President Martin Van Buren: Biography

The future US president Martin Van Buren was born in 1782. He was born in the village of Kinderhuk. It was a Dutch place near New York. Father Martin was a slave owner and owner of a tavern. Several of his "presidential records" are connected with the origin of Van Buren. For example, he was the only American head of state whose mother tongue was not English, but Dutch. Also Martin Van Buren became the first president born in the new independent states.

Political career

In 1821, Van Buren was elected to the Senate. He ran from the Democratic Republican Party in New York. The basis of his political program was the criticism of high taxes and the proposal to give the states lands that belonged to the whole state.

Martin Van Buren was an ally 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 his colleagues. Because of this, two years later Jackson appointed him ambassador in London. Soon the politician returned to his homeland (this was demanded in the Senate). In 1832, Martin Van Buren again turned out to be a candidate for vice-presidents under Andrew Jackson. Democrats won the election. After this, Van Buren was the second person in the state for another four years.

Election as President

In 1836, Van Buren himself ran for presidency and, having defeated three opponents, became Jackson's successor. In office in the Oval Office he joined in March 1837. Van Buren retained in key public positions almost all the people that worked under his predecessor.

The new-old authorities had to cope with the consequences of the Panic of 1837 - an unofficial name was given to the economic crisis then unfolding in the United States. Problems reached their peak when, after five years of recession, several banks went bankrupt, and the unemployment rate reached record levels.

Problems and setbacks

As president, Martin Van Buren diligently defended low tariffs and free trade. He focused on the problems of the American South, whose support was decisive for maintaining the power of the democratic party. The head of state managed to create a system of bonds, 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 in views on ways to deal with economic problems. The direct consequence of this internal conflict was the failure of the president's attempt to realize the idea of the "Independent Treasury". According to Van Buren, it was needed by the country in order to separate state finances from unsustainable banks. In 1840, the split democratic party rejected the bill, which became a fatal political defeat of the owner of the White House.

The problem of slavery

While Van Buren was working in the Senate, he actively voted for anti-slavery initiatives (for example, for the Missouri not to be recognized as a slave state). All this gave the policy a certain reputation. In 1848 he could become a presidential candidate from the "Free Land Party" (advocating the complete abolition of slavery).

Despite the previous sequence, becoming the head of state, Van Buren changed his position somewhat. As president, he believed that slavery is not only sanctioned by the Constitution, but also inherently right. Already in retirement, he again criticized the bondage of the black population. Since Van Buren himself was actually a Dutchman, he learned from childhood to communicate with representatives of different ethnic and social groups. That is why, in many respects, he achieved success at an early stage of his political career, when he reached the White House with his own charm. During the presidency of Van Buren, there was a famous uprising of slaves on the ship "Amistad" (this event is dedicated to the eponymous film by Steven Spielberg).

The victory of Harrison

In 1840, Van Buren again became a candidate for a democratic party in the new elections. At the same time, the society continued to blame the president for the difficult situation in the economy and the inability to rectify this situation. Already, preliminary elections in municipalities have shown that the popularity of Democrats has fallen sharply. Nevertheless, Martin Van Buren, whose biography seemed most 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 there were two happiest days in his life: the day he entered the Oval Office, and the day he left it.

It is curious that the First Lady of the USA in 1837-1841. Was not the spouse of the first person, but his sister-in-law. Martin Van Buren, whose family survived the tragedy, back in 1819 became a widower after the death of his wife Hannah. The president had a 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.

Last years

After the loss of power, Van Buren made several more attempts to win the presidential election. They all failed. Although almost all opponents of slavery in the 1850s joined the new Republican Party, the former president did not do this and remained in the ranks of the Democrats. In 1852, he supported the nomination of Franklin Pierce, and in 1856 - James Buchanan.

When the Civil War began in the US, Van Buren publicly announced his loyalty to the Union (that is, the North States). He also became an associate of Lincoln, who tried to stop the split with the South. In 1861, the health of Van Buren began to deteriorate. In the autumn he fell ill with pneumonia. July 24, 1862, the politician died of asthma at the age of 79 years. The eighth US president was buried in his native Kinderhuk (there were buried all of his closest relatives).

It is curious that in history one more Martin Van Buren Bates remained famous. He was a phenomenal giant (with a height of 241 centimeters), who lived in the XIX century and became popular due to tours around the world. To confuse him with the president, however, is mistaken.