[146] In accordance with the Twelfth Amendment, the Senate elected Johnson vice president in a contingent vote.[147]
The election of 1836 marked an important turning point in American political history because it saw the establishment of the Second Party System. In the early 1830s, the political party structure was still changing, rapidly, and factional and personal leaders continued to play a major role in politics. By the end of the campaign of 1836, the new party system was almost complete, as nearly every faction had been absorbed by either the Democrats or the Whigs.[148]

Presidency (1837–1841)[edit]
Main article: Presidency of Martin Van Buren
Cabinet[edit]
The Van Buren cabinetOfficeNameTermPresidentMartin Van Buren1837–1841Vice PresidentRichard Mentor Johnson1837–1841Secretary of StateJohn Forsyth1837–1841Secretary of the TreasuryLevi Woodbury1837–1841Secretary of WarJoel Roberts Poinsett1837–1841Attorney GeneralBenjamin Franklin Butler1837–1838Felix Grundy1838–1840Henry D. Gilpin1840–1841Postmaster GeneralAmos Kendall1837–1840John Milton Niles1840–1841Secretary of the NavyMahlon Dickerson1837–1838James Kirke Paulding1838–1841
Van Buren retained much of Jackson's cabinet and lower-level appointees, as he hoped that the retention of Jackson's appointees would stop Whig momentum in the South and restore confidence in the Democrats as a party of sectional unity.