has a nightmare that he’s very ill and rushes out to be with him. He thinks that’s quite funny.

A few days later, he’s dead.