Zachary Taylor
A career Army officer and hero of the Mexican–American War who had never voted before his election. Although he enslaved more than 100 people, he opposed spreading slavery into the lands won from Mexico, urged California and New Mexico to apply directly for statehood, and threatened to hang anyone who led a secession. He opposed Henry Clay's compromise and died suddenly after 16 months in office.
The economy, first day to last
Shaded areas show the years in office, with a few years before and after for comparison. Budget years ran July to June until 1976 (now October to September), so each year's figures cover parts of two calendar years.
National debt
June 30, 1848 (end of fiscal 1848): $47.04 million → June 30, 1850 (end of fiscal 1850): $63.45 million
Daily debt figures don't exist before 1993, so Taylor's numbers use the fiscal years closest to his term, the same rule as every other page. Much of the rise paid for the Mexican–American War and the payments to Mexico under the peace treaty.
Debt compared with the economy
Debt as a share of GDP. Above 100% means the debt is bigger than a year of everything the country produces.
Deficits and surpluses
Money borrowed each budget year (below the line) or paid down (above). The White House budget office's yearly figures begin in 1901.
Unemployment
No national estimates before 1890. Economist Stanley Lebergott's yearly estimates, the earliest national series, begin in 1890
Inflation
How much prices rose each year (consumer price index).
Cost of living
What everyday prices and paychecks did while in office.
Prices use the consumer price index (MeasuringWorth). The minimum wage is the federal rate set by Congress.
Executive orders
5 orders. Count from the American Presidency Project.
Orders signed each year
Yearly counts aren't reliable for this era. Orders were not numbered until 1907, when the State Department numbered the ones already in its files, and many orders were never numbered at all, so only the total is shown.
Source: American Presidency Project: executive orders (full list of every order).
Notable orders
Most orders in this era were routine, such as setting aside public land or exempting jobs from civil service rules.
Every executive order we have 1Search, filter by topic or year, and open any order's full text
Incomplete: orders before 1929 were not numbered or collected consistently. This archive has 1 of the roughly 5 orders counted for this president.
- OrderJune 19, 1849Executive Order [on the death of James K. Polk]
Source: Executive Orders Archive, compiled from the American Presidency Project and the Federal Register. Topics are the archive's automated tags; "Revoked" and similar labels come from the Federal Register's records.
Pardons and commutations
A pardon wipes out the punishment for a federal crime; a commutation shortens a sentence but leaves the conviction. The Justice Department's published counts begin in 1900.
Granted each year
The Justice Department's published clemency counts begin in fiscal 1900, so there are no reliable yearly totals for this presidency.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, clemency statistics, which lists every recipient with the crime and sentence.
Notable grants: tap to see the crime
No individual grants from this presidency are highlighted yet.
Investigations and legal record
The same checklist for every president. Tap a row for details and sources.
ImpeachedNoNo
No articles of impeachment were voted on.
Criminally chargedNoNo
Never charged.
Aides or cabinet convictedNoNo
No member of his cabinet was convicted. A House committee investigated War Secretary George Crawford in 1850 (see controversies).
Special counselsNoNo
None were appointed.
Misuse of DOJ, FBI or IRSNo findingNo
No official investigation found he used federal law enforcement against opponents.
People around the president who were charged or penalized
Controversies and scandals
What happened, what was proven, and how it ended.
The Galphin affairProven1850
The Treasury paid a colonial-era claim plus about $190,000 in interest to the Galphin family. War Secretary George Crawford had been their lawyer and received about half the interest.
Outcome: A House committee investigated; the scandal was unresolved when Taylor died.
SourceSlaveholdingProven1840s–1850
Taylor enslaved more than 100 people on plantations in Louisiana and Mississippi, including while he was president.
Outcome: He still opposed expanding slavery into the new western territories.
SourceWas he poisoned?Alleged1850; tested 1991
Taylor died after days of stomach illness, and a theory spread that proslavery opponents had poisoned him with arsenic.
Outcome: His remains were exhumed in 1991; tests found no evidence of arsenic poisoning.
SourceIn their own words
Widely quoted remarks, with the context they were said in.
I have always done my duty. I am ready to die. My only regret is for the friends I leave behind me.