Martin Van Buren | |
|---|---|
 Van Buren, c. 1855–1858 | |
| 8th President of the United States | |
| In office March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1841 | |
| Vice President | Richard Mentor Johnson |
| Preceded by | Andrew Jackson |
| Succeeded by | William Henry Harrison |
| 8th Vice President of the United States | |
| In office March 4, 1833 – March 4, 1837 | |
| President | Andrew Jackson |
| Preceded by | John C. Calhoun |
| Succeeded by | Richard Mentor Johnson |
| United States Minister to the United Kingdom | |
| In office August 8, 1831 – April 4, 1832 | |
| President | Andrew Jackson |
| Preceded by | Louis McLane |
| Succeeded by | Aaron Vail (acting) |
| 10th United States Secretary of State | |
| In office March 28, 1829 – May 23, 1831 | |
| President | Andrew Jackson |
| Preceded by | Henry Clay |
| Succeeded by | Edward Livingston |
| 9th Governor of New York | |
| In office January 1, 1829 – March 12, 1829 | |
| Lieutenant | Enos T. Throop |
| Preceded by | Nathaniel Pitcher |
| Succeeded by | Enos T. Throop |
| United States Senator from New York | |
| In office March 4, 1821 – December 20, 1828 | |
| Preceded by | Nathan Sanford |
| Succeeded by | Charles E. Dudley |
| 14th Attorney General of New York | |
| In office February 17, 1815 – July 8, 1819 | |
| Governor | |
| Preceded by | Abraham Van Vechten |
| Succeeded by | Thomas J. Oakley |
| Member of the New York Senate from the Middle district | |
| In office July 1, 1813 – June 30, 1820 Serving with various (multimember district) | |
| Preceded by | Edward Philip Livingston |
| Succeeded by |
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| Surrogate of Columbia County, New York | |
| In office 1808–1813 | |
| Preceded by | James I. Van Alen |
| Succeeded by | James Vanderpoel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Maarten van Buren December 5, 1782 Kinderhook, Province of New York |
| Died | July 24, 1862 (aged 79) Kinderhook, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Kinderhook Reformed Church Cemetery |
| Political party |
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| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1] |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, including Abraham II and John |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Van Buren family |
| Occupation |
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| Signature |  |
| Nicknames | |
Martin Van Buren (/væn ˈbjʊərən/ van BURE-ən; Dutch: Maarten van Buren [ˈmaːrtə(ɱ) vɑm ˈbyːrə(n)] ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he served as New York's attorney general and U.S. senator, then briefly as the ninth governor of New York before joining Andrew Jackson's administration as the tenth United States secretary of state, minister to Great Britain, and ultimately the eighth vice president from 1833 to 1837, after being elected on Jackson's ticket in 1832. Van Buren won the presidency in 1836 against divided Whig opponents. Van Buren lost re-election in 1840, and failed to win the Democratic nomination in 1844. Later in his life, Van Buren emerged as an elder statesman and an anti-slavery leader who led the Free Soil Party ticket in the 1848 presidential election.
Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, New York, where most residents were of Dutch descent and spoke Dutch as their primary language; he is the only president to have spoken English as a second language. He entered politics as a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, won a seat in the New York State Senate, and was elected to the United States Senate in 1821. As the leader of the Bucktails faction of the party, Van Buren established the political machine known as the Albany Regency. He ran successfully for governor of New York to support Andrew Jackson's candidacy in the 1828 presidential election but resigned shortly after Jackson was inaugurated so he could accept appointment as Jackson's secretary of state. In the cabinet, Van Buren was a key Jackson advisor and built the organizational structure for the coalescing Democratic Party. He ultimately resigned to help resolve the Petticoat affair and briefly served as ambassador to Great Britain. At Jackson's behest, the 1832 Democratic National Convention nominated Van Buren for vice president, and he took office after the Democratic ticket won the 1832 presidential election.
With Jackson's strong support and the organizational strength of the Democratic Party, Van Buren successfully ran for president in the 1836 presidential election. However, his popularity soon eroded because of his response to the Panic of 1837, which centered on his Independent Treasury system, a plan under which the federal government of the United States would store its funds in vaults rather than in banks; more conservative Democrats and Whigs in Congress ultimately delayed his plan from being implemented until 1840. His presidency was further marred by the costly Second Seminole War and his refusal to admit Texas to the Union as a slave state. In 1840, Van Buren lost his re-election bid to William Henry Harrison. While Van Buren is praised for anti-slavery stances, in historical rankings, historians and political scientists often rank Van Buren as an average or below-average U.S. president, due to his handling of the Panic of 1837.
Van Buren was initially the leading candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination again in 1844, but his continued opposition to the annexation of Texas angered Southern Democrats, leading to the nomination of James K. Polk. Growing opposed to slavery, Van Buren was the newly formed Free Soil Party's presidential nominee in 1848, and his candidacy helped Whig nominee Zachary Taylor defeat Democrat Lewis Cass. Worried about sectional tensions, Van Buren returned to the Democratic Party after 1848 but was disappointed with the pro-southern presidencies of Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. During the American Civil War, Van Buren was a War Democrat who supported the policies of President Abraham Lincoln, a Republican. He died of asthma at his home in Kinderhook in 1862, aged 79.
- ^ Widmer, Ted and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Edward L. Widmer, Martin Van Buren, Times Books, 2005, p. 2. ISBN 0-8050-6922-4
- ^ "The Wise Guide: The Red Fox of Kinderhook". Library of Congress. December 2011. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ Silbey, Joel (September 26, 2016). "Martin Van Buren". Miller Center. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ Hatfield, Mark O. (1997). "Martin Van Buren (1833–1837)" (PDF). Vice Presidents of the United States, 1789–1993 (PDF). Senate Historical Office. Washington: US Government Printing Office. pp. 105–118. OCLC 606133503. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
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