Slightly Odd Society Preview - The Ghost of John Tyler

- June 22, 2026

Presidents' Day is supposed to be a holiday for finding great savings on cars and mattresses. It's also a day for schoolchildren to glue cotton balls to construction paper and call it George Washington, and a day for the nation to nod politely at the idea of leadership and legacy. What it's not supposed to be is a day to consider the possibility that one of our former presidents never really left. Yet, if you listen to the stories whispered around Virginia plantations, old Richmond neighborhoods, and the long-shadowed halls of the College of William and Mary, you'll hear a name spoken with a mixture of curiosity and unease.

John Tyler is the president who refused to stay in his lane during life and, according to some, refuses to stay in his grave. He's already an oddity in American history. He was the first vice president to ascend to the presidency after the death of a sitting president, and he insisted on being treated as the full, legitimate president rather than a temporary caretaker. His critics called him His Accidency. His supporters called him a constitutional pioneer. Congress called him a nuisance. History, as usual, shrugged and moved on.

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