John Tyler (1790 – 1862) was the tenth president of the United States (1841–1845). He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig ticket with William Henry Harrison, and became president after his running mate's death in April 1841. Tyler, like his predecessor, was born into a wealthy, slave-owning family in Virginia. He was a slaveholder for his entire life. A firm believer in Manifest Destiny, President Tyler sought territorial expansion, most notably the annexation of Texas in his last days in office, which was admitted to the union as a slave state. When the Civil War began in 1861, Tyler sided with the Confederate government, and won election to the Confederate House of Representatives shortly before his death. Tyler's death was the only one in presidential history not to be officially recognized in Washington, because of his allegiance to the Confederacy. At his funeral in Virginia, his coffin was draped with a Confederate flag.
