Martin Van Buren

**Martin Van Buren** (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 17th and 19th president of the United States in 1844, and from 1847 to 1849. A co-founder of the Agrarian Party, Free Soil Party, and the Democratic Party (1849), he had previously served as the Governor of New York, Senator of New York, Secretary of the Treasury, and Vice President under John C. Calhoun's administration.

## Early Life

Van Buren was born as Maarten Van Buren on December 5, 1782, in Kinderhook, New York. Van Buren received a basic education at the village schoolhouse, and briefly studied Latin at the Kinderhook Academy and at Washington Seminary in Claverack. Van Buren was raised speaking primarily Dutch and learned English while attending school.

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. By 1808, Van Buren's legal practice continued to flourish, and he traveled all over the state to represent various clients. In 1812, Van Buren won his party's nomination, and eventually the general election, for a seat in the New York State Senate. 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.

## Governor of New York

Van Buren served as governor from 1816 to 1820. Elected in the 1816 election, Van Buren oversaw the "Era of Good Feelings" during his term as Governor, when Elbridge Gerr was President. He, like Gerr, aimed to implement moderate reforms to maintain the nation's stability. He also stressed on increasing liberty for the average New Yorker.

## Senator of New York

In 1821, Van Buren was chosen by the State Legislature to represent New York in the United States Senate. Van Buren arrived in Washington during the Quincy Adams administration, marked by extreme tensions between political factions and an unstable political system as a result of the Battle of Washington DC. He was easily re-elected as Senator in 1824 and 1828.

## 1824 Election

Van Buren ran in the 1824 as a populist, and an alternative to the moderation of John Quincy Adams and James Monroe. He chose Abraham Johnston, a general and a Senator from Kentucky. Although the Monroe administration was moderately popular, Van Buren and Johnston's populist and enthusiastic tone helped bring in a lot of voters. He was narrowly defeated in the election, with 46.49% of the vote, and 105 electoral votes. He was 2% behind Monroe in the popular vote, and only 4 votes behind in the Electoral College.

His running mate would ultimately win against Monroe in the 1828 election.

## Great American War

In August of 1823, just 2 months after the Battle of Washington D.C, while the American capital was being rebuilt from the devastating fight, President Adams received a declaration of war from Texas President Stephen F. Austin. Van Buren volunteered to become a general in 1824. He famously led the "Van Buren Boys", a militia made up of civilians. He marched all the way from New York to South Carolina, and his numbers were estimated to be around 40k. His militia successfully defeated the Texans in the Carolinas. After his victory, the militia traveled South to aid the other troops in the Deep South. The war ended in 1830 with an American victory.

## Return to the Senate

Van Buren was elected as Senator in 1832 and 1836. During his time as Senator, he was instrumental in his efforts in creating the Free Soil Party. He was also a leading opposition figure against President Vanderbilt. He supported Julius Pope's bid for the Presidency in 1836.

## Vice Presidency and the Civil War

The American Civil War was a military conflict in the United States between the Union (states that chose to remain in the United States) and the Confederacy of the Southern Republic (states that chose to secede from the United States) over the issue of President John Livingston and his unilateral decree to free all slaves. Van Buren, again, volunteered to fight in the war. He led troops to retake Kentucky and Williamson, which were mostly successful. In 1839, President John C. Calhoun appointed Van Buren as Vice President. He was re-elected as Vice President in 1840.

## 17th President

President Calhoun made an official announcement, indicating that he wanted to "quit" in 1837. The meaning of this was ambiguous, but many assumed that he had resigned. Van Buren took the oath of office, and became President on December 7th, 1844. However, a day later, Calhoun would argue against Van Buren in the court case "**Calhoun v. Van Buren, 1844**". The Supreme Court ultimately decided that Calhoun did not resign, forcing Van Buren to step down, only 2 days after he took office.

## First Administration

Calhoun formally resigned on October 1847 due to his declining health. Van Buren took office, and signed an executive order as his first act, that ended federal enforcement of segregation. Unbeknownst to him, this move was extremely controversial among the South. Half of the Democratic-Agarians left the party and formed the Unitary Democratic Party, a radical Southern party that advocates for federal segregation.

During the Democratic National Convention of 1848, prominent members of the Unitary Democratic Party suddenly rejoined the party, suddenly making James K. Polk of North Carolina the likely nominee. Van Buren expelled various members of the party as a response, leading to Polk leaving the party. After this incident, Van Buren began to work with Federalist Republicans and Independents, a move that seemed surprising.

In Early 1848, Van Buren pushed for the confirmation of former Federalist Republican Thomas Ferry as Supreme Court justice. This move was favored by many, and Ferry was successfully confirmed. He also signed the America-Choson Treaty of 1848, which strengthened the relations between the two countries.

His first administration also coincided with the California Gold Rush. He passed an act that built a railway that linked the Gerr Line with California, called the Burr Line. This drastically improved transportation to California, allowing the economy to rapidly grow.

## 1848 Election

Van Buren was the Democratic-Agrarian candidate, running in support of the complete purchase of the Baja territory from Mexico and the removal of regulation on gold mining in the California Territory. He is apart of the "Pro Privates" wing of the Democratic-Agrarians, who support the private mining of gold. His running mate is Franklin Pierce, a former U.S Senator from New Hampshire.

He barely got into the second round, where he ran against James K. Polk, his former ally. Due to a general dislike against Pope by Federal-Republicans and People's Union members, Van Buren won in a landslide, receiving 212 electoral votes, against Polk's 50. He chose Polk as Vice President, in an attempt to reunite the country.

## Second Administration

The second Van Buren administration began with a rocky start, with a massive Federalist-Republican sweep in the house bringing the join Democratic Unitary-Agrarian coalition to just 77/199 seats. The coalition narrowly edged out a victory in the Senate.

Van Buren signed an executive order in 1849, pulling back federal troops stationed in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina intended for reconstruction. A few months later, he pulled back troops from South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, officially ending reconstruction.

He also signed an act that admitted California into the union as a state, and signed the Enforcement Act. This act punished groups that inflicted violence, or groups that blocked people from voting. This reduced the size of the growing KKK.

## 1849 Special Election

Despite the deal between Van Buren and Polk, Polk remained adamant there was fraud present in the 1848 election. Through his months as Vice President, he began looking into the 1848 election, suspecting fraud due to "Inconsistent Voting". In July, 1849, he filed litigation. The main argument Polk presented centered around the state of Pennsylvania, for which Polk won with 49.3% of the vote to Van Buren's 48.4% in the first round. Polk argued Van Buren cheated his way to victory by offering cabinet positions to high level members of the Rose Party in exchange for votes, along with cooperating with the Governor of Pennsylvania in order to forge Van Buren ballots and remove Polk ballots. Van Buren replied by saying that this was simply a result of the two-rounded system that was in place.

The Supreme Court, in a surprise ruling, sided with Polk, using powers granted to them under President Burr to recall the 1848 election.

Van Buren ultimately lost this election, only carrying the State of New York.

## Retirement and Death

In his final speech as President, he announced his retirement from politics, and the merge of the Democratic-Agrarian and Unitary Democratic parties into the Democratic Party. He moved back to Kinderhook, New York, and lived there for a few years.

However, in early 1852, Van Buren was told that he was nominated by President Aurelius Percival Harrison to be a Supreme Court justice. He accepted the nomination, and went through the Senate hearings. He was confirmed in June, and became Associate Justice on June 1852, at age 70.

## Death

He died in 1862 in his home, in Kinderhook, New York.