Suddenly President Harrison was dead, and "Tyler too" was in the White House. At first the Whigs were not too disturbed, although Tyler insisted upon assuming the full powers of a duly elected President. He even delivered an Inaugural Address, but it seemed full of good Whig doctrine. Whigs, optimistic that Tyler would accept their program, soon were disillusioned.
Tyler was ready to compromise on the banking question, but Clay would not budge. He would not accept Tyler's "exchequer system," and Tyler vetoed Clay's bill to establish a National Bank with branches in several states. A similar bank bill was passed by Congress. But again, on states' rights grounds, Tyler vetoed it.
In retaliation, the Whigs expelled Tyler from their party. All the Cabinet resigned but Secretary of State Webster. A year later when Tyler vetoed a tariff bill, the first impeachment resolution against a President was introduced in the House of Representatives. A committee headed by Representative John Quincy Adams reported that the President had misused the veto power, but the resolution failed.
Despite their differences, President Tyler and the Whig Congress enacted much positive legislation. The "Log-Cabin" bill enabled a settler to claim 160 acres of land before it was offered publicly for sale, and later pay $1.25 an acre for it.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jt10.htmlI like when a show assumes the viewer is smart or will go lookup the info. This show has turned in to must see TV for this viewer. I'm actually laughing and cheering parts. And I had tears during the first episode when she delivered her address to the joint session of Congress - I actually wrote it down....let me offer the clarity of my conviction. The WH was where President Bridges lived but it was not his home, nor is it my home now. It is the home of the presidency. The home of American democracy. And though President Bridge's agenda must be respected, my task is not to fulfill the legacy of a man. I have been entrusted with continuing the legacy of a nation and what is best in it. A nation whose magnificent and rightghous history will govern its future. A cloud hangs over us, its a cloud of mourning, of uncertainity, and though that cloud may cover the sun temporarily, it cannot extinguish it. That sun, like our freedom and democracy, will not go away. Resilence is what defines our character. And the character of any nation is judged not by its leaders but by its people. The people like that sun are what is constant. And so I say to the people of this nation, I am humbled by your greatness. I am humbled by the history being made here today. Humbled by the notion that I am the first woman to hold this office. I am humbled by the responsibilities that rest with me. I promise to vigourously defend our Constitution. I will recognize as Harry Truman said that the responsibility of a great state is to serve the world not to dominate it. For while human rights is not just an American issue, one must consider it an American responsibility. Freedom is our gift to the world. God knows you and I have shed tears these past days and more tears are to come. But soon we must return to the future and I will do my best to take you there. I am with you. I ask this Congress, I ask the Court, I ask my Cabinet, I ask the people of the United States to stand with me now, unwavering, for in this house united we will demonstrate our sovereignty of greatness. God Bless Theodore Roosevelt Bridges, may his soul rest with the greatest of men. And God Bless the United States of America.
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