[158] The plan would permanently separate the government from private banks by storing government funds in government vaults rather than in private banks.[159] Van Buren announced his proposal in September 1837,[153] but an alliance of conservative Democrats and Whigs prevented it from becoming law until 1840.[160] As the debate continued, conservative Democrats like Rives defected to the Whig Party, which itself grew more unified in its opposition to Van Buren.[161] The Whigs would abolish the Independent Treasury system in 1841, but it was revived in 1846, and remained in place until the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913.[162] More important for Van Buren's immediate future, the depression would be a major issue in his upcoming re-election campaign.[153]

Indian removal[edit]
Federal policy under Jackson had sought to move Indian tribes to lands west of the Mississippi River through the Indian Removal Act of 1830, and the federal government negotiated 19 treaties with Indian tribes during Van Buren's presidency.