The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style , 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry. All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.
The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Texas and the Mexican War. Time Periods: Antebellum Texas. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
In , President James K. Polk ordered Taylor to command the U. In , President Polk declared that war had begun due to actions that were taken by Mexico. Taylor led troops into northern Mexico, leading to victories in the cities of Palo Alto and Monterrey. He was promoted to major general. Taylor's victory in the Battle of Buena Vista made him a well-known and popular military leader.
Major General Taylor declared his candidacy as a Whig candidate for president six weeks before the party's convention.
He won the nomination, despite the party's opposition to the Mexican-American War. Taylor won He needed to secure electoral votes to win. President Zachary Taylor was inaugurated as president on March 5, , at a time when the nation was debating the expansion of slavery into new western territories, such as California, acquired after the Mexican—American War.
Taylor opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories, which resulted in South Carolina legislators threatening to secede in Taylor responded, saying that secessionists would "taken in rebellion against the Union" and that "he would hang [them] with less reluctance than he had hanged deserters and spies in Mexico.
President Taylor's administration negotiated the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty with Great Britain, with the two counties agreeing to joint control over any canal built across Panama.
Members of Congress developed a compromise between slaveholding and free states, which became known as the Compromise of , to present to President Taylor. However, President Taylor died of a gastrointestinal illness on July 9, , before taking a position on the compromise. Upon his death, he was succeeded by Vice President Millard Fillmore. Taylor was married to Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor from until his death in In , his first official commission was as the commander of the garrison at Fort Pickering present-day Memphis.
After marrying in , he and his wife and children settled down in Louisiana, where Taylor commanded the Baton Rouge fort. Though Taylor was a military man, he was also known as a slave owner from a wealthy family with estates in Louisiana, Kentucky and Mississippi. Though he fought Native Americans, he also wanted to protect their lands from white settlers and believed a strong military presence was the solution to coexistence.
He gained national-hero status during the Mexican War when he won significant battles at Monterrey and Buena Vista. Supporters eyed him as a presidential candidate. Though Taylor was a member of the Whig Party, he identified himself more as an independent or nationalist. He appealed to Northerners for his long military record and was popular with Southerners for owning slaves.
The Whig Party positioned him as a war hero, a platform that allowed him more leeway when it came to sidestepping controversial issues. He served as speaker of the state legislature before winning election to the U. House of Representatives in After two terms in the House and one in the Senate, James Monroe , the fifth U. John Quincy Adams began his diplomatic career as the U. After serving in the Massachusetts State Senate and the U.
During his tenure, seven Southern states seceded from the Union and the nation teetered on the brink of civil war. A Pennsylvania native, Buchanan began his political career in his home Born in poverty, Andrew Jackson had become a wealthy Tennessee lawyer and rising young politician by , when war broke out between the United States and Britain.
His leadership in that conflict earned Jackson national fame as a military hero, and he would become While his support for protective tariffs led to rising prices for consumers and arguably paved Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Recommended for you. Zachary Taylor.
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