MARTIN VAN BUREN,

THE EIGHTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

Was born in the flourishing town of Kinderhook, New York, September 5, 1782, and early received the best education that could then be obtained in the schools in his immediate vicinity. Having sufficiently prepared himself for the study of law, he entered the office of Francis Sylvester, in his native town, where he remained about six years. But law did not engross his whole time: he found leisure occasionally to peer into the mysteries of political economy, and finally arrived at the conclusion that his chances for fame and fortune were at least equal in the arena of politics to any thing he might accomplish by a strict adherence to legal pursuits. Fully impressed with this idea, he early set about cultivating what little popularity could be gained in his limited sphere, and so won upon the confidence of his neighbors and friends as to be appointed, while yet in his teens, a delegate to a convention in his native county, in which important political measures were to be acted upon.

In 1808, he was appointed Surrogate of Columbia County, the first public office he ever held; and in 1812 and 1816 he was elected to the State Senate, in which body he became a distinguished leader of the Madison party, and one of its most eloquent supporters.

In 1821, he was elected to the United States Senate, in which he held his seat for nearly eight years, and became remarkable not only for his close attention to business, but also for his devotion to the great principles of the Democratic party.

In 1828, he was elected Governor of his native State, and entered upon the duties of that office, on the first of January, 1829; but he filled the gubernatorial chair for only a few weeks. In March following, when General Jackson was elevated to the Presidency, he tendered Mr. Van Buren the post of Secretary of State, which was accepted. At the expiration of two years he resigned his seat in the Cabinet, and was immediately appointed minister to England; but when his nomination was submitted to the Senate (June 25, 1831) it was rejected by the casting vote of the Vice-President (Mr. Calhoun), and, of course, he was recalled. As his friends attributed his rejection to personal and political rancor, it only served to raise Mr. Van Buren in the estimation of his political adherents, and the result was that, in May following, he was nominated, with great unanimity, for the Vice-Presidency, by the Democratic Convention, at Baltimore. His triumphant election was regarded not merely as a high compliment to himself, but as a wholesome rebuke to his opponents.

In 1836, he was put in nomination for the chief magistracy, to which he was elected, by a large majority, over General Harrison; but, at the next Presidential election, the tables were turned, and he only received sixty votes out of two hundred and ninety-four.

After his defeat, he returned to Kinderhook, where he remained some time, and then visited Europe, with one of his sons, whose restoration to health was the principal object of his journey. Not long after his return he consented to become once more a candidate for the Presidency, and, in 1848, received the nomination of the Free-soil party, but did not secure a single electoral vote.

Election for the Thirteenth Term, commencing March 4, 1837, and terminating March 3, 1841.

A STATES. PRESIDENT. VICE-PRESIDENT.

B C D E F G H J K

10 Maine 10 10

7 New Hampshire 7 7

14 Massachusetts 14 14

4 Rhode Island 4 4

8 Connecticut 8 8

7 Vermont 7 7

42 New York 42 42

8 New Jersey 8 8

30 Pennsylvania 30 30

3 Delaware 3 3

10 Maryland 10 10

23 Virginia 23 23

15 North Carolina 15 15

11 South Carolina 11 11

11 Georgia 11 11

15 Kentucky 15 15

15 Tennessee 15 15

21 Ohio 21 21

5 Louisiana 5 5

4 Mississippi 4 4

9 Indiana 9 9

5 Illinois 5 5

7 Alabama 7 7

4 Missouri 4 4

3 Arkansas 3 3

3 Michigan 3 3

294 Whole No. of Electors 170 73 26 14 11 147⁠[5] 77 47 23

Majority148

COLUMN HEADINGS:

(A) = No. of Electors from each State.

(B) = Martin Van Buren, of New York.

(C) = Wm. H. Harrison, of Ohio.

(D) = Hugh L. White, of Tennessee.

(E) = Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts.

(F) = Willie P. Mangum, of North Carolina.

(G) = Rich’d M. Johnson, of Kentucky.

(H) = Francis Granger, of New York.

(J) = John Tyler, of Virginia.

(K) = William Smith, of Alabama.

Martin Van Buren, elected President, took the oath of office, and entered upon his duties, March 4, 1837.

Richard M. Johnson, elected Vice-President, took the oath of office, and attended in the Senate, March 4, 1837.

Urged by the unprecedented financial embarrassments which were experienced in every branch of industry, and especially by the mercantile class, Mr. Van Buren’s first measure was to convene a special meeting of Congress early in September, ’37, which continued in session forty days, but accomplished very little. A bill authorizing the issue of $10,000,000 in treasury notes was passed; but the Independent Treasury bill (the great financial measure of the administration) was then rejected, although afterwards (in 1840) adopted.