Martin Van Buren served as the eighth President of the United States, between 1837 and 1841. This got me thinking, what are some interesting facts about Martin Van Buren?
By most accounts, Martin Van Buren’s presidency was quite uneventful. He only ever served one term, whilst most historians view him as a mediocre president- neither one of the best or the worst.
15. Presidential Nickname
Over the course of his political career, and later, his presidential career, Van Buren received numerous nicknames. The overwhelming majority of these were used during certain points in his political life, and later forgotten.
However, there was one that stuck: Old Kinderhook. The nickname originates the village of Kinderhook in the state of New York, where Van Buren was born and raised (and where he would subsequently die!)
For most of his political career, this was a regional thing, mostly used in New York. Upon becoming President, the nickname of “Old Kinderhook” was known all throughout the United States.
People began to abbreviate this to just “OK”. Due to his policies, people used to jokingly ask “Is it OK?” in reference to what the president would do. Fast forward over 180 years, and people still use this!
14. Little Magician
Remember when I said that President Van Buren had a lot of nicknames? On top of being known as “Old Kinderhook” he was also known as many other things. Another one that stayed with him was “Little Magician”.
Whilst serving in the New York State Senate, and later the US Senate, Van Buren had a reputation of being quite a skilled politician. He was able to hear what his constituents wanted, and get that passed in the Senate!
Because of this, people used to joke that he was a “Magician” and that somehow, he was able to pass literally anything through the Senate. Due to this, Van Buren is one of only a few politicians genuinely loved by their constituents.
They referred to him as “Little” due to the fact that he stood at only 5 ft 6″, making him one of the shortest presidents. Originally, this was just a New York nickname, but once he became president, everyone called him it!
13. Trail of Tears
Upon becoming president, Van Buren would receive other nicknames than just those from his days as a senator. And not all of them were for good reasons…
Beginning in 1830, under the Presidency of Andrew Jackson, Native Americans were forced off their ancestral lands. Once Van Buren became president, this increased dramatically.
Due in large part to the huge role President Van Buren played in this, Martin Van Buren received numerous nicknames. Both from his base and from his detractors. However, most of them were short lived.
Although it was done by subsequent presidents, historians refer to this as the Trail of Tears. This is arguably President Van Buren’s most long-lasting legacy, something that we can still see today!
12. Secretary of State Sex Scandal
Following his appointment to the US Senate in 1821, a young Van Buren rose through the ranks quite quickly. He soon became Governor of New York and later, Secretary of State.
Van Buren would sit in President Jackson’s cabinet during a fairly tumultuous time. You see, there was a minor sex scandal brewing within Jackson’s own cabinet.
Jackson’s Secretary of War, John Eaton, married a woman of low social standing who he may have previously had an affair with. Vice President Calhoun hated Eaton and used this vivaciously.
It got to such a point that the US Government physically couldn’t run. As such, Van Buren resigned in order to become Ambassador to the UK, and later vice president (after Calhoun’s resignation).
11. First Language
Many people don’t know this, but the US hasn’t actually got an official language. Despite this, the vast majority of the US Government uses the English language, this is especially so for the Federal Government.
Every president since Washington has spoken English as their first language. Except one: Martin Van Buren. Buren was born in an area of New York that spoke Dutch, and was born into a Dutch family.
As you can probably guess, Martin Van Buren spoke Dutch as his first language! However, in order to be elected to office, Van Buren needed to be able to speak English, and as such, learned it quite quickly.
Upon becoming president, Van Buren would execute his duties as president in English. Once he retired to the residence within the White House itself, he would converse with his family in Dutch.
10. Birth name
Martin Van Buren may be the name most people know him by, but technically speaking, it wasn’t the name he was born with! Instead, he was born with a different name.
Van Buren was born to Abraham and Maria Van Buren. Both of his parents were of Dutch descent, still spoke Dutch and were very proud of their Dutch heritage. As such, they gave all of their children Dutch-sounding names.
They named their third child Maarten Van Buren. Growing up in a Dutch-speaking community, this wasn’t that bad, it was just another name. However, when he entered politics, it did cause him issues.
For the English-speaking inhabitants of New York, Maarten was an incredibly strange name. This would’ve cost him being elected, so he anglicized his name, changing it from Maarten to the English, Martin.
9. He Created a Political Machine
Today, the concept of a political machine is relatively obscure. For most, they are a thing of the past, a corrupt machine that does not serve the people, even if their original goals were noble.
Due to this, it probably comes as a surprise that a future president would establish such a machine! However, the future President Van Buren did, when he created the Albany Regency.
The Regency was a loosely aligned group of politicians who dominated New York state politics in the 1820’s and 1830’s. At its height, the regency would become as influential as the more famous Tammany Hall.
Even as a state senator, US senator, ambassador, vice president and later president, Martin Van Buren would essentially run New York State politics. The regency only dissolved due to a factional split in the 1840’s.
8. He Never Admitted Texas
President Andrew Jackson, a southerner, favored the annexation of Texas. Over the course of his presidency, President Jackson tried to do this several times, however, the Northern states wouldn’t allow it.
Jackson would leave office in 1837, being replaced by Martin Van Buren, a staunch northerner. Van Buren participated in what is known as the “Slave-owner conspiracy”.
Essentially, there was a belief that if Texas was admitted, it would be a slave-owning state. This would lead to the majority of states being slave-owning, which the northerners vehemently opposed.
Whilst president, Martin Van Buren would repeatedly block attempts to annex Texas. After leaving office, Texas would be annexed and would later become the 28th state in 1845!
7. Opposed by Three Whig Candidates
In 1836, the departing President Jackson threw his support behind his former vice president, Martin Van Buren. The newly formed Whig Party, which formed in 1834, nominated their own candidate for president.
But they didn’t just nominate one, they nominated three! They nominated three based on region, one in the North, one in the South and one in the “Western” portion of the United States (modern day Illinois, Missouri etc.)
They did this for a number of reasons. The one they cited at the time was regional differences, it would be hard for a slave-owning southerner to gain northern votes, and vice versa.
However, since then, the general consensus has been that they did it to take votes from Martin Van Buren. This would ensure that Van Buren didn’t have a majority government, and would ensure a Whig candidate would be elected in 1840!
6. His First Lady
Martin Van Buren is one of the few presidents to be unmarried whilst in office. In late February 1807, a young Martin Van Buren married Hannah Hoes in Catskill, New York.
The couple were happy and had five children together. However, it wouldn’t last. In 1819, Hannah contracted tuberculosis and died, at only 35 years old. Martin would never remarry.
Upon ascending to the presidency, Martin didn’t have a wife who could be his First Lady. Instead, his daughter-in-law, Angelica (the wife of his eldest son Abraham) would act as First Lady.
For the duration of her father-in-law’s presidency, her husband would be a close advisor to the president. The pair would often accompany the president on all of his visits to state and congressional leaderships.
5. Presidential Relations
Speaking of Angelica Van Buren, her mother was a cousin of Dolley Madison, the wife of President James Madison. Using her connections, Dolley Madison managed to play matchmaker between Angelica and Abraham Van Buren.
However it wasn’t just his First Lady who was related to other presidents.
Martin Van Buren himself was also related to the Roosevelt family. Through marriage, he was related to two future presidents: Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Van Buren and Teddy Roosevelt were third cousins three times removed, whilst Martin and Franklin Roosevelt were third cousins four times removed.
For the Republican, Teddy Roosevelt, this fact was completely forgotten about, both by his allies and by his detractors. However, for his fifth cousin, Franklin, it was a major source of debate- would he be just like his cousin?
4. First American President
George Washington was the first President of the United States. Another six presidents would follow him before Martin Van Buren became president. However, these were all British-born.
They were all born in one of the Thirteen Colonies when it was a part of the British Empire. But Martin Van Buren? He was born in December 1782, well over six years after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Due to this, he was the first President of the United States who was actually born in the US as we know it today! He was the first American-born President of the United States.
As a result of the clauses in the Constitution, anyone who wishes to become President of the United States has to be physically born in the US. So, depending on how you look at it, he is technically #1! (But not really…)
3. The Panic of 1837
Within only a few months of becoming President, panic swept the nation. People began to think that their local banks weren’t liquid enough to give them the physical money that had in their account.
As a result, most local banks began to go under. Unsurprisingly, a large number of Americans lost their life savings, with many of them turning to the federal and state governments for help.
Most people know this as the Panic of 1837. Unlike the nationwide panics of the past (yes, they happened before because!) the federal government chose to take a more laissez-faire approach.
Even as millions of American families were loosing their life savings, President Van Buren refused to act. Due to this, he wasn’t re-elected in 1840. Plus, he also gained the nickname of “Martin Van Ruin”!
2. Van Buren Coat of Arms
Following his presidency, Van Buren decided that he would enjoy his retirement. One of the things he decided to do was travel. Van Buren chose to travel to his ancestral homeland of the Netherlands.
Here, Van Buren was invited to meet with William I, the King of the Netherlands. The pair of them subsequently began discussing their ancestry, when Van Buren told him, his ancestry went back as far as Kinderhook.
William I told him that this wasn’t true, and they actually shared some ancestry! You see, as well as being the King, William I was also the Count of Buren, one of his forbearers had multiple sons.
The eldest became the next Count of Buren, whilst the others took the surname Van Buren (meaning “From Buren”). In honor of that, the King gave Martin Van Buren his own coat of arms.
1. Democratic Party
In the early 1790’s, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison founded the Democratic-Republican Party. The party was the main political party in the early United States, producing four early presidents!
However, the party split into two following the Presidency of James Monroe. One of these factions was headed by Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, and became the predecessor of today’s Democratic Party.
During the 1828 Presidential Election, the Democratic Party would nominate Andrew Jackson as their presidential nominee. Van Buren would be a close advisor to Jackson’s campaign. The pair would subsequently win that election!
By 1836, Jackson had served his two terms. Van Buren, as Jackson’s deputy was in the perfect place to ascend to the top of the Democratic Party. Subsequently, Van Buren would be nominated, and win the presidency.
He would become the second Democrat President!
Which are your favorite facts about Martin Van Buren? Tell me in the comments!