Martin Van Buren had a long political career, serving as governor of New York, secretary of state, vice president, and president from 1837-1841. As president, he took office during a financial crisis known as the Panic of 1837. He established an independent treasury system and avoided war with Canada over a border dispute. Van Buren opposed the admission of Texas to the Union as a slave state, which increased sectional tensions. Though he lost reelection in 1840, Van Buren remained active in Democratic politics later in his life.

1. Martin Van Buren
Benedict Gombocz

2. Overview of Martin Van Buren’s political career
 8th President of the United States (March 4, 1837-March 4, 1841)
 8th Vice President of the United States (March 4, 1833-March 4, 1837)
 United States Minister to the United Kingdom (August 8, 1831-April 4, 1832)
 10th United States Secretary of State (March 28, 1829-May 23, 1831)
 9th Governor of New York (January 1, 1829-March 12, 1829)
 United States Senator from New York (March 4, 1821-December 20, 1828)
 New York State Senator (1812-1820)

3. Childhood and Education
 Martin (Maarten in Dutch) Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, New
York on December 5, 1782; he was one of nine presidents born
under British rule.
 He was of Dutch heritage and grew up in relative poverty.
 He spoke Dutch as his native language.
 He worked at his father’s tavern, attending a small local school; he
finished with formal education by age fourteen.
 He subsequently studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1803.
Martin Van Buren’s birthplace

4. Historical marker at Van Buren’s birthplace

5. Family Ties
 Father: Abraham (farmer and tavern keeper)
 Mother: Maria Hoes Van Alen (widow with three children)
 Siblings: One half-sister and half-brother; two sisters (Dirckie and Jannetje); two brothers (Lawrence and Abraham)
 Wife: Hannah Hoes (distant relative to his mother and a first cousin of Van Buren once removed through his mother; she died in 1819 at
age thirty-five)
 Children: Abraham, John, Martin, Jr., Lawrence, Smith Thompson

6. Career Before the Presidency
 Van Buren became a lawyer in 1803.
 He was elected a New York state senator in 1812.
 In 1820, he was elected to the U.S. Senate; during his tenure as a U.S. senator, he endorsed Andrew Jackson’s candidacy for the presidency in the 1828
presidential election.
 Van Buren served as Governor of New York for only a two-month period in 1829 before newly elected President Jackson appointed him as his Secretary
of State, a capacity Van Buren held until 1831.
 He also served as Jackson’s vice president during the former’s second term as president (1833-1837).

7. Results of the 1828 presidential election

8. Election of 1836
 The Democratic Party unanimously nominated Van Buren as their candidate in the 1836 presidential election; his running mate was Richard Mentor
Johnson.
 Van Buren was not opposed by a single candidate; instead, the newly founded Whig Party (which would dissolve in 1860 and be replaced by the
Republican Party) resorted to a strategy to throw the election into the House of Representatives where they felt they had a better chance of defeating
Van Buren.
 The Whigs selected four different nominees who they believed would do well in different parts of the country in hopes that each nominee would be
popular enough to defeat Van Buren in their individual regions.
 However, Van Buren won 170 out of 294 electoral votes to win the election.

9. Results of the 1836 presidential election

10. Presidency: Events and Accomplishments
 Van Buren assumed office on March 4, 1837; his presidency began with the
Panic of 1837, a depression that lasted from 1837 to 1845.
 More than 900 banks had to close, and many people lost their jobs.
 To fight this sudden crisis, President Van Buren fought for an Independent
Treasury to assist in the safe deposit of funds.
 Issues arose with British-held Canada during Van Buren’s tenure.
 The so-called Aroostook War of 1839 was one such event; it arose more than
thousands of miles where the border between Maine and Canada had no
clear boundary.
 When a Maine official tried to send Canadians out of the region, militias were
ordered.
 President Van Buren was able to make peace with General Winfield Scott
before fighting started.
 Texas applied for statehood after it won independence in 1836; if it had
been admitted into the Union, it would have become another slave state
that the Northern states would have opposed.
 Van Buren, who was interested in helping fight against sectional slavery
issues, sided with the North.
 He additionally continued Jackson’s policies regarding the Seminole Indians.
 The Second Seminole War ended in 1842 with the defeat of the Seminoles.
“Aroostock War” of 1839, rival boundary line
claims

11. General Winfield Scott

12. Post-presidency and death
 Martin Van Buren ran for re-election in 1840, but lost to Whig
candidate William Henry Harrison, one of his challengers four years
earlier.
 He made two more attempts: in 1844 and again in 1848, but neither
attempt was successful.
 He then decided to retire from politics, although he served as
electors for later Democratic presidents Franklin Pierce and James
Buchanan; he also supported Stephen A. Douglas over Abraham
Lincoln in 1860.
 Van Buren died of heart failure on July 24, 1862; he was seventy-nine.
Results of the 1840 presidential election

13. Historical significance
 Van Buren can be seen as an average president.
 Although his presidency is not associated with many “major” events,
the Panic of 1837, in the long run, led to the establishment of the
Independent Treasury.
 His position helped evade war with Canada.
 Moreover, his decision to retain sectional stability postponed the
entry of Texas into the Union until 1845, during the presidency of
James K. Polk.
Martin Van Buren’s presidential portrait

14. Martin Van Buren’s grave at the Reformed
Church Cemetery in Kinderhook

15. References
 http://americanhistory.about.com/od/martinvanb
uren/p/pvanburen.htm
Other sites
 http://americanhistory.about.com/cs/martinvanburen/a/quo
tevanburen.htm
 http://americanhistory.about.com/od/martinvanburen/a/ff_
m_vanburen.htm
 http://americanhistory.about.com/od/elections/tp/topelecti
ons.htm