About State of the Union History

▼

1839 Martin Van Buren - Apparent American Ownership: A Fraudulent Use of Our Flag

›
  In 1839, President Martin Van Buren expressed concern over weak American laws that allowed foreign-owned vessels to acquire "an appar...

1839 Martin Van Buren - Murder and Piracy On the Coast of Sumatra

›
On December 2, 1839, President Martin Van Buren informed Congress of an outrage that took place in Southeast Asia along the west coast of Su...

1839 Martin Van Buren - Permanent Army Barracks

›
 In 1839, Secretary of War Joel R. Poinsett was trying to solve a problem the United States had struggled with since the War of 1812. On pap...

1839 Martin Van Buren - Tariffs and Declining Revenue

›
Tariffs, South Carolina, and the Compromise of 1833 In the late 1820s, a protective movement in America had taken a strong hold in the agric...

1839 Martin Van Buren - Prevention, Prudence, and Economy

›
In 1838, President Van Buren forcefully cautioned Congress in 1839 against rising debt, insisting that both the United States and the wider ...

1839 Martin Van Buren - Van Buren and the Fate of Isle Royale

›
If you’ve ever hiked Isle Royale and thought, “This feels like Canada,” you’re not wrong — the island sits just 15 miles from the Canadian ...

1838 Martin Van Buren - The Post Office and the Mandamus Case

›
  By 1830, Martin Van Buren was serving as vice president under Andrew Jackson . The country was changing fast: canals and railroads were c...