to the panic, which would hold the money balances of the government in the form of gold or silver and would be restricted from printing paper money to prevent further inflation. This system was implemented in 1846. The depression still continued, and Van Buren became unpopular. The Whig Party nominated war hero William Henry Harrison and former Democrat John Tyler for the 1840 presidential election. They used a campaign style similar to that of the Democrats: Van Buren was depicted as an uncaring aristocrat, while Harrison's war record was glorified, and he was portrayed as a man of the people. Jackson campaigned loyally for Van Buren in Tennessee. He favored James K. Polk as vice presidential candidate, but no candidate for that office was chosen. To Jackson's dismay, Harrison won the 1840 election with the Whigs capturing majorities in both houses of Congress. Harrison died only a month into his term, and was replaced by Tyler. Jackson was encouraged because Tyler was not bound to party loyalties. Tyler angered the Whigs in 1841 when he vetoed two Whig-sponsored bills to establish a new national bank. Jackson and other Democrats praised Tyler, but Tyler's entire cabinet, except Daniel Webster, resigned. Jackson lobbied for the annexation of Texas, insisting that it belonged to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. He thought that annexation would cause national division over slavery, but feared the British could use Texas as a base to threaten the United States. Jackson wrote several letters to Texas president Sam Houston, urging him to wait for the Senate to approve annexation and explaining how much Texas would benefit as a part of the United States. Tyler signed a treaty of annexation in April 1844, but it became associated with the expansion of slavery and was not ratified. Henry Clay, the Whig nominee for the 1844 presidential election, and Van Buren, Jackson's preferred candidate for the Democratic Party, both opposed annexation. Disappointed by Van Buren, Jackson convinced Polk, who was to be Van Buren's running mate, to run as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee instead. Polk defeated Van Buren for the nomination, and Jackson convinced Tyler not to run as an independent by bringing him back into the Democratic Party. Polk won the election, the Senate passed a bill to annex Texas, and it was signed on March 1, 1845. Jackson died of dropsy, tuberculosis and heart failure