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Join Date 11/2004

The Last Deep Southerner

Part 12 of My Presidential Review Series

The next president up is Zachary Taylor. Taylor was the second president to die in office; the first to die in office but actually do something. After him, there was no president from the Deep South again until Jimmy Carter was elected in 1976. He was one of only 4 presidents to serve in the Whig party. Taylor owed his election to the 3rd-party bid of Martin Van Buren, who drew enough anti-slavery Democrats from Democratic nominee Lewis Cass to give the election to Taylor. He served March 5, 1849 to July 9, 1850.

The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty was drawn up by Secretary of State John M. Clayton and Henry Lytton Bulwer, minister to the U.S. It stated that: any canal constructed across Central America was to be neutral, with neither government exercising absolute control; neither country was to build or maintain fortifications in the canal zone; neither country was to "occupy, fortify, or colonize, or assume, or exercise any dominion over...any part of Central America." The last part was deliberately vague, and as such drew criticism, which claimed that it allowed the British to continue dominion over Honduras and other established colonies. The British government had, in fact, interpreted it to mean they only could not colonize further. Taylor, however, saw it as a ban on all colonization, past and future.

The long-standing claim against the U.S. by the Galphin family of Georgia had been paid before Taylor took office, but the family then pressed for $191,000 in interest. Treasury Secretary William M. Meredith, taking the advice of Attorney General Reverdy Johnson, paid the Galphin family. During the time that the matter was under consideration, War Secretary George W. Crawford failed to mention that he represented the Galphin family and stood to receive half of everything paid to them. When news of this leaked to the public, a hailstorm of criticism followed. Taylor, Meredith, and Johnson denied knowing this, the opposition charged conflict of interest and threatened impeachment. Taylor decided to reorganize his Cabinet, but died before replacing anyone.

Although a slaveholder and elected with Southern support, Taylor opposed the extension of slavery. He came out against the Compromise of 1850, spurning the pro-slavery parts of it. He supported the admission of California as a free state to the Union, though. Taylor made it perfectly clear that he would veto the bill if it were passed. The only thing that prevented its veto was the sudden death of Taylor and the accession of the pro-compromise Millard Fillmore.

Taylor did little during his presidency. He might have done more, but his term was cut short by his sudden death. It is a bad thing he died; the Compromise of 1850 was passed by Millard Fillmore, something I oppose not only because of the modern beliefs I hold, but because the pro-slavery parts were impractical even for the time. But that's for another review. Taylor pretty much did nothing, and will be remembered as such.

Overall Ranking: 33

"For more than half a century, during which kingdoms and empires have fallen, this Union has stood unshaken. The patriots who formed it have long since descended to the grave; yet it still remains, the proudest monument to their memory...In my judgement, its dissolution would be the greatest of calamities...Upon its preservation must depend our own happiness and that of countless generations to come. Whatever dangers may threaten it, I shall stand by it and maintain it in its integrity to the full extent of the obligations imposed and the power conferred upon me by the Constitution."

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P.S. Yeah, I know he wasn't the LAST Deep Southerner. But it took over 100 years for another to come into office. Also, he is the last Deep Southener I will be reviewing.

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He's one of my favorites. Right up there next to Harrison. My justification for that is 'the government that governs least, governs best.'

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He's one of my favorites. Right up there next to Harrison. My justification for that is 'a government that governs least, governs best.'

Heh. By that philosophy, Harrison was the greatest president in U.S. history!

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Out of curiosity, do you have the rankings sorted out before you write them. Like do you already have a list of rankings with all of them on there, and you write later? Or do you just make them up as you go along?

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P.S. Yeah, I know he wasn't the LAST Deep Southerner. But it took over 100 years for another to come into office. Also, he is the last Deep Southener I will be reviewing.

P.p.s. Virginia is not deep south, and we still claim Wilson!

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He's one of my favorites. Right up there next to Harrison. My justification for that is 'the government that governs least, governs best.'

You are not going to let me comment on this article are you! You get an insightful for that one!

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Ok, Answer Latour. he did say that REAGAN WAS A GREAT PRESIDENT ()

Now on to your article. very good, and I see your dilemna. How to rank the footnotes! I am glad I am not you, and will let this one stand as is. He could have been (should have been), but death prevented him from being a good or great. That he served a year I guess he had to be ranked.

As a foot note, he was the last slave holding president. The end was near, even for the south. They knew it, some just would not let it go.

Tough call, but then that is the mark of greatness. Making them.

Good call.

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You are not going to let me comment on this article are you! You get an insightful for that one!

Bwahahahaha, and thank you.

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I like Wilson. And did ya have to mention Carter? Ouch. As a diplomat, maybe. But as a president? Bleh.....

If you're going to remember Taylor though, you have to mention the most important thing he did, even if it was just prior to his presidential campaign (in fact it's largely what got him elected.) He kicked Santa Anna's ass through old Monterey, and all the way down to Mexico City. He's a major part of the reason that we have the Western third of the U.S. today. (I'm not going to count the strip south of the Nueces, we held that pretty good even when the Republic of Texas fell apart...)

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If you're going to remember Taylor though, you have to mention the most important thing he did, even if it was just prior to his presidential campaign

Rules are Rules and NJ is being very good at ranking them for what they did in the office, not before or after. I totally agree with you, but that was before.

I have to biitte my tongue, but I will abide by his rules and so far the only real disagreement was on who owns Wilson!

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Bwahahahaha, and thank you.

You are going to torment NJ through all these series aren't you?

I guess I am going to have to give him some more insighfuls to compensate for your torment! Have at it Gen Patton!

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'the government that governs least, governs best.'

A-fucking- men to that!

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You are going to torment NJ through all these series aren't you?

Why would anyone think otherwise?

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Have at it Gen Patton!

Now there's a historical figure with problems. It's not often mentioned, but he's the one that led the charge on the "Bonus Army" in Washington at Hoover's orders. They gassed, bayoneted and ran down women, children, and other unarmed civilians in the streets using armed cavalry, killing some, wounding many others.

Hoover got frightened when these veterans came to the White House asking for part of their WWI pention early. He sent Patton. When they came back under Roosevelt, he sent his wife, with coffee. They sang songs. Screw Patton and his tanks.

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Wow, I go away for a few hours and look what happens! Where to begin...

Latour:

I'm making them up as I go along. I consider every other president when ranking, though I rarely ever give them a concrete ranking before the article.

Dr. Guy:

P.p.s. Virginia is not deep south, and we still claim Wilson!

I thought so, but my source claims it to be so. Hm, I think officially Wilson was "of New Jersey," even though he was a Virginian, which would be how Carter would be the next one.

Yes, he could have been great, but we will never know for sure. Sadly, he is confined to the area of "do-nothings" along with Tyler. And, as I said before, only Harrison and Garfield did too little to be ranked.

Rules are Rules and NJ is being very good at ranking them for what they did in the office, not before or after. I totally agree with you, but that was before.

Thank you.

SPC Nobody Special:

I like Wilson. And did ya have to mention Carter? Ouch. As a diplomat, maybe. But as a president? Bleh.....

I like Wilson as well. Sorry, it will be the last mention of Carter in the series.

If you're going to remember Taylor though, you have to mention the most important thing he did, even if it was just prior to his presidential campaign

As Dr. Guy explained, I'm only concentrationg on their terms in office here. However, if you go to the Polk article, you will find him in my brief account of the war.

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Damn it, you've been busy since I last checked! A great history lesson for a foreigner like me.

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Damn it, you've been busy since I last checked!

Heh, sorry. If it's any consolation, production has stalled for a couple of days. Maybe I'll write one tonight.

A great history lesson for a foreigner like me.

Thanks. Educating the few masses who read them was my intent with these.

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Dr. Guy, I thought I debunked your romantic notion that history is the result of the actions of great men. No one man can be "great", as it takes a village, a collective will to accomplish anything that can be considered as great. Dr. King and Gandhi- men who accomplished more than any general- are naturally exceptions to the proposition that suppossed "great men" merely ride the tide of history. This is especially so of white-males who are not billionaires.

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In case you didn't notice, I'm the one who writes these. Again, presidents can only be put into power by the collective will of the nation. However, as they are the ones who get things done, they can be great. And believe it or not, history IS the result of the actions of great men. Very often you will find the decision of one man drastically changed history. One man's existence has often changed the course of history.

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What is the basis for the white-male superiority complex? First, as athletes they rank at the bottom. Furthermore, as a group they are responsible for most of the horrors that have occurred throughout history. They will not even apologize for the considerable pain and suffering that they have caused minorities and women. Bill Clinton is probably the only white male who is not a flat out hypocrite. As a good Christian, Bill came clean when he asked for forgiveness. All white males would do well to follow in Bill's footsteps in light of the exemplary life he has led. Dr. Miller knows what I am saying.

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What is the basis for the white-male superiority complex? First, as athletes they are rank at the bottom. Furthermore, as a group they are responsible for most of the horrors that have occurred throughout history. They will not even apologize for the considerable pain and suffering that they have caused minorities and women. Bill Clinton is probably the only white male who is not a flat out hypocrite. As a good Christian, Bill came clean when he asked for forgiveness. All white males would do well to follow in Bill's footsteps in light of the exemplary life he has led.

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Why did you suddenly start talking about white-males? When were white-males brought into this? Any person from any group can be great. If you are being very specific about what I said, by "man" I meant human. Happy?

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I sees a troll!

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Ok, Answer Latour. he did say that REAGAN WAS A GREAT PRESIDENT ()

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! That was taken out of context! I read Noam Chomsky, for crying out loud!

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NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! That was taken out of context! I read Noam Chomsky, for crying out loud!

Hehe. Calm down there Latour.

Truth be told, after reading up more on Reagan, my attitude towards him has cooled somewhat.

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