Born: 1782, Kinderhook, NY
Died: 1862

Martin Van Buren was Andrew Jackson’s early supporter, but the two men were not alike. A Northerner, Van Buren had the instincts of a back-room politician, while the Southern-born Jackson was a flamboyant and outspoken populist. Their unlikely alliance was forged in steel when Jackson named the Senator from New York his Secretary of State in 1829. Jackson’s running mate in 1832, Van Buren succeeded him as President, defeating three candidates from the newly formed Whig Party. The Panic of 1837 followed, brought on in part by Jackson’s 1836 order requiring land speculators to pay for property in silver and gold. As bankruptcies multiplied, Van Buren did nothing, hoping the crisis would resolve itself. Instead, cotton prices plummeted in 1839. The President responded with the Treasury Bill of 1840, but his previous hard line had already alienated many.

“The Little Magician” — Van Buren’s nickname from happier days — was also criticized for rewarding supporters with political favors. The Whigs portrayed him as a high living, insensitive aristocrat, in contrast to their own “log cabin candidate,” William Henry Harrison, who soundly defeated the incumbent in 1841. Van Buren ran unsuccessfully for President again in 1848 on the anti-slavery Free Soil ticket.

Eighth President
Democrat

Born: 1767, Waxhaw, SC
Died: 1845

Andrew Jackson was a Tennessee frontiersman, lawyer and military hero whose stunning defeat of the British at New Orleans in 1815 launched a colorful and tumultuous political career. After losing the presidency to fellow Republican John Quincy Adams in 1825, he started an opposition party in Congress, calling it the Democratic-Republicans (shortened to Democrats). Jackson wrested the Presidency from Adams in 1829. His personal charisma, his penchant for plain talk and his image as a Washington outsider proved irresistible to Americans who had just gained the vote. “Old Hickory” rolled into office on a wave of populist fervor, his supporters nearly causing a riot at his inaugural.

Jackson used the power of the Presidency as none before him. He dismissed almost 2,000 government employees in an effort to eradicate a “corrupt bureaucracy,” and filled the vacancies with party loyalists. His veto of a bill to recharter the National Bank infuriated his opponents — but not the electorate, who re-elected him decisively. In his second term, Jackson defeated South Carolina’s attempt to nullify the tariff laws, paid off the national debt, and survived a bungled assassination attempt. He recognized the Republic of Texas in 1836 and retired from office as popular as ever.

Seventh President
Democrat