The first vice president to become president on the death of the
incumbent, John Tyler (1790-1862) was derided by critics as "His
Accidency." In this biography of the tenth president, Edward P.
Crapol challenges depictions of Tyler as a die-hard advocate of
states' rights, limited government, and a strict interpretation of
the Constitution. Instead, he argues, Tyler manipulated the
Constitution to increase the executive power of the presidency.
Crapol also highlights Tyler's faith in America's national destiny
and his belief that boundless territorial expansion would preserve
the Union as a slaveholding republic. When Tyler sided with the
Confederacy in 1861, he was branded as America's "traitor"
president for having betrayed the republic he once led.