50 Fun Facts About Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was which number president of the United States?

He served one term, 1837 to 1841, after four years as Jackson's vice president.

In which New York village was Van Buren born?

Most residents were of Dutch descent; his nickname 'Old Kinderhook' later fed the slogan 'OK'.

Van Buren is the only president to have spoken English as what?

He was raised speaking Dutch and learned English at school.

Van Buren was the first president born after which document?

He was born in December 1782, so still technically a British subject at birth.

How tall was Van Buren, earning him the nickname 'Little Van'?

His bushy reddish sideburns also got him called the 'Red Fox'.

Whom did Van Buren marry in 1807?

She was his childhood sweetheart and a daughter of his maternal first cousin; he never remarried after her 1819 death.

Van Buren named his fourth son after which general he worked with during the War of 1812?

He later sent the same general to calm two border crises with Canada as president.

Van Buren led which anti-Clintonian faction in New York politics?

From it he built the Albany Regency, one of America's first political machines.

What name was given to the political machine Van Buren built in New York?

It relied on small farmers but also drew support from Tammany Hall in New York City.

Despite leading the anti-Clinton faction, Van Buren supported which Clinton project?

He believed the canal would benefit the state and helped its bill pass the legislature.

In 1821 the legislature elected Van Buren to which body?

He arrived in Washington during the Era of Good Feelings and chaired the Judiciary Committee.

Which candidate did Van Buren back in the four-way 1824 presidential election?

Crawford suffered a stroke mid-campaign; Van Buren even visited Jefferson to seek an endorsement.

What did opponents call the 1828 import duties Van Buren helped pass?

It was meant to protect northern and western farm products but angered the South and New England alike.

How long was Van Buren's term as Governor of New York, the shortest in state history?

He resigned in March 1829 to become Jackson's Secretary of State.

As governor, Van Buren passed which early form of deposit insurance?

He also placed allies William Marcy and Silas Wright in key state posts.

Van Buren helped persuade Jackson to veto federal funding for which 1830 project?

It reaffirmed limited government and shielded New York's Erie Canal from rival projects.

Which cabinet wives' snub of Peggy Eaton caused the Petticoat Affair that Van Buren helped resolve?

As a widower, Van Buren was untouched by the feud and resigned to let Jackson reorganise the cabinet.

Who cast the deciding Senate vote rejecting Van Buren as ambassador to Britain in 1832?

He crowed 'It will kill him dead, sir' — and instead propelled Van Buren to the vice presidency.

How many Whig candidates ran against Van Buren in 1836?

Harrison, White, Webster and Mangum hoped to throw the election to the House.

How many electoral votes did Van Buren win in 1836?

He took 50.9% of the popular vote; Harrison led the Whigs with 73 electors.

Van Buren's 1836 win cemented which era of American politics?

By the end of the campaign nearly every faction had been absorbed by Democrats or Whigs.

Whigs blamed the Panic of 1837 on which Jackson order?

Jackson sent word asking Van Buren not to rescind it.

Van Buren's answer to the Panic was a plan to store federal funds where?

The Independent Treasury passed in 1840, was abolished in 1841, revived in 1846 and lasted until 1913.

The Independent Treasury system finally ended with the passage of what 1913 law?

The Whigs killed it in 1841 but it was revived in 1846.

Which 1835 agreement set the terms for the Cherokee removal Van Buren enforced in 1838?

About 20,000 people were removed on the Trail of Tears; an estimated 4,000 died.

Which writer sent Van Buren a letter protesting his treatment of the Cherokee?

Van Buren told Congress the Cherokee had not protested their removal.

Which costly war in Florida marred Van Buren's presidency?

The December 1837 Battle of Lake Okeechobee opened a phase of attrition; some Seminoles were allowed to stay.

How did Van Buren respond when Texas proposed annexation in August 1837?

Constitutional scruples, fear of war with Mexico and the slavery question all weighed; Texas withdrew the offer in 1838.

Which American steamboat did British forces burn and sink on the Niagara River in December 1837?

It had been supplying Canadian rebels on Navy Island; Van Buren proclaimed neutrality.

The secret society behind the Patriot War raids into Upper Canada was called what?

Charles Duncombe and Robert Nelson formed it in Vermont; Washington prosecuted its leaders under the Neutrality Act.

The bloodless 1838–39 'war' over the Maine–New Brunswick border is named for which river?

Congress authorised 50,000 troops and $10 million; the 1842 Webster–Ashburton Treaty settled the line.

Which former president argued for the Amistad Africans before the Supreme Court in 1840?

Van Buren's administration had backed Spain's demand for the ship and its captives, and lost in March 1841.

Who played Van Buren in the 1997 film Amistad?

Anthony Hopkins played John Quincy Adams in the same film.

Who acted as Van Buren's White House hostess from 1838?

The widower had tried to host himself; Angelica took advice from her relative Dolley Madison.

Whig congressman Charles Ogle attacked Van Buren's supposed royal lifestyle in which famous speech?

The depiction of a president living like a king was a primary factor in his 1840 defeat.

What was the electoral vote in the 1840 election Van Buren lost to Harrison?

Van Buren actually won more votes than in 1836, but 80% turnout swamped him.

Which derisive nickname did Whigs hang on Van Buren in 1840?

They also chanted 'Van, Van, is a used-up man' against Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.

What was Van Buren's Hudson Valley estate, a National Historic Site since 1974, called?

He died there of bronchial asthma and heart failure in July 1862, aged 79.

Van Buren's 1844 nomination bid foundered on his public opposition to what?

Under the two-thirds rule he led on the first ballot but lost to James K. Polk on the ninth.

Van Buren was the 1848 presidential nominee of which new party?

His 10.1% was the best third-party showing to that point and helped Zachary Taylor beat Lewis Cass.

Who was Van Buren's running mate on the 1848 third-party ticket?

He was the son of John Quincy Adams and grandson of John Adams.

Van Buren's 1847 anti-slavery statement became known by what name?

John Van Buren and Samuel Tilden edited it; Van Buren later backed the Wilmot Proviso.

Van Buren was the first former US president to do what?

He also worked on a history of American political parties in retirement.

Van Buren saw how many successors take office — more than any other president?

He outlived Harrison, Tyler, Polk and Taylor and lived to see Lincoln elected.

Which Seinfeld episode features a street gang devoted to this president?

Their hand sign is eight fingers raised for the eighth president.

How many Supreme Court justices did Van Buren appoint?

John McKinley in 1837 and Peter Vivian Daniel in 1841.

Which 2009 book by Ivan Eland ranked Van Buren the third-greatest president?

Eland praised him for balancing the budget and avoiding wars with Canada and Mexico.

Which Jackson-era nickname paired with 'Old Hickory' described Van Buren?

Washington also called him the 'Little Magician'.

The 1840 slogan 'OK' was tied to Van Buren through which nickname?

Newspapers had popularised 'OK' as a joke for 'oll korrect'; the campaign made it stick.

How many counties in the US are named for Van Buren, per his Wikipedia biography?

They are in Michigan, Iowa, Arkansas and Tennessee; a USS Van Buren and Mount Van Buren also honour him.