Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was the eighth president of the United States. He served one term, from 1837 to 1841, right after Andrew Jackson. He was a Democrat from New York — the first president from that state — and he had been Jackson's vice president. His own vice president was Richard Mentor Johnson. He grew up in Kinderhook, New York, a Hudson Valley town.

People called him the Little Magician because he was so skilled at backstage politics. He helped build the Democratic Party's organization — newspapers, meetings, and loyal voters. That was the “magic.” He was born in 1782, the first president born after American independence. Every president before him had been born a British subject. He grew up speaking Dutch at home. He is the only president whose first language was not English.

Right after he took office, the Panic of 1837 slammed the country. Banks failed, jobs vanished, and hard times lasted for years. It was a hard crash of banks, jobs, and prices, and it shaped his whole term. His big plan for the government's money was the Independent Treasury, which kept federal money in government vaults instead of private banks. He blocked Texas annexation because he feared war with Mexico and a bigger fight over slavery. Years later, in 1848, he ran again as a Free Soil candidate.