Martin Van Buren

Eighth president, 1837–1841

A consummate politician, Martin Van Buren was clever, strategic, and a master of political patronage. He helped found the Democratic Party, which put Andrew Jackson in the White House, and succeeded Jackson after serving as his vice president. Van Buren, however, had the misfortune of becoming president just a few months before the Panic of 1837—an unprecedented financial crisis that brought about an economic depression and earned him the epithet “Martin Van Ruin.”

Van Buren also faced the growing problem of slavery in the United States. He attempted to navigate between those who supported the spread of the slave labor system and those who called for its abolition, but this was a challenge. Once, after becoming disillusioned with the presidency and losing his bid for reelection, Van Buren noted, “the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it.”