Martin Van Buren: From Kinderhook to the White House - The Education and Rise of a Statesman
Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of the United States, was a key figure in the formation of the Democratic Party and a prominent politician in the early 19th century. His journey from a Dutch-speaking village in New York to the highest office in the land is a testament to his political acumen and dedication. This article explores Van Buren's life, focusing on his education, early career, and rise to national prominence.
Early Life and Education
Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782, in Kinderhook, New York. Kinderhook was a predominantly Dutch community, and Dutch was Van Buren's first language, making him the only president to have spoken English as a second language. His father, Abraham Van Buren, owned an inn and tavern in Kinderhook and served as the town clerk for several years. Abraham was a Patriot during the American Revolution and later joined the Democratic-Republican Party.
Growing up in a family of modest means, Van Buren received limited formal education beyond a few sessions at the Kinderhook Academy. However, his path to becoming a lawyer began in 1796 when his parents apprenticed him to a lawyer.
Legal Apprenticeship and Early Career
Van Buren's introduction to formal study came in 1796 when his parents apprenticed him to a lawyer. While studying law, he developed an interest in politics, following his father's Democratic-Republican beliefs.
He initially studied law in the office of Peter Silvester. When Van Buren began his legal studies he wore rough, homespun clothing, causing the Silvesters to admonish him to pay greater heed to his clothing and personal appearance as an aspiring lawyer. He accepted their advice, and subsequently emulated the Silvesters' clothing, appearance, bearing, and conduct. The lessons Van Buren learned from the Silvesters were reflected in his career as a lawyer and politician, in which Van Buren was known for his amiability and fastidious appearance.
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The Silvesters and Democratic-Republican political figure John Peter Van Ness suggested that Van Buren's political leanings constrained him to complete his education with a Democratic-Republican attorney, so Van Buren spent a final year of apprenticeship in the New York City office of John Van Ness's brother William P. Van Ness, a political lieutenant of Aaron Burr. Van Ness introduced Van Buren to the intricacies of New York state politics, and Van Buren observed Burr's battles for control of the state Democratic-Republican party against George Clinton and Robert R.
Van Buren earned admission to the New York bar and commenced practicing law in 1802. He briefly practiced in New York City with William P. Van Ness before returning to Kinderhook in 1803 to open his own practice. Upon returning to Kinderhook in 1803, Van Buren formed a law partnership with his half-brother, James Van Alen, and became financially secure enough to increase his focus on politics. In 1807, he married his cousin Hannah Hoes, with whom he had four children. In 1808, the couple moved to Hudson, New York, where Van Buren became a prominent lawyer.
Entry into Politics
Van Buren's involvement in politics began early. Van Buren had been active in politics from age 18, if not before. In 1801, he attended a Democratic-Republican Party convention in Troy, New York, where he worked successfully to secure for John Peter Van Ness the party nomination in a special election for the 6th Congressional District seat.
In 1812, Van Buren won election to the New York State Senate. Though several Democratic-Republicans, including John Peter Van Ness, joined with the Federalists to oppose his candidacy, Van Buren won election to the state senate in mid-1812.
During the War of 1812, Van Buren worked with Clinton, Governor Tompkins, and Ambrose Spencer to support the Madison administration's prosecution of the war. In addition, he was a special judge advocate appointed to serve as a prosecutor of William Hull during Hull's court-martial following the surrender of Detroit. Anticipating another military campaign, he collaborated with Winfield Scott on ways to reorganize the New York Militia in the winter of 1814-1815, but the end of the war halted their work in early 1815. Van Buren was so favorably impressed by Scott that he named his fourth son after him.
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Van Buren's strong support for the war boosted his standing, and in 1815, he was elected New York Attorney General.
Rise to National Prominence
Van Buren's political career continued to ascend. In February 1821, the state legislature elected Van Buren to represent New York in the United States Senate. Van Buren arrived in Washington during the "Era of Good Feelings", a period in which partisan distinctions at the national level had faded. Van Buren quickly became a prominent figure in Washington, D.C., befriending Secretary of the Treasury William H. Crawford, among others. Though not an exceptional orator, Van Buren frequently spoke on the Senate floor, usually after extensively researching the subject at hand.
Van Buren chose to back Crawford over John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay in the presidential election of 1824. Crawford shared Van Buren's affinity for Jeffersonian principles of states' rights and limited government, and Van Buren believed that Crawford was the ideal figure to lead a coalition of New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia's "Richmond Junto". Nonetheless, Van Buren helped Crawford win the Democratic-Republican party's presidential nomination at the February 1824 congressional nominating caucus.
The 1824 elections dealt a severe blow to the Albany Regency, as Clinton returned to the governorship with the support of the People's party. By the time the state legislature convened to choose the state's presidential electors, results from other states had made it clear that no individual would win a majority of the electoral vote, necessitating a contingent election in the United States House of Representatives. While Adams and Jackson finished in the top three and were eligible for selection in the contingent election, New York's electors would help determine whether Clay or Crawford would finish third. Though most of the state's electoral votes went to Adams, Crawford won one more electoral vote than Clay in the state, and Clay's defeat in Louisiana left Crawford in third place. With Crawford still in the running, Van Buren lobbied members of the House to support him. He hoped to engineer a Crawford victory on the second ballot of the contingent election, but Adams won on the first ballot with the help of Clay and Stephen Van Rensselaer, a Congressman from New York. After the House contest, Van Buren shrewdly kept out of the controversy which followed, and began looking forward to 1828.
Van Buren's overarching goal at the national level was to restore a two-party system with party cleavages based on philosophical differences, and he viewed the old divide between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans as beneficial to the nation. Van Buren believed that these national parties helped ensure that elections were decided on national, rather than sectional or local, issues; as he put it, "party attachment in former times furnished a complete antidote for sectional prejudices".
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After the 1824 election, Van Buren was initially somewhat skeptical of Jackson, who had not taken strong positions on most policy issues. He also forged alliances with other members of Congress opposed to Adams, including Vice President John C. Calhoun, Senator Thomas Hart Benton, and Senator John Randolph. Seeking to solidify his standing in New York and bolster Jackson's campaign, Van Buren helped arrange the passage of the Tariff of 1828, which opponents labeled as the "Tariff of Abominations". Meanwhile, Clinton's death from a heart attack in 1828 dramatically shook up the politics of Van Buren's home state, while the Anti-Masonic Party emerged as an increasingly important factor. After some initial reluctance, Van Buren chose to run for Governor of New York in the 1828 election.
Hoping that a Jackson victory would lead to his elevation to Secretary of State or Secretary of the Treasury, Van Buren chose …
Governor, Secretary of State, and Vice President
In 1828, Van Buren won election as governor of New York, but he resigned when President Jackson appointed him secretary of state. It was in that capacity that he helped with the development of the Democratic Party. He was a strong supporter of the president and even sided with him in the Peggy Eaton Affair. However, the political dissent among Jackson's cabinet forced a change, and in 1831 Jackson reluctantly removed Van Buren and named him minister to the United Kingdom. Supporters of Vice-President John C. Calhoun, Van Buren's bitter rival, and the National Republicans blocked his appointment, but Van Buren returned to Washington in 1832 to replace Calhoun as Jackson's running mate in the presidential election of 1832. Van Buren won election as vice president and became Jackson's political heir apparent.
The Presidency
In the presidential election of 1836, Van Buren defeated four Whig Party candidates to become the eighth president of the United States. Although Van Buren was less expansionist than his predecessor, he carried out most of Jackson's policies, including the removal of Indians west of the Mississippi River. The removal of the Cherokee in 1838 led to the infamous Trial of Tears, while efforts to dislodge the Seminoles sparked the Second Seminole War, which was not resolved until after Van Buren left office. The Panic of 1837 and Van Buren's support of an independent treasury bill, which split the Democratic Party, cost him re-election in 1840.
Later Life and Legacy
Van Buren retired to Kinderhook, but not for long. In 1844, he was considered as a possible presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, but his opposition to Texas annexation kept him off the ballot. In 1848, he joined with the Barnburners in breaking with the Democratic Party and was a somewhat reluctant candidate for the presidency on the Free Soil Party ticket, garnering only 10 percent of the popular vote and no electoral votes. Van Buren returned to his Democratic Party, believing it was the Union's best hope. He endorsed the Compromise of 1850 and was disturbed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, but by then, his political star had faded. He died not knowing the final fate of the country he had served for fifty years.
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