<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">America’s 12th president, Zachary Taylor, was a walking contradiction who came into power at a pivotal moment in American history, and his untimely demise may have cost the US a chance to avoid its devastating civil war.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A career military man, Taylor had little interest in politics and had never voted in a presidential election until he became a candidate himself in 1848. The son of a veteran of America’s Revolutionary War, Taylor joined the army in 1808 and served in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War(1835) and the 2nd Seminole War(1837), rising to the rank of Brigadier General, although the defining moments of his career would occur during the Mexican-American War.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After the United States annexed Texas in 1845, it inherited the problem of a disputed border with Mexico — the US also had designs on the sparsely populated Mexican territory in what was now the American southwest. In 1846, President James K. Polk, who ran for office on a promise of “Manifest Destiny” sent Taylor and his men into the disputed land between the Rio Grande and Nueces River to extract territorial concessions from the Mexican government.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mexico responded by shooting at Taylor’s men, killing 11 and triggering the Mexican-American War.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The war went disastrously for Mexico, and Taylor distinguished himself by winning a string of battles at Palo Alto, Buena Vista and Monterrey. By early 1848, Mexico surrendered and ceded roughly half of its territory to the United States.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“No soldier could face either danger or responsibility more calmly than he,” Ulysses S. Grant, who served under Zachary during the Mexican-American war, said of his former commander. “ He was known to every soldier in his army, and respected by all.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The war created several new political realities: the careful balance of power between slave states and free states was called into question by the acquisition of so much new territory, and Zachary Taylor became a national hero. </span></p>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-536779 aligncenter" src="https://dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-300x169.png" alt="" width="440" height="248" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-1021x576.png 1021w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-768x433.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-1536x867.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-2048x1156.png 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px" /></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The political balance stood precariously at 15 free states and 15 slave states,” </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Joseph Fornieri, Professor of Political Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology explained. “Any additional states would tip the balance one way or the other… If anyone was in a position to resolve it, Taylor seemed to be that man.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">President Polk, a Democrat, declined to seek reelection despite his own wide popularity due to failing health and a previous campaign promise to only serve a single term. The Whigs, who had seen great electoral success with war hero William Henry Harrison in 1840 and saw a Taylor presidential ticket as an ideal means of replicating that success, and courted him as their nominee. Taylor, himself not a particularly strong partisan of any kind, agreed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Taylor was born in Virginia and was a wealthy landowner who controlled several plantations and over 300 slaves — he also opposed to slavery’s expansion into America’s newly acquired territories and was a firm supporter of the Union. During his presidency, he went so far as to threaten to hang potential secessionists.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Taylor would ultimately die 16 months into his first term &#8211; the precise cause is disputed but the historical consensus is that the cause was some sort of stomach infection, and none of the sources suggest any kind of foul play. Nevertheless, he was unable to forge any meaningful compromise, and his successor, Millard Fillmore, would oversee the Compromise of 1850, which was so loathed that it largely set into motion the series of events that would a cataclysmic Civil War that would kill more than 600,000 Americans to finally put an end to the abominable institution of slavery.</span></p>
<p><b>WATCH:</b></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Zachary Taylor: The Man Who Might Have Prevented the Civil War | 5-Minute Videos" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9-nGyk0v5mE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>

<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><div data-widget-host="revcontent" data-pub-id="165152" data-widget-id="290588"></div><script src="https://delivery.revcontent.com/165152/290588/widget.js"></script>

WATCH: Zachary Taylor, The Man Who Might Have Prevented The Civil War

CONTINUE READING

Franklin Pierce: A Torn President in a Torn Country

Russian Collusion And The Death Of Journalism

This Way To Happiness: Seven Lessons from Gad Saad

Want A Revolution? Start A Business.

What Are Judeo-Christian Values?

The Constitution: A Moral Challenge

News

American Civil War

American History

PragerU

Slavery

U.S.

A video goes viral showing a baby being refused his mother by two gay "dads". This is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will have an important discussion today about surrogacy. 

Hour 1

The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1765 - This Video Is One Of The Worst Things I've Seen In A Long Time 

The Strait of Hormuz officially opens for business (kind of), the Pope makes “shocking” comments on immigration, and President Trump promises UFO disclosure at TPUSA. 


The Michael Knowles Show

Ep. 1956 -  Pope Leo's "SHOCKING" Immigration Comments EXPLAINED

A false miscreed has corrupted our leadership class.


The Andrew Klavan Show

Ep. 1275 - Dumb, Dumber and Progressive

President Trump announces a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, a murder-suicide involving former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shakes Virginia, and France and Britain hold a conference to secure the Strait of Hormuz – after the Iranian conflict ends. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

- - -

Ep. 2738

- - -

Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3

- - -

Today's Sponsors:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text 'WIRE' to 83848 to learn more.

Pocket Hose - Text MORNING to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply.

Morning Wire

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26 [Member Exclusive]

A ceasefire goes into effect between Israel and Lebanon, a tragic murder-suicide rocks Virginia, and Dairy Queen deploys AI in the drive-thru. Get the facts first with Evening Wire.
- - -
Ep. 2737
- - -
Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 
- - -
Today’s Sponsor:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text “WIRE” to 83848 to learn more.


Evening Wire: Lebanon Ceasefire Begins & Murder-Suicide Rocks VA | 4.16.26

The Pendragon Cycle

Menu

— News —

WATCH: Zachary Taylor, The Man Who Might Have Prevented The Civil War