9/8/2023 0 Comments President tyler railroad story![]() During his life, Webster had been a member of the Federalist Party, the National Republican Party, and the Whig Party. Webster was one of the most prominent American lawyers of the 19th century, arguing over 200 cases before the United States Supreme Court in his career. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th U.S. 7 And ultimately, not even the kindest, most indulgent treatment would make anyone want to spend their life in slavery, unable to control their own destiny.Daniel Webster (Janu– October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. “On the plantation, Tyler was a very cross man, and treated the servants very cruelly.” Although he and the other “house servants” were not subjected to the same mistreatment, they still noticed it, and judged the president accordingly. Tyler much,” he told Still and his fellow abolitionists. He was candid in his assessment of President Tyler. One northern visitor to his Sherwood Forest plantation reportedly claimed that the enslaved community there was “uniformly cheerful and happy.” 6 Christian refused to support this myth. Many pro-slavery advocates used African-American men like Christian to promote a false image of happy, well-treated enslaved people, and President Tyler himself took pride in his reputation as a reasonable slave owner. The desire to have their most “refined” enslaved people working in the house, along with perhaps some sympathy for those who were their family by blood, led many slave owners to give men like James Christian the kind of duties and privileges he described. These individuals were associated with “refinement and educability” because they looked more like their white owners than fellow enslaved individuals with darker skin. ![]() Slave owners often ascribed higher social status to enslaved people with lighter skin. Still claimed that James’ relationship to the family “was visible in his features his hair, which gave him no inconsiderable claim to sympathy and care.” 4 Because of his lighter skin tone and “Anglo-Saxon” features, he was assigned to lighter labor and mostly worked in the household rather than in the fields.Īccording to anthropologist Nina Jablonski, James’ experience was not unusual. Letitia Christian Tyler and her brothers, who sent James back and forth after their father died, were in fact his half-siblings. James told William Still that his first master Robert Christian was also his father, which was not uncommon. James Christian’s treatment had more to do with his own relation to the family than with Tyler’s approach to slave ownership. ![]() 3 However, as the rest of his narrative indicates, no amount of earthly luxuries could compensate for being enslaved. "I have always been treated well if I only have half as good times in the North as I have had in the South, I shall be perfectly satisfied,” he claimed. He had good food, good clothing, relatively light work, and plenty of leisure time. He admitted that his duties had not been especially difficult. ![]() James Christian held a favored place in both the Christian and Tyler households, and during John Tyler’s presidency he was brought to the White House to serve as a member of the domestic staff. While he claimed he was always comfortable and well-treated, James was repeatedly moved from place to place with no say in where he was sent next. ![]() Christian, who was a merchant in Richmond, Virginia. Finally, sometime after Letitia Tyler’s death in 1842, James Hambleton Christian was moved again, this time to the household of her nephew William H. James’ time with the Tylers ultimately led him to the White House. Christian at the College of William and Mary, where “through the kindness of the students he picked up a trifling amount of book learning.” 2 After Robert Christian died, James was passed to another one of Robert’s sons, and finally to Letitia, who by that time was married to John Tyler. The Christians were wealthy and held significant political influence in Virginia. James was born into slavery on the plantation of Robert Christian, the father of future First Lady Letitia Christian Tyler, and during his lifetime served several different members of the Christian family. ![]()
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