Presidential Biographies No. 8: Martin Van Buren

     Hello everybody and welcome back to another edition of Nations Made Fun! I'll be your host, Mr. Nations, your tour guide to this massive world we all call home! Today on Presidential Biographies, we'll be taking a look at the life of Martin Van Buren. the eighth president of the United States, who served from 1837-1841. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dive straight into it!

     Martin Van Buren was born in 1782 to a tavernkeeper and farmer in Kinderhook, New York. He became a young lawyer and was involved in New York Politics. By 1827, he emerged as the principal northern leader for Andrew Jackson. President Jackson rewarded Van Buren by appointing him Secretary of State.

     Andrew Jackson, Van Buren, and John Calhoun did not have the best relationship. It got so bad that Van Buren and the Secretary of War resigned so that Calhoun men would also resign. Jackson appointed a new Cabinet and again rewarded Van Buren by appointing him Minister to Great Britain. Jackson also awarded him the position of Vice President in 1832.

     Van Buren won the presidency in 1836. Van Buren had to rectify the mistakes that Andrew Jackson had made. Firstly, some of Jackson's financial decisions contributed to the economy crashes. He also destroyed the Second Bank of the United States and forced all land-based transactions to be paid in gold or silver. As a result, hundreds of banks and businesses began to fail. Thousands lost their lands. For about five years, the United States participated in the worst financial turmoil the country would ever see.

     Van Buren's attempts to solve the problems only made them worse. He declared that the panic was due to recklessness in business and overexpansion of credit, Van Buren devoted himself to maintaining the national government. He cut federal budgets that the government resorted to selling tools that it had used on public works. Van Buren was opposed to slavery and denied the annexation of Texas because he thought that it would add to slave territories.

     He was defeated by the Whigs in 1840 for reelection and died in 1862.

     Fun Facts:

• Van Buren was the only president to speak English as a second language. His first language was Dutch.
• Van Buren was the first president to be born an American citizen. His predecessors were all born as British subjects.
• The word "Okay" or "OK" became popular when it was used in Van Buren's campaign.

     Martin Van Buren:

     

     Sources: https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/martin-van-buren/

     https://www.ducksters.com/biography/uspresidents/martinvanburen.php