John Tyler was born in Virginia in 1790. His father was an American Revolution patriot who served three terms as governor of Virginia. He grew up believing that the constitution must be strictly construed. He never wavered from this conviction. He went to college to study law. When he completed college he entered politics and was devoted to Thomas Jefferson's principles of states' rights and strictly limited power for the federal government.
At the age of 21 he was elected to the Virginia legislature and in 1816 was chosen for the U.S. House of Representatives where he served for four years. In 1825 he became governor of Virginia. Two years later he was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1836 he resigned from