There isn't much to say about Martin Van Buren. The 8th President is known more for his unique facial hair than any of his accomplishments in office. There are two reasons for this. #1 Look at those sideburns! #2. There aren't many accomplishments for which Van Buren can take credit. It is this lack of achievement that lands The Notorious MVB at number 36 on my list.
Van Buren was a big city politician through and through. His keen understanding of machine politics and the "spoils system" in which government jobs were exchanged for votes and loyalty earned him the nickname the "Little Magician." His ability to make deals, win votes, and earn the support of influential New York politicians and businessmen allowed him to become the chief architect of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party was the first political organization to seek national rather than regional political influence. It is this party structure, created by Martin Van Buren, that allowed Andrew Jackson and others to gain national popularity. Van Buren served as Andrew Jackson's Vice President during his second term. After 4 years as America's number two man, Van Buren received the popular President's blessing and was awarded the Democrat's nomination for President in the election of 1836. Facing opposition from multiple members of the new Whig Party, Van Buren easily won the Presidency. Then everything went downhill. Within weeks of Van Buren's inauguration, the Panic of 1837 shocked the American economy. The collapse of the cotton market and reckless speculative investments in western lands led to a series of bank failures, resulting in high unemployment and foreclosures. Partisan arguments between the Democrats and the Whigs regarding the proper course to take did nothing to solve the economic catastrophe or alleviate the suffering of thousands. Of course, there wasn't much the President could do. He was hampered fiscal and monetary polices of the Jackson administration, an administration in which he served. With no clear path forward and no centralized bank (thanks to Jackson) to stabalize the economy, the recession lasted for several years. The Panic of 1837 was the most devastating economic downturn to that point in American history. Van Buren does not deserve blame for the recession, but he did nothing to inspire confidence in the public that the government was working to address the crisis. On the issue of slavery, Martin Van Buren was personally opposed to the institution. However, while President he did little to stop its expansion or challenge its existence. A famous example of this occurred in 1839 when the Spanish ship Amistad was transporting slaves throughout the Caribbean. A group of enslaved Africans escaped from their chains and took control of the ship. The slaves successfully navigated the ship to the coast of New York seeking freedom. The ship and passengers were captured by a United States vessel and the rebellious slaves suddenly found themselves in the middle of a custody battle between American abolitionists and the Spanish government. Throughout the entire legal proceedings, from the District Court to the Circuit Court of Appeals, the Van Buren administration sided with Spain, hoping to see the escaped slaves returned to bondage. The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court where the slaves, represented by former President John Q. Adams, were granted their freedom. Van Buren, although probably driven by a desire to maintain good relations with Spain and with the southern wing of his party, was on the wrong side of history. However, no issue better exemplifies Martin Van Buren's tone deafness to the long arch of justice than his treatment of Native Americans. As will be discussed in future entries into this blog, President Andrew Jackson successfully pushed through Congress the Indian Removal Act which authorized the President to forcefully remove all tribes still living east of the Mississippi River in the 1830s. One tribe, the Cherokee sued the government and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. In a surprising decision, the High Court ruled in favor of the Cherokee and declared that they had the right to stay on their land. President Jackson famously remarked that Chief Justice John Marshall had made his decision, "now let him enforce it." In violation of the court order, Jackson began the process of forcefully removing the remaining tribes to clear the land for white settlement. The most infamous part of this removal was the forced march of the Cherokee along the Trial of Tears in which thousands died. However, this forced march took place during Van Buren's administration, not Jackson's. Martin Van Buren had the chance to uphold the court order, allow the Cherokee to stay in their homes, and do what was both morally and legally right. Instead, Van Buren chose to follow in the tyrannical footsteps of his political ally, Andrew Jackson. A few years after leaving office, Martin Van Buren would become one of only a handful of ex-presidents to run for the nation's highest office again, but under a different party's banner. In 1848, Van Buren was nominated by the upstart Free Soil Party, a party opposed to the spread of slavery to the western territories. The campaign won no electoral votes and dissolved a few years later. In the end, Martin Van Buren found more success as a deal maker and party builder than he ever did as President. Van Buren's time in office reminds us that the President must be far more than a skilled politician, he must be a leader. Martin Van Buren lacked leadership and was unable to correctly deal with rapidly changing political landscape. This, along with economic challenges beyond his control, doomed his presidency.
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Derek Trent AshcraftA place to discuss, among other things, politics, culture, food, faith, and nonsense. Archives
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