As a sign of respect for William Henry Harrison, the new president doesn’t fire a single member of Harrison’s cabinet. This is a mistake. Very quickly, they will try to undermine him. That very day, the cabinet informs Tyler that he must put all important presidential decisions to a vote of this advisory group, letting the majority decide policy. Tyler refuses. “I shall be pleased to avail myself to your counsel and advice,” he tells the group during the first White House meeting. “But I can never consent to being dictated what I can and cannot do.”
