The Panic of 1837 struck five weeks after Martin Van Buren was sworn into office as the eighth president. He was completely unprepared for the economic collapse and following recession, and did very little to reduce the seriousness of the situation. Four months following the collapse, Van Buren died on 13 September 1837 of a stroke brought on by stress.
Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson had taken a leave of absence shortly after the collapse to return home to Kentucky in order to open and run a tavern, neglecting the duties of the Vice Presidency. Upon hearing of Van Buren's death, he immediately set off for Washington City, arriving on 18 September. Much like his predecessor, Johnson was unprepared for handling the recession and did very little to mitigate the economic problems. Added to his perceived incompetency, he was considered scandalous due to his common law marriage to three mulatto women and his acceptance of responsibility for the welfare of his children by them.
Although applauded by a few Northern abolitionists, Johnson was reviled by Southerners, especially Southern Democrats who felt he had befouled the party. Representative James Polk of Tennessee presented a bill of impeachment against President Johnson in December 1837, which was accepted with a strong majority. On 2 February 1838, the Senate voted to remove Johnson from office, making him the first president in United States history to be both impeached and removed. In the absence of a Vice President, the president pro tempore of the Senate, William R. King, was sworn in as the tenth president of the Untied States.
Historians in the 20th century nearly always ranked Johnson amongst the very worst presidents, however, after the election of Barack Obama in 2008, a few historians praised Johnson for his courage in marrying a mulatto woman despite the social ramifications of the time. Despite this renewed interest in his legacy, though, a 2010 survey of historians of the presidency listed Johnson as the worst president to have served.