Home > Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
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| Order: | 8th President |
| Term of Office: | March 4, 1837– March 3, 1841 |
| Followed: | Andrew Jackson |
| Succeeded by: | William Henry Harrison |
| Date of Birth | December 5, 1782 |
| Place of Birth: | Kinderhook (town), New York |
| Date of Death: | July 24, 1862 |
| Place of Death: | Kinderhook, New York |
| Wife: | Hannah Hoes Van Buren |
| First Lady: | Angelica Van Buren (daughter-in-law) |
| Occupation: | lawyer |
| Political PartyThe United States has what is for all practical purposes a two-party system, with the two largest political parties dividing a great majority of the vote between themselves in most elections. This is partly a consequence of the first-past-the-post electio: | Democratlogo depicts a stylized donkey in red, white, and blue. The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. The Party is currently the minority in both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, as w |
| Vice PresidentThe Vice President of the United States is the second-highest executive official of the United States government, the person who is "a heartbeat from the presidency. As first in the presidential line of succession, the Vice President becomes the new Presi: | Richard M. Johnson |
| Nicknames: | Martin Van Ruin, Log Cabin Democrat |
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Martin Van Buren ( December 5, 1782– July 24, 1862), nicknamed Old Kinderhook, was the eighth ( 1833- 1837) Vice President and the eighth ( 1837- 1841) President of the United States, and the first President born after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Thus he was the first natural-born US citizen to become President.
1 Biography
He was born in Kinderhook, New York of Dutch descent. His father Abraham Van Buren ( February 17, 1737 - April 8, 1817) was a farmer and tavern-keeper. His mother Maria Hoes ( February 27, 1747 - February 16, 1817) also had children from a previous marriage.
Martin's education was limited to that which could be obtained in the common schools and at Kinderhook Academy. In 1796 he began the study of law, completing his preparation in 1802 at New York, where he studied under William Peter Van Ness ( 1778- 1826), an eminent lawyer and later Aaron Burr's second in the duel with Alexander Hamilton. Van Buren made the acquaintance of Burr, but did not fall under his influence. In 1803 he was admitted to the bar and continued in active and successful practice for twenty-five years.
His practice made him financially independent, and paved the way for his entrance into politics. New York politics after 1800, the year of the election of Jefferson and the downfall of the Federalists, were particularly bitter and personal. The Republicans were divided into three factions, followers respectively of George Clinton (and later of his nephew, De Witt Clinton), Robert R. Livingston and Aaron Burr. Federalist control after 1799 depended upon coalition with one or other of these groups. Van Buren, who early allied himself with the Clintonians, was surrogate of Columbia County from 1808 until 1813, when he was removed. In 1812 he entered the state Senate, and he also became a member of the Court for the Correction of Errors , the highest court in New York until 1847.
