Talk:John Tyler/GA1

GA Review[edit]

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Reviewer: Astrocog (talk · contribs) 01:25, 8 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'll be reviewing this article for GA status. It may take a few days, or perhaps longer - this is a long article. Please be patient. Looking forward to reading it, and learning some history! AstroCog (talk) 01:25, 8 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

It is reasonably well written.
a (prose): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):
Prose is good throughout. I haven't found much in the way of spelling or grammar errors.
However, this article looks great up until the last two sections, when the 'Marriage and family' and 'Legacy' are quite undeveloped. That could be ok, if there's not a lot of info to include, but the first one amounts to just a couple of lists - I'd like to see this converted into more prose. In 'Legacy', I'm put off by the image gallery. I don't think the coin is that important for this article - Tyler only got the coin because they wanted a coin for every president; he's not on the coin for any other particular honor. Tell a story in the section to connect to the images, and structure it so that the images are spread out and not just combined into a little gallery.
I see the gallery has been removed in favor of a better 'Legacy' section at the end. Good job.
It is factually accurate and verifiable.
a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):
Looks pretty well-researched. I'm slightly concerned that the article is developed primarily from only two or three books, but that could just be that there's only a few books about Tyler. I didn't do any extra research to see what other sources there are. Perhaps the main contributors can speak to this point? Are there a bunch of other books/sources about Tyler that exist but aren't being used? Or is this pretty all there is?
The reader can find any biography of Tyler and get essentially the same story. The rest of the biographies I skimmed seemed to be largely derived from Chitwood and Seager, with a few extra details thrown in here and there. So it made sense to use the two major sources directly, rather than mashing up different sentences from less-cited books describing the same incidents. I cross-referenced details with Crapol in some parts, as it was a more recent biography, but the story is the same.

The other thing I did was look at other brief encyclopedia-style articles (Britannica, Whitehouse.gov, etc.), and I made sure not to miss any major elements. I'm sure there are some interesting details strewn throughout other books, which would be expected for FA quality, but I doubt anything significant is missing. —Designate (talk) 20:51, 11 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
It is broad in its coverage.
a (major aspects): b (focused):
See User:Cmguy777's note below about expanding information about slavery in this article. Otherwise, I think it is quite good, and would satisfy any general reader.
OK, Cmguy777's suggestions seem to have been implemented. If there's additional content to be added to the article, it was come up at any future FAC nomination. For now, this is plenty for GA status.
It follows the neutral point of view policy.
Fair representation without bias:
No apparent problems here.
It is stable.
No edit wars, etc.:
No problems here.
It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.
a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
Almost none of the images have alt-text. Alt-text must be added. Take a look at alt-viewer for more details.
The three images in the 'Legacy' section have woe-fully inadequate captions, which must be improved - but also see my note above about dispensing with this gallery anyway.
Looks like the images have all been updated now. Good job.
Overall: Overall a nice article. The things that need to be fixed are outlined above. I'll put the review on hold for a week until these fixes are made.
Article Passes GA review.
Pass/Fail:

Cmguy777 views[edit]

The article looks balanced and well researched. I would expand, just a bit on Tylers view's on slavery and the Greenway plantation. Tyler was an ambivilent slave owner and he destested the slave market. His Greenway plantation had 40 slaves and made Tyler's political carreer possible. Tyler believed that slavery was inheritlently evil. I would put along with the Missouri Compromise information. Here is the source link: John Tyler May (2008), pp. 22-24. Cmguy777 (talk) 00:41, 10 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The article mentions that Tyler grew up on a plantation, not a slave plantation. I have read through the article and can't find any mention on Tyler's views on slavery or that he owned slaves. I believe this issue has not been adequately addressed in the article. I gave a source to be used in the article. Cmguy777 (talk) 07:11, 12 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You must have missed it while reading the article: John_Tyler#U.S._House_of_Representatives is the section that contains this information, including the reference you suggested. This was added by Designate after your suggestion! AstroCog (talk) 13:24, 12 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Got it! Thanks. That is a good edit. Cmguy777 (talk) 18:05, 12 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Living grandchildren[edit]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/former-president-john-tyler-1790-1862-grandchildren-still-191230189.html

Two of his grandchildren are still alive, as men from the Tyler family had a tendency to have kids later in life. Apparently, the grandkids are Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr (b. 1924) and and Harrison Ruffin Tyley (b. 1928). Their father, President Tyler's son Lyon, who was born when his father was already 63, was in his 70s when he had them.--RM (Be my friend) 01:28, 26 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]