Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Why was John Tyler expelled from the Whig Party?

John Tyler was the 10th president of the United States and was also the only president that was kicked out of his own party. He was nominated by the Whig party as the running mate for William Henry Harrison during the 1840 election. The Whigs hoped that this nomination would help gain support from the Southern states, which detested the Jacksonian Democracy. After the death of William Henry Harrison, John Tyler became president, but the Whigs remained optimistic that he would align with their party ideals.
The Whigs opposed a powerful presidency, but John Tyler immediately took full presidential powers. During his term, he did sign into legislation some of the laws passed by Congress, which was controlled by the Whigs, but he was a strong advocate for states's rights. He vetoed congressional bills for a national bank and raising the tariff rates, and he tried to bypass the Whig establishment. It wasn’t long before most of his cabinet resigned, and the Whigs expelled him. It didn’t help that the Whig party was founded by Henry Clay, who created legislation that was vetoed by John Tyler. The facts that he unexpectedly rose into the office of president and that he became a threat to many powerful politicians who sought the presidency kept him estranged from both major parties.

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