John Tyler is not a name that immediately comes to mind when you think of Presidents.

He is one of the lessor-known men to occupy that office.

Tyler is, however, an interesting case study.

He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, elected to the US House, Governor of Virginia and US Senator. William Henry Harrison, another President not well remembered, chose him as his running mate for the Presidential race of 1840. After Harrison died, one month into his Presidency, Tyler assumed the office.

Tyler strongly opposed every effort to increase the power of the Federal government.

He resigned from his position in the US House, and chose not to run for re-election to the Presidency.

Tyler advocated secession, and became the only President to join the Confederacy.

In 1841, with the exception of Secretary of State, Daniel Webster, his entire cabinet resigned. This was in response to Tyler’s veto of laws creating the Third Bank of the United States. His vetoes were in direct conflict with his own party’s position.

He once said, “I can never consent to being dictated to.”

John Tyler was a man who could think for himself.