MARTIN VAN BUREN

Eighth President,
March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1841

Franklin P. Rice, 1882:

MARTIN VAN BUREN, the Eighth President, was born at Kinderhook, New York, December 5th, 1782.  He was educated at the academy of his native town, and studied law.  He served in the State Senate in 1812 and 1816, and was Attorney General of New York in 1815.  He was a prominent advocate of the War of 1812.  Mr. Van Buren was a United States Senator from 1820 to 1828, and was then chosen Governor.  General Jackson appointed him Secretary of State in 1829; and two years later nominated him Minister to England.  To spite the President, the Senate refused to confirm the last appointment.  In 1833 he was elected Vice President and in 1837 succeeded Jackson as President.  His re-election was defeated in 1841.  He had a majority of the votes in the National Democratic Convention of 1844, but was rejected because he opposed the admission of Texas.  The Free Soil Party nominated him as their candidate in 1848.  He died July 24th, 1862.

            Mr. Van Buren was an eminently successful politician.  As a manager he has had few equals.  His ambition for the Presidency was manifest in early life, and he pursued an undeviating and almost unobstructed course to that end.  In his methods he was non-commital rather than tricky.  As a public man he ranks well, and his administration was respectable.  His private life was above reproach.  He remained faithful to the Democratic Party through life, and voted for Pierce and Buchanan, but at the breaking out of the Rebellion gave his support to the Government.  While in active life he commanded more attention, perhaps, than any other man of his time, General Jackson excepted; but to-day his name is faded almost out of remembrance.

Henry W. Rugg, 1888:

IN THE story of the Presidents of the United States there occur several chapters which record fewer stirring events or memorable issues than are found in the other, perhaps more interesting pages.  These lives, less notable in their attainments, influence, however, the progress of nations, just as the constant dropping of a tiny, noiseless stream eventually wears away the rock which the volcanic eruption had left untouched in its path of destruction.  So a nation needs the quiet lives to weave into its history; the men of earnest convictions and wise statesmanship who impress their individuality upon epochs, just as much as it requires its dashing, military heroes, who appeal more strongly to the admiration of the general public.  Thus the life of Martin Van Buren, eighth President of this Republic, affords little material for the graphic writer to indulge in romantic, sensational biography, if he seeks truthfully to depict the career of one who most distinguished himself in intellectual and political achievements.

            Mr. Van Buren, Martin’s father, kept the village tavern in the old town of Kinderhook, on the banks of the Hudson River, and made that inn a popular resort of the traveler because of the hearty good-humor displayed by the genial proprietor, whose ancestors were numbered among the earliest settlers of the region, the well-to-do families from Holland who made their homes on the shores of that noble stream.  The mother of the future President was also of Dutch origin, having an intelligent, well-trained mind – a superior woman for those early times.  The boy, Martin, born December 5, 1782, was educated amid these influences, and inherited, doubtless, a love for mental acquirements, as well as that imperturbable good humor which characterized the father and descended to the son, although, perhaps, in a more refined form.  There was a basis of character inherited, good habits early inculcated, and all liking for study encouraged, so that Martin Van Buren early developed a quick perception, a ready wit, scholarly tendencies, and a genial, pleasant manner.  He attended the academy of Kinderhook, making such rapid progress while there that he was fitted to enter college, in an advanced class, at an unusually early age.  He decided not to do this, however, but devote himself entirely to his law studies and enter upon the profession which he had chosen.  At first he studied

Martin Van Buren
by Ezra Ames, c. 1828

in a law office at Kinderhook; afterwards he went to New York City, where he continued his student life under the direction of William P. Van Ness, until the year 1803, when he returned to his native town, beginning there his practice in the legal profession.

            Although as a lawyer Mr. Van Buren was energetic, prompt, and suave, soon gaining the reputation as an able advocate which he highly prized, he was a natural politician, having political instincts and likings from the first.  The tavern-keeper of Kinderhook had been an ardent Republican, so that the son imbibed a strong attachment to Jefferson, to the political principles and policy of that great leader, together with the feeling that every true man must hold opinions and be actively interested in whatever

Martin Van Buren
by John Vanderlyn

pertains to the good of his country.  The intelligent knowledge thus acquired upon the great questions of the day, while not interfering with the pursuits of his profession, prepared him for the career of public service which he was soon destined to undertake.

            His growing reputation as a lawyer led him to seek larger opportunities for the use of his talents, so he removed, in the year 1809, to Hudson, the shire-town of his county.  In this year he had assumed the responsibilities of a married man, his talented wife contributing much to his happiness during the twelve years longer allotted her on earth.  Her death, of consumption, after this comparatively brief period of married life, was a great blow to Mr. Van Buren, and the unusual buoyancy of his earlier nature failed to entirely reassert itself.  During the period of his life in Hudson, certainly a happy time for the young husband and successful lawyer, Mr. Van Buren won many friends, attracted to him by his talents, his intellectual abilities, his courteous, affable manners.

            In 1812 his public career may be said to have had its beginning in an election to the State Senate.  He was appointed Attorney-General in 1815, soon after moving his residence to Albany, a more central location for the performance of the duties incident to that honorable position.  While undertaking these services of public trust, Mr. Van Buren was actively interested in political affairs, exerting upon them a somewhat powerful

Martin Van Buren
by Francis Alexander, c. 1830 - 1840

influence.  He was not a strict adherent to party, and received, in consequence, the accusation of inconstancy.  He was, however, always true to his ardent democratic principles, which sometimes carried him away from his party associates, and what appeared to be the popular feeling.  Thus he warmly favored “restricted suffrage,” maintaining that, while the privilege of voting should be open for the acquirement of every citizen, there ought, however, to be pre-requisite qualities of intelligence, morality, and the possession of, at least, a small amount of property.  A division of the Democratic party occurred in 1818, and Mr. Van Buren became a leader of the majority section, often designated as the “Albany Regency,” which was a controlling force in New York politics for a quarter of a century.

            When, in the year 1821, Mr. Van Buren was elected United States Senator, his abilities as a statesman brought him speedy recognition among the foremost leaders of political affairs.  He was unrelenting in opposition to the administration, in favor of “state rights,” as antagonistic to the federal views entertained by President Adams.  Mr. Van Buren showed himself a wise legislator, possessed of a sound judicial mind, throughout his services in the Senate, being re-elected to that body in 1827.  He resigned his seat soon after, in the year 1828, to assume his duties as governor of New York, having been elected to fill that responsible position.

            In the presidential contest of 1828, the name of Van Buren had prominent place.  He was influential in forming and carrying out plans to defeat President Adams, giving all the force of his attainments and talents to aid in the election of General Jackson.  None were more instrumental in pressing the claims of “Old Hickory,” as opposed to the so-called “effeminate” John Quincy Adams, than Mr. Van Buren; none were able to render more intelligent, well-defined assistance.  General Jackson, appreciating the value of these services, invited his warm adherent to accept the position of Secretary of State.

            During the administration of President Jackson the powerful influence of Mr. Van Buren made itself felt.  The Secretary of State was affable to friend and foe alike, capable of quickly grasping the bearings of any measure, or understanding any situation of affairs, so that his services were of great value to the government.  His extraordinary talents and energy displayed at this time, made

Martin Van Buren
by Henry Inman, c. 1837 - 1838

evident his fitness for the office of President, and the idea of his candidacy became probable.  Mr. Jackson, as a matter of course, urged the claims of his friend Van Buren, who had so aroused, however, the enmity of Mr. Calhoun and others, that when he was appointed by the President in 1831, Minister to England, the Senate refused to ratify the nomination.  Before this Mr. Van Buren had proceeded to England and had been received there with much enthusiasm.  After his rejection he returned to his native land and became a candidate for the office of Vice-President, to which office he was elected at the time President Jackson was chosen for a second term.  Thus he was soon called to preside over the Senate which had refused to confirm his appointment as Minister to England.

            In 1836 Mr. Van Buren received the Democratic nomination for President, and was elected by a considerable majority.  His inauguration, on the 4th of March, 1837, specially brilliant in its various features, was witnessed by an immense concourse of people.  His inaugural address, which gave general satisfaction, was particularly pleasing to the friends of the retiring President, as it indicated the purpose of Mr. Van Buren to continue the line of policy marked out by his immediate predecessor.  The whole country had confidence in the conspicuous abilities of President Van Buren, whose experience and acquisitions made him so eminently fitted for the duties he was called to discharge.  But times of trial and peril were at hand, for soon there swept over the land a financial storm of unprecedented severity.  There was a revulsion of national prosperity, and a dark and threatening condition of affairs.  Foreign complications, Indian wars, the growing excitement in regard to the slavery question, added to the depression of business, the suspension of specie payments by the banks, and the clamors of the extremely poor then out of employment, created a feeling of dismay throughout the country.  President Van Buren, called to fill the presidential office at a time beset by so many and such great difficulties, was unable to make his administration fruitful in the ways he desired.  He was a candidate for re-election; but public sentiment grew strong against him, and his rival, William Henry Harrison, was chosen in the earnest campaign of 1840.  Four years later the many friends of Mr. Van Buren pressed his name upon the Democratic nominating convention, but Mr. Polk bore off the honor.  In 1848 the “Free-Soil” party placed him in nomination, and he received a considerable popular support in the Northern States.  His life was that of a private citizen, however, from the time of his retirement from the presidency, but not by any means unduly limited or unpleasant.  He died at Lindenwald, July 24, 1862.

            While serving in the capacity of Minister to the Court of St. James, Mr. Van Buren was presented with a silver gilt dessert service, which was afterwards used in administering the hospitality of the White House.  This President of the Republic was often criticised because of his liking for luxurious appointments, and his well-known fondness for the refinements of cultured society.  One of the men whom he frequently entertained at the Executive Mansion, joined in the attacks, laying great stress in his speeches against the President, upon the “gold spoons.”  Some one asked Mr. Van Buren if he really used, as had been alleged by the speaker, “gold spoons.”  “He ought to know,” was the answer, “for he has often had them in his mouth.”

            Another incident, connected with Mr. Van Buren’s Ministry to England, illustrates his calm, urbane bearing, which no calamity,

Martin Van Buren
by Daniel Huntington, c. 1862

reverse of fortune, or unexpected defeat, could change.  When the news reached him that the United States Senate had refused to ratify his appointment, he was enjoying the social pleasures of a large gathering in one of the prominent London homes.  He showed no traces of the disappointment he must have felt at such a proof of enmity, or at least disapproval of his political views, but moved through the rooms with his usual gracious manner, his friendly words for all, his tact in selecting topics of conversation, always betraying his wonted self-possession.

            Popularity is gained when one assumes or feels an interest in the affairs of all human beings.  Mr. Van Buren had that suave manner, as he listened to the most uninteresting details, that spoke of sympathy in whatever was being said, so that each man felt himself honored by personal regard and concern.  Another element entered into the popularity which distinguished this illustrious man; it was that trait of joyousness which, descending from the genial tavern-keeper of Kinderhook to his eldest born, clung to his life throughout all its changing scenes of joy or sorrow.  The world always admires this happy nature, one of heaven’s greatest gifts.  As a modern poet truly writes:

“Laugh, and the world laughs with you,
Weep, and you weep alone.”

There is much that is agreeable to linger over in a contemplation of this statesman who occupied the presidential chair, but it must not be forgotten that these outward gifts which made charming a personality, had a foundation of upright character, good habits, a pure life, an active intelligence, and talents of a high order.  Without this basis of real worth, President Van Buren would never have occupied the high office as President, or commanded the respect which his name inspires.

Martin Van Buren
by George P. A. Healy, 1858