AHC/WI: John Tyler forms his own party.

An old school Jeffersonian, John Tyler was a small government, slaveholding Virginian, unlike many of his peers he was not a Democrat, on the firm basis of his dislike of Andrew Jackson's extensive use of Presidential Power. He joined the Adam's Men, who would soon turn to the Whigs, and as Vice-President he was meant as a magnet for the Southern vote, nothing else. Instead as President he vetoed damn near everything the Whigs sent him.

As a man hated by Whig and Democrat alike, he had plans to form his own party, the issue of Texas being a key point to rile up people to his cause.

It was a long shot goal to say the least. But how could it have been accomplished? Could his third party, if not survive, at least make trouble for the Whigs and Democrats alike? How well could Tyler have done in the 1844 election, in both the Presidency and House?
 

Japhy

Banned
The Princeton disaster being avoided for one keeps the men Tyler needed to form a new party alive, in the forms of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Navy.

Now if Tyler's Democratic-Republican Party of 1844 gets off the ground with Upshur at Tyler's side the issue then becomes that besides his quest for Small Government and lots of vetos the only issue Tyler had on his side was that he and his party were to be Pro-Annexationist as far as the Texan issue goes.

The long term effect of this can go two ways, first is if the Democratic Party nominates Martin Van Buren who was up until Tyler's pressure started leaning on the party, the frontrunner for its ticket. In a Van Buren vs Clay race neither man was willing to take up the banner of Annexation and Tyler has grounds for a third party run to gain some votes, but not to win. But in the face of either Van Buren or Clay in the White House his Dem-Rep party can cause trouble for years, and in 1848 have better chances having developed as a clear opposition on an issue other than tarriffs and banking laws.

On the other hand, the Democrats can do the same thing they did IOTL, see the Tyler issue and find themselves giving way to it, nominating Polk or some other Pro-Annexationist Democrat. Now in turn they might lose because Tyler splits their vote, but Democratic victory or defeat, Tyler's party with or without him is not long for the world, as a third party that agrees with a second party, doesn't have much grounds to stand on. At that point its up to Tyler if he becomes a Grand Old Man of the party, brought back into the fold, or if he goes into the Wilderness like he did until he found himself a new position as a Southern Oppositionist / Constiutional Unionist / "Moderate" Confederate.
 
Good ideas Japhy, in a Buren-Clay-Tyler grudge match I could see a President chosen by the House, the second in 20 years. And if Tyler's DR party wins a handful of seats in the right place, all hell breaks loose.

Bumping for more ideas.
 
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