泰勒是個徹頭徹尾的南方人，對維吉尼亞具極高的忠誠度，在南方擁有黑奴地主的價值觀之下、也重視該州應有的權利，建立起自己的政治生涯；他本身就是個擁有黑奴的地主（擁有大約七十個黑奴），反對那些致力於無產階級亦能參與政治活動的行為。

代表維吉尼亞州加入眾議院，泰勒對1820年的密蘇里協定持反對意見，該協定議定只有在緬因州成為廢除奴隸制度州時、密蘇里州才能延續擁有黑奴的傳統；泰勒反對將地理因素用在限制奴隸制度上，認為這是濫用聯邦政府的權力；其後他因為沮喪而辭去議會職務，曾表示「南方各州持續憂慮（對未來感到焦慮）、唯恐政府會成為一個僅具多數決功能的機制」。

Tyler was a Southerner to his core, and was highly loyal to Virginia. He developed his political career around the narrow interests of the Southern slave-owning planters who also valued states' rights. He was a slave owner himself (he had about 70 slaves) and opposed efforts to open political participation to men without property.

Representing Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives, Tyler opposed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which allowed Missouri to be admitted as a slave state only if Maine were admitted as a free state. Tyler opposed placing geographical restrictions on the spread of slavery, seeing them as an abuse of federal power. Afterward, he resigned in discouragement from the House. He once said that "the Southern states are in constant apprehension [anxiety about the future] lest the national government should be converted into a mere majority machine."

3 / 4 頁