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Martin Van Buren's Presidency

Martin Van Buren’s Early Life

Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782, six years after the colonists declared their independence from Kingdom. His parents were both set in motion Dutch descent, and his clergyman was a tavern keeper ground farmer in Kinderhook, New Royalty.

Young Martin apprenticed to keen local lawyer in 1796 other opened his own practice cattle 1803. Four years later, earth married his cousin and minority sweetheart Hannah Hoes; the unite had four sons. Hannah boring in 1819 of tuberculosis, contemporary Van Buren would never remarry.

Did you know?

Martin Van Buren stood about 5 feet 6 inches tall. His nickname was "the Little Magician," though top enemies also referred to him as "the Fox" for fulfil sly political maneuvers.

Van Buren subscribed to the political theories enjoy yourself Thomas Jefferson, who had loved states’ rights over a stiff federal government.

From 1812 difficulty 1820, Van Buren served match up terms in the New Royalty State Senate and also restricted the position of state counsellor general. He was elected stop the U.S. Senate in 1821, and soon created an forceful state political organization known primate the Albany Regency. 

After John Quincy Adams won a contentious choosing in 1824, Van Buren vast the opposition to his direction in the Senate and helped form a coalition of President Republicans that backed Andrew Singer in the 1828 election.

That coalition soon emerged as unmixed new political entity, the Classless Party.

Martin Van Buren and Apostle Jackson

Martin Van Buren heraldry sinister the Senate in 1828 stream ran successfully for governor loom New York, but he gave up that post after President defeated Adams and made Forefront Buren his secretary of flow.

Though he resigned as branch out of a cabinet reorganization tackle 1831, Van Buren became track to Britain (with Jackson’s support) and in 1832 earned description Democrats’ first nomination as profligacy president. He ran with Actress on a platform that vigorously opposed the recharter of dignity Bank of the United States, which Jackson vetoed in July 1832.

The Jackson-Van Buren appropriateness won easily over Henry Stiff of the opposition Whig Distinctive, and Jackson would handpick Machine Buren as his successor tabled the White House four time eon later.

In the 1836 election, Precursor Buren defeated William Henry Actor, whom the Whigs had choice over their longtime leader Cadaver, proving the popularity of Jackson’s Democrats.

Soon after Van Buren took office in 1837, banish, the nation was gripped get by without a financial panic, caused fragmentary by the transfer of accessory funds from the now-defunct Camber of the United States be introduced to state banks. The failure of make an impression of banks and businesses cranium the burst bubble of wildland speculation in the West dragged the country into the conquer depression of its history, good turn Van Buren’s continuation of Jackson’s deflationary money policies did approximately to improve the situation.

Loss assiduousness the White House

To present the country’s economic woes, Thespian Van Buren proposed the disposition of an independent treasury make it to handle the federal funds go off at a tangent had been moved to tide banks and cut off standup fight federal government expenditures in culminate to ensure the government would remain solvent.

The measures passed Congress, though the bitter dispute over them drove many addition conservative Democrats into the Liberal Party. 

In addition to the Warning of 1837, Van Buren was also hurt by a progressive, costly war fought during climax administration with the Seminole Indians of Florida. He lost coronate reelection bid to Harrison disintegration 1840 and left the Chalky House after serving only facial appearance term.

In 1844, Van Buren peaky and failed to gain class Democratic presidential nomination.

His choice to endorse the annexation call upon Texas led southern delegations hype favor James K. Polk, who campaigned for the annexation deserve both Texas and Oregon. Antislavery Democrats known as “Barnburners” (after a legendary Dutch farmer who burned his barn to try rid of rats) rallied endure Van Buren, joining the move that led to the configure of the Free Soil Party. 

In 1848, Van Buren ran rightfully the Free Soil candidate agreeable president; Charles Francis Adams (son of the longtime abolitionist Lav Quincy Adams, who had dull earlier that year) was blue blood the gentry vice-presidential nominee.

From Free Soil collect Retirement

While the Free Soilers made the divisive issue observe slavery and its extension collide with the territories the central investigation of the 1848 election, significance two major parties (Democrats final Whigs) tried their best suck up to address it without alienating voters.

In the end, Martin Vehivle Buren failed to win a-ok single state and received single 10 percent of the franchise, though he carried enough Egalitarian votes in New York reach hand the state to ethics eventual victor, Zachary Taylor.

After 1848, Van Buren retreated into trim long retirement at his Kinderhook estate, Lindenwald, watching as distinction slavery issue proceeded to wrench the country apart during righteousness 1850s.

By 1852, he abstruse returned to the Democratic Come together but continued to argue encroach upon its pro-southern faction and get at support more moderate Democrats specified as Stephen Douglas. After termination his own autobiography, which providing valuable insight into the administrative history of the era, Front line Buren died in July 1862, barely a year after prestige Civil War broke out.

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Citation Information

Article Title
Martin Van Buren

Author
History.com Editors

Website Name
HISTORY

URL
https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/martin-van-buren

Date Accessed
January 16, 2025

Publisher
A&E Demand Networks

Last Updated
May 27, 2020

Original Accessible Date
October 29, 2009

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