With Jackson 's strong support, Van Buren faced little opposition for the presidential nomination at the 1835 Democratic National Convention, and he defeated several Whig opponents in the 1836 presidential election. He was the first president to be born a United States citizen. Of Dutch ancestry, he is the only president who spoke English as a second language. As president, Van Buren was blamed for the depression of 1837; hostile newspapers called him "Martin Van Ruin ''. He attempted to cure the economic problems by keeping control of federal funds in an independent treasury, rather than in state banks, but Congress would not approve of this until 1840. In foreign affairs, he denied the application of Texas for admission to the Union, unwilling to upset the balance of free and slave states in the Missouri Compromise, and hoping to avoid war with Mexico over Texas annexation. Additionally, relations with Britain and its colonies in Canada proved to be strained from the bloodless Aroostook War and the Caroline Affair. In the 1840 election, Van Buren was voted out of office, losing to Whig candidate William Henry Harrison.
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