Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862), nicknamed Old Kinderhook, was the eighth President of the United States. He was the first President born after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the first of non-Anglo descent, and the only President to date whose first language has not been English (it was Dutch).

Early political career

His career in the New York Senate covered two terms (1812-1820). In 1815 he became the state attorney general, an office which he held, still as a member of the Senate, until 1819, when he was displaced to make room for a Federalist. He had already, in 1808, moved from Kinderhook to Hudson, and in 1816 he took up his residence in Albany, where he continued to reside until he entered Jackson's cabinet in 1829.

Related Topics:
1812 - 1820 - 1815 - Attorney general - 1819 - 1808 - Hudson - 1816 - Albany - Jackson's - Cabinet - 1829

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As a member of the state Senate he supported the War of 1812 and drew up a classification act for the enrollment of volunteers. He was chosen to draft the resolution of thanks voted by the legislature to General Andrew Jackson after the Battle of New Orleans. He broke with De Witt Clinton in 1813, but nevertheless favored, in 1817, Clinton's plan for the Erie Canal. His attitude towards slavery at the moment was shown by his vote, in January 1820, for a resolution opposing the admission of Missouri as a slave state. In the same year, he was chosen a presidential elector. It is at this point that Van Buren's connection began with so-called "machine politics". He was a leading member of the "Albany Regency," a group of politicians who for more than a generation controlled the politics of New York and powerfully influenced those of the nation, and which did more than any other agency to make the "spoils system" a recognized procedure in national, state and local affairs. Van Buren did not originate the system, but won the nickname of "Little Magician" for the skill with which he exploited it.

Related Topics:
War of 1812 - Andrew Jackson - Battle of New Orleans - De Witt Clinton - 1813 - 1817 - Erie Canal - Slavery - 1820 - Missouri - Elector - Spoils system

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In February 1821, Van Buren was elected to the United States Senate. Before taking his seat he served also as a member of the state constitutional convention, where he opposed the grant of universal suffrage. His course in the Senate was not altogether consistent, though in this respect he is not to be judged more harshly than some of his associates. Van Buren at first favored internal improvements and in 1824 proposed a constitutional amendment to authorize such undertakings, but the next year he took ground against them. He voted for the tariff of 1824 then gradually abandoned the protectionist position.

Related Topics:
1821 - United States Senate - Constitutional convention - Universal suffrage - 1824 - Constitutional amendment - Tariff - Protectionist

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In the presidential election of 1824, he appeared as a strong supporter of William H. Crawford and received the electoral vote of Georgia for vice-president, but he shrewdly kept out of the acrimonious controversy which followed the choice of John Quincy Adams as President. He recognized early the potential of Andrew Jackson as a presidential candidate.

Related Topics:
Presidential election of 1824 - William H. Crawford - Georgia - Vice-president - John Quincy Adams

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After the election, Van Buren sought to bring the Crawford and Jackson followers together and strengthened his control as a party leader in the Senate. Always notably courteous in his treatment of opponents, he showed no bitterness either towards John Quincy Adams or Henry Clay and voted for Clay's confirmation as Secretary of State, notwithstanding the "corrupt bargain" charge. At the same time he opposed internal improvements and declined to support the proposal for a Panama Congress. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, he brought forward a number of measures for the improvement of judicial procedure and in May 1826 joined with Benton in presenting a report on executive patronage. In the debate on the "tariff of abominations" in 1828, he took no part but voted for the measure in obedience to instructions from the New York legislature — an action which was cited against him as late as the presidential campaign of 1844.

Related Topics:
Party - John Quincy Adams - Henry Clay - Secretary of State - Panama - Judicial procedure - 1826 - Benton - Tariff of abominations - 1828 - Legislature - Presidential campaign of 1844

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Van Buren was not an orator, but his more important speeches show careful preparation and his opinions carried weight; the oft-repeated charge that he refrained from declaring himself on crucial questions is hardly borne out by an examination of his senatorial career. In February 1827, he was re-elected to the Senate by a large majority. He was now one of the recognized managers of the Jackson campaign, and a tour of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia in the spring of 1827 won support for Jackson from Crawford.

Related Topics:
Orator - 1827 - Virginia - Carolinas - Georgia

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In 1828, Van Buren was elected governor of New York for the term beginning on January 1, 1829, and resigned his seat in the Senate. On March 5, he was appointed by President Jackson as secretary of state, an office which probably had been assured to him before the election, and he resigned the governorship.

Related Topics:
1828 - Governor of New York - January 1 - 1829 - March 5 - Secretary of state

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As Secretary of State, Van Buren took care to keep on good terms with the "kitchen cabinet," the group of politicians who acted as Jackson's advisers, and won the lasting regard of Jackson by his courtesies to Mrs. John H. Eaton (Peggy Eaton), wife of the Secretary of War, with whom the wives of the cabinet officers had refused to associate. He did not oppose Jackson in the matter of removals from office but was not himself an active "spoilsman," and he protested strongly against the appointment of Samuel Swartwout (1783-1856), who was later a defaulter to a large amount as collector of the port of New York. He skillfully avoided entanglement in the Jackson-Calhoun imbroglio.

Related Topics:
Peggy Eaton - Secretary of War - Samuel Swartwout - 1783 - 1856 - New York - Calhoun

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No diplomatic questions of the first magnitude arose during Van Buren's service as Secretary of State, but the settlement of long-standing claims against France was prepared for, and trade with the British West Indies colonies was opened. In the controversy with the Bank of the United States, he sided with Jackson. After the breach between Jackson and Calhoun, Van Buren was clearly the most prominent candidate for the vice-presidency.

Related Topics:
France - British West Indies - Bank of the United States - Vice-presidency

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Jackson in December 1829 had already made known his own wish that Van Buren should receive the nomination. In April 1831, Van Buren resigned, though he did not leave office until June. In August, he was appointed minister to England, and arrived in London in September. He was cordially received, but in February learned that his nomination had been rejected by the Senate on January 25. The rejection, ostensibly attributed in large part to Van Buren's instructions to Louis McLane, the American minister to England, regarding the opening of the West Indies trade, in which reference had been made to the results of the election of 1828, was in fact the work of Calhoun, the vice-president; and when the vote was taken enough of the majority refrained from voting to produce a tie and give Calhoun his longed-for "vengeance." No greater impetus than this could have been given to Van Buren's candidacy for the vice-presidency.

Related Topics:
1829 - 1831 - England - London - January 25 - Louis McLane - Calhoun

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After a brief tour on through Europe, Van Buren reached New York on July 5. In May, the Democratic convention, the first held by that party, had nominated him for vice-president on the Jackson ticket, despite the strong opposition to him which existed in many states. No platform was adopted, the widespread popularity of Jackson being relied upon to win success at the polls. His declarations during the campaign were vague regarding the tariff and unfavorable to the United States Bank and to nullification, but he had already somewhat placated the South by denying the right of Congress to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia without the consent of the slave states.

Related Topics:
Europe - July 5 - Democratic - Convention - Nullification - District of Columbia

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During Van Buren's presidential campaign the Democratic Party popularized his nickname "Old Kinderhook," which was abbreviated as "OK." Supporters' groups known as "OK Clubs" were set up. This is one possible origin of the expression "OK," although there are many other possible origins and the topic is much disputed.

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In the election of 1832 he received 189 electoral votes, while Jackson received 219 for President. Jackson was now determined to make Van Buren president in 1836, and bent all his energies to that end. In May 1835 Van Buren was unanimously nominated by the Democratic convention at Baltimore. He expressed himself plainly on the questions of slavery and the bank, at the same time voting, perhaps with a touch of bravado, for a bill offered in 1836 to subject abolition literature in the mails to the laws of the several states. Calhoun, bitterly hostile to the last, objected to the usual vote of thanks to the retiring vice-president, but withdrew his objection. Van Buren's presidential victory represented more of a victory for Jackson rather than for Van Buren.

Related Topics:
Election of 1832 - 1836 - 1835 - Baltimore - Abolition

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