March  29
John Tyler's Birthday
 
 

John Tyler, Jr. was the tenth President of the United States. He  was elected Vice President 1841. His term as Vice President began on March 4, 1841 and ended one month later, when incumbent President William Henry Harrison died from pneumonia after contracting a cold on the day of his inauguration when delivered a two-hour speech in freezing weather without a hat or overcoat.

Since the powers of the Constitution had never been tested for a Vice-Presidential succession, there was a resolution in Congress that Tyler should only be "acting President." However, Tyler claimed all of the powers and privileges of the Chief Executive and set the precedents which every subsequent Vice-President has followed when succeeding to the Presidency. It was not until 1967, that Tyler's action of assuming full powers of the presidency was legally codified in the Twenty-fifth Amendment.

 

John Tyler


Tyler's most famous achievement was the annexation of the Republic of Texas in 1845.Taylor's Presidency was also marked by the first marriage of a President while in office. John Tyler was married twice. His first wife was Letitia Christian Tyler with whom he had eight children; she died in the White House in September 1842. His second wife was Julia Gardiner Tyler with whom he had seven children. Julia was thirty years younger than Tyler.  Their marriage that resulted in innumerable December-May jokes.

Julia added a new note of Southern grace and elegance to the White House that had been nearly as dour as it's chief inhabitant. Julia Tyler enjoyed cooking and created a version of an old Southern recipe that became Tyler's favorite dessert and which was dubbed President Tyler's Puddin' Pie.
 

  

President Tyler's Puddin' Pie
 

 

 
Ingredients
 
1/4 cup butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt

 		 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 TB rum
1 1/2 cups freshly grated coconut
2 9-inch pie shells, baked until lightly colored.

 
 
Instructions
 		  
  1. Preheat oven to 300° F.
  2. Mix regular and brown sugars together in a small bowl.
  3. In the bowl of a mixer combine the butter and about half the sugars. Mix well. With the mixer running, add the eggs and the remaining sugars. When the mixture is well blended, add the salt, heavy cream, vanilla, and rum. Stir in the grated coconut.
  4. Divide the batter between the two pie shells. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the surface of the pies and the crusts are both golden brown. The pies will not ''set'' until they have cooled. Cool the pies on racks for about an hour before they are served. Serve them at room temperature.