Martin Van Buren
President Martin Van Buren served as president for only one term, from the year 1837 to 1841, during the massive economic crisis called the Panic of 1837. Beginning only three months after Van Buren became president, this was the crisis that is regarded as the first great depression of the United States and it was at this time that Van Buren advocated the independence of the US Treasury from the government and the separation of its funds so that they will remain safe despite political opinions varying and changing, a move which earned him the nickname “the Little Magician.” Van Buren had been appointed the Secretary of State by President Andrew Jackson before the former became the president and later, the “minister to Great Britain,” but due to the effects of the great depression, his presidency was under heavy scrutiny as the economic crisis resulted in massive amounts of businesses and banks shutting down. Nevertheless, the policies that Van Buren set ultimately revived the economy but when the time came for the effects to be noticeable, he was not in office anymore, so he never actually got the credit that he deserved for the actions he took on the matter.
Martin Van Buren
George W. Bush
The 43rd president of the USA, George W. Bush was the commander in chief when the very tragic September 11 attacks happened in the US back in 2001, and in response to the terror attacks, he established the Department of Homeland Security. Bush served as president for two terms, from 2001 until 2008, and when he was in office, he ordered Afghanistan’s invasion as well as the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which resulted in its leader Saddam Hussein being overthrown. Bush was the governor of Texas for five years before he became president when he won the presidential election in 2000 but since he won the popular vote by only 0.5% in Florida, a recount of the votes was done in the state, which was quite lengthy but still resulted in Bush becoming president after he won the electoral vote but lost the popular vote. Due to having a father (George H.W. Bush) who had been president roughly a decade before, George W. Bush is the second US president in history whose father is a former president.
George W. Bush
