Martin Van Buren (/væn ˈbjʊərən/ van BEWR-ən; born Maarten Van Buren; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. He was the first president to have English as a second language – his mother tongue was Dutch – and the first born after the United States had declared its independence from Great Britain. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1821 and supported William H. Crawford in the 1824 presidential election. Led by Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President Calhoun, the other cabinet wives refused to pay courtesy calls to the Eatons, receive them as visitors, or invite them to social events. As a widower, Van Buren was unaffected by the position of the cabinet wives. Van Buren at first sought to conciliate the divide in the cabinet, but most of the leading citizens in Washington continued to snub the Eatons.
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