Read complete books and articles on: Zachary Taylor

Taylor, Zachary - zăkˈərē, 1784–1850, 12th President of the United States (1849–50), b. Orange co., Va. He was raised in Kentucky. Taylor joined the army in 1808, became a captain in 1810, and was promoted to major for his defense of Fort Harrison (1812) in the War of 1812. He became a colonel (1832) and served in the Black Hawk War and in the campaigns against the Seminole in Florida, winning the nickname of "Old Rough and Ready." Sent to the Southwest to command the army at the Texas border, Taylor began (1845) to prepare for hostilities with Mexico regarding the annexation of Texas, pushing into disputed territory S of the Nueces River. In the Mexican War he defeated the Mexicans at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, drove them across the Rio Grande, and took Matamoros. Later he forced the surrender of the Mexican stronghold at Monterrey. In 1847 he won the decisive battle of Buena Vista in the face of great odds. A popular hero, Taylor was nominated for President on the Whig ticket, was elected, and assumed office in 1849. His nonpartisan tendencies were changed under the influence of Senator William H. Seward, and Taylor was soon a strong supporter of Whig policy. As President, he supported the Wilmot Proviso, which excluded slavery from all the territory acquired as a result of the Mexican War. He favored rapid admission of both California and New Mexico to the Union and strict limitation of Texas boundary claims. His free-soil views put him in opposition to the measures that were to become the Compromise of 1850. After charges of corruption were lodged against members of his cabinet, he promised a reorganization, but was stricken with cholera morbus and died on July 9, 1850. He was succeeded by Millard Fillmore.

See biographies by H. Hamilton (2 vol., 1941 and 1951; repr. 1966), B. Dyer (1946, repr. 1967), and S. B. McKinley and S. Bent (1946); E. J. Nichols, Zach Taylor's Little Army (1963).

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13 of the Best Books and Articles on: Zachary Taylor

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Zachary Taylor Inaugurated as 12th President of the USA, in History Today » Read Now
by Richard Cavendish. 1 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Zachary Taylor Inaugurated as 12th President of the USA...Beargrass Creek. One of nine children, Zachary Taylor joined the army in the infantry as a young...and a solid...
2.

Presidential Anecdotes (Chap. Twelve "Zachary Taylor 1849-50") » Read Now
by Paul F. Boller Jr. 451 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
3.

The Whig Party in Pennsylvania, Vol. 1 (Discussion of Zachary Taylor begins on p. 143) » Read Now
by Henry R. Mueller. 290 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...STUDIES IN HISTORY, ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC LAW EDITED BY THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Volume C1 Number 2 whole Number 230 THE WHIG...
4.

Texas, New Mexico, and the Compromise of 1850: Boundary Dispute & Sectional Crisis (Discussion of Zachary Taylor begins on p. 85) » Read Now
by Mark J. Stegmaier. 436 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Writing from the vantage point of the Texas-New Mexico boundary issue, Mark Stegmaier provides a comprehensive analysis of the dispute, the compromise, and the overall implications for the Civil War. He meticulously examines the crisis through a close reading of Texan and New Mexican documents, U.S...
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Writing from the vantage point of the Texas-New Mexico boundary issue, Mark Stegmaier provides a comprehensive analysis of the dispute, the compromise, and the overall implications for the Civil War. He meticulously examines the crisis through a close reading of Texan and New Mexican documents, U.S. government records, maps, newspapers - particularly the reports of Washington correspondents - and collections of personal letters. In addition, he introduces a revisionist analysis of roll call voting in the U.S. Congress and the Texas legislature. Stegmaier recounts how, with the support of Southern radicals, Texas attempted to extend its jurisdiction despite opposition from New Mexicans and U.S. political leaders. Threatened by military occupation, New Mexicans countered by seeking free state status, while Presidents Taylor and Fillmore committed U.S. forces to defend the territory against a Texan attack. The resolution of this issue allowed the passage of the Compromise of 1850, the last great accord on the sectional issues between North and South. Texas, New Mexico, and the Compromise of 1850 deserves the term "definitive". It will appeal to all students of the Civil War era.
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5.

Slavery and the American West: The Eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the Coming of the Civil War (Discussion of Zachary Taylor begins on p. 88) » Read Now
by Michael A. Morrison. 400 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

"A fresh and provocative contribution to our understanding of the process of party disorganization and sectional mobilization that brought the union to its final crisis". Peter S. Onuf, University of Virginia
How the territorial question and the extension of slavery led to the sectionalization of...
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"A fresh and provocative contribution to our understanding of the process of party disorganization and sectional mobilization that brought the union to its final crisis". Peter S. Onuf, University of Virginia
How the territorial question and the extension of slavery led to the sectionalization of American politics
Tracing the sectionalization of American politics in the 1840s and 1850s, Michael Morrison offers a comprehensive study of how slavery and territorial expansion intersected as causes of the Civil War. Specifically, he argues that the common heritage of the American Revolution bound Americans together until disputes over the extension of slavery into the territories led northerners and southerners to increasingly divergent understandings of the Revolution's legacy.
Manifest Destiny promised the literal enlargement of freedom through the extension of American institutions all the way to the Pacific. At each step -- from John Tyler's attempt to annex Texas in 1844, to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, to the opening shots of the Civil War-the issue of slavery had to be confronted. Morrison shows that the Revolution was the common prism through which northerners and southerners viewed these events and that the factor that ultimately made consensus impossible was slavery itself. By 1861, no nationally accepted solution to the dilemma of slavery in the territories had emerged, no political party existed as a national entity, and politicians from both North and South had come to believe that those on the other side had subverted the American political tradition.
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6.

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Discussion of Zachary Taylor begins on p. 59) » Read Now
by James M. McPherson. 910 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Battle Cry of Freedom will unquestionably become the standard one-volume history of the Civil War. James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events...
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Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Battle Cry of Freedom will unquestionably become the standard one-volume history of the Civil War. James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. Packed with drama and analytical insight, the book vividly recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War--the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry--and then moves into a masterful chronicle of the war itself--the battles, the strategic maneuvering on both sides, the politics, and the personalities. Particularly notable are McPherson's new views on such matters as the slavery expansion issue in the 1850s, the origins of the Republican Party, the causes of secession, internal dissent and anti-war opposition in the North and the South, and the reasons for the Union's victory. The book's title refers to the sentiments that informed both the Northern and Southern views of the conflict: the South seceded in the name of that freedom of self-determination and self-government for which their fathers had fought in 1776, while the North stood fast in defense of the Union founded by those fathers as the bulwark of American liberty. Eventually, the North had to grapple with the underlying cause of the war--slavery--and adopt a policy of emancipation as a second war aim. This "new birth of freedom," as Lincoln called it, constitutes the proudest legacy of America's bloodiest conflict. This authoritative volume makes sense of that vast and confusing "second American Revolution" we call the Civil War, a war that transformed a nation and expanded our heritage of liberty.
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7.

The Self-Inflicted Wound: Southern Politics in the Nineteenth Century (Discussion of Zachary Taylor begins on p. 57) » Read Now
by Robert F. Durden. 150 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Federalists in New England. Except for John Randolph and John Taylor of Virginia, Nathaniel Macon of North Carolina, and a small...doctrinaire Old Republicans, such as John...
8.

The Year of Decision, 1846 (Discussion of Zachary Taylor begins on p. 14) » Read Now
by Bernard Devoto. 528 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...of War, order the army under Zachary Taylor to take a position south of the...correspondents were soon to call Zachary Taylor. And the army was composed of...three times as...
9.

Facts about the Presidents: A Compilation of Biographical and Historical Data ("Zachary Taylor: 12th President" begins on p. 83) » Read Now
by Joseph Nashan Kane. 360 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...72 James Knox Polk 78 Zachary Taylor 83 Millard Fillmore 88...1768 Reuben Madison, b. Sept. 19, 1771 Frances Taylor Madison, b. Oct. 4, 1774 Madison Eli Madison One...
10.

Encyclopedia of American Parties, Campaigns, and Elections ("Taylor, Zachary (1784-1850)" begins on p. 403) » Read Now
by William C. Binning, Larry E. Esterly, Paul A. Sracic. 467 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

In this comprehensive guide to the language of contemporary American politics, Binning offers clear descriptions of terms such as "soft money," "gerrymandering," and "blanket primary." Examples are frequently offered to help clarify definitions. Particular attention is given to the ever-changing...
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In this comprehensive guide to the language of contemporary American politics, Binning offers clear descriptions of terms such as "soft money," "gerrymandering," and "blanket primary." Examples are frequently offered to help clarify definitions. Particular attention is given to the ever-changing organizational structure of parties and contemporary electoral systems. This encyclopedia explains campaign finance reform laws and the Voting Rights Act. The more significant Supreme Court decisions in these areas are summarized, with an eye to giving readers a greater understanding of how these laws have been interpreted and applied. Brief biographies of important political figures such as presidents, vicepresidents, and congressional and party leaders are also included, along with a concise summary of every presidential election since 1789.
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11.

Richard Taylor, Soldier Prince of Dixie (Chap. One "Young Southern Prince") » Read Now
by T. Michael Parrish. 560 pgs.

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The only son of President Zachary Taylor and the brother-in-law of Jefferson Davis, Richard Taylor (1826-79) epitomized the ideals of the Old South, graduating from Yale to become a prominent Louisiana sugar planter and influential politician.
12.

Essays on the Mexican War (Discussion of Zachary Taylor begins on p. 34) » Read Now
by Wayne Cutler. 100 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
13.

How America Fought Its Wars: Military Strategy from the American Revolution to the Civil War ((Discussion of Zachary Taylor begins on p. 236) » Read Now
by Victor Brooks, Robert Hohwald. 496 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

The new American nation fought for its survival against a variety of enemies, both foreign and domestic; during a series of wars from 1775 to 1865. The authors examine in considerable detail the various battles and campaigns of the early wars fought by the young republic, in search of common factors...
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The new American nation fought for its survival against a variety of enemies, both foreign and domestic; during a series of wars from 1775 to 1865. The authors examine in considerable detail the various battles and campaigns of the early wars fought by the young republic, in search of common factors that may have led to the nation's survival and triumph. The vast distances, sparse population, and supply problems endemic to all the campaigns in North America are carefully examined. In all its early wars, the United States relied upon a small force of professional soldiers backed up by larger numbers of short-term volunteers: the positive and negative effects of this policy in each war are considered. For each war, the commanders for each side are rated as to performance, and an analysis made of how their individual strengths and weaknesses may have influenced the outcome of the conflict.
At the end of each part of the book, the authors rate the generals' performances (find out why they think Longstreet earned a "B" while Johnston flunked).
A specially commissioned series of maps make clear the various strategic and tactical issues at stake from the American Revolution to the end of the Civil War.
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