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'''Zachary Taylor''' (1784 - 1850) was the 12th [[President of the United States of America]]. He served as the president from 1849-1850.<ref>http://americanhistory.about.com/library/fastfacts/blffpres12.htm</ref> He was the second president to die while in office.  The first to die in office was [[William Henry Harrison]].<ref>[[Encyclopedia of Presidents Zachary Taylor]] by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1988.</ref>

'''Zachary Taylor''' (1784 - 1850) was the 12th [[President of the United States of America]]. A career army officer and a prominent American general in the [[Mexican War]], he was nominated by the [[Whig Party]] for the 1848 presidential election, in which he narrowly defeated [[Democrat]] [[Lewis Cass]]. He served as the president from 1849-1850, during which the government was badly divided over the expansion of slavery into the western territories.<ref>http://americanhistory.about.com/library/fastfacts/blffpres12.htm</ref> He was the second president to die while in office (the first being [[William Henry Harrison]]), expiring of an intestinal disorder on July 9, 1850 before the slavery controversy was temporarily resolved via the [[Compromise of 1850]]. Today, Taylor is generally remembered as a mediocre President, whose admirable personal qualities were often outweighed by a lack of political skill and experience.<ref>[[Encyclopedia of Presidents Zachary Taylor]] by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1988.</ref>

==First Days==

==First Days==

   

   

==Career in the military==

==Career in the military==

His earliest services were in Kentucky and New Orleans.  He was promoted to Captain in the spring of 1811 and then given the command of Fort Knox (in Vincennes.)  It was during his stay there that the War of 1812 occurred.  He was put in command of Fort Harrison which he successfully defended from the shawnee chief, [[Tecumseh]].  He was given several assignments at various Forts such as Howard, Snelling and Crawford.  He was later promoted to Colonel shortly before he was sent to do service in the Illinois war against the Indians.  He also fought in the [[Second Seminole War]].  

His earliest services were in Kentucky and New Orleans.  He was promoted to Captain in the spring of 1811 and then given the command of Fort Knox (in Vincennes.)  It was during his stay there that the War of 1812 occurred.  He was put in command of Fort Harrison which he successfully defended from the shawnee chief, [[Tecumseh]].  He was given several assignments at various Forts such as Howard, Snelling and Crawford.  He was later promoted to Colonel shortly before he was sent to do service in the Illinois war against the Indians.  He also fought in the [[Second Seminole War]].

==Mexican War==

==Mexican War==

Taylor commanded an army in the [[Mexican-American War]] and won the decisive victory of Buena Vista.<ref>[[Encyclopedia of Presidents Zachary Taylor]] by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1988.</ref>

In 1846, Taylor was in command of troops along the [[Rio Grande]], protecting [[Texas]] from a possible invasion by [[Mexico]] following the American annexation the previous year. In May 1846, a skirmish between some of his soldiers and Mexican troops who had crossed the river prompted the outbreak of the [[Mexican-American War]].

 

Taylor's "Army of Occupation," as it was called, quickly drove its Mexican foes back south of the Rio Grande before launching offensive operations into northern Mexico. He won a battle at Monterrey in September 1846, and a second, more decisive victory at Buena Vista in February 1847, establishing American control over the north-central part of the country. These triumphs made Taylor an extremely popular war hero; he had already been promoted to major general in June 1846, and received three Congressional Gold Medals for his exploits in the war, to this day the only person to have that honor.<ref>[[Encyclopedia of Presidents Zachary Taylor]] by Zachary Kent, Children's Press, 1988.</ref>

==Presidency==

==Presidency==

[[Image:Taylor1848.jpg|thumb|290px|1848 election poster]] Zachary Taylor was recruited by the [[Whig Party]] to run for the office of President.  His successful military career boosted his campaign and enabled him to win against Democratic candidate, Lewis Cass and Free Soiler, [[Martin Van Buren]].  He then chose several loyal whig members for his cabinet. During his time in office it was discovered he wanted states to choose whether of not they wanted slavery. Many southerners disliked Taylor for this stand on [[slavery]].

[[Image:Taylor1848.jpg|thumb|290px|1848 election poster]] Zachary Taylor was recruited by the [[Whig Party]] to run for the office of President.  His successful military career boosted his campaign and enabled him to win against Democratic candidate, Lewis Cass and Free Soiler, [[Martin Van Buren]].  He then chose several loyal Whig members for his cabinet; most of these, however, were from Northern or border states and had reputations for being anti-slavery. Moreover, he relied heavily for political advice on several Whig politicians, especially Senator [[William H. Seward]] of [[New York]], who were closely affiliated with the abolitionist movement. Although Taylor himself was a Southerner who owned a number of slaves on several plantations in [[Louisiana]], these moves alienated many Southern politicians in both the Whig and Democratic parties, who believed he was allowing himself to be a tool of the abolitionists. In the controversy that broke out over whether or not to allow [[slavery]] in the territories that had been won from Mexico (aggravated by the introduction of the [[Wilmot Proviso]]), Taylor strongly indicated that he favored the admission of [[California]] at once as a free state, and of [[New Mexico]] in the near future with the same status. This would effectively bar the further expansion of slavery within the U.S.

 

Taylor's policies were denounced by many Southern congressmen, journalists, and other political figures, and fueled a crisis that lasted through much of 1849 and well into 1850. During this time, Congress was effectively deadlocked on the question of the western territories, and there were growing fears that the Union might break up over the issue. Over the spring and summer of 1850, however, several congressional leaders, most notably [[Henry Clay]] and [[Daniel Webster]], would defuse the crisis through several pieces of legislation that became known as the "Compromise of 1850." Taylor did not exert a decisive role in these negotiations, partly because a rift between him and Clay, and this seriously weakened his political standing in his final months.

==Death==

==Death==

Taylor contracted [[cholera]] and the [[typhoid fever]]; he died several days later on July 9, 1850.

 

To celebrate the Fourth of July, Taylor attended a ceremony at the unfinished [[Washington Monument]] in the capital. Exhausted by the intense summer heat, he drank a large quantity of iced water and milk and ate some cherries. He quickly fell ill with "cholera morbus" (the 19th-century term for various forms of gastroenteritis), which was soon joined by [[typhoid fever]]. His condition deteriorated rapidly over the next several days, and he died on the evening of July 9, 1850.<ref>Allan Nevins, ''The Ordeal of the Union, Volume I: Fruits of Manifest Destiny, 1847-1852'' (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1947), p. 333.</ref>

 

 

 

 

==References==

==References==