Martin Van Buren
After the presidency, Van Buren remained active in politics. He was able to outlive the four presidents that came after him. In 1848, Van Buren ran for president again with the Free Soil Party. However, he lost that election. Van Buren remained critical of many things like the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. He supported Franklin Pierce in 1852, James Buchanan in 1856 and Stephen A. Douglas in 1860. As the American Civil War began in 1861, former president Franklin Pierce told Van Buren he should make a meeting with all the former presidents to try and make a solution. However, Van Buren said James Buchanan or Pierce should do it, but no one did. Van Buren supported the Union during the war.