Changes

though Although Taylor came into office with considerable popular goodwill, and was genuinely mourned by the public upon his death, the general feeling by 1850 was that he had proven a poor political leader for the nation, especially in the midst of the intense furor over slavery and sectionalism. His presidency is difficult to judge due to his short tenure; most contemporaries (as well as later historians) gave him credit for his honesty, his unassuming character, and above all his determination to preserve the Union, by shows of military force if need be, but felt his lack of political experience had aggravated the ongoing sectional crisis by antagonizing rather than placating the South. One historian spoke for many when he wrote that "estimable as Taylor's common sense, practicality, and resolution had been, they fell short of supplying the qualities needed for so grave a crisis...Even those who thought best of him [agreed] that his Administration had been fumbling and confused, and his Cabinet ineffective."<ref>Nevins, ''Ordeal of the Union'', p. 334.</ref>