1. van Buren Henry Harrison Tyler

2. Election of 1836 Andrew Jackson decided to retire
Remember Washington’s 2-term Precedent
Martin van Buren was hand picked by Jackson to be the Democratic Candidate
van Buren was Jackson’s Vice President for his 2nd Term
From New York

3. Whig Strategy Whigs ran several “favorite son” candidates
They wanted to split up the electoral vote and send the election to the House of Representatives
William H. Harrison (West)
Hugh White (South)
Daniel Webster (New England)
Willie Magnum (South Carolina)

4. Explain how splitting up the electoral vote amongst several candidates would send the election to the House of Representatives.

6. Van Buren Elected The Whig strategy failed.
Martin Van Buren, a democrat, elected president
First “native born” president (not born a British subject)
First President not of English Ancestry
Dutch
Spoke Dutch as first language until attending school

7. Panic of 1837
Shortly after Van Buren became president, the economy crashed.
The downturn was called the “Panic of 1837”
Serious economic depression
Unemployment was high
Banks failed
Businesses closed
Eviction rates were high

8. Causes of Panic of 1837 Pet Banks
Made many loans and printed their own money
People used loans and inflated paper money to purchase land from the government.
Government was flooded with inflated paper money in exchange for land.
President Jackson required that land be paid in gold and silver (specie)
Specie Circular
People took paper money back to banks in exchange for specie
Banks failed when they had no specie.

9. Blame for the Panic of 1837
President Van Buren was blamed for the Depression
Think 2008 Recession—many blamed President Obama…
It goes both ways, Clinton was celebrated for prosperous presidency…a lot has to do with market.
Actually, the Specie Circular was the cause and that was an act of President Jackson
But van Buren did nothing to help solve the economic crisis.
Government, at that time, did nothing to interfere with or control the economy.

10. Other Events of the Van Buren Administration
Trail of Tears
Tens of thousands of Native Americans were already being removed from their homelands when Martin van Buren took office.
Van Buren, who served as Secretary of State and VP under Jackson, pledged to continue enforcing policies put into place by his predecessor.
This included the Indian Removal Act of 1830
In his autobiography, Van Buren praised Jackson’s vision of Indian removal

11. Election of 1840
Whigs nominated a single candidate this time: William Henry Harrison.
Democrats ran Martin van Buren as candidate again.

12. Log Cabin Campaign Whig Strategy: Log Cabin Campaign
John Tyler was the VP Candidate
Tippecanoe and Tyler too…
Log Cabin Campaign
Whigs wanted to show Harrison as a Common Man
He was actually quite wealthy.

14. President Harrison Harrison was elected easily Inauguration Day
Gave the longest Inauguration speech in Presidential History
Two Hours—8444 words
Speech delivered in a cold rain
Harrison wore no coat nor hat
Also rode in the parade on horseback
Became ill and died a month later
Shortest presidency in history.

15. John Tyler Virginian Slave Owner
His wife was the first “First Lady” to die in the White House

16. President Tyler Controversy over his status as President
His assumption of the Office of President became a precedent
Did not become Constitutional until the 25th Amendment
Kept Harrison’s entire cabinet
Tyler’s political views were different from other Whigs
Tyler vetoed almost every Whig piece of legislation that came out of Congress.
Opposed many parts of the Whig program for economic recovery
Caused great controversy
There was even an impeachment attempt led by JQ Adams (HOR)

17. President Tyler
His entire cabinet (except Secretary of State Daniel Webster) resigned on the same day.
Whig party kicked him out of the party—while he was still President.
The Whigs had put Tyler on the ballot to pick up Southern votes…never intended for him to play much of a role.
Dubbed Tyler “His Accidency”

18. Pre-Emption Act (1841)
Law passed in 1841 to solve the problem of “Squatters” and “Claim Jumpers”
Permitted “squatters” who were living on federal government owned land to purchase up to 160 acres at a very low price (not less than $1.25 per acre) before the land was to be offered for sale to the general public.
To qualify to be a squatter, one had to be:
A “head of household”
A single man over 21 or a widow
A citizen of the US
A resident of the claimed land for a minimum of 14 months
State would be paid 10% of the proceeds from sale

19. California
First American settlers moved into Mexican California in 1841
Attracted by land grants from the Mexican government

20. Texas
Attempted several times after 1836 to be admitted as a state to the United States
Would be a slave state
Upset the balance in the Senate
Admission was opposed by northern anti-slavery factions
1884 – President Tyler pushed for admission of Texas to the Union