2/10/2015
Effects of the
War on the Bank

Bill for renewal came to Jackson on July
4, 1832
◦ Jackson was sick in bed

Jackson vetoed the bill that would
give the bank a new charter
◦ “The bank, Mr.Van Buren, is trying to kill me. But
I will kill it!”

Jackson pulled govt. funds
◦ Deposited the money in state banks
 Opponents called them “pet banks”
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2/10/2015
Era of Van Buren

Nation prospered under
Jackson

Whig Party formed as
opponents to Jackson
◦ (“King Andrew I”)

Martin Van Buren, Jackson’s
V.P., easily won the Election
of 1836

Within months people feared
for the economy
◦ Panic of 1837

People exchanged paper
money for gold or silver
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2/10/2015
Depression and Change

Banks could not keep
up & most went into
default
◦ It led to a depression

Some like Clay &
Webster believed the
gov’t should help
◦ Van Buren believed the
economy would improve
on its own

Van Buren blamed
for the Panic
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2/10/2015
Election of 1840

Whigs again chose military hero
William Henry Harrison

Made the most of his nickname “Old
Tippecanoe”
◦ Virginian John Tyler as V.P., a former Democrat
◦ Whig campaign slogan – “Tippecanoe & Tyler
too!”

Whigs appealed to “common
people”
 Used the log cabin as symbol
◦ Van Buren blamed for the depression

Harrison’s long speech in the bitter
cold led to his death one month after
inauguration
◦ First time a president died in office
◦ Vice-President Tyler became president
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