* Tyler left Virginia in 1827 for Washington. He returned to the Capitol, but this time he was to serve in the Senate, not the House. He stayed in the Senate for nearly nine years, one of which he was the president pro tempore. He then served a third stint in the Virginia legislature. John Tyler ran for vice president on two separate occasions, and on the second try he won, being carried into office on the back of war hero William Henry Harrison. On March 4, 1841, John Tyler officially became the vice president. He would only hold the position for a single month. President Harrison, deathly ill, succumbed to pleurisy and pneumonia after one month in office.

* William Harrison's death stirred a controversy unparalleled at the time. No president had ever died in office before, and no one knew who was to succeed the deceased leader. Upon his arrival in Washington two days after Harrison's demise, Tyler proclaimed that he was now the president. Some argued that Tyler was only the acting president, while others felt that Tyler was not the president at all. In June of 1841, after much debate, Congress declared that Tyler was indeed the president of the United States. The move would remain controversial for years, and even earned Tyler the nickname "His Accidency".

* John Tyler, who was a Democratic-Republican for much of his lifetime, was elected to the vice presidency as a Whig candidate. Those within the group were not particularly fond of Tyler, mainly because of his basic government beliefs. Tyler favored states' rights, while the Whigs believed in a strong federal government. When he became president, Tyler found himself at odds with notable politicians such as Henry Clay, another member of the Whig Party. The Kentucky senator, who did not accept Tyler as the president, feuded with him about the banking system. In order to make up for the destruction of the banking system by Andrew Jackson, Clay wanted to establish a Third Bank of the United States. Twice he pushed a bill for the bank through Congress, and twice President Tyler vetoed it. Becoming even less popular, virtually all of Tyler's cabinet resigned. The Whigs eventually cast out Tyler, and he served the rest of his term with no official political party. In 1845, he left the presidency and returned to his home in Virginia.

* When the southern states seceded from the Union, John Tyler seceded with them. He denounced his U.S. citizenship and was even elected to the Confederate House of Representatives. Tyler never got the chance to serve, though. Arriving in Richmond in January of 1862, Tyler moved into the Exchange Hotel, where he was to be joined by his wife, Julia, on a later date. Julia Tyler arrived ahead of schedule, however, fearing that something terrible had happened to her husband. Though the former president was alright at the time being, her predictions soon came true. Within a few days, John Tyler became ill and collapsed. Remaining at the hotel for the next half week, the couple planned to return home, but the politician's condition worsened the evening prior to their departure. With his wife and a doctor by his side, the 71-year-old passed away. Buried with honors by the Confederacy, Tyler's death was virtually ignored by the country he had abandoned after so many years of servitude.

Second Lady: Letitia Christian Tyler

      - Spouse: Letitia Christian Tyler (m. 1813-1842)

                     Julia Gardiner Tyler (m. 1844-1862)

Political Party: Democratic-Republican Party

                       Whig Party

Served Under: William Henry Harrison

Last Words: "Doctor, I am going... Perhaps it is best."