John Adams Martin Van Buren 8th

							         Martin Van Buren
8th President of the United States
 Martin Van Buren
• Born - December 5, 1782 in Kinderhook of
  Columbia County, New York
• Died - July 24, 1862 in New York City of
  Bronchial asthma
• Education – no formal education
• Occupations – lawyer
• Married – Hannah Hoes Van Buren on February
  21, 1807 in Catskill, NY
• Home – Kinderhook, New York
• Political Party – Democratic
• Inauguration
  • 1st March 4, 1837 in Washington D.C.
Important Information
• Left school at age 14 to become a lawyer, won
  first case at age 16, and was admitted to the
  New York bar in 1803.
• He had 4 children with his wife. She died in
  1819, making him the second straight bachelor
  President.
• Served as New York State Senator from 1813-
  1815, New York Attorney General from 1815-
  1819, and Governor of New York in 1829.
• Served as United States Senator from 1821 to
  1829. Resigned as senator to become
  Governor.
 As President
• Was Andrew Jackson’s second Vice-president.
• His VP was Richard M. Johnson
• Van Buren devoted his Inaugural Address to a
  discourse upon the American experiment as an
  example to the rest of the world.
• Van Buren and his supporters became known
  as the “Old Kinderhook Club” – or the O.K.
  Club
• The country was prosperous, but less than
  three months later, the panic of 1837
  punctured the prosperity.
• For about five years, the United States was
  wracked by the worst depression thus far in its
  history.
 As President
• He opposed not only the creation of a new
  Bank of the United States but also the placing
  of Government funds in state banks.
• As for Federal aid to internal improvements, he
  cut off expenditures so completely that the
  Government even sold the tools it had used on
  public works.
• Van Buren blocked the annexation of Texas
  because it assuredly would add to slave
  territory--and it might bring war with Mexico.
• Van Buren believed in weak slavery.
• Van Buren was able to get the federal
  workweek down to 10 hours a day.
 Interesting Facts
• He was an unsuccessful candidate for President on
  the Free Soil ticket in 1848.
• He was the first president born as a United States
  citizen.
• Until George Bush, Martin Van Buren was the last vice
  president to be elected to succeed the president
  under whom he served.
• He was described as a "dandy," and known to be an
  exquisite dresser who enjoyed expensive wine and
  rich food.
• Presidential Salary was $25,000 a year.
• Among his nicknames were the Red Fox, the Little
  Magician, and the Careful Dutchman, all referring to
  his cleverness as a politician
 Elections
• 1836 – There were five candidates for
  President. Martin Van Buren, the
  Democrat, received 170 electoral votes.
  William Henry Harrison, a Whig, was
  second with 73. Also running were Hugh
  White, Daniel Webster, and Willie
  Mangum. White, Webster, and Mangum
  were all Whigs. Van Buren’s state, New
  York, had the most electoral votes with
  42.
Elections

• 1840 – William Henry Harrison ran
  against Van Buren. He received 53%
  of the popular vote, but won 80% of
  the electoral vote with 234 to Van
  Buren’s 60. Van Buren did not even
  win his home state of New York.
 Famous Quotes
• “I tread in the footsteps of illustrious men
  . . . in receiving from the people the
  sacred trust confided to my illustrious
  predecessor.”
• "The less government interferes with
  private pursuits, the better for general
  prosperity"
"No evil can result from its (slavery's)
  inhibition more pernicious than its
  toleration"