Future US President Martin Van Buren was born in 1782. He was born in the village of Kinderhoek. It was a Dutch place near New York. Martin's father was a slave owner and owner of a tavern. Several of his "presidential records" are linked to Van Buren's lineage. For example, he was the only American head of state whose mother tongue was not English, but Dutch. Martin Van Buren also became the first president born in the newly independent States.
Political career
In 1821, Van Buren was elected to the Senate. He ran for the Democratic-Republican Party in New York. The basis of his political program was a criticism of high taxes and a proposal to give the states the lands that belonged to the entire state.
Martin Van Buren was an associate of Andrew Jackson. When he became president of the United States in 1829, he made the senator secretary of state. Buren had many conflicts with colleagues. Because of this, two years later, Jackson appointed him ambassador to London. Soon the politician returned to his homeland (this was demanded in the Senate). In 1832, Martin Van Buren was once again running for vice president under Andrew Jackson. The Democrats won the election. After that, Van Burenfor four more years he was the second person in the state.
President Election
In 1836, Van Buren himself ran for president and, having defeated three opponents, became Jackson's successor. He took office in the Oval Office in March 1837. Van Buuren retained almost all the people who worked under his predecessor in key government positions.
The new-old government had to cope with the consequences of the Panic of 1837 - such an unofficial name was given to the economic crisis unfolding then in the United States. Trouble reached its peak when, after five years of recession, several banks failed in the country and unemployment reached record levels.
Problems and failures
As president, Martin Van Buuren has diligently defended low tariffs and free trade. His main focus was on the problems of the American South, whose support was crucial to keeping the Democratic Party in power. The head of state managed to create a bond system, the purpose of which was to regulate the national debt.
Despite Van Buren's efforts, his Democratic Party was in crisis. There was a split in it, caused by a divergence of views on how to deal with economic problems. A direct consequence of this internal conflict was the failure of the President's attempt to implement the idea of an "Independent Treasury". According to Van Buren, the country needed it in order to separate statefinance from unstable banks. In 1840, the divided Democratic Party rejected the bill, which was a fatal political defeat for the owner of the White House.
Slavery issue
While Van Buren served in the Senate, he actively voted for anti-slavery initiatives (for example, for Missouri not to be recognized as a slave state). All this gave the politician a certain reputation. In 1848, he could become a presidential candidate from the "Free Land Party" (which advocated the complete abolition of slavery).
Despite the previous sequence, becoming head of state, Van Buren changed his position somewhat. As president, he believed that slavery was not only sanctioned by the Constitution, but was inherently right. Already in retirement, he again criticized the bondage of the black population. Since Van Buuren himself was actually Dutch, he learned from childhood to communicate with representatives of different ethnic and social groups. That is why he achieved much success at an early stage of his political career, when, with the help of his own charm, he got to the White House. During Van Buren's presidency, the famous slave uprising on the ship Amistad took place (this event is the subject of the film of the same name by Steven Spielberg).
Harrison win
In 1840, Van Buren again became the candidate of the Democratic Party in new elections. At the same time, society continued to blame the President for the difficult situation in the economy.and failure to remedy this situation. Already the primaries in the municipalities have shown that the popularity of the Democrats has declined sharply. Nevertheless, Martin Van Buren, whose biography seemed acceptable to the majority of the party, remained a candidate for re-election to the White House.
The main opponent of the head of state was General William Harrison, who represented the Whigs. Van Buren was defeated. Saying goodbye to the White House, he said with relief that he had two of the happiest days in his life: the day he entered the Oval Office and the day he left.
It is curious that the First Lady of the United States in 1837-1841. was not the wife of the first person, but his daughter-in-law. Martin Van Buren, whose family survived the tragedy, became a widower in 1819 after the death of his wife Hannah. The president is survived by his son Abraham. His wife Angelica (daughter-in-law of the head of state) became the First Lady. This was an exceptional case in American history.
Recent years
After losing power, Van Buren made several more attempts to win the presidential election. They all failed. Although almost all antislavery opponents joined the new Republican Party in the 1850s, the former president did not and remained in the Democratic ranks. In 1852, he supported the nomination of Franklin Pierce, and in 1856, James Buchanan.
When the US Civil War broke out, Van Buren publicly declared his allegiance to the Union (i.e. the Northern States). He also became an ally of Lincoln, who was trying to stop the split with the South. In 1861Van Buren's he alth began to deteriorate. In the autumn he came down with pneumonia. On July 24, 1862, the politician died of asthma at the age of 79. The eighth president of the United States was buried in his native Kinderhook (all his immediate family were also buried there).
It is curious that another Martin Van Buren Bates has remained famous in history. He was a phenomenal giant (with a height of 241 centimeters), who lived in the 19th century and became popular thanks to tours around the world. Confusing him with the president, however, is a mistake.
