From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zachary Taylor
(November 24, 1784 ? July 9, 1850) was the 12th
president of the United States
. He served as president from 1849 until his death in 1850. He was a second cousin to
James Madison
.
Taylor was a general in the
United States Army
. He led an army during the
Mexican-American War
. He was selected by the Whigs to be their candidate because he was a famous general. He was the last President to own slaves while in office.
During his term, slavery was a big issue because the Northerners wanted no slavery in the U.S. and wanted to stop newly formed states from allowing slavery. The southerners believed that they had the right to keep their slaves and people feared that they would choose to not be a part of the United States anymore (which they would eventually do in 1860).
Taylor did not like the idea of the southern states leaving the
United States
at all. He threatened to use military force against them if they were to do that.
Taylor never voted until he was 62 years old. He was never a
resident
of a particular location in the
United States
long enough to register to vote.
[1]
Sixteen months into his presidency, Taylor died of
cholera
and his vice-president
Millard Fillmore
became president to take his place.
The
Compromise of 1850
(a proposal several laws that would calm down the slavery issue by pleasing both the north and the south) was voted on in Congress shortly after his death. This was negotiated by Kentucky's Congressman, Henry Clay, who was a distant cousin of the Taylors and Lincolns.