Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – June 14, 1863) was an American military leader who served as the twelfth president of the United States from 1849 to 1853. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to the rank of general and becoming a national hero for his victories in the Mexican–American War. As a result, he won election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs. His top priority as president was to preserve the Union.
Early Life[]
Zachary Taylor was born on November 24, 1784, in Orange, Virginia. He was the third of six sons born to General Richard Taylor and his wife, Sarah Dabney, with three younger sisters. His father had served in the American Revolution, making the Taylors among many of the first American military families. Through his family connections and descendance from the Mayflower, he was a cousin to future president James Madison and future general Robert E. Lee.
Early in life, the family moved out of Virginia, joining the masses migrating West for new opportunities rather than the ones they had already exhausted in the East. Settling in Louisville, Kentucky, Taylor grew up in a log cabin until the family gained enough funds to purchase a brick house. The boy lived through the American Indian Wars, being traumatized when Native Americans abducted his classmates while they walked down the road, and returning with their heads scalped. Taylor's father acquired thousands of acres and tens of slaves for the family by the time the boy had reached his teenage years.
Due to the education system in Kentucky still taking form, Sarah homeschooled her children. He later attended various academies in the state, being taught by Connecticut educator Elisha Ayer and a scholar from Ireland who became the future father of General Theodore O'Hara. Though Taylor was a patient and quick learner, his handwriting was often difficult to read until he improved.
Old Rough and Ready[]
Taylor enlisted into the military under President Thomas Jefferson, being commissioned under his home state of Kentucky. At the time, tensions were rising with the British Empire, and Taylor and his companions ended up in the armies of General James Wilkinson, who moved south to Louisiana, which needed to be protected at all costs. Due to the poor command of the general, disease and lack of supplies caught up to the soldiers, and Taylor was given a leave, returning to Kentucky to recover. After spending a few months recovering, he met a woman from a military family named Peggy Smith from a family of Marylanders; she was the daughter of Revolutionary War General Walter Smith. The two married in 1810, having six children over the course of the next two decades, though only four would survive to adulthood.
A year after the marriage, Taylor was put in charge of Fort Knox in Indiana Territory. His ways of restoring order were so admirable that territorial governor William Harrison was deeply impressed by his capabilities. The next few months following that were spent in the capital, where he attended General Wilkinson's court-martial.
When the War of 1812 broke out, Taylor was moved to defend Fort Harrison; he valiantly protected it against the forces of Tecumseh's Confederacy. His bravery was rewarded with the first brevet promotion in American history. He was soon appointed to the staff of General Samuel Hopkins, where they moved to Illinois Territory and underwent a disastrous retreat at the Battle of Wild Cat Creek; though, once the violence subsided, Taylor moved his family to Fort Knox. This would not be the end of Taylor's humiliation: He was assigned to the staff of General Benjamin Howard, though when the general fell ill, he took command of the troops, leading victories on the Mississippi River throughout modern day Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa, building Fort Johnson on the way. When Howard died weeks later, he was ordered to retreat, and was demoted, though would later regain his rank a year later. Over the next few years, he moved constantly with his family; they went wherever he went:
- Fort Howard at Green Bay, modern Wisconsin: 1816 - 1818
- Fort Selden at Natchitoches, Louisiana: 1820 - 1822
During this time, he dined with President James Monroe and General Andrew Jackson, gaining himself political favors; it was for this reason, that in 1826, President John Quincy Adams summoned him to the capital, entrusting him with reorganizing the military, to which he did so, keeping in mind tactical advantages and not personal bias. Afterwards, Taylor and his family moved to Baton Rouge, where the major remained on recruiting duty for the next several years.
When Taylor moved his troops to Michigan Territory, he set up base in various forts across modern Minnesota. When Native American leader Black Hawk crossed the Mississippi into American territory in 1832, Taylor fortified his defenses quickly, knowing war was brewing. Under General Henry Atkinson, Taylor and the patriots had on and off attacks with the Natives, going either on the offensive or stabilizing the defense. The war's end marked the end of Native resistance in the region, with a Pyrrhic victory achieved by the United States. During that same time, Taylor's daughter Knoxie began courting with Lieutenant and future Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Taylor respected the young man, but did not approve of their relationship; they went forward with it anyway, marrying in Summer 1835, though she passed away a few months later from malaria contracted while visiting Davis's sister. Taylor would never associate with Davis again.
Upon the Second Seminole War's peak in 1837, General Harrison, who had been elected as the new president, sent Taylor south with command of Northwestern armies to deal with the Seminoles. On Christmas Day, he attacked the Seminoles at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee, among the largest battles between Americans and Natives, bringing a crushing defeat to them as a whole; for this, he received a promotion. His prestige was further boosted when General Thomas Jesup stepped down from his position and handed his armies over to Taylor, putting him in charge of the overall war. Though criticized for using bloodhounds to track the Natives, the war ended in a patriotic win, with Taylor gaining the nickname "Old Rough and Ready" for his determination and grit. Following the war, Taylor returned home and lived a comfortable relief with his family, though something else had caught his interest: politics. In correspondence with President Harrison, Taylor secured him and his family a comfortable living in Arkansas as the new general of the armies out there.
As the question of annexation of Texas loomed over Congress, and with Harrison's tenure coming to a close, Taylor was moved back to Louisiana, readied for a possible war over the large territorial gain. When Speaker of the House James Polk was sworn in as the next president, Polk put Taylor as one of his highest generals due to his, at the time, apolitical stance and good relations with the late President Jackson. Taylor moved to Corpus Christi, anticipating an attack; his speculations came true when negotiations with the Mexican Empire fell apart, and the general was forced to move to the Rio Grande River and prepared for Mexican attacks following de-escalation at the border. Shortly after, Taylor pulled through at the Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, taking place at modern Brownsville, Texas. Though greatly outnumbered by the armies of Mexican General and future president Mariano Arista, forcing them across the Rio Grande. However, unlike many generals, Taylor still had his sense of humanity - he tended for both American and Mexican wounded, before returning the Mexican ones to Arista in a prisoner exchange. After the exchanges were conducted, Taylor performed the last rites for the fallen Americans and Mexicans. These actions made him so famed throughout the country, the press compared him to presidents like Washington, Jackson, and Harrison, referring to generals who rose to the office of president; Taylor dismissed this prospect, believing it was an insane idea. In the later Battle of Monterrey, Taylor won yet another victory. President Polk hoped that, in due time, the Mexicans would hand over the desired territory America wanted after conquering their northern lands, but the government was unwilling to part with so much territory. For this reason, General Winfield Scott was sent to besiege Veracruz, while Taylor remained in Monterrey; however, Taylor was left with a smaller force as Scott had taken all of his experienced troops. Mexican General and future president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna intercepted a letter regarding Taylor's new force size, and Santa Anna marched on Taylor, hellbent on defeating him before going to face Scott. Taylor, upon hearing this, was recommended to retreat - he refused, establishing a defensive position at Saltillo. At the Battle of Buena Vista, the Americans inflicted more casualties on the Mexicans despite being outnumbered, and Santa Anna retreated, outmatched. For this feat, he received three Congressional Medals and remained at Monterrey until late 1847, when he sailed home to Louisiana and received a hero's welcome. Future president Ulysses S. Grant, who served under Taylor, noted that there was no better man for the job of defeating an enemy so vicious as Mexico than General Taylor.
The Unexpected President[]
Prior to 1848, Taylor had never been politically aligned; he viewed many of the politicians of his day with discontent, and viewed himself as an independent. Nevertheless, he was forced onto the political stage as groups had formed from broad support bases advocating for his candidacy, both Democrats under Polk and Whigs under Henry Clay made up his base (ironically, Taylor was a Clay supporter and voter.) Taylor's views also alienated both pro-slavery activists and abolitionists, as he was anti-slavery but owned slaves. Taylor announced initially he was not accepting either party's nomination, but the Whigs, led by Senator Jordan Crittenden, convinced him to accept their nomination. At the Convention, many leaders were considered for the vice candidacy, such as Crittenden, Millard Fillmore, and Abraham Lincoln. In the end, Henry Seward, a leading Whig, was chosen. Most of the campaigning was done by Seward's ally, Thurlow Weed, and Crittenden, with former vice president Daniel Webster assisting late in the season. Taylor's opponents came in the forms of Democrats: Martin Van Buren, who campaigned for the presidency in both 1836 and 1840, became fed up with the Democrats and formed the Free Soil Party, resulting in the Democrats nominating Michigan politician Lewis Cass. Taylor went on to defeat both men, securing 163 electoral votes, and 47% of the popular vote.
After appointing his Whig dominated cabinet, Taylor moved to Washington, a trek filled with bad weather, delays, injuries, sickness, and abduction by a family friend in Mississippi. He arrived on February 24 and met with outgoing President Polk, who had a low opinion of him. On March 4, his presidency began, but he was not inaugurated until the following day, Monday, March 5, and Seward was inaugurated alongside him. In his inaugural address, Taylor said that he will leave governance to the Senate, and favored compromises over partisanship, but most of all, he emphasized the need to remember President Washington's precedent not to get involved in entangling alliances. After taking office, he met with office seekers and ordinary citizens to allow them to express what they wanted from him. He also went on to attend the funerals of former President Polk and Dolley Madison, the widow of President James Madison - in his eulogy for Dolley, he first used the term First Lady, and the title would stick for his wife Peggy and all future presidential wives.
The first issue pressing Taylor was the issue of slavery. Southerners objected the addition of California, Utah, or New Mexico as free states, despite California's economic growth; it did not help their case that they became increasingly angry that Northerners refused to enact the Fugitive Slave Acts and even aided runaway slaves. As promised in his inaugural speech, his goal was to create compromises. Though he and Vice President Seward had their differences, he had meetings with him often, even telling Seward he threatened to sign the Wilmot Proviso, banning slavery in federal territories, should it come to his desk. Seward and his ally Thurlow Weed were on board with this plan, but some opposed it as not the right thing: among them was Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, who believed this was not wise - Representative Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was among the outraged. In Taylor's eyes, California's statehood was the best approach, and this was further supported by its economic boom caused by mass migrations and the Gold Rush. Representative Thomas King of Georgia was sent to test if the territory was ready for statehood - he approved, and soon the state applied, being ratified by 1850. In Texas, Taylor was dissatisfied with the size of the state and wanted to carve territory out of it to give to New Mexico. Governor Hansborough Bell of Texas attempted to increase his state's military size to oppose the government, but failed. As for Utah, the Mormons, a Religious group from the Northwest, wanted to form a state based in Utah called Deseret, but ultimately the Taylor Administration opted on keeping Utah the same way it was then, though the president promised they would be in charge of the state. All this was repeated in Taylor's 1849 State of the Union address, telling Congress to avoid sectionalism and deny secessionists their views.
In terms of diplomacy for the first year, Taylor did not have much diplomatic experience, and neither did his Secretary of State John Clayton. The administration supported liberal revolutions and Europe, and had fallouts with the ambassadors of France and Portugal for reasons of insults. When Venezuelan radical general Narciso Lopez attempted to seize Spanish Cuba, the South found the annexation appealing to their interests and Lopez appealed to the Americans to assist; Instead, Taylor found it illegal, and Lopez and his compatriots were arrested and held hostage, though they would soon be released, and Spain released their American prisoners at that same time as well. Clayton managed to secure a treaty with the British that proposed an oceanic canal in Central America in the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, which would form a foundational basis for the Panama Canal.
Later in 1850, a compromise was brought before Taylor, penned by former President Clay and former Vice President Webster: the Compromise of 1850. This admitted California as a free state, but left the other territories as federal territories, with New Mexico included, though Texas would be reimbursed; the capital was free of slavery, though the Fugitive Slave Act was to be strictly enforced nationwide. Though Taylor accepted it and it was ratified, tensions escalated in Congress as allegations reached Taylor accusing him of sending the Army to New Mexico - he denied these, but he stated he would wish to, threatening to hang anybody that used military force against the Army. At this point, some Whigs were beginning to turn on the president, with Southern Whigs Augustus Toombs and Alexander Stephens warning Taylor he would alienate Southerners with his anti-slavery actions, but Taylor did not care. Further complications occurred with Taylor when his Secretary of War George Crawford, who owed funds to the Galphin estate, a family of Irish-American traders, in a unpaid debt. It was further humiliation for the president, and in order to save his reputation, he hastened his Cabinet rearrangements and ultimately put a measly military force in New Mexico, but refused to admit it as free or slave just yet. Many Southerners called for his impeachment, but the Northerners were convinced to keep him in office for the time being.
As the year continued, politicians like Douglas continued rising in prominence as the Great Triumvirate fell with the death of former Vice President John Calhoun. Many abolitionists protested the Fugitive Slave laws, smuggling slaves to freedom without retribution; Taylor did not act on this as to not cause any more problems for his reputation. When Social reformer Dorothea Dix appealed to the president to grant land as asylums for the mentally ill, he persuaded Congress to pass it on the condition these asylums were far away from civilian life in secluded regions, and though Dix found this discriminatory, she took what she received. Several railroads were expanded and opened, and Taylor took the opportunity to uplift his public image by taking trains on these railroads, taking his family, vice, and cabinet along with him. When several justices died over the coming years, Taylor appointed judges from both sides of the political spectrum to appease Congress, albeit it worked both in his favor and also against his favor.
In the final years of his presidency, Taylor sought to ensure everything was in good order before his term ended. Rising with Douglas on the political spectrum was Davis and Vice President Seward's ally, Weed. Contemptuous of Davis, Taylor worked with Clay (until his death in 1851), Webster, and even Seward at times to undermine his influence, causing his Southern support to publicly call out the president, though Taylor, under Douglas and Weed's recommendations, kept his actions against Davis and secessionists moderate. Commodore Matthew Perry was also sent to Japan to negotiate diplomacy despite their isolationism, as Taylor saw it as beneficial, though they would not arrive or return until after Taylor left office. Under the guidance of Cabinet members, Taylor eventually fixed America's relationship with Portugal via a favorable settlement. For other diplomatic relations, however, Taylor remained on the neutral stance.
With the 1852 Presidential Election coming up, the four main candidates considered were the president, Vice President Seward, Webster, and General Scott. When requested to run again, Taylor responded with a hard decline, stating he had done enough to the nation and did not seek to attempt anymore reforms; Seward repeated this sentiment, and a few months later, it was just Webster and Scott, until Webster soon passed away in October 1852 - all three other candidates attended his funeral, (following his death, a Second Triumvirate, based on the Great Triumvirate formed by Clay, Webster, and Calhoun, was formed by Seward, Douglas, and Davis with Weed in the background, though it was much more divided than the First.) Taylor announced in his final State of the Union in 1852 that he nor Seward were running for re-election, and was confident that he had completed all his campaign promises. First Lady Peggy caught a fever and died just a few months before this address, which unexpectedly boosted Taylor's confidence in his views to show he was not afraid to speak his mind as a president and as a patriot. In the election, Scott ran against New Hampshire senator Franklin Pierce, who's military career had occurred under Scott, but lost to his old superior, backed by Taylor. Taylor went on to attend Scott's inauguration on March 4, 1853, and decided not to give a farewell speech, simply giving his farewells to all those present personally before departing with his family back to Louisville, retiring from politics for the remainder of his life, as well as military duties.
A Readied End[]
Taylor remained in private life in the care of his children, along with visits from his grandchildren. Though his diplomatic and economical endeavors were a success, the political stage continued to deteriorate into the presidencies of Scott, his successor John Fremont. When Representative Lincoln of Illinois was elected, the secession crisis boiled over into the American Civil War. Taylor opposed the Confederacy, and while publicly not issuing his stance, he privately supported the Union.
In 1863, Taylor fell ill. His personal doctors tended to him to the best of their ability, but his health continued to deteriorate. Taylor stated to them he was not surprised he was dying, and was ready to go; and so, on June 14, 1863, Taylor died at the age of 78, surrounded by children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, just months shy of his 79th birthday. With Kentucky being a buffer zone between the Union and the Confederacy, Taylor's body was snuck out of the state on a funeral train in a Fisk metallic coffin, taken to D.C. through the Northern states - he arrived safely and was interred in the Public Vault until the war's end in 1865, in which he was returned to Louisville and buried at Springfield, the Taylor family plantation. In Taylor's will as well, he told his children to free their slaves should the Union win, and they kept their father's promise, freeing the family slaves following the Union victory.
Taylor is often ranked among the presidents in the average tier, fitting for his moderate stance and lack of political experience, combined with some controversial diplomatic decisions made during his tenure. In 1926, the remains of him and his wife Peggy were moved to the Taylor Mausoleum at the Taylor National Cemetery made of limestone with a granite base and marble interior.