Martin van Buren of New York.
The Depression of 1829 was an economic recession that struck the Northern Confederation in 1829 and lasted for two years. Sobel states that a major cause of the Depression of 1829 was the manipulation of the N.C.'s banking system by the Conservative government of Governor Martin van Buren. As a result of the Depression of 1829, the Conservatives lost control of the Northern Confederation Council in the next round of provincial elections. This led two important groups of Conservative voters, small farmers and unskilled workers, to shift their efforts from politics to organizing. The workers organized the Grand Consolidated Union, and the farmers organized the Freeholders' Alliance.