Martin+Van+Buren

//Livia Chan//
= Martin Van Buren  =

__**Years of Presidency**__ : 1837-1841
 * __Political Party__**: Democrat

= Election of 1836 = = Political Career: =
 * __Democrats supported Van Buren b/c he was Jackson's (previous president) choice__
 * Whigs were divided between 3 candidates b/c hoped to gain most votes on specific parts of the country
 * Daniel Webster (New England)
 * Hugh Lawson White (South)
 * William Henry Harrison (Middle states and West)
 * __Van Buren easily won election__
 * Governor of New York (1829 - resigned to become Secretary of State)
 * Secretary of State under Jackson administration (1829-1831)
 * Became a close advisor to Jackson and ended John C. Calhoun's hopes for presidency
 * Vice President under Jackson administration (1833-1837)

= What happened during Van Buren's presidency? =
 * **Panic of 1837** - worst American economic depression in history at the time
 * The Panic resulted from several causes:
 * ** Distribution Act **(had "loaned" government surpluses to states but weakened state banks)
 * **Specie circular** (not enough gold/silver to back up bank notes)
 * Crop failures (U.S. forced to import more food -> lose money)
 * Panics in Europe (European nations withdrew money from U.S. banks)
 * What basically happened:
 * Banks/businesses failed
 * Unemployment rates increased
 * Bread riots occurred in several cities
 * Railroad and canal projects that had began using the Treasury surplus failed
 * States were unable to pay back debts
 * Van Buren's administration __didn't do much in the Panic__ (believed in limited government intervention in economy)
 * Borrowed money to pay debts in government and only accepted gold/silver for tax payments -> had little effect on Panic
 * As a result, the Democratic Party was largely blamed for the depression
 * **The Caroline Affair** (1837) - British burned American steamship, the //Coraline//, because Canadians rebels had chartered it; one American was killed but British refused to take responsibility -> Canadian Alexander McLeod was captured by NY authorities but released after British threatened with war
 * **Independent Treasury** (1840) - government funds were placed in an independent treasury in D.C. and subtreasuries in other cities
 * replaced Bank of the United States and separated banks from government

//Although Martin Van Buren's failure to efficiently end the Panic of 1837 proved to be detrimental to the Democratic Party, he was able to create a replacement of the Bank of the United States, which was essential to maintaining a more stable and efficient national banking system. In addition, the Panic of 1837 emphasized the importance of having a national currency which had previously raised speculation about the varying values of the notes. As former President Jackson demonstrated through the specie circular, there was also a need for backing up the bank notes with gold or silver.//

**Sources** Brinkley, Alan. American History: A Survey, Twelfth Edition. New York: The McGraw-Hill ﻿> Companies, Inc, 2007. [] []