American President
Zachary Taylor (1784–1850)
Facts at a Glance
- Term
- 12th President of the United States (1849–1850)
- Born
- November 24, 1784, near Barboursville, Virginia
- Nickname
- "Old Rough and Ready"
- Religion
- Episcopalian
- Marriage
- June 21, 1810, to Margaret Mackall Smith (1788–1852)
- Children
- Ann Margaret Mackall (1811–1875), Sarah Knox (1814–1835), Octavia Pannill (1816–1820), Margaret Smith (1819–1820), Mary Elizabeth (1824–1909), Richard (1826–1879)
- Career
- Soldier
- Political Party
- Whig
- Writings
- Letters of Zachary Taylor (1908)
- Died
- July 9, 1850, Washington, D.C.
- Buried
- Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, near Louisville, Kentucky
- A Life in Brief
- At the time he became President, Zachary Taylor was the most popular man in America, a hero of the Mexican-American War. However, at a time when Americans were confronting the explosive issue of slavery, he was probably not the right man for the job. More »
- In all disputes between conflicting governments it is our interest not less than our duty to remain strictly neutral . . . .
- March 5, 1849
Essays on Zachary Taylor and His Administration
- Zachary Taylor
- A Life in Brief
- Life Before the Presidency
- Campaigns and Elections
- Domestic Affairs
- Foreign Affairs
- Death of the President
- Family Life
- The American Franchise
- Impact and Legacy
- Key Events
- First Lady
- Margaret Taylor
- Vice President
- Millard Fillmore (1849–1850)
- Secretary of State
- John M. Clayton (1849–1850)
- Secretary of War
- George W. Crawford (1849–1850)
- Postmaster General
- Jacob Collamer (1849–1850)
- Secretary of the Interior
- Thomas Ewing (1849–1850)
- Secretary of the Treasury
- William M. Meredith (1849–1850)
- Attorney General
- Reverdy Johnson (1849–1850)
- Secretary of the Navy
- William B. Preston (1849–1850)
Consulting Editor: Michael F. Holt
Professor Holt is the Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History at the University of Virginia. His writings include:
The Civil War and Reconstruction (Co-authored with Jean H. Baker and David Herbert Donald, W.W. Norton, 2001)
The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party: Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War (Oxford University Press, 1999)
Political Parties and American Political Development from the age of Jackson to the age of Lincoln (Louisiana State University Press, 1992)
Presidential Speeches
Below are selections from the Miller Center’s Zachary Taylor speech collection.
Scholarship and Speakers
The Miller Center of Public Affairs is a national nonpartisan center to research, reflect, and report on American government, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency. Below is a selection of Miller Center resources on Zachary Taylor.
Listen to Leonard Emmerglick’s 1987 presentation at the Miller Center
on Presidential Disability and
Presidential Succession.
Zachary Taylor came to the presidency with experience as a military commander. Learn more about the Miller Center’s National War Powers Commission.
Learn more about the Center’s National Commission on Presidential Disability and the 25th Amendment and its relationship to Taylor.
Scripps Library Reference Resources
Below are links to reference resources prepared by the Miller Center’s Scripps Library, designed to help students and scholars conduct their research quickly.
Information on Zachary Taylor’s Private and Public Papers
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