[345]

Later life and death (1837–1845)
Mezzotint of Jackson (1845)
In 1837, Jackson retired to the Hermitage and immediately began putting its affairs in order, as it had been poorly managed in his absence. Though Jackson was in ill health and had lost some of his popularity because he was blamed for the Panic of 1837, he remained influential in national and state politics.[346]
Jackson supported an Independent Treasury system as a solution 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.[347] This system was implemented in 1846.[348] 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.[349] Jackson campaigned loyally for Van Buren in Tennessee.