12axes-testTake the test
Zachary Taylor
Historical figureUnited States1784-1850

Zachary Taylor

12th President of the United States (1849-1850) · U.S. Army general

Career soldier and Mexican War hero who, though he enslaved people himself, urged that California join as a free state and warned that he would use force against secession.

Compare yourself See the 12 scores
Profile on 12 axes4 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where they stood

Zachary Taylor, axis by axis

  1. 01OwnershipNo clear record
    PublicPrivate

    No stance is recorded, so the axis is null.

  2. 02Markets-10
    PlannedFree

    A sound, strong banking system mattered to him, and he thought Jackson was mistaken to kill the national bank. The score leans slightly toward a managed economy.

  3. 03WelfareNo clear record
    SharedSelf-reliant

    His term ended with his death after sixteen months, and no view on federal spending is recorded, so the axis is null.

  4. 04Authority-40
    DemocraticStrong leader

    His rule was that a president vetoes only bills that break the Constitution and otherwise defers to Congress, and he gave his cabinet wide freedom.

  5. 05SecurityNo clear record
    LibertyOrder

    The sources used show no stance on civil liberties or policing, so the axis is null.

  6. 06Structure+45
    LocalCentral

    A firm nationalist, he put the Union above state claims and threatened harsh punishment for anyone who tried to break it apart.

  7. 07MoralityNo clear record
    ProgressiveTraditional

    No stance is recorded beyond the ordinary conventions of his day, so the axis is null.

  8. 08ReligionNo clear record
    SecularReligious

    The sources used show no stance, so the axis is null.

  9. 09TechnologyNo clear record
    EmbraceCaution

    No view is recorded for his 19th-century setting.

  10. 10CultureNo clear record
    MulticulturalNational identity

    The sources used show no stance, so the axis is null.

  11. 11TradeNo clear record
    GlobalProtected

    He took no firm recorded line on the tariff, so the axis is null.

  12. 12Foreign policy-35
    CooperationStrength

    His government halted a filibuster expedition against Cuba and signed the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty with Britain, a step back from expansion.

8 axes have no clear record, so matching leaves them out.

Who was Zachary Taylor?

Zachary Taylor served in the US Army for about forty years. He fought in 1812, in the Black Hawk conflict and in Florida against the Seminole, and in Mexico his wins at Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma and Buena Vista made him a national hero. His plantations ran on enslaved labour. He had never voted before 1848, the year the Whigs ran him for president with no platform. In the White House he wanted California and New Mexico admitted at once as states, leaving slavery to their own residents, and this angered Southern Whigs. Death came in July 1850, while Congress was arguing over the Compromise of 1850.

Political views

  • In 1849 and 1850 he pressed Congress to take in California and New Mexico as states, with Congress saying nothing about slavery.Source: millercenter.org
  • When Southerners threatened to secede, he replied that he would personally hang any man who tried to split the Union by force.Source: millercenter.org
  • Promised to lead troops in person against Texas if it used arms in its boundary dispute with New Mexico.Source: millercenter.org
  • Thought a president should veto only laws that break the Constitution, and otherwise leave decisions to Congress.Source: millercenter.org
  • Wanted a sound and strong banking system, and believed Andrew Jackson was wrong to destroy the Second Bank of the United States.Source: millercenter.org
  • Agreed a treaty with Britain over a future canal in Central America, and moved to halt a private invasion force aimed at Cuba.Source: millercenter.org

Legacy

Taylor served only briefly, and historians still ask what he would have done had he lived. Admirers praise his firm line for the Union and argue that admitting California and New Mexico straight away might have eased the bitterness of the 1850 deal, including its harsh fugitive slave law. Others say his refusal to bargain with Southern leaders risked a secession crisis or a clash with Texas. His weak hand with Congress also left little in the way of laws. His wealth came from the labour of people he enslaved, and his army career included wars against the Sauk and the Seminole, part of the push to drive Native peoples from their homelands.

How close are you to Zachary Taylor?

Take the 12 Axes test and see which historical figure is your political twin, axis by axis.

Take the test

Zachary Taylor: questions

Which party did Zachary Taylor belong to?

He was elected as a Whig in 1848. He had not voted before then and had kept out of party politics during his army career.

How did Zachary Taylor die?

He fell ill in July 1850 after a Fourth of July event and died a few days later. Doctors at the time blamed a stomach illness, and a later test ruled out poisoning.

Was Zachary Taylor pro-slavery?

He owned enslaved people and was no abolitionist. Even so, he opposed spreading slavery into California and New Mexico by act of Congress, and he angered Southern leaders by doing so.

Sources