BACKGROUND
Martin Van Burean was:
Born on: December 5, 1782 in Kinderhook, New York
Nickname: "The Little Magician," and "The Red Fox
of
Kinderhook"
School: Kinderhook Academy (graduated 1796)
Religon: Dutch Reformed
Career: Lawyer
Writings: Inquiry into the Origin and Course of
Political
Parties in the United States (1867); The
Autobiography of
Martin Van Buren (1920), ed. by John
C. Fitzpatrick
Died: July 24, 1862, Kinderhook, New York
Buried: Kinderhook Cemetery, Kinderhook, New York
Height: 5 feet, 6 inches
Martin Van Buren was a humble man. President Andrew
Jackson thought of him to be, "a true man with no guile."
FAMILY
Parents:
Abraham Van Buren & Maria Hoes
Wife:
Hannah Hoes Van Buren (died 12
after marriage) (distant relative)
Children: four sons
Abraham Van Buren
John Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Smith Van Buren
Wife of Martin Van Buren,
Hannah Hoes Van Buren
POLITICAL RISE TO PRESIDENCY
We know that Martin Van Buren was perusing a career as a
lawyer, but as he was surrounded by Politicians and Federalists that
his father served and supported, he then became more fond of the
life of politics as we was more exposed to it.
Van Buren wasn't able to be sent to college, but he ended up
obtaining a job as a clerk in a law office where he was able to study
law independently. After all the studying and becoming a lawyer, he
joined the Democratic-Republicans and this was the start of his
political career. With this start, he became a minor county official.
Over time, Martin Van Buren was gradually showing the
characteristics that would set him up for American politics which
allowed people to admire him. Since Martin Van was a highly skilled
politician this helped him become a given candidate as well.
Unfailingly polite and thoroughly shrewd, Van Buren proved an
adept politician, negotiating the fractious political environment of
New York state's Democratic-Republican party.
PIRATES
•
POLITICAL
> President from 1837-1841
> Before his presidency, he served as the eighth Vice
President (1833–1837) and the 10th Secretary of State
under Andrew Jackson.
•
As a New York politician, he was set on
building political organization of his fellow
Democratic Republicans having that stressed
unity, loyalty, and fealty to Jeffersonian poltical
•
parties.
• Van Buren moved from the New York State
Senate, to the New York attorney general's office,
and then to the U.S. Senate.
• When Jackson became President, he named Van
Buren secretary of state, in recognition of the
New Yorker's political acumen and his service
during the 1828 election.
Van Buren takes victory in the presidential
election of 1836 as he promised to uphold the
policies of Andrew Jackson. However, Martin
entered to a rude welcoming as he was left to
face and combat with "Panic of 1837" and one of
the worst depressions to follow after. These
troubles became his main concern, presenting
his beliefs in the principles of a limited federal
government, defense of states rights, and
protection of the "people" from the "powerful.
Van Buren played key roles in the creation of
both the Democratic Party and the so-called
"second party system" in which Democrats
competed with their opponents, the Whigs. In
these ways, Van Buren left an impossibly
removable mark on American politics.
PIRATES
INTELLECTUAL
RELIGION -
• The Whigs portrayed and ridiculed
Van Buren as fussy, aristocratic,
and unmanly.
•
•
• Martin Van Buren served only one
term as President, and those four
years were marked as much by
failure and criticism as by success
and popular acclaim.
•
Martin Van Buren was Dutch Reformed.
Dutch Reformed - founded by the Dutch settlers
in New York in 1628 and renamed the
Reformed Church in America in 1867. The
Reformed Churches separated from the Roman
Catholic church.
The churches seeked “to strike a balance
between accepting people the way they are and
encouraging them to live by Christian standards
of fidelity, forgiveness, and growth.”
• Van Buren's troubled presidency,
though, should not overshadow his
significant contributions to American
political development.
Third Building of the Dutch Reformed Church in
Bergen constructed circa 1841.
PIRATES
ART/CULTURE
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1837- Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-
TECHNOLOGY
1837
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Samuel Morse shows his telegraph to Congress
Thomas Davenport controls the first practical electrical
motor
William Crompton copyrights the silk power loom
William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone copyrights their
electromagnetic telegraph
Isambard Kingdom Brunel's steamship, SS Great Western,
is now in use
Lebrun publishes the second volume
of her memoirs
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1839- Sir Edwin Landseer - Dignity
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and Impudence
1839- Carl Spitzweg - The Poor Poet
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1840- Nelson's column is erected
in Trafalgar Square, London.
1838
1841- Nelson's column is erected
• David Bruce, Jr., invents the Pivotal Typecaster, which
in Trafalgar Square, London.
took over the hand typecasting in printing
1839
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Invention of the bicycle was created by Kirkpatrick
Macmillan
Invention of the fuel cell was created by William Grove
The first photograph was taken in America
PIRATES
ECONOMICS
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Van Buren rejected his Whig
opposition's suggestion that he
support a National Bank, which the
Whigs believed could oversee and
stabilize the nation's economy.
The President blamed the depression
on powerful monied interests at home
and abroad, and proposed that the
federal government deposit its funds
in an independent treasury, rather than
in state banks.
While Van Buren and Congress
argued about the merits of the
independent treasury, the nation's
economic troubles continued.
SOCIAL
• Unhappy with the politics and
policies of President John Quincy
Adams, Van Buren aligned himself
instead with Andrew Jackson, the
immensely popular war hero who
wanted a return to the Jeffersonian
policies of minimalist government.
• Van Buren quickly became one of
Jackson's trusted advisers and
friends, even though the two men's
political views were not always "on
the same page."
KEY DOMESTIC POLICY ISSUES
• Martin Van Buren did only a little bit to help the poor
• A response to the depression Van Buren created the
Independent Treasury System
• Van Buren rejected his Whig oppposition's suggestion that
he support a National Bank, blaming the depression on
monied interests and proposed that the federal
government deposit its funds in an independent treasury,
rather than in state banks. This finally became authorized
in the summer of 1840, but during the argument, the
nation's economic troubles continued.
• Van Buren managed to hault talk of annexing Texas by
announcing his argument to such a move.
FOREIGN POLICY
• United States isolated itself from the revolutions that was going around
Europe
• In 1840 there was a rebellion abroad the Spanish ship that was coming from
Africa to the United States. The blacks that were on board thought that they
will become citizens but instead they are trailed by the Supreme Court under
the permission of the Spanish Government. Then the blacks were sent back
to Africa without any harm.
• His main foreign policy concerns were the growing tensions between the
United States and Great Britain over the border between the United States
and Canada. Van Buren ignored calls from some Americans to respond to
Canadian and British provocations with force, working instead successfully
through diplomatic channels to calm tensions in the region. Van Buren's
measured approach to the northern border problems, however, only earned
him the enmity of those who urged a more aggressive response.
In this piece of art, it shows many of the other events that happened during Van
Buren's years as our eighth president.
“It is easier to do
a job right than
to explain why
you didn't.”
- Martin Van Buren
POLITICAL CARTOON
The "Little Magician" in this cartoon is shown to always
follow the popular shawdow of Andrew Jackson.
MAP OF NATION HISTORICAL SITE
MARTIN VAN BUREN'S
NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
• You can find and even visit Martin Van
Buren's National Historic site in
Kinderhook, New York City.
• To enter the national park, there is a
mandatory entrance fee and there is
opportunity for reservations as well.
o Individuals - $5.00 for 7 days
o Families - $ 12.00 for 7 days
o It is recommended to make a reserved
day to visit the landmark.
• Within this national landmark, there are
many museum collections and many tours.
CHARTS
chart found on: http://www.americanheritage.com/people/presidents/vanburen_martin.shtml
Successes and Failures
SUCCESSES
• Van Buren was one of the main keys to
leading to the Democratic Party today
which also gave him the title of "the
Father of Democratic Party".
• Although he his wife passed away and
he did not get the chance to have her
as his first lady while being president,
he had to opportunity to hand over
the stop to his daughter-in-law.
• Since more than 900 banks had been
closing down,to fight this Van Buren
made sure to ensure the safe deposit
funds in the Independent Treasury .
FAILURES
• The depression altered his presidential
term for the worst.
• After a very shaky first term, Van
Buren wanted to run for presidency
again for his second term, but was
shut down twice because of the
outcome of his first presidential term.
"ONE WORD" SLIDE
Sufficient
We believe that Martin Van Buren was a great President and man,
performing at the best of his abilities with his presidential term.
However, because of the time period of his presidency, the stress of
the depression seemed to have lowered his self-esteem, resulting in
the people's critiques, unsatisfied with him being the nation's
leader. Being considered an "okay" president, Van Buren's sufficient
work led to his loss in the next two candidacies as we expected and
desired someone who would take better control and motive in
helping our country.
OPINION
We believe, as a group, that Martin Van Buren was a great president,
but he did have his flaws in during his presidency. We understand how the
country could not re-elect him as president because of his unsuccessful
term in the office. We agree that he did try his best, given that he entered
during a very difficult time with the depression and Panic ocurring,
however, we also agree that he could have done better just as those who
did elect him as president at the time believed so. Many had hope in him as
he was a great political leader, which he could have contributed to his
presidency, but they have over-estimated with their high expectations to
solve the nation's problems. Although, we agree that Martin played a great
role in the building of the Democtratic Party, which is now one of the
important parties today in our great nation. We don't believe that he would
survive today as president with our recession similar to the depression he
faced during his time.. If everyone is looking down on our own President
Obama today about the recession, imagine how Martin Van Buren's
presidency would be judged, being deja vu for him.
CABINET MEMBERS
Vice President: Richard M. Johnson (1837-41)
Secretary of State: John Forsyth (1837-41)
Secretary of the Treasury : Levi Woodbury (1837-41)
Secretary of War: Joel R. Poinsett (1837-41)
Attorney General: Benjamin F. Butler (1837-38)
Felix Grundy (1838-39)
Henry D. Gilpin (1840-41)
Postmaster General : Amos Kendall (1837-40)
John M. Niles (1840-41)
Secretary of the Navy: Mahlon Dickerson (1837-38)
James K. Paulding (1838-41)
POST-PRESIDENTIAL ACTIVITIES
Martin Van Buren wanted to run for another term in 1840, but was
defeated by William Henry Harrison. Van Buren ended up trying
again in 1844 and 1848 but lost both of those elections. So, he
decided to retire from public life in New York, but he did serve as
electors for Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. He traveled a lot
and even took a trip to Europe. He spent time with his surviving
children and grandchildren and he found them to be a delight. Van
Buren was still alive during the coming of the Civil War and he
supported President Lincoln's decision to resist secession with force.
After those times, he ended up dying of heart failure on July 2, 1862
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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"Martin Van Buren". The White House. 01/04/09
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/martinv
anburen>.
"American President: Martin Van Buren". Miller Center
of Public Affairs. 01/04/09
<http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/v
anburen>.
"Martin Van Buren". USA-Presidents. 01/04/09
<http://www.usa-presidents.info/vanburen.htm>.
"Visual Evidence". NPS. 01/04/09
<http://www.nps.gov/history/nR/twh/wwwlps/lessons/3
9vanburn/39visual4.htm>
"What is the Reformed Church". Got Questions.
01/04/09 <http://www.gotquestions.org/Reformedchurch.html>.
"Martin Van Buren". Potus. 01/24/09
<http://www.potus.com/mvanburen.html>.
"Martin Van Buren quotes". Think Exist. 01/24/09
<http://thinkexist.com/quotes/martin_van_buren/>
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"The Eighth President". American Heritage.
01/24/09
<http://www.americanheritage.com/people/pr
esidents/vanburen_martin.shtml>
"Martin Van Buren". A.P.E.. 01/24/09
<http://library.thinkquest.org/11492/cgibin/pres.cgi/vanburen_martin?263,14>.
"Martin Van Buren". About. 01/24/09
<http://americanhistory.about.com/od/mar
tinvanburen/p/pvanburen.htm>.
"Martin Van Buren". Nation Park Service.
01/28/10
<http://www.nps.gov/mava/index.htm>.
PICTURES
• http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l301/arlington_2005/Blog_Photos/MartinVanBuren
.jpg
• http://cariart.tripod.com/Martin_Van_Buren.jpg
• http://westwardbound.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/225px-martin_van_buren_edit.jpg
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http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4OYGjUrdllo/SQvBZk9tZtI/AAAAAAAAJXA/ud3nlx4han8/s400/martin-vanburen.png
http://www.sammler.com/stamps/images/martin-van-buren-stamp.jpg
http://www.thegenealogytree.com/us-presidents/images/8mv_header_sm.jpg
http://www.internetstones.com/image-files/hanna-van-buren-wife-of-president-martin
-van-buren.jpg
http://www.aboutfamouspeople.com/images/5008Admin.jpg
http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Images/O_Images/Old_Bergen_Church_Third_Building_photo
_PS_small.jpg
TEAM MEMBERS
Deniza Sabio, Maryan Dimatulac, Brittney Sia, and MARTIN VAN BUREN!