Zachary Taylor, the twelfth President of the United States, was a firmly-set, stout man of medium height. He was simple in manner, and even while acting in his official capacity as a commanding officer, wore casual, mismatched, and worn-out clothing for the sake of comfort. A career soldier, he was extremely popular with those who served under him. Soldiers in his company often referred to him as "Old rough and ready" and as "Zack." Though not a brilliant military strategist, he was a strong leader who based his decisions on information received first hand, rather than sitting on the hill far away from the battle and having the outcome reported to him. He had trouble expressing himself in casual conversation, and was not much better at speech making, but when it came to giving military orders, his words were clear and precise. As far as politics went, Zachary Taylor was ignorant of public affairs and made no effort to hide the fact. When the Whig Party nominated him as a candidate for the Presidency in 1848, he had never voted, much less held public office. At the Whig convention he refused to give an opinion on any current issues and once nominated, he immediately denounced any pretension of loyalty to the Whig Party. The Whigs assumed that since he was a southerner and a slave owner, he would fight for the rights of slave states, but when the time for California to be admitted to the Union as a free state, President Taylor felt no obligation to make compensatory concessions to the South and promised to veto the Compromise Bill of 1850 if it passed Congress. President Taylor did not get the chance to veto the bill, however, because he died in office on July 9,1850, three months before the bill was passed by Congress.
Zachary Taylor was born on November 24, 1784 in Orange County, Virginia. He was the third child of nine born to Sarah and Richard Taylor, a prominent Virginia planter, who had been an officer in the Revolutionary War. A massive frontier land grant offered to former soldiers encouraged Richard to move his two children and pregnant wife to a settlement near Louisville. Zachary Taylor was born during the journey from Virginia to Louisville. The frontier had no formal schools, so Zachary received a basic elementary education from private tutors and his parents.
In 1808 the Native American uprising in Chesapeake convinced Zachary Taylor to join the army. He was commissioned to the Seventh United States infantry, with the rank of first lieutenant. Taylor fought under the command of William Henry Harrison in the Indiana Territory campaign of 1811, and again in the Ohio Valley campaign during the War of 1812. After the war, a rank dispute lead Taylor to resign his commission in protest. He was reinstated a year later with the rank of major.
In 1810 Zachary Taylor married Margaret Smith. The couple had six children. Their only son, Richard, was a general in the Confederate Army. Their daughter Sarah married Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy.
Major Zachary Taylor was stationed at a number of different frontier posts during the next few years of peace. He returned to battle in the Black Hawk War of 1832. In the Black Hawk War, Zachary Taylor rose to the rank of colonel. He was one of the American officers to receive Black Hawk's surrender.
President Jackson ordered Taylor to Florida in 1832, where he was to fight the Seminole Indians. His victory at the Battle of Okeechobee on December 25, 1837 earned him the commission of brigadier-general, and on May 15, 1838, he became commander in chief of the forces in Florida.
After the Seminole War ended, Zachary Taylor was commissioned with the command of the Southern Division of the United States Army. Taylor moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he purchased a large plantation, complete with 118 slaves, and began establishing himself as a planter.
Taylor was called away from his plantation in 1845 by President Polk. The southern border of the recently annexed Texas Territory was in question. President Polk sent Taylor into Texas to defend it against a possible Mexican attack. When no such attack occurred, President Polk ordered Taylor to enter the territory between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. This territory was claimed by both the United States and Mexico, but it was occupied by Mexicans. President Polk's decision to send in armed troops was, therefore, a clear provocation. When Mexico counter attacked in an attempt to repel the invasion, President Polk asked Congress for a declaration of war citing Mexico as the aggressor.
Taylor's troops won quick victories at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, and Monterey, and as a result, Taylor was promoted to major general and became a national hero. Though General Taylor had no political ties, or even political views for that matter, President Polk began to fear the possibility of Taylor's becoming a future Presidential candidate for the Whig Party on his status as a war hero. In an attempt to curtail Taylor's popularity, President Polk relieved Taylor of his command of the Southern Division and demoted him to the command of a much smaller force in northern Mexico. Polk's plan backfired. In February of 1847, Taylor lead his small force against a Mexican army three times its size and won. The Battle of Buena Vista ensured General Zachary Taylor's status as a war hero.
President Polk's fear of Taylor becoming a Presidential contender through his popularity as a war hero was not unfounded. The Whig Party nominated Taylor as their presidential candidate during the convention of 1848. Taylor disliked what he knew of party politics and remarked that he would rather run as an independent. He eventually accepted the nomination, but tried immediately to distance himself by saying that although he was running on the Whig ticket, he was a national candidate.
The Whig's Taylor campaign of 1848 was a duplicate of their Harrison campaign of 1840. It did not matter that Taylor had no experience in government, nor did it matter that he had refused to express any opinions on current issues at the Whig National Convention, for the parades, songs, and speeches of the campaign completely drowned out any talk of issues. The Democratic vote was split between Democratic candidate Lewis Cass and ex-Democrat Martin Van Buren, who was now running on the Free Soil Party ticket. The split was just enough to let the Whigs win. Zachary Taylor assumed the office of President of the United States on March 4, 1849.
The prevailing question facing the Taylor Administration was slavery and its expansion into the western territories. President Taylor believed that incoming states had a right to decide for themselves whether they wanted to be slave or free. His belief was put to the test when California petitioned for statehood as a free state in 1850. Despite his being a southerner and a slave owner, President Taylor supported California's entrance into the Union. He felt that in the face of the recent chaos caused by the gold rush, statehood might help restore law and order to the troubled territory. He did not feel obligated to make concessions to the South and openly threatened to meet any attempt by southern states to secede with military force. When the Compromise Bill of 1850 came before Congress, President Taylor swore that if it passed, he would veto it. President Taylor never got the chance to carry through with his veto. While attending Fourth of July ceremonies in front of the Washington Monument, President Taylor fell ill and became the second President to die in office, on July 9, 1850.
