The Isolated Presidency: John Tyler and Unilateral Presidential Power

Abstract

In recent years, a growing scholarly literature has considered the presidency’s unilateral powers by examining under what circumstances presidents act alone to achieve their policy ends. This article seeks to extend this literature by examining John Tyler’s unique presidency. Lacking an electoral mandate, congressional support, and a political party, Tyler was completely isolated from institutional supports and forced to rely exclusively on his presidential powers; however, despite this disadvantageous position, he achieved many of his initiatives. Tyler therefore provides a least likely case study for evaluating Howell’s unilateral presidency model that a strong Congress diminishes unilateral presidential power and a weak Congress enhances it. Using Tyler as an example also allows us to temporally extend the unilateral literature into the nineteenth century with an understudied president. In comprehensively observing Tyler’s administration, we see the extent and limits of what an embattled president relying only on his own authority can accomplish.