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Martin
Van Buren served as a Senator from New York and later as Andrew Jackson's
Vice President before ascending to the Presidency in 1837. He was a consummate
politician who, in the words of one contemporary, "rowed to his objectives
with muffled oars." Unfortunately, when he came into office in 1837, the
country was plunged into its first depression so that he could not do
what all his predecessors had done: move away from the heat of Washington
during the summer. Instead he rented Woodley because it was on the cooler
heights above the city and because it was considerably cheaper to run.
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