12.+Zachary+Taylor

**Zachary Taylor ** 12th President of the United States In Office: March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850

Zachary Taylor, also known as “Old Rough and Ready”. **I: Biography ** Zachary Taylor was born on November 24, 1784 in Orange County, Virginia, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1810, Taylor married Margaret Smith, and they had 6 children, 5 girls, two of which died, and one son.

Taylor’s father was an officer in the Revolutionary War, so Zachary grew up knowing about war and fighting, and as a result, he joined the army, as a private, at twenty-two years old, and two years later was promoted to lieutenant. He fought in the Indian campaigns and the War of 1812. He was later promoted to general during the Seminole War.

General Taylor fought in the Mexican War and claimed many victories, such as the Battle of Buena Vista, where he defeated a Mexican army four times larger than his own.

Visit this link for a quick video on who President Zachary Taylor is **II: Presidential Election ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Due to his victories, he became very popular, and this led to the Whig party to nominate him as their presidential candidate. General Taylor was up against General Winfield Scott for the candidacy in the Whig party, but Taylor won the candidacy due to his tough and strong nature, compared to General Scott’s polished and prim nature.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Although he was a candidate, he really knew little of politics and the presidency. He was used to being a soldier, had not voted until he was 62 years old because he never stayed as a resident long enough to register, and did not fully understand working with politicians. However, due to his popularity from the war, General Taylor eventually became President Taylor. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 29.3333px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">III: Presidency ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On March 4, 1849, Taylor began his presidency. At the time, faced several issues, but the greatest issues were Taylor’s political view as well as nationalism versus slavery.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Congress, at the time, was very frustrated by President Taylor’s political view. Although Taylor was representing the Whig party, he was no going to surrender to the Whig party’s control and become their puppet. He at times put himself above the political parties and used his own thoughts and opinions. He often tried to run the administration similarly to when he was a general leading his army.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The other problem was slavery. The South wanted to expand the use of slavery and increase the number of slave states. The South wanted this so much that they threatened to leave the Union. The South expected President Taylor to agree with the use of slavery since he owned slaves on his plantation in Louisiana and because he was born in the south; however, President Taylor actually did not agree with the South.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Despite the facts that President Taylor was somewhat similar to those in the South, he actually denied the request of the expansion of slavery. President Taylor’s biggest concern was the Union and nationalism. He did not want the South to remove themselves from the Union, so he had told the South that if they were to secede from the Union, then he himself would lead an army against the South. Congress was trying to work out a compromise on slavery in the states and new states, but President Taylor was still against it. President Taylor might have vetoed this compromise; however, President Taylor passed away during this time on July 9, 1850, making him the second president to die during his presidency, the first being William Henry Harrison.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 29.3333px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">IV: His Significance ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Although President Zachary Taylor lived out a very short presidency, his legacy is definitely important. He has taught us the importance of staying true to your own opinions and morals and to stand your own ground. He was his own man and did not become a federal puppet; instead he stood his own ground and used his own view of politics, and for this he should be admired.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">President Taylor not only should be admired for his strong personality but also for his view of nationalism and his stance on slavery. Although he is a slave owner himself, he did not advocate slavery or want to expand the use of slavery. Instead, President Taylor spoke up against the South, and even spoke against the compromise of slavery that Congress was creating. If he never spoke against the South, then slavery would have been used in even more states, and who knows where we would be today.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">President Taylor’s strong view of nationalism should be admired as well because he was so determined to keep the Union together that he even would go to war against the South if they seceded from the Union. His strong nationalism is very amiable and if he didn’t have a strong sense of nationalism, then the Union then and our nation today would not be as strong.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Overall, even though he was in office for 16 months, his presidency was very important to the nation in the past as well as today. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: serif; font-size: 22px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 26.6667px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sources **
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 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Look-It-Up Book of Presidents: From George Washington through Bill Clinton