Martin Van Buren, William Harrison, John Tyler

1. Martin Van Buren
William Henry Harrison
and
John Tyler

2. 1. Depression – a period of low economic activity and widespread
unemployment
2. Laissez-faire – a policy that government should interfere as little as
possible in the nation’s economy

3. • With support from
Andrew Jackson and
the Democratic Party,
Martin Van Buren
defeated the Whig
candidates in the
election of 1836
• Van Buren had been
Jackson’s vice
president during his
second term

4. • Soon after Van Buren’s election, the
country entered an economic
depression
• This led to the Panic of 1837
• During this time:
- land values dropped
- investments declined
- banks failed
- businesses closed
- people lost jobs
- farmers lost land

6. • President Van Buren believed in
the principle of laissez-faire
• However, he did persuade
Congress to establish and
independent federal treasury in
1840. The government would
store its money in this treasury
rather than in private banks
• The new system would prevent
banks from using government
funds to back their banknotes
(paper money)

7. • Van Buren was criticized by the Whig Party as well as his own party
• In 1840, the Whigs led the “log cabin campaign”
• Their candidate, William Henry Harrison, needed to win the support of
farmers and laborers
• The Whig Party used a log cabin as their symbol to show Harrison as a
candidate for the common man (even though he was a wealthy Virginian)
• Harrison’s running mate was John Tyler.
• Their campaign slogan was “Tippacanoe and Tyler Too”

10. • Harrison won the election
• Unfortunately, he died on April 4, 1841 – one month after his inauguration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8N7BSsU5oo

11. • John Tyler became the first vice president to
gain the presidency because the elected
president died in office
• Though he belonged to the Whig Party, Tyler
supported many ideals of the Democratic
Party
• He believed in states’ rights, and he vetoed
a bill to re-charter the Bank of the United
States
• The Whigs expelled Tyler from the party

13. • In the next election in 1844, the Whig’s candidate Henry Clay lost to
Democrat James Polk