PRESIDENT MARTIN VAN BUREN
Martin Van Buren (born Maarten Van Buren; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American statesman who served as the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A founder of the Democratic Party, he served as the ninth Governor of New York, the tenth Secretary of State, and the eighth Vice President. Van Buren won the 1836 presidential election based on the popularity of outgoing President Andrew Jackson and the organizational strength of the Democratic Party. He lost his 1840 re-election bid to Whig Party nominee William Henry Harrison due in part to the poor economic conditions of the Panic of 1837. Later in his life, Van Buren emerged as an important anti-slavery leader, and he led the Free Soil ticket in the 1848 presidential election. (More from Wikipedia)
On This Week with George Stephanopoulos one morning a few years ago, the question of the day for the panel was, Which American President was not a native English language speaker? I don’t think anyone got it, but the answer was Martin Van Buren, the nation’s eighth President. That clicked in my mind immediately as soon as I heard the name; as a fellow “Martin”, I had long admired him. He came from upstate New York and, on December 15, 1782, was baptized “Maarten Van Buren”, in the original Dutch spelling. His family spoke Dutch at home, as many did in the isolated communities in that part of the state.
(September 2016)
