Zachary Taylor: Old Rough and Ready

Zachary Taylor

President from: Mar. 5, 1849–July 9, 1850

Age at inauguration: 64

Political Party: Whig

What I read:

Zachery Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest by K. Jack Bauer

Age at death: 65

Cause of Death: Was he poisoned? Some think so, but the proof is inconclusive. Tyler most likely died from cholera, dysentery, or spoiled food. He spent a long, hot day in D.C. at 4^th of July celebrations, eating possibly contaminated food. He felt ill by the evening and he died five days later.

Health & Appearance: Taylor stood 5’8” tall and had hazel eyes and brown hair. His early life showed no major illnesses but once he joined the army, he contracted yellow fever, dysentery, and malaria three times. Military camps were notoriously dirty places and keeping them free from disease was always a main worry for commanders. 

He chewed tobacco and witnesses account that he spit very accurately.

Taylor was barrel chested with short legs.  His legs were so short that an orderly was needed to help him in the saddle. Taylor was near sighted but did not wear glasses.  This caused him to squint which gave the impression of him often scowling. When reading, he had to shut one eye as he had double vision.

During his short presidency he had cholera, which he recovered from. It is reported that he was exhausted from scandals involving his cabinet members. We now know that stress weakens our immune system and could have hastened his untimely death.

Pre-Presidency: Zachary Taylor was born into a farming, slave-owning family . Though he spent his life in the military, eventually he acquired several farms and owned over 100 slaves.

Taylor rose to fame as a fighter of Indigenous peoples all through the Midwest, West and South. As a military leader, he admired their fighting style and discipline in battle. He was sympathetic to their horrible treatment and their diminishing of their way of life. He believed it was the military's job to stop White settlers from provoking First Nation people by standing between the two groups.

Taylor never voted in any election and did not vote for himself as he did not think it gentlemanly. He ran on his popularity.  He had no platform, did not give any speeches, and even his own party was not sure what he stood for. His reputation and the nation's love of generals-turned-president won him election. His nickname of “Old Rough and Ready” was his only campaign promise.

It is known that he supported the Wilmot Proviso which called for no slavery in the new western territories. Even though he was a slave owner, he did not support its expansion. 

He hated President Polk for decisions he made in the Mexican War which reflected badly on Taylor. Taylor believed a president should not veto a bill sent to him unless it was unconstitutional. 

Though Taylor ran as a Whig, he was an Independent.

Major accomplishments: Though a slave owner, Taylor pressed California and other states applying for statehood to write anti-slavery constitutions which would circumvent Congress from  permitting slavery in these newly formed states. This enraged the South, who viewed this political move as traitorous, and Southern representatives threatened to secede from the Union. Taylor squelched the threats by announcing he would hang anyone who tried to secede.

Two proposals increased tension between the North and the South: The Compromise of 1850, and the Fugitive Slave Law. The proposed Compromise of 1850 would allow Congress to legislate over the territories, permit Southerners to bring chattel (slaves) into those territories, and make California a free state. The Fugitive Slave Law would allow slave owners to track down runaway slaves in any state of the union, a practice which was currently not allowed. Taylor died before these heated discussions were settled. Tag, President Fillmore, you’re it!

Are you kidding me? Strawberries and milk are blamed for his death. On July 4^th he ate strawberries and milk, and his doctors assumed the food had spoiled in the extreme heat of the day. He is our only president to be killed by fruit or a cow. Some conspiracy theorists allege the food may have been poisoned, but nothing conclusive has been proven.

He refused to be sworn in on Inauguration Day as it fell on a Sunday.  He was sworn in the following day.

What I learned: For a man who had no political experience, he learned very quickly how to play the game. The events of the time were almost impossible to govern and at best he put a finger in a dam that just kept sprouting more holes. He did well for his short time in office. What I truly wondered after reading about President Taylor is what would have happened if he would have lived? Would the Civil War have come sooner?  Would he have been able to change what seemed destined to happen? Taylor stood against the Compromise of 1850, which would not have passed in any form if he lived, in which case, what would have happened in the new territories? Maybe he was poisoned by Southern sympathizers for his stance against slavery's expansion. Like Lincoln, we will never know what might have been.

PRECEDED BY: James Polk

SUCCEEDED BY: Millard Fillmore