Why does John Tyler rank so low?
Tyler:
* Set a critical precedent for an orderly transfer of power following a President's death.
* Signed the Treaty of Wanghia with China.
* Signed a trade agreement with the Zollverein, a coalition of German states that managed tariffs.
* Applied the Monroe Doctrine to Hawaii, told Britain not to interfere there, and began a process that led to the eventual annexation of Hawaii by the United States.
* Negotiated with Britain the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, which concluded where the border between Maine and Canada lay. That issue had caused tension between the United States and Britain for decades and had brought the two countries to the brink of war on several occasions.
* Brought the long, bloody Second Seminole War to an end in 1842.
* Laid the groundwork for the annexation of Texas.
* Fathered more children than any other American president in history (and still has two living grandsons!).
* Was seated in the Confederate Congress on August 1, 1861, and he served until just before his death in 1862.
* Elected to the Confederate House of Representatives but died before the first session could open in February 1862.
Pretty good effort overall