Zachary Taylor

President Zachary Taylor, who served from 1849 to 1850, was an American military leader and politician who was the 12th president of the United States. Prior to being elected President, Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army who achieved the rank of major general and became a national hero due to his victories in the Mexican–American War. He was elected to the White House in spite of his ambiguous political beliefs. The most important thing he did as president was to preserve the union. He had been in office for 16 months when he died, having not made any progress on the most divisive issue in Congress, slavery.