Here are some quick facts, opinions, quotes and other information on President Martin Van Buren.
Personal Information on Martin Van Buren:
- Eighth President (1837-1841)
- Birthday: December 5, 1782 (Thursday)
- Birthplace: Kinderhook, New York
- Birthplace Website: President Martin Van Buren’s Birthplace and Grave
- Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
- Date of Death: July 24, 1862 (Thursday)
- Place of Death: Kinderhook, New York
- Place of Burial: Kinderhook Cemetery, Kinderhook, New York
- Burial Website: President Martin Van Buren’s Birthplace and Grave
- Cause of Death: Asthma
- Age: 79 years old
- Length of Retirement: 7812 days
Interesting Martin Van Buren facts:
- Martin Van Buren, once bitten with the Presidential bug, couldn’t seem to get it out of his system. He was the popular Andrew Jackson’s Vice President. He would win the 1836 election for President pretty easily. He would garner 170 electoral votes (148 electoral votes were needed to win). The Whigs would use a strategy of running four candidates in different regions of the country. Their hope was this would split the vote (so no one would get a majority of the electoral votes) and send it to the House of Representatives. The strategy failed as the four other candidates were only successful in getting a total of 124 electoral votes added together (WH Harrison {73}, Hugh White {26}, Daniel Webster {14}, and WP Mangum {11}). Van Buren would lose his reelection bid in the election of 1840 to William Henry Harrison. In the election of 1844 he would lose a convention fight for the nomination. The Democrats would pick James K. Polk who would become President. He would try again, unsuccessfully, to run in 1848 as a candidate for the Free Soil Party. He would lose again.
- Martin Van Buren was baptized on December 15, 1782, ten days after he was born. His family was Dutch, so his was baptized as Maarten van Buren, the Dutch spelling of his name.
- Van Buren is the only President, to date, to speak English as a second language. His first language, the language he grew up on, was Dutch.
My favorite Martin Van Buren Quotes:
The less government interferes with private pursuits, the better for general prosperity.
It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn’t.
The national will is the supreme law of the Republic, and on all subjects within the limits of his constitutional powers should be faithfully obeyed by the public servant.
The government should not be guided by Temporary Excitement, but by Sober Second Thought.
As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it.
Martin Van Buren blogs (click the title to go to that page):
Martin Van Buren page on Presidential Crossroads (click “Martin Van Buren” below):
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren Blogs:
Erie Canal fight with DeWitt Clinton
What similiar trait do I have with the first ten Presidents
Personal thoughts on Martin Van Buren:
Strengths:
Knew how to work the political system, Had friends in high places
Weaknesses:
Very partisan, Never forgave enemies
Presidential Greatness Scale (1-poor to 5-great): 1
Comments:
Sorry, I’m just not a big Martin Van Buren fan. He did not just want to defeat his enemies, but he also wanted to destroy them. Much like politics today, Van Buren saw little room for other people’s opinions. The Panic of 1837 was followed by five years of depression, which President Van Buren really displayed no creativity in trying to overcome. Great Presidents take bold steps that succeed. Poor Presidents take bold steps that don’t succeed or are not good for the nation in the long run. Bad Presidents don’t do anything or disobey the law that they are supposed to execute. I don’t believe Van Buren broke any laws, but I also don’t believe he did anything to help things get better.
Favorite Martin Van Buren book:
Martin Van Buren – The Romantic Age of American Politics by John Niven
Favorite Martin Van Buren story:
Although I really don’t like Van Buren’s part in it, the story of the Erie Canal is probably my favorite story that involved him. He originally opposed it and did everything he could to try to make it not happen. When it was completed and was very popular, somehow, he took credit for its creation.
Most memorable Martin Van Buren memory:
I read a lot of Presidential biographies and autobiographies. I became real good friends with one of the customers I would stop by each week to get a shop order from. He was also really interested in history. He would ask me about what was going on in the lives of the President I was reading that week. Several of the Presidential biographies I read are quite long, so I would have new stuff to tell him about a President for several weeks. I would get to the end of one book and in most cases I would say, “It’s so sad. He died.” When I got to the end of the Martin Van Buren book, I told him, “I didn’t think he was ever going to die.”
Favorite Martin Van Buren possession (see picture at the top):
The old US President collector card I have of him.
