The tomb of a forgotten president that deserves a little more credit.
Martin Van Buren, who?
One of our least famous presidents, Martin Van Buren has left an enduring mark on the United States. You just don’t realize it. Counties and towns bear his name and the political party he helped formed is still around today (in part). Maybe our 8th president deserves a little more credit.
Our 8th President, Martin Van Buren, mostly known today for his crazy mutton chops.
Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782, the first president born after the United States declared independence. He was our first native-born son to become president. Yet, his first language was not even English. Little Maarten van Buren was born in the small village of Kinderhook, New York, right smack dab in the middle of the former Dutch colony of New Netherland. This stronghold of Dutch culture stayed in the Hudson River Valley well up to the early 1800s, even though the colony became British territory in the late 17th century. Therefore, little Maarten grew up speaking Dutch as his native tongue.
Martin Van Buren did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was born and raised in his father’s tavern. Growing up in a tavern may have benefited Van Buren, making him astutely aware politics, if not the drunken ramblings of the local townsfolk. Due to his family’s financial situation, young Martin was only able to attend school until he was about 14. However, his ingenious mother was able to obtain an apprenticeship for him in a law office. There he was able to study law, a career that spawns many aspiring politicians.
Young Martin Van Buren. If this drawing wasn’t in black and white, you would know he had red hair, hence the nickname, “The Red Fox of Kinderhook”.
To say Martin Van Buren was a career politician is an understatement. He lived and breathed politics. His first foray into politics was as the Surrogate of Columbia County, New York, where he grew up. He moved quickly up the ranks, serving from 1812-1820 in the New York State Senate in Albany. During his Senate tenure, he also served as the New York State Attorney General, from 1815-1820. Yes, he was senator and attorney general at the same time. No one apparently saw a conflict with that arrangement.
Van Buren was not satisfied with just state politics, so he became a U.S. Senator in 1821, because why not? However, he did not stay a senator for very long. He just had to form a new political party to rise even further.
Van Buren’s most impressive achievement was being the leading architect of America’s first nationwide political party: the Democratic Party. Essentially the founder of the Democratic party, Van Buren is somehow a guy we forget about all the time! Old Kinderhook was so good at politicking that he was even able to get our first Democratic president elected, and admittedly, a crazy old, grizzled racist like Andrew Jackson must have been a hard sell, even then.
Our 7th president, Andrew Jackson, also known for his hair.
In order to get Jackson elected, he ran for office again, this time was New York State Governor. Long story short, he won and served a whole three and a half months. Van Buren got a new (and better) job offer, one that he had expected all along, Secretary of State. He still holds the New York record for the shortest term as Governor.
Martin Van Buren’s official governor’s portrait. Not even four months in office and he rates an official portrait.
Van Buren served many roles during the Jackson administration, Secretary of State, minster to Great Britain (after a spat with the current vice-president. John C. Calhoun) and vice-president in Jackson’s second term in office, setting him up to be the next president.
Truthfully, Van Buren really won because the opposing party, the Whigs, ran more than one candidate (a common practice at the time). Too many Whigs to vote for at once, meant that Van Buren won the most votes overall.
Van Buren’s term in office was a dismal, to say the least. It was promising to begin with, but the economy had been slumping since Jackson was in office. Van Buren inherited a bad situation and a few months into his presidency the Panic of 1837 happened (sound familiar?). It was the worst depression that had happened ever in this country at the time. Of course, everyone blamed him.
William Henry Harrison, a Whig, was his rival in the 1840 election. The Whigs had learned from their mistakes in the last election and only one Whig ran for the presidency. Harrison ran a tight campaign. He said that Van Buren was a wealthy elitist who had never had to work a day in his life, while Harrison was a poor country bumpkin that grew up with nothing. The truth was actually the exact opposite, but this is politics so who cares about the truth. With Harrison’s war on his character and the problems with the economy, Van Buren lost. He lost to a guy who would spend less time as president than he spent as governor. Fitting perhaps.
While he would never hold political office again, Van Buren still campaigned for multiple elections. He even ran for a different party in the 1848. His son John Van Buren had helped form the Free Soil Party and Martin was its first presidential candidate. It didn’t go well, and Van Buren finally retired from politics after the election.
Van Buren eventually settled down in his hometown of Kinderhook, New York. While he was still president, in 1839, he bought his 125-acre estate and named it Lindenwald. He had planned to retire here and become a gentleman farmer. After 1848, he spent most of the rest of his life on his estate, along with his four sons and their families.
The odd looking 36 room mansion that is Lindenwald, now part of Martin Van Buren National Historic Site.
Martin Van Buren passed away on July 24, 1862, at the age of 79 on his Lindenwald estate.
The simple tomb of a not so simple man.
Van Buren was buried in the same town he was born. Kinderhook’s famous son was buried in the Kinderhook Reformed Church Cemetery on the edge of town. A small obelisk marks the spot where he lies, engraved with the names of his wife, Hannah, and his son Martin Jr. who both pre-deceased him.
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