document_title: Martin Van Buren

question_text: first president that was born in the us

question_tokens: first president that was born in the us

text: Martin Van Buren

text: Early life and education[edit]

text: Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782, in the village of Kinderhook, New York about 20 miles (32 km) south of Albany on the Hudson River. He was the first president not born a British subject, nor of British ancestry.[2] His father, Abraham Van Buren, was a descendant of Cornelis Maessen of the village of Buurmalsen, Netherlands, who had come to North America in 1631 and purchased a plot of land on Manhattan Island.[4] Abraham Van Buren had been a Patriot during the American Revolution,[5][6] and he later joined the Democratic-Republican Party.[7] Abraham owned and operated an inn and tavern in Kinderhook and served as Kinderhook's town clerk for several years. In 1776, Abraham married Maria Hoes (or Goes) Van Alen, the widow of Johannes Van Alen. Like Abraham Van Buren, Maria was of Dutch extraction. With Van Alen, Maria had had three children, including future Congressman James I. Van Alen. After their marriage, Abraham and Maria produced five children, including Martin.[8] Unlike every other president before or since, Van Buren spoke English as a second language, and his primary language in his youth was Dutch.[9]

text: Van Buren received a basic education at the village schoolhouse and briefly studied Latin at the Kinderhook Academy and at Washington Seminary in Claverack.[10][11] His formal education ended in 1796, when he began reading law at the office of Peter Silvester and his son Francis, prominent Federalist attorneys in Kinderhook.[12] Van Buren learned early to interact with people from varied ethnic, income, and societal groups, which he would later use to his advantage as a political organizer.[13] Van Buren was small in stature; as an adult he was 5 feet 6 inches tall, and was often referred to as "Little Van."[14] When he first began his legal studies, he often presented an unkempt appearance in rough, homespun clothing.[15] The Silvesters admonished Van Buren about how crucial a lawyer's clothing and personal appearance were to the success of his practice. He accepted their advice and patterned his clothing, appearance, bearing and conduct after theirs.[16][17]

text: Despite his association with the Silvesters and Kinderhook's strong affiliation with the Federalist Party, Van Buren adopted the Democratic-Republican political leanings of his father.[18] After six years under the Silvesters, the elder Silvester and Democratic-Republican political figure John Peter Van Ness suggested that Van Buren's political leanings constrained him to complete his education with a Democratic-Republican attorney. Accepting this advice, he spent a final year of apprenticeship in the New York City office of John Van Ness's brother William P. Van Ness, a political lieutenant of Aaron Burr.[19] Van Ness introduced Van Buren to the intricacies of New York state politics, and Van Buren observed Burr's battles for control of the state Democratic-Republican party against George Clinton and Robert R. Livingston.[20] In 1803, after being admitted to the New York bar, Van Buren returned to Kinderhook.[21]

text: Van Buren married Hannah Hoes, his childhood sweetheart and a daughter of his first cousin, on February 21, 1807, in Catskill, New York.[22] Like Van Buren, she was raised in a Dutch home; she spoke primarily Dutch, and spoke English with a distinct accent.[23] The couple had five children, four of whom lived to adulthood: Abraham (1807–1873), John (1810–1866), Martin, Jr. (1812–1855), Winfield Scott (born and died in 1814), and Smith Thompson (1817–1876).[2] Hannah Van Buren contracted tuberculosis and died on February 5, 1819, at the age of 35.[24] Martin Van Buren never remarried.[25]

text: Early political career[edit]

text: Upon returning to Kinderhook in 1803, Van Buren formed a law partnership with his half-brother, James Van Alen, and became financially secure enough to increase his focus on politics.[26] Van Buren had been active in politics from age 18 if not before; he had attended a Democratic-Republican Party convention in Troy, New York where he worked successfully to secure for John Peter Van Ness the party nomination in a special election for the 6th Congressional District seat.[27] Upon returning to Kinderhook, Van Buren broke with the Burr faction, becoming an ally of both DeWitt Clinton and Daniel D. Tompkins. After the faction led by Clinton and Tompkins dominated the 1807 elections, Van Buren was appointed Surrogate of Columbia County, New York.[28] Seeking to find a better base for his political and legal career, Van Buren and his family moved to the town of Hudson, the seat of Columbia County, in 1808.[29] Van Buren's legal practice continued to flourish, and he traveled all over the state to represent various clients.[30]

text: In 1812, Van Buren won his party's nomination for a seat in the New York State Senate. Though several Democratic-Republicans, including John Peter Van Ness, joined with the Federalists to oppose his candidacy, Van Buren won election to the state senate in mid-1812.[31] Later in the year, the United States entered the War of 1812 against Great Britain, while Clinton launched an unsuccessful bid to defeat President James Madison in the 1812 presidential election. After the election, Van Buren became suspicious that Clinton was working with the Federalist Party, and he broke from his former political ally.[32]

text: During the War of 1812, Van Buren worked with Clinton, Governor Tompkins, and Ambrose Spencer to support the Madison administration's prosecution of the war.[33] In addition, he was a special judge advocate appointed to serve as a prosecutor of William Hull during Hull's court-martial following the surrender of Detroit.[34][35] In the winter of 1814–15 he collaborated with Winfield Scott on ways to reorganize the New York Militia in anticipation of another military campaign, but their work was halted by the end of the war in early 1815.[36] Van Buren was so favorably impressed by Scott that he named his fourth son after him.[37] Van Buren's strong support for the war boosted his standing, and in 1815 he was elected to the position of New York Attorney General. Van Buren moved from Hudson to the state capital of Albany, where he established a legal partnership with Benjamin Butler.[38] In 1816, Van Buren won re-election to the state senate, and he would continue to simultaneously serve as both state senator and as the state's attorney general.[39]

text: Albany regency[edit]

text: After Tompkins was elected as vice president in the 1816 presidential election, Clinton defeated Van Buren's preferred candidate, Peter Buell Porter, in the 1817 New York gubernatorial election.[40] Clinton threw his influence behind the construction of the Erie Canal, an ambitious project designed to connect Lake Erie to the Atlantic Ocean.[41] Though many of Van Buren's allies urged him to block Clinton's Erie Canal bill, Van Buren believed that the canal would benefit the state. His support for the bill helped it win approval from the New York legislature.[42] Despite his support for the Erie Canal, Van Buren became the leader of anti-Clintonian faction in New York known as the "Bucktails."[43] The Bucktails succeeded in emphasizing party loyalty and used it to capture and control many patronage posts throughout New York. Through his use of patronage, loyal newspapers, and connections with local party officials and leaders, Van Buren established what became known as the "Albany Regency," a political machine that emerged as an important factor in New York politics.[44] The Regency relied on a coalition of small farmers, but also enjoyed support from the Tammany Hall machine in New York City.[45] Though Governor Clinton remained in office until late 1822, Van Buren emerged as the leader of the state's Democratic-Republicans after the 1820 elections.[46] Van Buren was a member of the 1820 state constitutional convention, where he favored expanded voting rights, but opposed universal suffrage and tried to maintain property requirements for voting.[47]

text: Entry into national politics[edit]

text: In February 1821, the state legislature elected Van Buren to represent New York in the United States Senate.[48] Van Buren arrived in Washington during the "Era of Good Feelings," a period in which partisan distinctions at the national level had faded.[49] Van Buren quickly became a prominent figure in Washington, D.C., befriending Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford, among others.[50] Though not an exceptional orator, Van Buren frequently engaged in debate on the Senate floor, usually after extensively researching the subject at hand. Despite his commitments as a father and state party leader, Van Buren remained closely engaged in his legislative duties, and during his time in the Senate he served as the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.[51] As he gained renown, Van Buren earned monikers like "Little Magician" and "Sly Fox."[52]

text: Van Buren chose to back Crawford over John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay in the presidential election of 1824.[53] Crawford shared Van Buren's affinity for Jeffersonian principles of states' rights and limited government, and Van Buren believed that Crawford made an ideal leader around which to form a coalition led by leaders from New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia's "Richmond Junto."[54] Van Buren's support for Crawford aroused strong opposition in New York in the form of the People's party, which drew support from Clintonians, Federalists, and others opposed to Van Buren.[55] Nonetheless, Van Buren helped Crawford win the Democratic-Republican party's presidential nomination at the February 1824 congressional nominating caucus.[56] The other Democratic-Republican candidates in the race refused to accept the poorly-attended caucus's decision, and as the Federalist Party had virtually ceased to function as a national party, the 1824 campaign became a competition among four candidates of the same party. Though Crawford suffered a severe stroke that left him in poor helath, Van Buren continued to support his chosen candidate.[57] Van Buren met with Thomas Jefferson in May 1824 an attempt to bolster Crawford's candidacy, and though he was unsuccessful in gaining a public endorsement for Crawford, he nonetheless cherished the chance to meet with his political hero.[58]

text: The 1824 elections dealt a severe blow to the Albany Regency, as Clinton returned to the governorship with the support of the People's party. By the time the state legislature convened to choose the state's presidential electors, results from other states had made it clear that no individual would win a majority of the electoral vote, necessitating a contingent election in the United States House of Representatives.[59] While Adams and Jackson were assured of finishing in the top three, and thus being eligible for selection in the contingent election, New York's electors would help determine whether Clay or Crawford would finish third.[60] Though most of the state's electoral votes went to Adams, Crawford won one more electoral vote than Clay in the state, and Clay's defeat in Louisiana left Crawford in third place.[61] With Crawford still in the running, Van Buren lobbied members of the House to support Crawaford.[62] He hoped to engineer a Crawford victory on the second ballot of the contingent election, but Adams won on the first ballot with the help of Clay and Stephen Van Rensselaer, a Congressman from New York. Despite his close ties with Van Buren, Van Rensselaer cast his vote for Adams, thus giving Adams a narrow majority of New York's delegation and a victory in the contingent election.[63]

text: After the House contest, Van Buren shrewdly kept out of the controversy which followed, and began looking forward to 1828. Jackson was angered to see the presidency go to Adams after Adams received fewer popular votes, and Jackson eagerly looked forward to a rematch.[64] Jackson's supporters accused Adams and Clay of having engaged in a "corrupt bargain" in which Clay helped Adams win the contingent election in return for Clay's appointment as Secretary of State.[65] Always notably courteous in his treatment of opponents, Van Buren showed no bitterness toward either Adams or Clay, and he voted to confirm Clay's nomination to the cabinet.[66][67] At the same time, Van Buren opposed the Adams-Clay plans for internal improvements like roads and canals and declined to support U.S. participation in the Congress of Panama.[68] Van Buren considered Adams's proposals to represent a return to the Hamiltonian economic model favored by Federalists, which he strongly opposed.[69] Despite his opposition to Adams's public policies, Van Buren was able to easily secure re-election in his own divided home state in 1827.[70]

text: 1828 elections[edit]

text: Van Buren's overarching goal at the national level was to restore a two-party system with party cleavages based on philosophical differences, and he viewed the old divide between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans as the best state of affairs for the nation.[71] Van Buren believed that these national parties helped ensure that elections were decided on national, rather than sectional or local, issues; as he put it, "party attachment in former times furnished a complete antidote for sectional prejudices." After the 1824 election, Van Buren was initially somewhat skeptical of Jackson, who had not taken strong positions on most policy issues. Nonetheless, he settled on Jackson as the one candidate who could beat Adams in the 1828 presidential election, and he worked to bring Crawford's former backers into line behind Jackson. He also forged alliances with other members of Congress opposed to Adams, including Vice President John C. Calhoun, Senator Thomas Hart Benton, and Senator John Randolph.[72] Seeking to solidify his own standing in New York and bolster Jackson's campaign, Van Buren helped arrange the passage of the Tariff of 1828, which opponents labeled as the "Tariff of Abominations." The tariff satisfied many who sought protection from foreign competition, but angered Southern cotton interests and New Englanders.[73] Because Van Buren believed that the South would never support Adams, and New England would never support Jackson, he was willing to alienate both regions through passage of the tariff.[74]

text: Meanwhile, Clinton's death from a heart attack in 1828 dramatically shook up the politics of Van Buren's home state, while the Anti-Masonic Party emerged as an increasingly important factor.[75] After some initial reluctance, Van Buren chose to run for Governor of New York in the 1828 election.[76] Hoping that a Jackson victory would lead to his own elevation to Secretary of State or Secretary of the Treasury, Van Buren chose Enos T. Throop as his running mate and preferred successor.[77] Van Buren's candidacy was aided by the split between supporters of Adams, who had adopted the label of National Republicans, and the Anti-Masonic Party.[78] Reflecting his public association with Jackson, Van Buren accepted the gubernatorial nomination on a ticket that called itself "Jacksonian-Democrat."[79] He campaigned on local as well as national issues, emphasizing his opposition to the policies of the Adams administration.[80] Van Buren ran ahead of Jackson, winning the state by 30,000 votes compared to a margin of 5,000 for Jackson.[81] Nationally, Jackson defeated Adams by a wide margin, winning nearly every state outside of New England.[82] After the election, Van Buren resigned from the Senate to start his term as governor, which began on January 1, 1829.[83] While his term was short as governor was short, he did manage to pass the Bank Safety Fund Law, an early form of deposit insurance, through the legislature.[84] He also appointed several key supporters, including William L. Marcy and Silas Wright, to important state positions.[85]

text: Jackson administration[edit]

text: Secretary of State[edit]

text: In February 1829, Jackson wrote to Van Buren to ask him to become Secretary of State.[86] Van Buren quickly agreed, and he resigned as governor the following month; his tenure of forty-three days is the shortest amount of time served by any Governor of New York.[87] No serious diplomatic crises arose during Van Buren's tenure as Secretary of State, but he achieved several notable successes, such as settling long-standing claims against France and winning reparations for property that had been seized during the Napoleonic Wars. He reached an agreement with the British to open trade with the British West Indies colonies and concluded a treaty with the Ottoman Empire that gained American merchants access to the Black Sea. Items on which he did not achieve success included settling the Maine-New Brunswick boundary dispute with Great Britain, gaining settlement of the U.S. claim to the Oregon Country, concluding a commercial treaty with Russia, and persuading Mexico to sell Texas.[88][89]

text: In addition to his foreign policy duties, Van Buren quickly emerged as an important adviser to Jackson on major domestic issues like the tariff and internal improvements.[90] The Secretary of State was instrumental in convincing Jackson to issue the Maysville Road veto, which both reaffirmed limited government principles and also helped prevent the construction of infrastructure projects that could potentially compete with New York's Erie Canal.[91] He also became involved in a power struggle with Calhoun over appointments and other issues, including the Petticoat Affair.[92] The Petticoat Affair arose because Peggy Eaton, wife of Secretary of War John H. Eaton, was ostracized by the other cabinet wives due to circumstances surrounding her marriage.[93][94] Led by Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President Calhoun, the other cabinet wives refused to pay courtesy calls to the Eatons, receive them as visitors, or invite them to social events.[95] As a widower, Van Buren was unaffected by the position of the cabinet wives.[96] Van Buren at first sought to conciliate the divide in the cabinet, but most of the leading citizens in Washington continued to snub the Eatons.[97] Jackson was personally close to Eaton, and he came to the conclusion that the allegations against Eaton arose from a plot against his administration led by Henry Clay.[98] The Petticoat Affair, combined with a contentious debate over the tariff and Calhoun's decade-old criticisms of Jackson's actions in the First Seminole War, contributed to a split between Jackson and Calhoun.[99] As the debate over the tariff and the proposed ability of South Carolina to nullify federal law consumed Washington, Van Buren increasingly emerged as Jackson's likely successor.[100]

text: The Petticoat affair was finally resolved when Van Buren offered to resign; in April 1831, Jackson accepted, and took the opportunity to reorganize his cabinet by asking for the resignations of the cabinet members.[101] Postmaster General William T. Barry, who had sided with the Eatons in the Petticoat Affair, was the lone cabinet member to remain in office.[102] The cabinet reorganization removed Calhoun's allies from the Jackson administration, and Van Buren had a major role in shaping the new cabinet.[103] After leaving office, Van Buren continued to play a part in the Kitchen Cabinet, Jackson's informal circle of advisers.[104]

text: Vice-Presidency[edit]

text: In August 1831 Jackson gave Van Buren a recess appointment as the ambassador to Britain, and Van Buren arrived in London in September.[105] He was cordially received, but in February 1832 he learned his nomination had been rejected by the Senate.[106] The rejection of Van Buren was essentially the work of Calhoun.[107] When the vote on Van Buren's nomination was taken, enough pro-Calhoun Jacksonians refrained from voting to produce a tie, thus giving Calhoun, in his role as presiding officer, the ability to cast the deciding vote against Van Buren.[108] Calhoun was elated, convinced that he had ended Van Buren's career. "It will kill him dead, sir, kill him dead. He will never kick, sir, never kick," Calhoun exclaimed to a friend.[109] Calhoun's move backfired; by making Van Buren appear the victim of petty politics, Calhoun raised Van Buren in both Jackson's regard and the esteem of others in the Democratic Party. Far from ending Van Buren's career, Calhoun's action gave greater impetus to Van Buren's candidacy for vice president.[110]

text: Seeking to ensure that Van Buren would replace Calhoun as his running mate, Jackson had arranged for a national convention of his supporters.[111] The May 1832 Democratic National Convention subsequently nominated Van Buren to serve as the party's vice presidential nominee.[112] Van Buren won the nomination over Philip Pendleton Barbour (Calhoun's favored candidate) and Richard Mentor Johnson due to the support of Jackson and the strength of the Albany Regency.[113] Upon Van Buren's return from Europe in July 1832, he became involved in the Bank War, a struggle over the re-charter of the Second Bank of the United States.[114] Van Buren had long been distrustful of banks, and he viewed the Bank as an extension of the Hamiltonian economic program, so he supported Jackson's veto of the Bank's re-charter.[115] Henry Clay, the presidential nominee of the National Republicans, made the struggle over the Bank the key issue of the presidential election of 1832.[116] The Jackson-Van Buren ticket won the 1832 election by a landslide,[117] and Van Buren took office as Vice President in March 1833.[118] During the Nullification Crisis, Van Buren counseled Jackson to pursue a policy of conciliation with South Carolina leaders.[119] He played little direct role in the passage of the Tariff of 1833, but he quietly hoped that the tariff would help bring an end to the Nullification Crisis, which it did.[120]

text: During his time in office Van Buren continued to be one of Jackson's primary advisors and confidants, and accompanied Jackson on his tour of the northeastern United States in 1833.[121] Jackson's struggle with the Second Bank of the United States continued, as the president sought to remove federal funds from the Bank.[122] Though at first apprehensive of the removal due to congressional support for the Bank, Van Buren eventually came to support Jackson's policy.[123] He also helped undermine a fledgling alliance between Jackson and Daniel Webster, a senator from Massachusetts who could have potentially threatened Van Buren's project to create two parties separated by policy differences rather than personalities.[124] During Jackson's second term, the president's supporters began to refer to themselves as members of the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, those opposed to Jackson, including Clay's National Republicans, followers of Calhoun, and many members of the Anti-Masonic Party, coalesced into the Whig Party.[125]

text: Presidential election of 1836[edit]

text: President Andrew Jackson declined to seek another term in the 1836 presidential election, but he remained influential within the Democratic Party as his second term came to an end. Jackson was determined to help elect Van Buren in 1836 so that the latter could continue the Jackson administration's policies.[126] With Jackson's support, Van Buren won the presidential nomination of the 1835 Democratic National Convention without opposition.[127] Two names were put forward for the vice-presidential nomination: Representative Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky, and former senator William Cabell Rives of Virginia. Southern Democrats, and Van Buren himself, strongly preferred Rives. Jackson, on the other hand, strongly preferred Johnson. Again, Jackson's considerable influence prevailed, and Johnson received the required two-thirds vote after New York Senator Silas Wright prevailed upon non-delegate Edward Rucker to cast the 15 votes of the absent Tennessee delegation in Johnson's favor.[128][127]

text: Van Buren's competitors in the election of 1836 were three members of the Whig Party, which remained a loose coalition bound by mutual opposition to Jackson's anti-bank policies. Lacking the party unity or organizational strength to field a single ticket or define a single platform,[128] the Whigs ran several regional candidates in hopes of sending the election to the House of Representatives.[129] The three candidates were: Hugh Lawson White of Tennessee, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, and William Henry Harrison of Indiana. Besides endorsing internal improvements and a national bank, the Whigs tried to tie Democrats to abolitionism and sectional tension, and attacked Jackson for "acts of aggression and usurpation of power."[130]

text: Southern voters represented the biggest potential impediment in Van Buren's quest for the presidency, as many were suspicious of a Northern president.[131] Van Buren moved to obtain the support of southerners by assuring them that he opposed abolitionism and supported the maintaining of slavery in states where it had already existed.[132] To demonstrate consistency regarding his opinions on slavery, Van Buren cast the tie-breaking Senate vote in favor of a bill to subject abolitionist mail to state laws, thus ensuring that its circulation would be prohibited in the South.[133] Van Buren personally considered slavery to be immoral, but sanctioned by the Constitution.[134]

text: Van Buren won the election with 764,198 popular votes, 50.9 percent of the total, and 170 electoral votes. Harrison led the Whigs with 73 electoral votes, White receiving 26, and Webster 14. Willie Person Mangum of South Carolina received his state’s 11 electoral votes.[130] Van Buren's victory resulted from a combination of his own attractive political and personal qualities, Jackson's popularity and endorsement, the organizational power of the Democratic party, and the inability of the Whig Party to muster an effective candidate and campaign.[135] Virginia's presidential electors voted for Van Buren for president but William Smith for vice president, leaving Johnson one electoral vote short of election.[136] In accordance with the Twelfth Amendment, the Senate elected Johnson vice president in a contingent vote.[137]

text: The election of 1836 marked an important turning point in American political history because of the part it played in establishing 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.[138]

text: Presidency 1837–1841[edit]

text: Cabinet[edit]

text:
The Van Buren Cabinet

Office
Name
Term

President
Martin Van Buren
1837–1841

Vice President
Richard Mentor Johnson
1837–1841

Secretary of State
John Forsyth
1837–1841

Secretary of Treasury
Levi Woodbury
1837–1841

Secretary of War
Joel R. Poinsett
1837–1841

Attorney General
Benjamin Butler
1837–1838

Felix Grundy
1838–1840

Henry D. Gilpin
1840–1841

Postmaster General
Amos Kendall
1837–1840

John M. Niles
1840–1841

Secretary of the Navy
Mahlon Dickerson
1837–1838

James K. Paulding
1838–1841

text: 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.[139] The cabinet holdovers represented the different regions of the country: Secretary of the Treasury Levi Woodbury came from New England, Attorney General Benjamin F. Butler and Secretary of the Navy Mahlon Dickerson hailed from mid-Atlantic states, Secretary of State John Forsyth represented the South, and Postmaster General Amos Kendall of Kentucky represented the West. For the lone open position of Secretary of War, Van Buren first approached William Cabell Rives, who had sought the vice presidency in 1836. After Rives declined to join the cabinet, Van Buren appointed Joel Roberts Poinsett, a South Carolinian who had opposed secession during the Nullification Crisis. Van Buren's cabinet choices were criticized by Pennsylvanians such as James Buchanan, who argued that their state deserved a cabinet position, as well as some Democrats who argued that Van Buren should have used his patronage powers to augment his own power. But Van Buren saw value in avoiding contentious patronage battles, and his decision to retain Jackson's cabinet made it clear that he intended to continue the policies of predecessor. Additionally, Van Buren had helped select Jackson's cabinet appointees and enjoyed strong working relationships with them.[140]

text: Van Buren held regular formal cabinet meetings and discontinued the informal gatherings of advisers that had attracted so much attention during Jackson's presidency. He solicited advice from department heads, tolerated open and even frank exchanges between cabinet members, perceiving himself as "a mediator, and to some extent an umpire between the conflicting opinions" of his counselors. Such detachment allowed the president to reserve judgment and protect his own prerogative for making final decisions. These open discussions gave cabinet members a sense of participation and made them feel part of a functioning entity, rather than isolated executive agents.[141] Van Buren was closely involved in foreign affairs and matters pertaining to the Treasury Department, but the Post Office, War Department, and Navy Department all had possessed high levels of autonomy under their respective cabinet secretaries.[142]

text: Panic of 1837[edit]

text: When Van Buren entered office, the nation's economic health had taken a turn for the worse and the prosperity of the early 1830s was over. Two months into his presidency, on May 10, 1837, some important state banks in New York, running out of hard currency reserves, refused to convert paper money into gold or silver, and other financial institutions throughout the nation quickly followed suit. This financial crisis would become known as the Panic of 1837.[143] The Panic was followed by a five-year depression in which banks failed and unemployment reached record highs.[144]

text: Van Buren blamed the economic collapse on greedy American and foreign business and financial institutions, as well as the over-extension of credit by U.S. banks. Whig leaders in Congress blamed the Democrats, along with Andrew Jackson's economic policies,[143] specifically his 1836 Specie Circular. Cries of "rescind the circular!" went up and former President Jackson sent word to Van Buren asking him not to rescind the order, believing that it had to be given enough time to work. Others, like Nicholas Biddle, believed that Jackson's dismantling of the Bank of the United States was directly responsible for the irresponsible creation of paper money by the state banks which had precipitated this panic.[145] The Panic of 1837 loomed large over the 1838 election cycle, as the carryover effects of the economic downturn led to Whig gains in both the U.S. House and Senate. The state elections in 1837 and 1838 were also disastrous for the Democrats,[146] and the partial economic recovery in 1838 was offset by a second commercial crisis later that year.[147]

text: To deal with the crisis, the Whigs proposed rechartering the national bank. The president countered by proposing the establishment of an independent U.S. treasury, which he contended would take the politics out of the nation's money supply. Under the plan, the government would hold all of its money balances in the form of gold or silver, and would be restricted from printing paper money at will; both measures were designed to prevent inflation.[148] The plan would permanently separate the government from private banks by storing government funds in government vaults rather than in private banks.[149] Van Buren announced his proposal in September 1837,[143] but an alliance of conservative Democrats and Whigs prevented it from becoming law until 1840.[150] As the debate continued, conservative Democrats like Rives defected to the Whig Party, which itself grew more unified in its opposition to Van Buren.[151] The Whigs would abolish the Independent Treasury system in 1841, but it was revived in 1846 and remained in place until the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913.[152] More important for Van Buren's immediate future, the depression would be a major issue in his upcoming re-election campaign.[143]

text: Indian removal[edit]

text: Federal policy under Jackson had sought to move all indigenous peoples to lands west of the Mississippi River, through the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Continuing this policy, the federal government negotiated 19 treaties with Indian nations in the course of Van Buren's presidency.[153] An 1835 treaty signed by U.S. government officials and representatives of the Cherokee Nation had established terms under which the entire nation ceded its territory in the southeast and agreed to move west (to present day Oklahoma). In 1838, Van Buren directed General Winfield Scott to forcibly move all those Cherokee who had not yet complied with the treaty.[154] The Cherokee were herded violently into internment camps, where they were kept for the summer of 1838. The actual transportation west was delayed by intense heat and drought, but in the fall, the Cherokee reluctantly agreed to transport themselves west.[155][156] During the Cherokee removal, part of the Trail of Tears, some 20,000 people were relocated against their will.[157]

text: The administration also contended with the Seminole, who engaged the army in prolonged conflict known as the Second Seminole War.[153] Prior to leaving office, Jackson put General Thomas Jesup in command of all U.S. troops in Florida in order to force Seminole emigration to the West.[158] Forts were established throughout the Indian territory, and mobile columns of soldiers scoured the countryside. Feeling the pressure, many Seminoles, including head chief Micanopy, offered to surrender. The Seminoles slowly gathered for emigration near Tampa, but in June they fled the detention camps, driven off by disease and the presence of slave catchers who were hoping to take Black Seminoles captive.[159][160] In December 1837 Jesup began a massive offensive, culminating in the Battle of Lake Okeechobee. Following the American victory in the battle, the war entered a new phase, a long war of attrition.[159] During this time, the government realized that it would be almost impossible to drive the remaining Seminoles from Florida, so Van Buren sent General Alexander Macomb to negotiate a peace with the Seminoles. It was the only time in U.S. history that a Native American nation had forced the United States to sue for peace. An agreement was reached allowing the Seminoles to remain in southwest Florida, but the peace was shattered in July 1839.[159] Fighting was not resolved until 1842, after Van Buren had left office.[161]

text: Texas[edit]

text: Just before leaving office in March 1837, Andrew Jackson extended diplomatic recognition to the Republic of Texas, which had gained de facto independence from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. By suggesting the prospect of quick annexation, Jackson raised the danger of war with Mexico and heightened sectional tensions at home. New England abolitionists charged that there was a "slaveholding conspiracy to acquire Texas", and Daniel Webster eloquently denounced annexation.[162] Many Southern leaders, meanwhile, strongly desired the expansion of slave-holding territory in the United States.[163]

text: Boldly reversing Jackson's policies, Van Buren sought peace abroad and harmony at home. He proposed a diplomatic solution to a long-standing financial dispute between American citizens and the Mexican government, rejecting Jackson's threat to settle it by force.[162] Likewise, when the Texas minister at Washington, D.C., proposed annexation to the administration in August 1837, he was told that the proposition could not be entertained. Constitutional scruples and fear of war with Mexico were the reasons given for the rejection,[164] but concern that it would precipitate a clash over the extension of slavery undoubtedly influenced Van Buren and continued to be the chief obstacle to annexation.[165] Northern and Southern Democrats followed an unspoken rule in which Northerners helped quash anti-slavery proposals and Southerners refrained from agitating for the annexation of Texas.[163] Texas withdrew the annexation offer in 1838.[164]

text: Britain[edit]

text: British subjects in Lower Canada (now Quebec) and Upper Canada (now Ontario) rose in rebellion in 1837 and 1838, protesting their lack of responsible government. While the initial insurrection in Upper Canada ended quickly (following the December 1837 Battle of Montgomery's Tavern), many of the rebels fled across the Niagara River into New York, and Canadian leader William Lyon Mackenzie began recruiting volunteers in Buffalo.[166] Mackenzie declared the establishment of the Republic of Canada and put into motion a plan whereby volunteers would invade Upper Canada from Navy Island on the Canadian side of the Niagara River. Several hundred volunteers traveled to Navy Island in the weeks that followed. They procured the steamboat Caroline to deliver supplies to Navy Island from Fort Schlosser.[166] Seeking to deter an imminent invasion, British forces crossed to the American bank of the river in late December 1837, and they burned and sank the Caroline. In the melee, one American was killed and others were wounded.[167] Considerable sentiment arose within the United States to declare war, and a British ship was burned in revenge.[168] Van Buren, looking to avoid a war with Great Britain, sent General Winfield Scott to the border with large discretionary powers for its protection and its peace.[169] Scott impressed upon American citizens the need for a peaceful resolution to the crisis, and made it clear that the U.S. government would not support adventuresome Americans attacking the British. Also, in early January 1838, the president proclaimed U.S. neutrality with regard to the Canadian independence issue,[170] a declaration which Congress endorsed by passing a neutrality law designed to discourage the participation of American citizens in foreign conflicts.[168]

text: During the Canadian rebellions, Charles Duncombe and Robert Nelson helped foment a largely American militia, the Hunters' Lodge/Frères chasseurs. This militia carried out several attacks in Upper Canada between December 1837 and December 1838, collectively known as the Patriot War. The administration followed through on its enforcement of the Neutrality Act, encouraged the prosecution of filibusters, and actively deterred U.S. citizens from subversive activities abroad. In the long term, Van Buren's opposition to the Patriot War contributed to the construction of healthy Anglo–American and U.S.–Canadian relations in the 20th century; it also led, more immediately, to a backlash among citizens regarding the seeming overreach of federal authority,[171] which hurt congressional Democrats in the 1838 midterm elections.

text: A new crisis surfaced in late 1838, in the disputed territory on the Maine–New Brunswick frontier, where Americans were settling on long–disputed land claimed by the United States and Great Britain.[172] Jackson had been willing to drop American claims to the region in return for other concessions, but Maine was unwilling to drop its claims to the disputed territory. For their part, the British considered possession of the area vital to the defense of Canada.[173] Both American and New Brunswick lumberjacks cut timber in the disputed territory during the winter of 1838–39. On December 29, New Brunswick lumbermen were spotted cutting down trees on an American estate near the Aroostook River.[168] After American woodcutters rushed to stand guard, a shouting match, known as the Battle of Caribou, ensued. Tensions quickly boiled over into a near war with both Maine and New Brunswick arresting each other's citizens. The crisis seemed ready to turn into an armed conflict.[174] British troops began to gather along the Saint John River. Governor John Fairfield mobilized the state militia to confront the British in the disputed territory[175] and several forts were constructed.[176] The American press clamored for war; "Maine and her soil, or BLOOD!" screamed one editorial. "Let the sword be drawn and the scabbard thrown away!" In June, Congress authorized 50,000 troops and a $10 million budget[177] in the event foreign military troops crossed into United States territory.

text: Van Buren was unwilling to go to war over the disputed territory, though he assured Maine that he would respond to any attacks by the British.[178] To settle the crisis, Van Buren met with the British minister to the United States, and Van Buren and the minister agreed to resolve the border issue diplomatically.[175] Van Buren also sent General Scott to the northern border area, both to show military resolve, and more importantly, to lower the tensions. Scott successfully convinced all sides to submit the border issue to arbitration. The border dispute was put to rest a few years later, with the signing of the 1842 Webster–Ashburton Treaty.[168][170]

text: Amistad case[edit]

text: The Amistad case was a freedom suit that involved international issues and parties, as well as United States law, resulting from the rebellion of Africans on board the Spanish schooner La Amistad in 1839.[179] Van Buren viewed abolitionism as the greatest threat to the nation's unity, and he resisted the slightest interference with it in the states where it existed.[180] The Van Buren administration supported the Spanish government's demand that the ship and its cargo (including the Africans) be turned over to them.[181] When a federal district court judge ruled that the Africans were legally free and should be transported home, the administration appealed the case to the Supreme Court.

text: In February 1840, former President John Quincy Adams argued passionately for the Africans' right to freedom. Attorney General Henry D. Gilpin presented the government’s case. In March 1841, the Supreme Court issued its final verdict: the Amistad Africans were free people and should be allowed to return home.[182] The unique nature of the case, people of color testifying in federal court, and being represented by prominent lawyers, heightened public interest in the saga, as did the participation of former president Adams. The Amistad case drew attention to the personal tragedies of slavery and attracted new support for the growing abolition movement in the North. It also transformed the courts into the principal forum for a national debate on the legal foundations of slavery.[183]

text: Judicial appointments[edit]

text: Van Buren appointed two Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States:[184]

text:
John McKinley – confirmed September 25, 1837
Peter Vivian Daniel – confirmed March 2, 1841

text: Van Buren also appointed eight other federal judges, all to United States district courts.[185]

text: White House hostess[edit]

text: For the first half of his presidency, Van Buren, who had been a widower for many years, did not have a specific person fill the role of White House hostess at administration social events, but tried to assume such duties himself. When his eldest son Abraham Van Buren married Angelica Singleton in 1838, he quickly acted to install his daughter-in-law as his hostess. She solicited the advice of her distant relative, Dolley Madison,[186] who had moved back to Washington after her husband's death,[187] and soon the president's parties livened up. After the 1839 New Year's Eve reception, the Boston Post raved: "[Angelica Van Buren is a] lady of rare accomplishments, very modest yet perfectly easy and graceful in her manners and free and vivacious in her conversation ... universally admired."[186]

text: As the nation endured a deep economic depression, Angelica van Buren's receiving style at receptions was influenced by her heavy reading on European court life (and her naive delight in being received as the Queen of the United States when she visited the royal courts of England and France after her marriage). Newspaper coverage of this, in addition to the claim that she intended to re-landscape the White House grounds to resemble the royal gardens of Europe, was used in a political attack on her father-in-law by a Pennsylvania Whig Congressman Charles Ogle. He referred obliquely to her as part of the presidential "household" in his famous Gold Spoon Oration. The attack was delivered in Congress and the depiction of the President as living a royal lifestyle was a primary factor in his defeat for re-election.[188]

text: Presidential election of 1840[edit]

text: Van Buren easily won renomination for a second term at the 1840 Democratic National Convention, but he and his party faced a difficult election in 1840. Van Buren's presidency had been a difficult affair, with the U.S. economy mired in a severe downturn, and other divisive issues, such as slavery, western expansion, and tensions with Great Britain, providing opportunities for Van Buren's political opponents—including some of his fellow Democrats—to criticize his actions.[135] Although Van Buren's renomination was never in doubt, Democratic strategists began to question the wisdom of keeping Johnson on the ticket. Even former president Jackson conceded that Johnson was a liability and insisted on former House Speaker James K. Polk of Tennessee as Van Buren's new running mate. Van Buren was reluctant to drop Johnson, who was popular with workers and radicals in the North[189] and added military experience to the ticket, which might prove important against likely Whig nominee William Henry Harrison.[128] Rather than re-nominating Johnson, the Democratic convention decided to allow state Democratic Party leaders to select the vice-presidential candidates for their states.[190]

text: Van Buren hoped that the Whigs would nominate Clay for president, which would allow Van Buren to cast the 1840 campaign as a clash between Van Buren's Independent Treasury system and Clay's support for a national bank. However, rather than nominating longtime party spokesmen like Clay and Daniel Webster, the 1839 Whig National Convention nominated Harrison, who had served in various governmental positions during his career and had earned notoriety for his military leadership in the Battle of Tippecanoe and the War of 1812. Whig leaders like William Seward and Thaddeus Stevens believed that Harrison's war record would effectively counter the popular appeals of the Democratic Party. For vice president, the Whigs nominated former Senator John Tyler of Virginia. Clay was deeply disappointed by his defeat at the convention, but he nonetheless threw his support behind Harrison.[191]

text: Whigs presented Harrison as the antithesis of the president, whom they derided as ineffective, corrupt, and effete.[135] Whigs also depicted Van Buren as an aristocrat living in high style in the White House, while they used images of Harrison in a log cabin sipping cider to convince voters that he was a man of the people.[192] They threw such jabs as "Van, Van, is a used-up man" and "Martin Van Ruin" and ridiculed him in newspapers and cartoons.[193] Issues of policy were not absent from the campaign; the Whigs derided the alleged executive overreaches of Jackson and Van Buren, while also calling for a national bank and higher tariffs.[194] Democrats attempted to campaign on the Independent Treasury system, but the onset of deflation undercut these arguments. [195] The enthusiasm for "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," coupled with the country's severe economic crisis, made it impossible for Van Buren to win a second term.[192] Harrison won by a popular vote of 1,275,612 to 1,130,033, and an electoral vote margin of 234 to 60.[130] An astonishing 80 percent of eligible voters went to the polls on election day.[135] Van Buren actually won more votes than he had in 1836, but the Whig success in attracting new voters more than canceled out Democratic gains.[196] Additionally, Whigs won majorities for the first time in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.[128]

text: Later life[edit]

text: Election of 1844[edit]

text: On the expiration of his term, Van Buren returned to his estate of Lindenwald in Kinderhook.[197] He continued to closely watch political developments, including the battle between Clay and President Tyler, who took office after Harrison's death in April 1841.[198] Though undecided on another presidential run, Van Buren made several moves calculated to maintain his support, including a trip to the South and West during which he met with Jackson, former Speaker of the House James K. Polk, and others.[199] President Tyler, James Buchanan, Levi Woodbury, and others loomed as potential challengers for the 1844 Democratic nomination, but it was Calhoun who posed the most formidable obstacle.[200] Van Buren remained silent on major public issues like the debate over the Tariff of 1842, hoping to arrange for the appearance of a draft movement for his presidential candidacy.[201] President John Tyler made annexation of Texas his chief foreign policy goal, and many Democrats, particularly in the South, were anxious to quickly complete the annexation of Texas.[202] After an explosion on the USS Princeton killed Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur in February 1844, Tyler brought Calhoun into his cabinet to direct foreign affairs.[203] Like Tyler, Calhoun pursued the annexation of Texas to upend the presidential race and to extend slavery into new territories.[204] Shortly after taking office, Secretary of State Calhoun negotiated an annexation treaty between the United States and Texas.[205] Van Buren had hoped he would not have to take a public stand on annexation, but as the Texas question came to dominate U.S. politics, he decided to make his views on the issue public.[206] Though he believed that his public acceptance of annexation would likely help him win the 1844 Democratic nomination, Van Buren thought that annexation would inevitably lead to an unjust war with Mexico.[207] In a public letter published shortly after Henry Clay also announced his opposition to the annexation treaty, Van Buren articulated his views on the Texas question.[208]

text: Van Buren's opposition to immediate annexation cost him the support of many pro-slavery Democrats.[209] In the weeks before the 1844 Democratic National Convention, Van Buren's supporters anticipated that he would win a majority of the delegates on the first presidential ballot, but would not be able to win the support of the required two-thirds of delegates.[210] Van Buren's supporters attempted to prevent the adoption of the two-thirds rule, but several Northern delegates joined with Southern delegates in implementing the two-thirds rule for the 1844 convention.[211] Van Buren won 146 of the 266 votes on the first presidential ballot, with only 12 of his votes coming from Southern states.[202] Senator Lewis Cass won much of the remaining vote, and he gradually picked on support on subsequent ballots until the convention adjourned for the day.[212] When the convention reconvened and held another ballot, James K. Polk, who shared many of Van Buren's views but favored immediate annexation, won 44 votes.[213] On the ninth and final ballot of the convention, Van Buren's supporters withdrew the former president's name from consideration, and Polk won the Democratic presidential nomination.[214] Though angered at the way in which his opponents had denied him in the Democratic nomination, Van Buren endorsed Polk in the interest of party unity.[215] He also convinced Silas Wright to run for Governor of New York so that the popular Wright could help boost Polk in the state.[216] Wright narrowly defeated Whig nominee Millard Fillmore in the 1844 gubernatorial election, and Wright's victory in the state helped Polk narrowly defeat Henry Clay in the 1844 presidential election.[217]

text: After taking office, Polk used George Bancroft as an intermediary to offer Van Buren the ambassadorship to London. Van Buren declined, partly because he was upset with Polk over the treatment the Van Buren delegates had received at the 1844 convention, and partly because he was content in his retirement.[218] Polk also consulted Van Buren in the formation of his cabinet, but offended Van Buren by offering to appoint a New Yorker only to the lesser post of Secretary of War, rather than as Secretary of State or Secretary of the Treasury.[219] Other patronage decisions also angered Van Buren and Wright, and they became permanently alienated from the Polk administration.[220]

text: Election of 1848[edit]

text: Though he had previously helped maintain a balance between the Barnburners and Hunkers, the two factions of the New York Democratic Party, Van Buren moved closer to the Barnburners after the 1844 Democratic National Convention.[221] The split in the state party worsened during the Polk's presidency, as his administration lavished patronage on the Hunkers.[222] In his retirement, Van Buren also grew increasingly opposed to slavery.[223] As the Mexican-American War brought the debate over slavery in the territories to the forefront of American politics, Van Buren published an anti-slavery manifesto. In it, he refuted the notion that Congress did not have the power to regulate slavery in the territories, and argued the Founding Fathers had favored the eventual abolition of the slavery.[224] The document, which became known as the "Barburner Manifesto," was edited at Van Buren's request by John Van Buren and Samuel Tilden, both of whom were leaders of the Barnburner faction.[225] After the publication of the Barnburner Manifesto, many Barnburners urged the former president to seek his old office in the 1848 presidential election.[226] The 1848 Democratic National Convention seated competing Barnburner and Hunker delegations from New York, but the Barnburners walked out of the convention when Lewis Cass, who opposed congressional regulation of slavery in the territories, was nominated on the fourth ballot.[227]

text: In response to the nomination of Cass, the Barnburners began to organize as a third party. At a convention held in June 1848 in Utica, New York, the Barnburners nominated Van Buren for president.[228] Though reluctant to bolt from the Democratic Party, Van Buren accepted the nomination in order to show the power of the anti-slavery movement, help defeat Cass, and weaken the Hunkers.[229] At a convention held in Buffalo, New York in August 1848, a group of anti-slavery Democrats, Whigs, and members of the abolitionist Liberty Party met in the first national convention of what became known as the Free Soil Party. The convention unanimously nominated Van Buren, and chose Charles Francis Adams as Van Buren's running mate. In a public message accepting the nomination, Van Buren gave his full support for the Wilmot Proviso, a proposed law that would ban slavery in all territories acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War.[230] Van Buren won no electoral votes, but finished second to Whig nominee Zachary Taylor in New York, taking enough votes from Cass to give the state—and perhaps the election—to Taylor.[231] Nationwide, Van Buren won 10.1% of the popular vote, the strongest showing by a third party presidential nominee up to that point in U.S. history.

text: Retirement[edit]

text: Van Buren never sought public office again after the 1848 election, but he continued to closely follow national politics. He was deeply troubled by the stirrings of secessionism in the South and welcomed the Compromise of 1850 as a necessary conciliatory measure despite his opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.[232] Van Buren also worked on a history of American political parties and embarked on a tour of Europe, becoming the first former American head of state to visit Britain.[233] Though still concerned about slavery, Van Buren and his followers returned to the Democratic fold, partly out of the fear that a continuing Democratic split would help the Whig Party.[234] He also attempted to reconcile the Barnburners and the Hunkers, with mixed results.[235] Van Buren supported Franklin Pierce for president in 1852,[236] and James Buchanan in 1856,[237] and Stephen A. Douglas in 1860.[238] Van Buren viewed the fledgling Know Nothing movement with contempt and felt that the anti-slavery Republican Party exacerbated sectional tensions.[239] He considered Chief Justice Roger Taney's decision in the 1857 case of Dred Scott v. Sandford to be a "grievous mistake," since it overturned the Missouri Compromise.[240] He believed that the Buchanan administration handled the issue of Bleeding Kansas poorly, and saw the Lecompton Constitution as a sop to Southern extremists.[241]

text: After the election of Abraham Lincoln and the secession of several Southern states in 1860, Van Buren unsuccessfully sought to call a constitutional convention.[242] In April 1861, former President Pierce wrote to the other living former Presidents and asked them to consider meeting in order to use their stature and influence to propose a negotiated end to the war. Pierce asked Van Buren to use his role as the senior living ex-president to issue a formal call. Van Buren's reply suggested that Buchanan should be the one to call the meeting, since he was the former president who had served most recently, or that Pierce should issue the call himself if he strongly believed in the merit of his proposal. Neither Buchanan nor Pierce was willing to make Pierce's proposal public, and nothing more resulted from it.[243] Once the American Civil War began, Van Buren made public his support for the Union.[244]

text: Van Buren's health began to fail later in 1861, and he was bedridden with pneumonia during the fall and winter of 1861–62.[245] He died of bronchial asthma and heart failure at his Lindenwald estate at 2:00 a.m. on July 24, 1862, at the age of 79.[246] He is buried in the Kinderhook Reformed Dutch Church Cemetery, as are his wife Hannah, his parents, and his son Martin Van Buren, Jr.[247]

text: Memorials and popular culture[edit]

text: Van Buren's home in Kinderhook, New York, which he called Lindenwald, is now the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site.[248] Counties are named for Van Buren in Michigan, Iowa, Arkansas, and Tennessee.[249] A mountain, a ship, three state parks and numerous towns were named after him.

text: During the 1988 presidential campaign, George H. W. Bush, a Yale University graduate and member of the Skull and Bones secret society, was attempting to become the first incumbent Vice President to win election to the presidency since Van Buren. In the comic strip Doonesbury artist Garry Trudeau depicted members of Skull and Bones as attempting to rob Van Buren's grave, apparently intending to use the relics in a ritual that would aid Bush in the election.[250][251]

text: On the television show Seinfeld, the episode "The Van Buren Boys" is about a fictional street gang that admires Van Buren and bases its rituals and symbols on him, including the hand sign of eight fingers pointing up. Eight fingers signifies Van Buren, the eighth President.[252]

text: Van Buren is portrayed by Nigel Hawthorne in the 1997 film Amistad. The film depicts the controversy and legal battle surrounding the status of slaves who in 1839 rebelled against their transporters on La Amistad slave ship.[253] An allusion to Martin Van Buren is made during the one-act play Four Little Words.


document_title: RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10)

question_text: who goes home on rupaul's drag race season 10 episode 11

question_tokens: who goes home on rupaul 's drag race season 10 episode 11

root

text: RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10)

text: Contestants[edit]

text: (Ages and names stated are at time of contest)

tag: p

text:
Contestant
Name
Age
Hometown
Outcome

Aquaria

Giovanni Palandrani[6]

21

Brooklyn, New York

Winner

Eureka[a]

David Huggard[7]

27

Johnson City, Tennessee

Runner-up

Kameron Michaels

Dane Young[8]

31

Nashville, Tennessee

Asia O'Hara[b]

Antwan Lee[9]

35

Dallas, Texas

4th Place

Miz Cracker

Maxwell Heller[10]

33

Harlem, New York

5th Place

Monét X Change

Kevin Bertin[11]

27

The Bronx, New York

6th Place

The Vixen

Anthony Taylor[12][13]

26

Chicago, Illinois

7th Place

Monique Heart

Kevin Richardson[14]

31

Kansas City, Missouri

8th Place

Blair St. Clair

Andrew Bryson[15]

22

Indianapolis, Indiana

9th Place

Mayhem Miller

Dequan Johnson[16]

35

Riverside, California

10th Place

Dusty Ray Bottoms

Dustin Rayburn[17]

29

New York, New York

11th Place

Yuhua Hamasaki

Yuhua Ou[18]

27

New York, New York

12th Place

Kalorie Karbdashian Williams

Daniel Hernandez[19]

27

Albuquerque, New Mexico

13th Place

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo

Jose Cancel[20]

25

Tampa, Florida

14th Place

tag: table

text:
Jump up ^ Eureka O'Hara is simply known as Eureka on the show.

Jump up ^ Asia T. O'Hara is simply known as Asia O’Hara on the show.

tag: ol

text: Contestant progress[edit]

text:
Contestant

1[21]

2[22]

3[23]

4[24]

5[25]

6[26]

7[27]

8[28]

9[29]

10[30]

11[31]

12
13
14

Aquaria

SAFE

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

LOW

HIGH

LOW

WIN

SAFE

Guest

Winner

Eureka

SAFE

BTM2

HIGH

SAFE

WIN

WIN

HIGH

SAFE

BTM2

HIGH

HIGH

SAFE

Guest

Runner-up

Kameron Michaels

SAFE

HIGH

LOW

HIGH

SAFE

HIGH

SAFE

WIN

BTM2

BTM2

BTM2

SAFE

Guest

Runner-up

Asia O'Hara

SAFE

SAFE

WIN

LOW

SAFE

SAFE

LOW

BTM2

WIN

HIGH

HIGH

SAFE

Guest

Eliminated

Miz Cracker

HIGH

HIGH

SAFE

HIGH

HIGH

LOW

SAFE

SAFE

LOW

WIN

ELIM

Guest

Guest

Monét X Change

SAFE

HIGH

SAFE

BTM2

BTM2

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

ELIM

Guest

Miss C

The Vixen

SAFE

WIN

SAFE

SAFE

LOW

BTM2

BTM2

ELIM

Guest

Guest

Monique Heart

SAFE

LOW

SAFE

SAFE

HIGH

SAFE

ELIM

Guest

Guest

Blair St. Clair

HIGH

HIGH

HIGH

SAFE

SAFE

ELIM

Guest

Guest

Mayhem Miller

WIN

HIGH

BTM2

SAFE

ELIM

Guest

Guest

Dusty Ray Bottoms

LOW

SAFE

SAFE

ELIM

Guest

Guest

Yuhua Hamasaki

HIGH

SAFE

ELIM

Guest

Guest

Kalorie Karbdashian Williams

BTM2

ELIM

Guest

Guest

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo

ELIM

Guest

Guest

text: Lip syncs[edit]

text:
Episode

Contestants

Song

Eliminated

1

Kalorie Karbdashian Williams

vs.

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo

“Ain't No Other Man” (Christina Aguilera)

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo

2

Eureka

vs.

Kalorie Karbdashian Williams

"Best of My Love"(The Emotions)

Kalorie Karbdashian Williams

3

Mayhem Miller

vs.

Yuhua Hamasaki

"Celebrity Skin"(Hole)

Yuhua Hamasaki

4

Dusty Ray Bottoms

vs.

Monét X Change

"Pound the Alarm"(Nicki Minaj)

Dusty Ray Bottoms

5

Mayhem Miller

vs.

Monét X Change

"Man! I Feel Like a Woman!"(Shania Twain)

Mayhem Miller

6

Blair St. Clair

vs.

The Vixen

"I'm Coming Out"(Diana Ross)

Blair St. Clair

7

Monique Heart

vs.

The Vixen

"Cut to the Feeling" (Carly Rae Jepsen)

Monique Heart

8

Asia O'Hara

vs.

The Vixen

"Groove Is in the Heart" (Deee-Lite)

The Vixen

9

Eureka

vs.

Kameron Michaels

"New Attitude" (Patti Labelle)

None

10

Kameron Michaels

vs.

Monét X Change

"Good as Hell" (Lizzo)

Monét X Change

11

Kameron Michaels

vs.

Miz Cracker

"Nasty Girl" (Vanity 6)

Miz Cracker

12

Aquaria vs. Asia O’Hara vs. Eureka vs. Kameron Michaels

"Call Me Mother" (RuPaul)

None

14

Asia O’Hara

vs.

Kameron Michaels

"Nasty" (Janet Jackson)

Asia O’Hara

Aquaria

vs.

Eureka

"If" (Janet Jackson)

None

Aquaria vs. Eureka vs. Kameron Michaels

"Bang Bang" (Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj)

EurekaKameron Michaels

text: Guest judges[edit]

text: Listed in chronological order:[32]

text:
Christina Aguilera, singer, songwriter, actress
Halsey, singer, songwriter
Padma Lakshmi, actress, model
Courtney Love, singer, songwriter, actress
Nico Tortorella, actor, model
Logan Browning, actress
Tisha Campbell-Martin, actress, singer
Carrie Preston, actress, producer, singer
Shania Twain, singer, songwriter
Emily V. Gordon, writer, producer
Kumail Nanjiani, comedian, actor, writer
Audra McDonald, actress, singer
Kate Upton, model, actress
Andrew Rannells, actor, singer
Billy Eichner, comedian, actor, writer
Abbi Jacobson, comedian, writer, actress
Ilana Glazer, comedian, writer, actress
Miles Heizer, actor, musician
Lizzo, rapper, singer
Lena Dunham, actress, writer, director
Ashanti, singer, songwriter, actress
Todrick Hall, singer, director, choreographer

tag: ul

text: Special guests[edit]

text: Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.[33][34]

text: Episode 1

text:
Adore Delano, runner-up of season six and contestant on All Stars season two
Bob the Drag Queen, winner of season eight
Chad Michaels, runner-up of season four and winner of All Stars season one
Darienne Lake, contestant on season six
Delta Work, contestant on season three
Derrick Barry, contestant on season eight
Detox, contestant on season five and runner-up of All Stars season two
Jaymes Mansfield, contestant on season nine
Jessica Wild, contestant on season two
Jiggly Caliente, contestant on season four
Jinkx Monsoon, winner of season five
Jujubee, contestant on season two and All Stars season one
Katya, contestant on season seven and runner-up of All Stars season two
Kim Chi, runner-up of season eight
Laganja Estranja, contestant on season six
Manila Luzon, runner-up of season three and contestant on All Stars season one
Mariah Balenciaga, contestant on season three
Morgan McMichaels, contestant on season two and All Stars season three
Mrs. Kasha Davis, contestant on season seven
Ongina, contestant on season one
Pandora Boxx, contestant on season two and All Stars season one
Peppermint, runner-up of season nine
Raven, runner-up of season two and All Stars season one
Tempest DuJour, contestant on season seven
Trixie Mattel, contestant on season seven and winner of All Stars season three
Victoria "Porkchop" Parker, contestant on season one
Yara Sofia, contestant on season three and All Stars season one

text: Episode 2

text:
Andy Cohen, television personality[35]
Alyssa Edwards, contestant on season five and All Stars season two

text: Episode 4

text: Shawn Morales, Pit Crew member from seasons three to six

text: Episode 5

text: Ross Mathews

text: Episode 7

text:
Bianca Del Rio, winner of season six
Alex Trebek, game show host[36]

text: Episode 8

text:
Chad Michaels, runner-up of season four and winner of All Stars season one
Todrick Hall, singer, director, and choerographer

text: Episode 9

text:
Stephen Colbert, television host[35]
Randy Rainbow, comedian

text: Episode 10

text:
Anthony Padilla, actor, comedian, and YouTube personality
Chester See, singer, actor, and YouTube personality
Frankie Grande, dancer, actor, singer, and YouTube personality
Kingsley, comedian, blogger, and YouTube personality
Raymond Braun, actor, and YouTube personality
Tyler Oakley, author, and YouTube personality

text: Episode 11

text: Cheyenne Jackson, actor, singer[35]

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.overallNo. inseasonTitleOriginal air date1181"10s Across the Board[37]"March 22, 2018 (2018-03-22)[1]
The 14 queens enter the work room for the first time. RuPaul announces the first mini-challenge, the contestants must work the runway and stand out among previous contestants and winners; Monét X Change wins the mini-challenge.[21] For the maxi-challenge, RuPaul tasks the contestants to create a runway outfit from miscellaneous items found at a variety store; inspired by the first challenge on season one.[21] On stage, Aquaria, Asia O'Hara, Eureka, Kameron Michaels, Monét X Change, Monique Heart, and The Vixen are declared safe. Blair St. Clair, Mayhem Miller, Miz Cracker, and Yuhua Hamasaki all receive positive remarks, but Mayhem is declared the winner. Dusty Ray Bottoms, Kalorie Karbdashian Williams, and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo all received negative commentary for their runway looks.[21] Bottoms was declared safe, while Williams and Mateo lip-synced to Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man"; Williams won the lip-sync and Mateo was eliminated from the competition.[21]

Guest Judge: Christina Aguilera
Alternating Judges: Carson Kressley and Ross Mathews
Mini-Challenge: Stand out on the runway among a sea of legendary queens from past seasons.
Mini-Challenge Winner: Monét X Change
Mini-Challenge Prize: $2,000 gift card to FierceQueen.com
Maxi Challenge: Construct a runway outfit from miscellaneous items found at a variety store
Challenge Winner: Mayhem Miller
Maxi Challenge Prize: A luxury Hawaiian getaway to Hale Mohalu Guesthouse and Retreat
Bottom Two: Kalorie Karbdashian Williams and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo
Lip Sync Song: "Ain't No Other Man" by Christina Aguilera
Eliminated: Vanessa Vanjie Mateo
Farewell message: "Ladies I ❤ U The Vanjie way! xoxo Vanessa ❤!"

1192"PharmaRusical[37]"March 29, 2018 (2018-03-29)[38]
The 13 remaining queens were asked by RuPaul to perform a dance in 20 minute country quick drag for the mini-challenge, with special guest Andy Cohen judging their performances; Asia O'Hara and The Vixen are declared the winners and were made team captains for a live stage musical titled "PharmaRusical".[22] Team Asia O'Hara consisted of Aquaria, Dusty Ray Bottoms, Eureka, Kalorie Karbdashian Williams, Monique Heart, and Yuhua Hamasaki, with Team Vixen consisting of Blair St. Clair, Kameron Michaels, Mayhem Miller, Miz Cracker, and Monét X Change. The runway theme was "Very Best Drag." On the main stage, The Vixen's team is declared the winners with Vixen being the standout and winning the overall challange.[22] Asia O'Hara's team is declared the losers and are critiqued by the judges.[22] Heart, Eureka, and Williams are said to be the weakest of their team, Heart is announced as safe leaving Eureka and Williams to lip-sync to The Emotions' "Best of My Love"; Eureka is declared the winner of the lip-sync and Williams is subsequently eliminated from the competition.[22]

Guest Judges: Halsey and Padma Lakshmi
Alternating Judge: Ross Mathews
Mini-Challenge: Participate in the Hay Girl Hay hoedown
Mini-Challenge Winners: Asia O'Hara and The Vixen
Maxi Challenge: Perform in PharmaRusical
Runway Theme: Very Best Drag
Challenge Winner: The Vixen
Maxi Challenge Prize: Jewelry from Fierce Drag Jewels and a $2,000 gift card to Nailed by Cristy
Bottom Two: Eureka and Kalorie Karbdashian Williams
Lip Sync Song: "Best of My Love" by The Emotions
Eliminated: Kalorie Karbdashian Williams
Farewell message: "Thank you Sisters. I'm So Blessed to have met you all. Keep it Kute! KKW"

1203"Tap That App[37]"April 5, 2018 (2018-04-05)[38]
The 12 remaining queens were tasked by RuPaul to perform a skit to promote his self-titled chocolate bar. Blair St. Clair, Monét X Change, and Monique Heart are deemed the winners, and are selected as team leaders for the acting challenge "Tap That App", inspired by dating apps.[23] They are split into three teams: Team Blair consists of Eureka, Miz Cracker, and The Vixen; Team Monét are Aquaria, Asia O'Hara, and Yuhua Hamasaki; Team Monique are Dusty Ray Bottoms, Kameron Michaels, and Mayhem Miller. Subsequently, the runway theme for the episode was a look constructed with feathers.[23] On the main stage, Aquaria, Dusty Ray Bottoms, Miz Cracker, Monét X Change, Monique Heart and the Vixen are declared safe. Asia O'Hara, Blair St. Clair and Eureka are praised for their runway looks and performances, with Asia declared the winner of the main challenge. Conversely, Kameron Michaels, Mayhem Miller and Yuhua Hamasaki are criticized for their performances, though Kameron received rave reviews for her runway look.[23] Kameron was declared safe, while Mayhem and Yuhua lip-synced to Hole's "Celebrity Skin"; Mayhem won the lip-sync and Yuhua was eliminated from the competition.[23]

Guest Judges: Courtney Love and Nico Tortorella
Alternating Judge: Carson Kressley
Mini-Challenge: Perform in screen tests for Ru's provocative new RuPaul's Chocolate Bar campaign.
Mini-Challenge Winners: Blair St. Clair, Monét X Change, and Monique Heart
Maxi Challenge: Film ads for new dating apps
Runway Theme: Feathers
Challenge Winner: Asia O'Hara
Maxi Challenge Prize: $2,000 gift card to Casper Sleep and a $3,000 gift card to Catherine D'Lish
Bottom Two: Mayhem Miller and Yuhua Hamasaki
Lip Sync Song: "Celebrity Skin" by Hole
Eliminated: Yuhua Hamasaki
Farewell message: "我爱 you (I love you all! Season 10 is going to be amazing! - Yuhua Hamasaki)"

1214"The Last Ball on Earth[37]"April 12, 2018 (2018-04-12)[38]
The 11 remaining queens were asked by RuPaul to be part of a satire photo-bombing photo shoot featuring infamous celebrity photos; Aquaria won the mini-challenge. For the maxi-challenge, RuPaul tasked the contestants to design three looks for "The Last Ball on Earth". The three categories are: Alaskan Winter Realness, Miami Summer Realness, and Martian Eleganza Extravaganza. On the main stage, Blair St. Clair, Eureka, Mayhem Miller, Monique Heart, and The Vixen were declared safe. Aquaria, Kameron Michaels, and Miz Cracker were all praised for their runway looks, and Aquaria won the main challenge. Asia O'Hara, Dusty Ray Bottoms, and Monét X Change were criticized for their runway looks, though all three were praised for their Miami Summer Realness costume. Asia was declared safe, while Dusty and Monet lip-synced to Nicki Minaj's "Pound the Alarm"; Monét won the lip-sync and Dusty was eliminated from the competition.

Guest Judges: Logan Browning and Tisha Campbell Martin
Alternating Judge: Ross Matthews
Mini-Challenge: Photobomb iconic celebrity pictures
Mini-Challenge Winner: Aquaria
Mini-Challenge Prize: $1,000 credit to Postmates
Maxi Challenge: Create three looks based on climate change; Alaskan Winter Realness, Miami Summer Realness, and Martian Eleganza Extravaganza
Challenge Winner: Aquaria
Maxi Challenge Prize: $2,000 gift card to D Bleu Dazzled and wigs courtesy of RockStar Wigs
Bottom Two: Dusty Ray Bottoms and Monét X Change
Lip Sync Song: "Pound the Alarm" by Nicki Minaj
Eliminated: Dusty Ray Bottoms
Farewell message: "NEVA LAVD YA! ❤ Dusty"

1225"The Bossy Rossy Show[37]"April 19, 2018 (2018-04-19)[38]
The 10 remaining queens were tasked by RuPaul to get into quick drag and create an outfit inspired by the military; The Vixen wins the mini-challenge and pairs each contestant for the maxi-challenge.[39] In The Bossy Rossy Show, the queens must improvise through a storyline; Asia and The Vixen starred in a copycat storyline, Miz Cracker and Mayhem in a pickle phobia scene, Eureka and Aquaria in an adult baby scene, Blair and Monique in I Married a Cactus, and Kameron and Monét in a My Strange Addiction-style storyline.[39] The runway theme for the episode is denim and diamonds. On the main stage, Asia, Aquaria, Blair, and Kameron were declared safe. Miz Cracker and Monique Heart received praise on their performances and runway looks, however Eureka is declared the winner. Mayhem Miller, Monét X Change, and The Vixen were criticised for their performances, though The Vixen received positive remarks for her runway look. The Vixen is declared safe, while Mayhem and Monet lip-synced to "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" by Shania Twain. Monét wins the lip sync and Mayhem is eliminated from the competition.[39]

Guest Judges: Carrie Preston and Shania Twain
Alternating Judge: Carson Kressley
Mini-Challenge: Create a military inspired outfit to enlist in the Drag Army
Mini-Challenge Winner: The Vixen
Maxi Challenge: Working in pairs, improvise in the new day-time talk show "Bossy Rossy"
Runway Theme: Denim and Diamonds
Challenge Winner: Eureka
Maxi Challenge Prize: 2 VIP tickets to Cirque du Soleil: Zumanity in Las Vegas, including flights and accommodation.
Bottom Two: Mayhem Miller and Monét X Change
Lip Sync Song: "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" by Shania Twain
Eliminated: Mayhem Miller
Farewell message: "I ❤ to PARTY xoxo May"

1236"Drag Con Panel Extravaganza[37]"April 26, 2018 (2018-04-26)[38]
The 9 remaining queens were asked by RuPaul to participate in a game of Sittin' on a Secret, where contestants sit on an object while blind-folded; Asia O'Hara wins the challenge by guessing the most objects. For the maxi challenge, RuPaul tasks the queens to take part in a special rendition of RuPaul's DragCon.[26] The queens get to choose their own teams: Blair St. Clair, The Vixen, and Miz Cracker as Team Hair; Eureka, Kameron, and Monét X Change as Team Body; and Asia O'Hara, Aquaria, and Monique Heart as Team Face. Additionally, RuPaul announces that their performances will be in front of a live audience, and each contestant will be ranked in a poll.[26] The runway theme for this episode is Hats Incredible. On the main stage, Aquaria, Asia, and Monique are declared safe. Eureka, Kameron, and Monét are selected as the top team of the week, with Eureka winning the and receiving the highest public vote. Blair, Miz Cracker, and The Vixen are deemed the bottom team for their performances. Miz Cracker is declared safe, while Blair and The Vixen lip-synced to "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross. The Vixen wins the lip sync and Blair is eliminated from the competition.[26]

Guest Judges: Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon
Alternating Judge: Ross Mathews
Mini-Challenge: Identify objects only by sitting on them
Mini-Challenge Winner: Asia O'Hara
Mini-Challenge Prize: $2,000 hair care package from Art Lab Salon
Maxi Challenge: In teams, create and produce RuPaul's DragCon panels on hair, face, and body in front of a live audience.
Runway Theme: Hats Incredible
Challenge Winner: Eureka
Maxi Challenge Prize: Four-night stay and spa treatments for 2 at Saguaro in Palm Springs
Bottom Two: Blair St. Clair and The Vixen
Lip Sync Song: "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross
Eliminated: Blair St. Clair
Farewell message: "Let me be your STAR! xoxo Blair St. Clair"

1247"Snatch Game[37]"May 3, 2018 (2018-05-03)[38]
The eight remaining queens were asked by RuPaul to participate in the mini-challenge roast "Reading is Fundamental", with Eureka winning. RuPaul tasks the contestants to participate in the series Snatch Game, where each queen impersonates a celebrity; Aquaria plays as Melania Trump, Asia O'Hara as Beyonce, Eureka as Alana Thompson, Kameron Michaels as Chyna, Miz Cracker as Dorothy Parker, Monét x Change as Maya Angelou, Monique Heart as Maxine Waters, and The Vixen as Blue Ivy Carter. Additionally, the runway theme was inspired by mermaids.[27] On the main stage, Kameron and Miz Cracker were deemed safe. Eureka and Monét x Change received positive reviews for their performances, but received mixed commentary for their runway looks. Aquaria won her second challenge, based on her performance and runway look. Asia, Monique and The Vixen were all criticized for their impersonations and runway looks. Asia is declared safe, while Monique and The Vixen lip-synced to "Cut to the Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen. During the lip-sync, Monique did not know the words to the song, which ultimately made The Vixen win and Monique being eliminated from the competition.[27]

Guest Judges: Audra McDonald and Kate Upton
Alternating Judge: Carson Kressley
Mini-Challenge: Reading Is Fundamental
Mini-Challenge Winner: Eureka
Mini-Challenge Prize: $2,000 gift card to l.a.Eyeworks
Maxi Challenge: Impersonate celebrities in the annual comedy challenge of Snatch Game
Runway Theme: Mermaid Fantasy
Challenge Winner: Aquaria
Maxi Challenge Prize: 6-night stay at Grove Hotel on Fire Island
Bottom Two: Monique Heart and The Vixen
Lip Sync Song: "Cut to the Feeling" by Carly Rae Jepsen
Eliminated: Monique Heart
Farewell message: "Always abide in love & learn your words! Facts are facts"

1258"The Unauthorized Rusical[37]"May 10, 2018 (2018-05-10)[38]
The seven remaining queens were asked by RuPaul to participate in an improv mini-challenge that pastiches a similar scene from the finale of season two. Each queen has to try and make RuPaul slap them, with Asia O'Hara winning the mini-challenge.[28] For the main challenge, the contestants were tasked by RuPaul to perform and sing in a live tribute act to American singer and actress Cher, titled "Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical". The contestants portray Cher from different phases of her career: Aquaria as Disco Cher, Asia O'Hara as Movie Star Cher, Eureka as Rock Star Cher, Kameron Michaels as '60s Cher, Miz Cracker as Comeback Cher, and Monét x Change and The Vixen as Variety Show Cher. Subsequently, the runway theme for this episode is Glitterific.[28]
On the main stage, Monét received positive comments for her performance and mixed reviews for her runway look, conversely for both Eureka and Miz Cracker with their runway and performance; all three contestants were deemed safe. Kameron was praised for both her runway look and Cher performance, winning the main challenge. Aquaria, Asia and The Vixen were complimented for their runway looks, but their performances placed them in the bottom three. Aquaria is declared safe, while Asia and The Vixen lip-synced to Groove Is In the Heart by Deee-Lite. Asia wins the lip sync and The Vixen is eliminated from the competition.[28]

Guest Judges: Billy Eichner and Andrew Rannells
Alternating Judge: Carson Kressley
Mini-Challenge: Attempt to make RuPaul slap them in a game called Slap Out of It
Mini-Challenge Winner: Asia O'Hara
Mini-Challenge Prize: $2,000 gift card to Sparkles Rhinestones
Maxi Challenge: Sing live in Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical
Runway Theme: Glitterific
Challenge Winner: Kameron Michaels
Maxi Challenge Prize: A luxury VIP getaway to Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles
Bottom Two: Asia O'Hara and The Vixen
Lip Sync Song: "Groove Is In the Heart" by Deee-Lite
Eliminated: The Vixen
Farewell message: "EVIL Triumps when good queens do nothing! Buy My Album The Vixen"

1269"Breastworld[37]"May 17, 2018 (2018-05-17)[38]
The six remaining queens were asked by RuPaul to participate in a guessing game which involves each queen trying to match the most underwear worn by the Pit Crew; Aquaria wins the mini-challenge.[29] For the maxi challenge, RuPaul tasks the queens to act in a show titled Breastworld, loosely inspired by the American television show Westworld. Since Aquaria won the mini-challenge, she got to assign the characters: Aquaria as Dyslexa, Asia O'Hara as Para Salin, Eureka as Rosie, Kameron Michaels as Muffy, Miz Cracker as Julie, and Monét X Change as Viv. Subsequently, the runway theme was Silver Foxy, where the queens have to dress as aged-versions of themselves.[29]
On the main stage, Aquaria's performance and runway look received warm reviews from the judges, but was ultimately declared safe. Asia and Monét were praised for their performances, though both their runway looks received mixed opinions; eventually, Asia was declared the winner of the main challenge. Eureka, Kameron and Miz Cracker were placed in the bottom three for their performances, though Eureka received negative reviews for her runway look. Miz Cracker is declared safe, while Eureka and Kameron lip-synced to "New Attitude" by Patti LaBelle; and both Eureka and Kameron won the lip-sync.[29]

Guest Judges: Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer
Alternating Judge: Ross Mathews
Mini-Challenge: Find matching pairs of Pit Crew underwear in a game called Pants Down Bottoms Up
Mini-Challenge Winner: Aquaria
Maxi Challenge: The queens must act in the new hit series, "Breastworld"
Runway Theme: Silver Foxy
Challenge Winner: Asia O'Hara
Maxi Challenge Prize: 4-night stay at Frog Meadow Farm in Vermont
Bottom Two: Eureka and Kameron Michaels
Lip Sync Song: "New Attitude" by Patti LaBelle
Eliminated: None

12710"Social Media Kings Into Queens[37]"May 24, 2018 (2018-05-24)[40]
The six remaining queens were asked by RuPaul to appear in a commercial that promotes RuPaul's perfume for men, titled Trade. Each queen is to dress as butch men and deliver comedic improvisations for the mini-challenge, and Eureka wins.[30] Eureka is tasked by RuPaul to pair each contestant with six special guests for the make-over challenge: Aquaria gets paired with Kingsley, Asia O'Hara and Raymond Braun, Eureka and Frankie Grande, Kameron Michaels and Anthony Padilla, Miz Cracker and Chester See, and Monét X Change with Tyler Oakley. Subsequently, each pair took part in a home-made music video to RuPaul's song "Charisma Uniqueness Nerve and Talent".[30]
On the main stage, Asia and Eureka, alongside their drag daughters America O'Hara and Eufreaka, received postiive reviews for their performances and make-overs, but were declared safe. Miz Cracker and her drag daughter Miz Cookie were commended for their performances, make-over, and chemistry, and were deemed the winners of the challenge. The bottom queens of the week were Aquaria, Kameron and Monet, who were criticized for not having a make-over resemblance to their drag daughters Capricia Corn, Kelly Michaels, and Short Change. Aquaria is declared safe, while Kameron and Monet lip-synced to "Good as Hell" by Lizzo; Kameron wins the lip-sync and Monet is eliminated from the competition.[30]

Guest Judges: Miles Heizer and Lizzo
Alternating Judge: Ross Mathews
Mini-Challenge: Participate in a manly photoshoot advertising a new body spray, Trade
Mini-Challenge Winner: Eureka
Mini-Challenge Prize: $2,000 gift card to MuLondon
Maxi Challenge: Give drag makeovers to social media superstars
Challenge Winner: Miz Cracker
Maxi Challenge Prize: $2,000 gift card to Jane Doe Latex for the queen and a $2,000 gift card to Klein, Epstein, and Parker for their partner
Bottom Two: Kameron Michaels and Monét X Change
Lip Sync Song: "Good as Hell" by Lizzo
Eliminated: Monét X Change
Farewell message: "Long Live the Sponge!!! MXC"

12811"Evil Twins[37]"June 7, 2018 (2018-06-07)[40]

Guest Judges: Lena Dunham and Ashanti
Alternating Judge: Carson Kressley
Mini-Challenge: Decorate a pancake in edible drag
Mini-Challenge Winner: Asia O'Hara
Mini-Challenge Prize: $2,000 gift card to The Spa on Rodeo
Maxi Challenge: Present two characters on the runway: best self and evil twin
Challenge Winner: Aquaria
Maxi Challenge Prize: A trip for 2 to The Grand Resort and Spa in Fort Lauderdale and two luggage sets from Radden Luggage
Bottom two: Kameron Michaels and Miz Cracker
Lip Sync Song: "Nasty Girl" by Vanity 6
Eliminated: Miz Cracker
Farewell message: "KNOW YOURSELF M"

12912"American[37]"June 14, 2018 (2018-06-14)[40]

Guest Judge: Todrick Hall
Alternating Judges: Carson Kressley and Ross Mathews
Maxi Challenge: Write, record, and perform their own verse to RuPaul's song "American" and guest star on the "What's the Tee?" podcast with Michelle Visage
Lip Sync Song: "Call Me Mother" by RuPaul

13013"Queens Reunited[37]"June 21, 2018 (2018-06-21)[40]
The queens reunite to discuss the season's highlights and drama
13114"Grand Finale[37]"June 28, 2018 (2018-06-28)[40]
"America's Next Drag Superstar" and "Miss Congeniality" are crowned

Miss Congeniality: Monét X Change
Eliminated: Asia O'Hara
Runners-up: Eureka and Kameron Michaels
Winner of RuPaul's Drag Race Season Ten: Aquaria

text: Ratings[edit]

text:
No.

Title

Air date
Rating/share(18–49)
Viewers(millions)

1

"10's Across the Board"

March 22, 2018
0.39[41]
0.785[41]

2

"PharmaRusical"

March 29, 2018
0.29[42]
0.581[42]

3

"Tap That App"

April 5, 2018
0.42[43]
0.766[43]

4

"The Last Ball on Earth"

April 12, 2018
0.36[44]
0.694[44]

5

"The Bossy Rossy Show"

April 19, 2018
0.39[45]
0.692[45]

6

"Drag Con Panel Extravaganza"

April 26, 2018
0.41[46]
0.771[46]

7

"Snatch Game"

May 3, 2018
0.45[47]
0.840[47]

8

"The Unauthorized Rusical"

May 10, 2018
0.37[48]
0.723[48]

9

"Breastworld"

May 17, 2018
0.33[49]
0.698[49]

10

"Social Media Kings Into Queens"

May 24, 2018
0.35[50]
0.715[50]

11

"Evil Twins"

June 7, 2018
0.31[51]
0.631[51]

12

"American"

June 14, 2018
0.35[52]
0.761[52]

13

"Queens Reunited"

June 21, 2018
0.27[53]
0.632[53]

14

"Grand Finale"

June 28, 2018
0.41[54]
0.838[54]