Van Buren, Martin. Early life. Childhood and education

Van Buren, Martin (1782-1862), ran for President three times but won only the first time. He served during the nation's first great depression, the Panic of 1837. The panic brought financial ruin and misery to millions. Many turned to the government for aid, but Van Buren refused to help. He believed in Thomas Jefferson's idea that government should play the smallest possible role in American life. 'The less government interferes," Van Buren explained, "the better for general prosperity."

Van Buren's erect bearing and high, broad forehead gave him a dignified appearance. He had served as Vice President under Andrew Jackson, and, as President, Van Buren inherited much of Jackson's popularity. But during the three years of the panic, Van Buren bore the anger of a disappointed people. His enemies accused him of being a sly, scheming politician. They called Van Buren The Little Magician" and "The Fox of Kinderhook." They ridiculed his courteous manners. When he continued to deal politely with his political rivals, his enemies said this approach showed his lack of deep convictions.

By defending his Jeffersonian ideals, Van Buren demonstrated that actually he had both deep convictions and courage. Partly because he refused to compromise, he was defeated for reelection in 1840 by William Henry Harrison, whom he had beaten in 1836. Van Buren ran again for President in 1848 but finished a poor third.

In Van Buren's time, Washington, D.C, was still a city of muddy streets and few trees. One traveler said: "It looks as if it had rained naked buildings upon an open plain." But life in the capital reflected the excitement of a growing country. The first railroad into Washington was completed in time to bring visitors from New York City and Philadelphia to Van Buren's inauguration. Frontiersmen such as Sam Houston mingled with courtly Southerners and proper New Englanders. Washington hostesses sought out the popular author Washington Irving for their dinner parties. Out West, the frontier town of Chicago became an incorporated city, and the Republic of Texas began its fight for statehood.

Iowa became a territory in 1838. This new territory included all of present-day Iowa, most of Minnesota, and two- thirds of North and South Dakota

Early life. Childhood and education. Martin Van Buren was born in the Dutch community of Kinderhook, N.Y., on Dec. 5,1782. He was the third of the five children of Abraham and Maria Hoes Van Buren. Martin had an older brother and sister, and two younger brothers. His mother was the widow of Johannes Van Alen, and had three other children by her first marriage. Abraham Van Buren ran a truck farm and a tavern. As a child, Martin enjoyed listening to the tavern patrons as they argued politics in the Dutch language.

Martin attended the village school. At the age of 14, he began to study law under Francis Sylvester, a local attorney. He showed great talent, and Sylvester soon let him work in court. Martin first took part in a court trial at the age of 15. Another lawyer from Sylvester's office had tried the case. As he was about to sum up his arguments, he turned to Martin and said: "Here, Mat, sum up. You may as well begin early." The boy was rewarded that day with a silver half dollar. He soon became a familiar sight in the village court.

Important dates in Van Buren's life:
1782 (Dec. 5) Born in Kinderhook, N.Y.
1812 Elected to the New York Senate.
1821 Elected to the United States Senate.
1828 Elected governor of New York.

1829 Appointed secretary of state.
1832 Elected Vice President of the United States.
1836 Elected President of the United States.
1840 Defeated for reelection by William H. Harrison.
1848 Nominated for President by the Free Soil Party.
1862 (July 24) Died in Kinderhook, N.Y.

In 1801, Van Buren moved to New York City to continue his studies. He was admitted to the bar in 1803 and opened a law office in Kinderhook with his half brother, James I. Van Alen.

Van Buren's family. On Feb. 21,1807, Martin Van Buren married his distant cousin and childhood sweetheart, Hannah Hoes (March 8,1783-Feb. 5,1819). Mrs. Van Buren died 18 years before her husband became President. The couple had four sons. Abraham, the eldest, was his father's White House secretary, and later served on the staff of General Zachary Taylor during the Mexican War (1846-1848). John, the second son, became attorney general of New York.

The world of President Van Buren. Economic depression struck the United States in 1837 and caused widespread hardship.

The first steel plow that could easily turn the heavy sod of the American prairie was invented by John Deere in 1837. Queen Victoria began her 63-year reign over the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1837.

The first popular method of photography, invented in 1837 by Louis Daguerre of France, produced images on copper plates called daguerreotypes.

Samuel F. B. Morse gave his first demonstration of the telegraph in 1837 and patented his device in 1840.

Revolts in Upper and Lower Canada began in 1837. In 1840, the British Parliament voted to unite the two colonies into the Province of Canada.

Thousands of Indians were forced to move from their homelands in the Southeastern United States to what is now Oklahoma in the 1830's and early 1840s. The Indians included the Cherokee, who called their forced march the Trail of Tears. This term is sometimes used to refer to the removal of the other tribes as well.

A U.S. Navy expedition to Antarctica was led by Lt. Charles Wilkes between 1838 and 1842. Wilkes sighted land in 1840 and sailed along 1,500 miles (2,410 kilometers) of the Antarctic coast. He was the first person to recognize that Antarctica was a continent and not just a huge field of ice.

The first teacher-training school in the United States opened in Lexington, Mass., in 1839. Only women were admitted to the school.