If you’re looking to read a biography on John Tyler, you don’t have many options. Published in 2020, President Without a Party is the first full-scale Tyler biography published in half a century. Does it shine any new light on an oft neglected and historically maligned president?

Four years ago, I made it a goal to read one full-length biography on every president. When it was my turn to cover Tyler, I ended up reading Robert Seager’s 1963 And Tyler Too a Biography of John and Julia Gardiner Tyler. I bent my rules slightly to accommodate Tyler, as this was a dual biography on both he and his wife. My only other option was Oliver Chitwood’s 1939 John Tyler: Champion of the Old South. Needless to say, a modern take on Tyler was long overdue.

I’ve covered the presidency extensively in my reading and I usually don’t revisit subjects right away. But I wanted to read this one A.S.A.P. because Tyler is one of the greatest presidents. You will never hear a mainstream pundit say that, but we don’t do mainstream at Salerno Schools. In fact, Tyler usually ranks near the bottom on “greatest presidents” lists. But these historians rank presidents based on how much stuff they did, constitutional or not. That’s like ranking a goalie based on how good of a chef they are. The president’s job is to uphold and defend their oath to the constitution, that’s it. With expressly delegated powers.

Tyler’s presidency is looked at favorably by constitutionalists and libertarians. Mention Tyler in a positive light as a litmus test when speaking to historians, if they agree with you, you’ve uncovered the “secret handshake.” Those who do like him point to how strictly he followed the constitution. So strictly, he was kicked out of his own political party.

The book’s author, Christopher Leahy, is a professor of history at Keuka College. When writing this, he wanted to offer a fair, nuanced take on someone who history has not been kind to. And he does a good job. You get both sides of all the major issues in antebellum America. Leahy knows he has an uphill battle, and never once tries to demonize or glorify Tyler. One minor quibble is that he makes the case that Tyler was a man addicted to the power that politics gave him. I don’t necessarily agree as Tyler’s father was a politician and he was born into the role. He isn’t much different than any other politician of the time period. Committing political suicide by going against your own party in the name of principle also doesn’t strike me as being power-hungry. Regardless, Leahy does give a fair assessment.

The best part of the book is Tyler’s presidency. He may have had the deck stacked against him more than any other president. Tyler, a longtime player in Virginia politics, ran as William Henry Harrison’s Vice President. They ran as Whigs, a party composed of several loose-knit factions that were mainly opposed to Andrew Jackson’s Democrat party. Harrison was elected, however he died on April 4, 1841, 31 days into his presidency. Up to that point, a president had never died in office, and the constitution wasn’t exactly clear on what to do in the situation (the 25th amendment wasn’t ratified until 1967). Could Congress hold a special election? Was Tyler just filling a seat in the interim? Not exactly a great start.

But Tyler assumed the presidency and made it clear from day one that he was the acting president. Trouble started almost immediately. The biggest obstacle he faced was the chartering of a national bank. This was a big campaign promise for the Whig party, of whom Henry Clay was a major player. Clay’s “American System” intended to use federal money to fund internal improvements, a power that was constitutionally reserved to the states. The bank was a major focus of Clay’s plan, and Tyler refuted it at every turn. The federal government does not have the power to incorporate, which is exactly what chartering a bank is. Tyler was putting principle over party here. He may have expressed interest in national banks in the past, but as president he could not. He vowed to be a strict defender of the constitution. These values were inherited from his father, John Tyler Sr., who took similar stands in the Virginia House of Delegates and district courts.

The book goes into great detail on the struggles between Tyler and Clay. Tyler made attempts to pacify Clay with his own modified “Exchequer Plan” but eventually Clay had enough, and Clay’s Whig party kicked Tyler out. This was also unprecedented in presidential history. Some did remain loyal to Tyler, namely Secretary of State Daniel Webster, but for the most part he was the president without a party. Any hopes Tyler had for re-election were crushed.

Despite the uphill battles, the Tyler administration did have accomplishments. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty resolved several border disputes between the United States and Great Britain. Tyler & Webster were also instrumental in bringing Texas into the Union, something the subsequent Polk administration largely took credit for. Another point in Tyler’s favor was the Dorr Rebellion of Rhode Island. Rhode Island was still operating under its 1663 constitution, which greatly limited voting rights to the aristocracy. Thomas Dorr led a movement against the Rhode Island government to expand suffrage. The Rhode Island Governor requested troops from the federal government, but no violence had taken place.

The constitution gives the president the power to send in troops to quell an insurrection at the state’s request. Tyler refused on the grounds that no insurrection had yet occurred – these were protests. Leahy does a great job detailing all of the back-and-forth that occurred during the crisis. Insurrection or not, the governor could save face if federal troops were used as opposed to the state militias. Dorr’s rebels did ultimately come to blows with the Rhode Island militia and ended up fleeing the state. Things didn’t end well for Dorr, but in time, the political consequences of Dorr’s Rebellion lead to increased suffrage. This entire political situation was something that could have easily tripped up Tyler, however he recognized this was strictly a state issue. He abides by the constitution.

In addition to all of these ups and downs, Tyler’s first wife Leticia died in 1842, barely two years into his presidency. He remarried in 1844, but not before the USS Princeton exploded due to a freak accident, killing members of his cabinet, and his bride-to-be, Julia Gardiner’s father. Tyler couldn’t catch a break. The Gardiners, a family of old-money Long Island aristocrats, were celebrities in their own right. At first, the Gardiners actually looked down on Tyler as if he was beneath them, despite the fact that he was president! Tyler, a southern man, didn’t always fit their mold. Regardless, John & Julia Tyler started a large family of their own, despite the thirty-year difference in age.

Leahy balances the aspects of Tyler’s personal life with his political. Despite the fact that Tyler’s entire life was consumed by politics, you do get glimpses of who he was as a man when the book focuses on his family. The biography does a good job of balancing the good with the bad and provides a much-needed fresh take on John Tyler. Leahy doesn’t go overboard on Tyler praise nor hate. He makes you draw your own conclusions, and for that I recommend.

You can purchase President Without a Party – The Life of John Tyler here.