“Most Awful and Most Lamentable Catastrophe - President John Tyler and the U.S.S. Princeton" Pt. 1

President John Tyler

Whig Party candidate William Henry Harrison was elected the ninth president of the United States in 1840, however he did not have long to enjoy the fruits of his victory, as he had the sad distinction of holding that office for a mere 30 days.  The oldest man (until Reagan) to be elected president at 67 years old, Harrison was anxious to demonstrate his vitality after winning the presidency and decided to give his inaugural address without hat or coat.  Unfortunately, bad weather arrived and Harrison was forced to give the longest speech in inaugural history (2 hours) on a cold and rainy day.  The president developed a cold and the added stress of trying to deal with office seekers resulted in the cold becoming pneumonia.  Despite the ministrations of physicians, Harrison would die a short time later and Virginian John Tyler would replace him.     

            Harrison was the first president to die in office and in 1841, the Constitution was silent on the matter of succession.  Tyler, who had served as both a governor and senator, determined to be president-in-full – not merely an “acting president,” which was contrary to the wishes of most of the senior members of Congress.  In their view, another election should be held and a new president elected.  Tyler stood his ground though and seized the presidency when he took the presidential oath (April 6, 1841) as soon as he could get to Washington after Harrison’s death.  President Tyler moved into the White House and became “president-in-fact.”  Despite the fact that Tyler was often referred to as “His Accidency”, both the House and Senate soon passed resolutions recognizing Tyler as the tenth president.  Tyler, a former Democrat, elected on an official Whig ticket, remains the first and only practicing independent to hold the nation’s highest office.

President Tyler soon showed that he was a genuine independent and that he would not serve as a “puppet” for the powerful Congressional leaders Webster and Clay.  He appointed numerous Democrats to government positions and later vetoed as unconstitutional two bills in which Congress had tried to revive the second Bank of the United States.  His entire Whig cabinet resigned in protest (except Webster who was out of country).  Tyler immediately used recess appointments to avoid Senate confirmation proceedings and replaced all cabinet members within two days.  An enraged Whig Party was so furious by Tyler’s betrayal that they denounced him as a traitor and expelled him from the party two days later in a declaration published in newspapers around the nation.  Tyler was officially a political pariah in the capital.  

            President Tyler went on to wield the veto so often and so vigorously that a resolution to impeach him was introduced in the House of Representatives – another first in American history.  Despite the backing of John Quincy Adams, the resolution failed and Tyler continued to vex the Whigs and Democrats alike.

            The issue of Texas annexation was perhaps the most controversial of the issues facing Tyler while in office.  Factions within Texas, an independent republic, hoped to become part of the Union and they were supported by southerners within Congress.  Tyler hoped to draw support for a new political party he was attempting to form by leading the drive to annex Texas and make it a state.  As with all of his other political moves, this one was strongly opposed by political opponents – this time northerner abolitionists, who feared the prospect of another slave state upsetting the sectional balance in Congress.  Tyler saw Texas as his ticket back to political respectability and his new party, the Democratic Republicans, used “Tyler and Texas!” as their slogan.  Arguing that the annexation of Texas would serve the broad national interests, President Tyler hoped to avoid potentially divisive interests of sectionalism.

 

On Feb. 27, 1844, Secretary of State Abel Upshur successfully completed negotiations for a draft treaty with the emissaries of the Lone Star Republic.  Texas citizens were to be granted all the rights and privileges of American citizens, the institution of slavery was to remain intact, and all public lands were to be ceded to the United States in return for U.S. assumption of Texan public debt.  Finally, the treaty stipulated that both parties would ratify the agreement within six months after the initial signing.  Tyler’s supporters had canvassed the Senate and indicated that he was close to securing the two-thirds vote required for ratification.  This victory would redeem him and poise him to win another term. 

            It was within this context (the day after negotiations were completed) that Tyler, Upshur, Secretary of Navy Glimer, and almost 400 other guests prepared for a carefree cruise on the United States Navy’s newest and most powerful warship, the steam frigate U.S.S. Princeton.  The Princeton was a screw-propelled steam frigate and the most technologically advanced warship of her day.  She ran silent and smokeless on a high-grade Anthracite coal and the two vibrating lever engines drove a six-bladed screw 14 ft. in diameter.  The engine was small enough to fit below the waterline (making it impervious to enemy fire).  The ship also had a collapsible funnel, an improved range-finder, and improved recoil systems for her main guns.  This technological marvel was the work of John Ericsson (Swedish nautical engineer who later designed the U.S.S. Monitor).  The construction was partly supervised by Captain Robert F. Stockton, who had navigated the project through the pitfalls of Congressional budgeting.  The Princeton was commissioned on Sept. 9, 1843.