Zachary Taylor: Brief
2023-05-14
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1VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.
2Today we are talking about Zachary Taylor, the 12th president. He took office in 1849.
3Taylor had some things in common with earlier presidents.
4Like six others before him, he was born in Virginia.
5Like George Washington and Andrew Jackson, Taylor was a war hero.
6And, like William Henry Harrison, he died in office.
7But Taylor brought at least one special trait to the presidency.
8Although he was officially elected as a member of the Whig party, Taylor considered himself an independent.
9When Zachary Taylor was a baby, his family left Virginia.
10They moved west, to a tobacco plantation in Kentucky.
11There, the Taylors were financially successful.
12By the time Zachary was a young man, his family owned a number of enslaved people and over 4,000 hectares of land.
13Taylor took possession of some of his family's land. He also had cotton plantations in the southern states of Mississippi and Louisiana.
14He, too, depended on enslaved people to do most of the work.
15But Taylor was unlike many wealthy farmers in the South. He had always wanted to be a soldier.
16When Taylor was 24 years old, he became an officer in the U.S. Army.
17Shortly after, he married Margaret Smith.
18In time, they had five daughters and one son.
19But Taylor directed most of his attention to his military career.
20For about 20 years, he tried to keep peace between Native American tribes and white Americans.
21Sometimes the job meant leading attacks against Native Americans.
22At times, it meant defending their lands from white settlers.
23In either case, his public standing as a good soldier grew.
24His troops called him "Old Rough and Ready" because he was willing to fight - and suffer - alongside them.
25Then, in the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, Taylor became really famous.
26He led U.S. troops to victory in several major battles, including ones at Monterrey and Buena Vista.
27In a well-known story, the powerful Mexican general Santa Anna surrounded Taylor and his small number of troops.
28Santa Anna sent a message demanding that they surrender. Taylor reportedly said: "Tell him to go to hell."
29The two sides clashed the next morning. Santa Anna had about three times the men that Taylor had.
30Yet, by late that day, Taylor's soldiers had defeated Santa Anna's.
31Taylor's success as a general helped the United States win the war against Mexico.
32In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico agreed to give up claims to or sell to the U.S. more than 1.3 million square kilometers of its lands, including what are now the states of Texas and California.
33But the new lands almost immediately caused problems.
34At the time of the next U.S. presidential election, public opinion in the country was severely divided.
35The issue was whether to permit slavery in the new lands won at the end of the war with Mexico.
36In general, Northerners opposed expanding slavery.
37In general, Southerners supported it.
38To appeal to both these groups, the major parties at the time looked to Taylor to be their candidate for president.
39The Democrats and the Whigs reasoned that Taylor was already well-known and well-liked.
40Historian Michael Holt said in 1848, Taylor was "the most popular man in America."
41But Taylor was not really political. He called himself an independent.
42He shared some beliefs with both major parties at the time. But mostly he wanted to keep the nation together.
43In the end, he agreed to be the candidate of the Whig Party.
44During the campaign, he did not take a stand on any of the major issues.
45His fame as a military general carried him into the White House.
46The truth was that Taylor did have an opinion on slavery:
47He did not want to expand it, especially in areas that did not support cotton or sugar farms.
48So, once in office, he proposed a change to the rules about how new territories would become states.
49The change would let white, American, male settlers in California and New Mexico decide whether they wanted slavery.
50Then, those areas could enter the Union immediately as states.
51Taylor aimed to quiet the debate about slavery.
52But his idea angered almost everybody.
53Some U.S. lawmakers believed the president had cut them out of the decision.
54Northerners said Taylor's proposal did not go far enough: It did not solve some of the other issues related to slavery.
55And Southerners realized that settlers in California and New Mexico would almost surely reject slavery, and give free states a majority in Congress.
56In one dramatic incident, some South Carolina officials called a meeting to discuss withdrawing from the Union. In answer, Taylor threatened to hang them.
57But before Taylor or his idea could get too far, the president became sick.
58The story is that he attended outdoor celebrations to mark the nation's birthday, July 4.
59Then he went for a walk. The weather was very hot.
60To cool off, Taylor ate uncooked fruit and drank iced milk.
61That night he told others about pain in his stomach.
62Five days later, he was dead.
63His doctor wrote that Taylor died of cholera morbus -- a general term for severe digestive problems.
64A few people thought he might have been poisoned.
65The suspicion remained until 1991, when medical officials examined Taylor's remains.
66They confirmed that he died of natural causes.
67A more recent study offers more details. Jane McHugh and Philip A. Mackowiak say that Taylor was a victim of the same problem that killed presidents William Henry Harrison and James Polk: dirty water in the White House.
68Taylor's death, while unfortunate, did not cause a political crisis.
69John Tyler had already established the rule that, if a president dies in office, the vice president becomes president.
70But Taylor's death did likely change the direction of history.
71His replacement, Millard Fillmore, did not try to hold the Union together by force.
72Instead, he joined with politicians who wanted to compromise on the issue.
73The compromise legislation delayed but did not really settle the debate.
74In time, the division between North and South led to the American Civil War.
75And members of Taylor's own family became linked to the states that withdrew from the Union.
76One of his daughters had married Jefferson Davis, who became the president of the Confederacy.
77I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
1VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents. 2Today we are talking about Zachary Taylor, the 12th president. He took office in 1849. 3Taylor had some things in common with earlier presidents. 4Like six others before him, he was born in Virginia. 5Like George Washington and Andrew Jackson, Taylor was a war hero. 6And, like William Henry Harrison, he died in office. 7But Taylor brought at least one special trait to the presidency. Although he was officially elected as a member of the Whig party, Taylor considered himself an independent. 8Early life 9When Zachary Taylor was a baby, his family left Virginia. They moved west, to a tobacco plantation in Kentucky. 10There, the Taylors were financially successful. By the time Zachary was a young man, his family owned a number of enslaved people and over 4,000 hectares of land. 11Taylor took possession of some of his family's land. He also had cotton plantations in the southern states of Mississippi and Louisiana. He, too, depended on enslaved people to do most of the work. 12But Taylor was unlike many wealthy farmers in the South. He had always wanted to be a soldier. When Taylor was 24 years old, he became an officer in the U.S. Army. 13Shortly after, he married Margaret Smith. In time, they had five daughters and one son. But Taylor directed most of his attention to his military career. 14For about 20 years, he tried to keep peace between Native American tribes and white Americans. Sometimes the job meant leading attacks against Native Americans. At times, it meant defending their lands from white settlers. 15In either case, his public standing as a good soldier grew. His troops called him "Old Rough and Ready" because he was willing to fight - and suffer - alongside them. 16Then, in the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, Taylor became really famous. He led U.S. troops to victory in several major battles, including ones at Monterrey and Buena Vista. 17In a well-known story, the powerful Mexican general Santa Anna surrounded Taylor and his small number of troops. Santa Anna sent a message demanding that they surrender. Taylor reportedly said: "Tell him to go to hell." 18The two sides clashed the next morning. Santa Anna had about three times the men that Taylor had. Yet, by late that day, Taylor's soldiers had defeated Santa Anna's. 19Taylor's success as a general helped the United States win the war against Mexico. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico agreed to give up claims to or sell to the U.S. more than 1.3 million square kilometers of its lands, including what are now the states of Texas and California. 20But the new lands almost immediately caused problems. 21Campaign of 1848 22At the time of the next U.S. presidential election, public opinion in the country was severely divided. The issue was whether to permit slavery in the new lands won at the end of the war with Mexico. 23In general, Northerners opposed expanding slavery. 24In general, Southerners supported it. 25To appeal to both these groups, the major parties at the time looked to Taylor to be their candidate for president. 26The Democrats and the Whigs reasoned that Taylor was already well-known and well-liked. Historian Michael Holt said in 1848, Taylor was "the most popular man in America." 27But Taylor was not really political. He called himself an independent. He shared some beliefs with both major parties at the time. But mostly he wanted to keep the nation together. 28In the end, he agreed to be the candidate of the Whig Party. During the campaign, he did not take a stand on any of the major issues. His fame as a military general carried him into the White House. 29Presidency 30The truth was that Taylor did have an opinion on slavery: He did not want to expand it, especially in areas that did not support cotton or sugar farms. 31So, once in office, he proposed a change to the rules about how new territories would become states. The change would let white, American, male settlers in California and New Mexico decide whether they wanted slavery. Then, those areas could enter the Union immediately as states. 32Taylor aimed to quiet the debate about slavery. But his idea angered almost everybody. 33Some U.S. lawmakers believed the president had cut them out of the decision. 34Northerners said Taylor's proposal did not go far enough: It did not solve some of the other issues related to slavery. 35And Southerners realized that settlers in California and New Mexico would almost surely reject slavery, and give free states a majority in Congress. 36In one dramatic incident, some South Carolina officials called a meeting to discuss withdrawing from the Union. In answer, Taylor threatened to hang them. 37But before Taylor or his idea could get too far, the president became sick. 38The story is that he attended outdoor celebrations to mark the nation's birthday, July 4. Then he went for a walk. The weather was very hot. To cool off, Taylor ate uncooked fruit and drank iced milk. 39That night he told others about pain in his stomach. Five days later, he was dead. 40His doctor wrote that Taylor died of cholera morbus -- a general term for severe digestive problems. 41A few people thought he might have been poisoned. The suspicion remained until 1991, when medical officials examined Taylor's remains. They confirmed that he died of natural causes. 42A more recent study offers more details. Jane McHugh and Philip A. Mackowiak say that Taylor was a victim of the same problem that killed presidents William Henry Harrison and James Polk: dirty water in the White House. 43Legacy 44Taylor's death, while unfortunate, did not cause a political crisis. John Tyler had already established the rule that, if a president dies in office, the vice president becomes president. 45But Taylor's death did likely change the direction of history. His replacement, Millard Fillmore, did not try to hold the Union together by force. Instead, he joined with politicians who wanted to compromise on the issue. 46The compromise legislation delayed but did not really settle the debate. In time, the division between North and South led to the American Civil War. 47And members of Taylor's own family became linked to the states that withdrew from the Union. 48One of his daughters had married Jefferson Davis, who became the president of the Confederacy. 49I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. 50Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 51_______________________________________________________________ 52See how well you understand this story by taking a listening quiz. Play each short video and then choose the best answer. 53____________________________________________________________ 54Words in This Story 55trait - n. a quality that makes one person or thing different from another 56plantation - n. a large area of land especially in a hot part of the world where crops (such as cotton) are grown 57hell - n. the place where the devil lives and where evil people go after they die according to some religions; "go to hell" is an informal, impolite expression used to show that you are very angry with someone 58dramatic - adj. greatly affecting people's emotions 59We want to hear from you. Write to us in the forum below.