Taylor, Zachary (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ninth Edition, 1888)

What it is

This is an entry on Zachary Taylor in the ninth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, published in 1888. It is a short reference article, not a document written by Taylor himself. It summarizes his birth in Orange County, Virginia, in 1784, his army career, his victories in the Mexican War including Buena Vista, and his election as president in 1848.

Why it matters

Encyclopedia articles show how readers in the late 1800s were taught to understand a president. This entry connects Taylor's battles with the struggle over whether slavery would be admitted to the territory taken from Mexico, which occupied his term of office. Reference works like this one are secondary sources: they were written decades after the events, and they reflect the choices and emphasis of their editors.

Look closer

• Which events does the article include, and which does it leave out?
• How does the article describe Taylor's dispute with the administration that led to his resignation?
• What does this short summary suggest about how Americans of 1888 remembered Taylor?