About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherLSU Press

ISBN-100807118516

ISBN-139780807118511

eBay Product ID (ePID)386203

Product Key Features

Book TitleZachary Taylor : Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest

Number of Pages376 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year1993

TopicUnited States / State & Local / South (Al, Ar, Fl, Ga, Ky, La, ms, Nc, SC, Tn, VA, WV), Presidents & Heads of State

IllustratorYes

GenreBiography & Autobiography, History

AuthorK. Jack Bauer

Book SeriesSouthern Biography Ser.

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.8 in

Item Weight18.3 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN8501-001028

Dewey Edition19

Dewey Decimal973.6/3/0924 B

SynopsisConsidering the course his life took, one might wonder how Zachary Taylor ever came to be elected the twelfth president of the United States. According to K. Jack Bauer, Taylor "was and remains an enigma." He was a southerner who espoused many antisouthern causes, an aristocrat with a strong feeling for the common man, an energetic yet cautious and conservative soldier. Not an intellectual, Taylor showed little curiosity about the world around him. In this biography--the most comprehensive since Holman Hamilton's two-volume work published forty years ago--Bauer offers a fresh appraisal of Taylor's life and suggests that Taylor may have been neither so simple nor so nonpolitical as many historians have believed. Taylor's sixteen months as president were marked by disputes over California statehood and the Texas-New Mexico boundary. Taylor vehemently opposed slavery extension and threatened to hang those southern hotheads who favored violence and secession as a means to protect their interests. He died just as he had begun a reorganization of his administration and a recasting of the Whig party. Balanced and judicious, forthright and unreverential, and based on thoroughgoing research, this book will be for many years the standard biography of Zachary Taylor., Considering the course his life took, one might wonder how Zachary Taylor ever came to be elected the twelfth president of the United States. According to K. Jack Bauer, Taylor ?was and remains an enigma.? He was a southerner who espoused many antisouthern causes, an aristocrat with a strong feeling for the common man, an energetic yet cautious and conservative soldier. Not an intellectual, Taylor showed little curiosity about the world around him. In this biography?the most comprehensive since Holman Hamilton?s two-volume work published forty years ago?Bauer offers a fresh appraisal of Taylor?s life and suggests that Taylor may have been neither so simple nor so nonpolitical as many historians have believed. Taylor?s sixteen months as president were marked by disputes over California statehood and the Texas?New Mexico boundary. Taylor vehemently opposed slavery extension and threatened to hang those southern hotheads who favored violence and secession as a means to protect their interests. He died just as he had begun a reorganization of his administration and a recasting of the Whig party. Balanced and judicious, forthright and unreverential, and based on thoroughgoing research, this book will be for many years the standard biography of Zachary Taylor., Considering the course his life took, one might wonder how Zachary Taylor ever came to be elected the twelfth president of the United States. According to K. Jack Bauer, Taylor "was and remains an enigma." He was a southerner who espoused many antisouthern causes, an aristocrat with a strong feeling for the common man, an energetic yet cautious and conservative soldier. Not an intellectual, Taylor showed little curiosity about the world around him. In this biography -- the most comprehensive since Holman Hamilton's two-volume work published more than thirty years ago -- Bauer offers a fresh appraisal of Taylor's life and suggests that Taylor may have been neither so simple nor so nonpolitical as many historians have believed. Much of Taylor's adult life was spent in the army, although his military career proved unexceptional until circumstances thrust him into command of the troops sent to occupy Texas. That role projected him into the first clashes with Mexico on the northen bank of the Rio Grande. With minimal advance planning, Taylor led his men against the northern Mexican center of Monterrey, where he displayed little confidence as a battlefield commander. Nevertheless, he forced the defender to request terms. The ensuing armistice brought him the disapprobation of the government but greater public renown. His fame was later assured by his troops' victory at Buena Vista, a battle that cleared the path to the White House. Taylor's sixteen months as president were marked by disputes over California state-hood and the Texas-New Mexico boundary. Taylor vehemently opposed slavery extension and threatened to hang those southern hotheads who favored violence and secession as a means to protect their interests. He died just as he had begun a reorganization of his administration and recasting of the Whig party. Balanced and judicious, forthright and unreverential, and based on thoroughgoing research, this is likely to be for many years the standard biography of Zachary Taylor.