In 1821, Van Buren continued his climb up the political ladder after being elected to the U.S. Senate. There he helped support the presidential campaign of Andrew Jackson. While Jackson campaigned, Van Buren ran for Governor of New York. He was elected to that office in 1829 but left just four months later after Jackson appointed him as Secretary of State. Van Buren then served as an important member of Jackson’s cabinet of advisors.
This association played a huge part in his progress to the Presidency as Jackson helped him get the nomination for Vice President during his second presidential campaign.
And Jackson unofficially adopted Van Buren as his political successor once he left office. Thanks in no small part to Jackson’s influence, Van Buren was elected President in 1836. But Van Buren’s tenure in office was troubled by a number of different events. Van Buren, a widower after the passing of his wife, installed his daughter-in-law, Angelica Van Buren, as the official hostess of the White House.
Though well-liked at first, Angelica was enchanted by the noble houses of Europe and tried to make the White House social events reflect the courtly life of Europe. Van Buren’s opponents quickly used this to make angry allegations that Van Buren was living a royal lifestyle.
At the same time public opinion against Van Buren was turning, 1837 was marked by a serious financial recession. This resulted in the Panic of 1837 when several state banks ran out of gold reserves. The Panic was followed by a five-year depression, and many people in the U.S. blamed Van Buren for it. Van Buren also made a number of morally questionable decisions in office. The first was in 1839 when Mormons from Illinois approached Van Buren to ask for help against the Missouri government, which was using the state militia to drive them out.
Van Buren refused to help the Mormons because he feared that doing so would mean losing the votes of Missouri in the upcoming campaign. As a result, dozens of Mormons were killed and the rest drove out into the Western Territories. Van Buren also ordered the relocation of 20,000 Cherokee to the West, an event that formed a major part of the “Trail of Tears,” which led to the deaths of thousands of Native Americans.
Finally, Van Buren supported Spanish slave owners during a court case involving the Amistad, which was a slave ship where the slaves managed to kill their captors and take control of the ship. Van Buren argued against the opinion of a US court that the ship and the people on board should be turned over to Spain.
But Van Buren also did some good things in the office. In 1838, Van Buren successfully negotiated peace in a territory dispute with Great Britain, thus avoiding a war. However, this accomplishment wasn’t enough to win the upcoming campaign, and Van Buren was defeated by William Henry Harrison. Ultimately, the legacy of the only non-English speaking president is mixed. But Martin Van Burren’s career reveals the rich cultural heritage of the U.S.