Vice President John Tyler, a former Democrat from Virginia, ascended to the presidency as a member of the Whig Party following the death of President William Henry Harrison in 1841. (1/6)
Image Credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Image Credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
As president, Tyler vetoed a bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States, along with several bills proposed by fellow Whigs and sponsored by Henry Clay, a prominent Whig member of the U.S. Senate. (2/6)
Image Credit: Library of Congress
Image Credit: Library of Congress
Following his veto, members of his party expelled Tyler from the Whig Party, and every member of Tyler’s cabinet eventually resigned, with the exception of Secretary of State Daniel Webster (pictured here). (3/6)
Image Credit: Library of Congress
Image Credit: Library of Congress
Two days after President Tyler’s veto of the Second Bank of the United States, an angry crowd of protestors arrived at the White House in the middle of the night, fired guns, banged on drums, and burned an effigy of the president. (4/6)
The crowd yelled obscenities at President Tyler and chanted “down with Tyler,” “hurrah for Clay,” and “give us a bank.” (5/6)