History UsefulNotes / MartinVanBuren

While a [[TheChessmaster shrewd, brilliant political operator]] and a very decent man, he was unfortunate to preside over a period of economic hardship. Unable to stop the stinging downturn, he was given the rather EmbarrassingNickname "Martin Van Ruin" by his political enemies. This was just one of many domestic issues whereon he ended up on the losing end. Disputes between America and British Canada nearly led to war, with many criticizing his supposedly weak stance on the issue. He also denied the newly-created Republic of Texas' first request for American annexation on the understandable but unpopular grounds that it would strain relations between the North and South. The ''Film/{{Amistad}}'' trial occurred during his presidency; he supported giving the kidnapped slaves back to Spain. Also, [[MisBlamed contrary to how most people remember it]], the forced and bloody relocation of the Cherokee to reservations west of the Mississippi River (an event known as the "Trail of Tears") happened under Van Buren's presidency, not Jackson's.

[[caption-width-right:360:Dig those [[IncrediblyLamePun righteous chops]]!]]

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (December 5, 1782 -- July 24, 1862) was the eighth president [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and unlike his British-descended predecessors, he was from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, also has the distinction of being the only President not descended from UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland,[[note]]Yes, even UsefulNotes/BarackObama is descended from King John--remember, his ''mother'' was a white girl from Kansas[[/note]] although he ''was'' descended from [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfNormandy William the Conquerer]]. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.[[note]]Though they wouldn't have been called sideburns at the time...that would have to wait for a certain self-admittedly only half-competent [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Union general]]...[[/note]]

Following the [[UsefulNotes/JohnQuincyAdams election of 1824]], Van Buren and his allies banded together and created the Democratic Party to support UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson. Van Buren effectively ran the new party from behind the scenes and made it the leading political party in the nation. Before becoming president, he served as a Senator, the Governor of New York, Secretary of State, ambassador to the United Kingdom, and finally Jackson's vice president. Along with UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson, he is the only American who has served as Secretary of State, Vice President, and President.

His nickname while running for President was "Old Kinderhook" (Kinderhook was the town where he was born - and died), and his election campaign was known as "The Democratic O.K. Club". While the term "O.K." had been known for a few years, it seems to have been popularized by the election campaign. Van Buren could scarcely have been more different from his hard-assed predecessor. His public image was of an effete intellectual, and opponents criticized him for serving "unmanly" fare like strawberries and celery in the White House.

While a shrewd, brilliant political operator and a very decent man, he was unfortunate to preside over a period of economic hardship. Unable to stop the stinging downturn, he was given the rather embarrassing nickname "Martin Van Ruin" by his political enemies. This was just one of many domestic issues that he ended up on the losing end of. Disputes between America and British Canada nearly led to war, with many criticizing his supposedly weak stance on the issue. He also denied the newly-created Republic of Texas' first request for American annexation on the understandable but unpopular grounds that it would strain relations between the North and South. The ''Film/{{Amistad}}'' trial occurred during his presidency; he supported giving the kidnapped slaves back to Spain. Also, contrary to how most people remember it, the forced and bloody relocation of the Cherokee to reservations west of the Mississippi River (an event known as the "Trail of Tears" ) did not happen under Jackson's presidency, but Van Buren's.

Widely unpopular, Van Buren lost reelection in 1840. When he left office, he said "As to the presidency, [[OldShame the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it."]] On a side note, in 1839, he became the first sitting president to grant an exclusive interview to a reporter (James Gordon Bennett, Sr., of the ''New York Herald'').

He tried to gain the Democrat nomination again for the following election in 1844, though ultimately dropped out in order to help UsefulNotes/JamesKPolk secure the nomination over Van Buren's ArchEnemy, Lewis Cass. Cass eventually did get nominated four years later, and so Van Buren decided to form his own party, the Free Soil Party in order to split the vote and prevent Cass from getting elected. This likely wasn't necessary in retrospect, since Cass's opponent, the hugely popular UsefulNotes/ZacharyTaylor pretty much had the election in the bag from early on, though Van Buren did get the satisfaction of putting in a relatively good performance for a third-party candidate with a poorly-received Presidential tenure already on his resume.

On the subject of slavery, he was personally opposed to it, but he was willing to let it continue since it was justified under the Constitution. While initially skeptical of UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln, Van Buren would praise his handling of [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar the war effort]] not long before he died.

Martin Van Buren would be the last sitting Vice President to be elected President for 152 years--the next would be [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush George H. W. Bush]]. Coincidentally, he also followed [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan a popular two-term president]] and lost reelection largely due to a weak economy.

* In a popular episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' entitled "The Van Buren Boys," Kramer and George are threatened by a street gang called the Van Buren Boys with the secret sign of the number 8 because Van Buren was the 8th president. They apparently picked that name because Van Buren was the man they most admired. The gang is apparently "every bit as mean as he was".

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington", Krusty is assigned petty janitorial jobs as his first term in the House. One of them is to clean off "Capitol Hill graffiti", reading "Martin Van Buren is a wiener", followed by:
--->'''Krusty:''' UsefulNotes/GroverCleveland sucks ''what?!''
--->'''Walter Mondale:''' Leave that. Lest we forget.

* In 2004 version movie of "The Alamo", Martin Van Buren appeared uncredited with another character portraying UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson during the scene at UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC. Van Buren was talking to Sam Houston (portrayed by Dennis Quaid) while Jackson stood beside him.
* On the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' episode ''Film/SoulTaker'', we see towards the start of the episode a fuzzy TV screen with a picture of him and Crow T. Robot says that its Martin Van Buren.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'' had the titular character was forced to compete in "roller derby TO THE DEATH" against the "Lesser Known American Presidents," among which were William "Tippiecanoe" Harrison, Grover "Uncle Jumbo" Cleveland, John "Tyler Too" Tyler, and, of course, Martin "Red Fox of Kinderhook" Van Buren.

* In an August 2014 episode of ''Series/TheDailyShow'', when there was controversy about political dynasties between UsefulNotes/HillaryClinton and Jeb Bush being considered as the 2016 presidential nominees for the Democratic and Republican respectively, Michael Che met with Martin Van Buren's great-great-great-granddaughter Lily Van Buren.
* An issue of [[ComicBook/TheTick ''The Tick: Big Blue Destiny"]] had the Tick and Arthur travel to Van Buria, an island nation completely devoted to the idea that Van Buren was the greatest president ever. The heroes get caught up in a civil war when a rebel faction who favor William Henry Harrison attack.

->''"Martin Van Buren was known as something of a free-spending dandy, favoring brightly colored vests and ascots and strange, luminous waistcoats. Only later did we find out that this was because he was a JustForFun/TimeLord."''

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (December 5, 1782 -- July 24, 1862) was the eighth president [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and unlike his British-descended predecessors, he was from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, also has the distinction of being the only President not descended from UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland,[[note]]Yes, even UsefulNotes/BarackObama is descended from King John--remember, his ''mother'' was a white girl from Kansas[[/note]] although he ''was'' descended from William the Conquerer. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.[[note]]Though they wouldn't have been called sideburns at the time...that would have to wait for a certain self-admittedly only half-competent [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Union general]]...[[/note]]

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (December 5, 1782 -- July 24, 1862) was the eighth president [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and unlike his British-descended predecessors, he was from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, also has the distinction of being the only President not descended from UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland,[[note]]Yes, even UsefulNotes/BarackObama is descended from King John--remember, his ''mother'' was a white girl from Kansas[[/note]] although he ''was'' descended from UsefulNotes/WilliamTheConqueror. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.[[note]]Though they wouldn't have been called sideburns at the time...that would have to wait for a certain self-admittedly only half-competent [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Union general]]...[[/note]]

* "Project Van Buren" was the code name of an early version of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', when it was still in production by Black Isle.

* In the second book of Creator/EricFlint's ''Literature/TrailOfGlory'' AlternateHistory series, he's referred to as "The Little Magician" for his political acumen.
** That was one of his RealLife nicknames.
* Don't forget the ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers'' series, in which the titular character was forced to compete in "roller derby TO THE DEATH" against the "Lesser Known American Presidents," among which were William "Tippiecanoe" Harrison, Grover "Uncle Jumbo" Cleveland, John "Tyler Too" Tyler, and, of course, Martin "Red Fox of Kinderhook" Van Buren.

!!Tropes he embodied:

* ArchEnemy:
** Lewis Cass. Van Buren went as far as forming his own political party to split the Democrat vote so that Cass wouldn't win the election of 1848.
** Van Buren also had a particular enmity with his predecessor as Vice President, John C. Calhoun. [[UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson You may be seeing]] [[UsefulNotes/JohnQuincyAdams a pattern here]].
* BilingualBonus: Dutch was his first language and would often pepper his speeches with gratuitous dutch words and idioms.
* TheChessmaster: Despite his foppish exterior, Van Buren was a political mastermind. He, along with Andrew Jackson, organized and created the Democratic Party almost by themselves; he skilfully used the Eaton Affair to advance himself as John Calhoun's succesor to the Jackson vice-presidency and he was instrumental for Jackson in the dechartering of the Second Bank of the United States and in passing of the Internal Improvements Bills that led to the creation of the Westward Expansion program. For good measure he even did it in his presidential campaign in 1848, deliberately focusing on taking votes away from Lewis Cass in New England in order to throw those states (and by extention, the election) to Zachary Taylor.
* TheDandy.
* EmbarrassingNickname: Matty Van, a moniker he detested.
** The Little Magician was another nickname that embarassed him, since he was rather self-conscious about his short stature.
** After the economic crisis of 1839, he was also given the unfortunately catchy nickname of Martin Van Ruin by his enemies, which also stuck in the public consciousness.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson.
* HotbloodedSideburns: Rocking mutton chops was one of his biggest achievements as president.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Andrew Jackson was fifteen years his junior.
* MemeticMutation: Van Buren would say that people who were brave and noble were "from Old Kinderhook" (referring to his hometown). The abreviation of this term Van Buren used is believed by some historians to be the origin of the word "OK".
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The sensitive guy to his presidential predecessor and friend Andrew Jackson's manly man.

----
!!Van Buren in fiction

->''Van Buren served one term, but he wasn't bad.''

->''"Martin Van Buren was known as something of a free-spending dandy, favoring brightly colored vests and ascots and strange, luminous waistcoats. Only later did we find out that this was because he was a JustForFun/TimeLord."''\\
--'''''Literature/MoreInformationThanYouRequire'''''

->''Van Buren served one term, but he wasn't bad.''\\
--"The Presidents", by '''Music/JonathanCoulton'''.

While a shrewd, brilliant political operator and a very decent man, he was unfortunate to preside over a period of economic hardship. Unable to stop the stinging downturn, he was given the rather embarrassing nickname "Martin Van Ruin" by his political enemies. This was just one of many domestic issues that he ended up on the losing end of. Disputes between America and British Canada nearly led to war, with many criticizing his supposedly weak stance on the issue. He also denied the newly-created Republic of Texas' first request for American annexation on the understandable but unpopular grounds that it would strain relations between the North and South. The ''{{Amistad}}'' trial occurred during his presidency; he supported giving the kidnapped slaves back to Spain. Also, contrary to how most people remember it, the forced and bloody relocation of the Cherokee to reservations west of the Mississippi River (an event known as the "Trail of Tears" ) did not happen under Jackson's presidency, but Van Buren's.

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (December 5, 1782 -- July 24, 1862) was the eighth president [[AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and unlike his British-descended predecessors, he was from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, also has the distinction of being the only President not descended from UsefulNotes/KingJohnOfEngland,[[note]]Yes, even UsefulNotes/BarackObama is descended from King John--remember, his ''mother'' was a white girl from Kansas[[/note]] although he ''was'' descended from UsefulNotes/WilliamTheConqueror. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.[[note]]Though they wouldn't have been called sideburns at the time...that would have to wait for a certain self-admittedly only half-competent [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Union general]]...[[/note]]

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (December 5, 1782 -- July 24, 1862) was the eighth president [[AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and unlike his British-descended predecessors, he was from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, also has the distinction of being the only President not descended from UsefulNotes/{{John}} of England,[[note]]Yes, even UsefulNotes/BarackObama is descended from King John--remember, his ''mother'' was a white girl from Kansas[[/note]] although he ''was'' descended from UsefulNotes/WilliamTheConqueror. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.[[note]]Though they wouldn't have been called sideburns at the time...that would have to wait for a certain self-admittedly only half-competent [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Union general]]...[[/note]]

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (December 5, 1782 -- July 24, 1862) was the eighth president [[AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and unlike his British-descended predecessors, he was from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, also has the distinction of being the only President not descended from BadKingJohn of England,[[note]]Yes, even UsefulNotes/BarackObama is descended from King John--remember, his ''mother'' was a white girl from Kansas[[/note]] although he ''was'' descended from William the Conqueror. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.[[note]]Though they wouldn't have been called sideburns at the time...that would have to wait for a certain self-admittedly only half-competent [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Union general]]...[[/note]]

* IntergenerationalFriendship: Andrew Jackson was thirty years his junior.

* TheChessmaster: Despite his foppish exterior, Van Buren was a political mastermind. He, along with Andrew Jackson, organized and created the Democratic Party almost by themselves; he skilfully used the Eaton Affair to advance himself as John Calhoun's succesor to the Jackson vice-presidency and he was instrumental for Jackson in the dechartering of the Second Bank of the United States and in passing of the Internal Improvements Bills that led to the creation of the Westward Expansion program.

* ArchEnemy: Lewis Cass. Van Buren went as far as forming his own political party to split the Democrat vote so that Cass wouldn't win the election of 1848.

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (December 5, 1782 -- July 24, 1862) was the eighth president [[AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and the only one with no ancestry from the British Isles. He was descended from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, has the distinction of being the only President not descended from BadKingJohn of England,[[note]]Yes, even UsefulNotes/BarackObama is descended from King John--remember, his ''mother'' was a white girl from Kansas[[/note]] although he was descended from William the Conqueror. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.[[note]]Though they wouldn't have been called sideburns at the time...that would have to wait for a certain self-admittedly only half-competent [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Union general]]...[[/note]]

Following the [[UsefulNotes/JohnQuincyAdams election of 1824]], Van Buren and his allies banded together and created the Democratic Party to support UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson. Van Buren effectively ran the new party from behind the scenes and made it the leading political party in the nation. Before becoming president, he was a Senator, the Governor of New York, Secretary of State, ambassador to the United Kingdom, and finally Jackson's vice president. Along with UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson, he is the only American who has served as Secretary of State, Vice President, and President.

His nickname while running for President was "Old Kinderhook" (Kinderhook was the town where he was born - and died), and his election campaign was known as "The Democratic O.K. Club". While the term "O.K." had been known for a few years, it seems to have been popularized by the election campaign. Van Buren could scarcely have been more different from his hard-assed predecessor. His public image was of an effete intellectual, and opponents criticized him for serving "unmanly" fare like strawberries and celery in the White House. While a shrewd, brilliant political operator and a very decent man, he was unfortunate to preside over a period of economic hardship. Before becoming president, he nearly prevented those hardships. Unable to stop the stinging economic downturn, he was given the rather embarrassing nickname "Martin Van Ruin" by his political enemies.

It also didn't help that border disputes between America and British Canada nearly led to war, with many criticizing his supposedly weak stance on the issue. He unpopularly denied the newly-created Republic of Texas' first request for American annexation on the grounds that it would strain relations between the North and South. The ''{{Amistad}}'' trial also happened during his presidency; he supported giving the kidnapped slaves back to Spain. Also, contrary to how most people remember it, the "Trail of Tears" (the forced and bloody relocation of the Cherokee to reservations west of the Mississippi River) did not happen under Jackson's presidency, but during Van Buren's. Widely unpopular, Van Buren lost reelection in 1840. When he left office, he said "As to the presidency, [[OldShame the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it."]] On a side note, in 1839, he became the first sitting president to grant an exclusive interview to a reporter (James Gordon Bennett, Sr., of the ''New York Herald'').

He tried to gain the Democrat nomination again for the following election in 1844, though ultimately dropped out in order to help UsefulNotes/JamesKPolk secure the nomination over Van Buren's ArchEnemy, Lewis Cass. Cass eventually did get nominated four years later, and so Van Buren decided to form his own party, the Free Soil Party in order to split the vote and prevent Cass from getting elected. This likely wasn't necessary in retrospect, since Cass's opponent, the hugely popular UsefulNotes/ZacharyTaylor pretty much had the election in the bag from early on, though Van Buren did get the satisfaction of putting in a relatively good performance for a third-party candidate. On the subject of slavery, he was personally opposed to it, but he was willing to let it continue since it was justified under the Constitution. While initially skeptical of UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln, Van Buren would praise his handling of [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar the war effort]] not long before he died.

Martin Van Buren would be the last sitting Vice President to be elected President for 152 years--the next would be [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush George H. W. Bush]]. Coincidentally, he also followed [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan a popular two-term president]] and lost reelection due to a weak economy.

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (1782-1862) was the eighth president [[AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and the only one with no ancestry from the British Isles. He was descended from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, has the distinction of being the only President not descended from BadKingJohn of England,[[note]]Yes, even UsefulNotes/BarackObama is descended from King John--remember, his ''mother'' was a white girl from Kansas[[/note]] although he was descended from William the Conqueror. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.[[note]]Though they wouldn't have been called sideburns at the time...that would have to wait for a certain self-admittedly only half-competent [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Union general]]...[[/note]]

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (1782-1862) was the eighth president [[AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and the only one with no ancestry from the British Isles. He was descended from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, has the distinction of being the only President not descended from BadKingJohn of England,[[note]]Yes, even BarackObama is descended from King John--remember, his ''mother'' was a white girl from Kansas[[/note]] although he was descended from William the Conqueror. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.[[note]]Though they wouldn't have been called sideburns at the time...that would have to wait for a certain self-admittedly only half-competent [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Union general]]...[[/note]]

Martin Van Buren would be the last sitting Vice President to be elected President for 152 years--the next would be [[GeorgeHWBush George H. W. Bush]]. Coincidentally, he also followed [[RonaldReagan a popular two-term president]] and lost reelection due to a weak economy.

--->'''Krusty:''' GroverCleveland sucks ''what?!''

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (1782-1862) was the eighth president [[AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and the only one with no ancestry from the British Isles. He was descended from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, has the distinction of being the only President not descended from BadKingJohn of England,[[note]]Yes, even BarackObama is descended from King John--remember, his ''mother'' was a white girl from Kansas[[/note]] although he was descended from William the Conqueror. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (1782-1862) was the eighth president [[AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and the only one with no ancestry from the British Isles. He was descended from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, has the distinction of being the only President not descended from BadKingJohn of England, although he was descended from William the Conqueror. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.

He tried to gain the Democrat nomination again for the following election in 1844, though ultimately dropped out in order to help UsefulNotes/JamesKPolk secure the nomination over Van Buren's ArchEnemy, Lewis Cass. Cass eventually did get nominated four years later, and so Van Buren decided to form his own party, the Free Soil Party in order to split the vote and prevent Cass from getting elected. This likely wasn't necessary in retrospect, since Cass's opponent, the hugely popular ZacharyTaylor pretty much had the election in the bag from early on, though Van Buren did get the satisfaction of putting in a relatively good performance for a third-party candidate. On the subject of slavery, he was personally opposed to it, but he was willing to let it continue since it was justified under the Constitution. While initially skeptical of AbrahamLincoln, Van Buren would praise his handling of [[AmericanCivilWar the war effort]] not long before he died.

* In an episode of Pete and Pete, Little Pete gets a piece of cereal that resembles Martin Van Buren stuck in his nostril.
* In 2004 version movie of "The Alamo", Martin Van Buren appeared uncredited with another character portraying Andrew Jackson during the scene at Washington D.C. Martin Van Buren was talking to Sam Houston (portrayed by Dennis Quaid) while Andrew Jackson stand beside him.
* On the show "''{{Mystery Science Theater 3000}}'' in the episode "Soultaker" we see towards the start of the episode a fuzzy TV screen with a picture of him and Crow T. Robot says that its Martin Van Buren.

* In the second book of Eric Flint's ''Trails of Glory'' AlternateHistory series, he's referred to as "The Little Magician" for his political acumen.

He tried to gain the Democrat nomination again for the following election in 1844, though ultimately dropped out in order to help JamesKPolk secure the nomination over Van Buren's ArchEnemy, Lewis Cass. Cass eventually did get nominated four years later, and so Van Buren decided to form his own party, the Free Soil Party in order to split the vote and prevent Cass from getting elected. This likely wasn't necessary in retrospect, since Cass's opponent, the hugely popular ZacharyTaylor pretty much had the election in the bag from early on, though Van Buren did get the satisfaction of putting in a relatively good performance for a third-party candidate. On the subject of slavery, he was personally opposed to it, but he was willing to let it continue since it was justified under the Constitution. While initially skeptical of AbrahamLincoln, Van Buren would praise his handling of [[AmericanCivilWar the war effort]] not long before he died.

'''Martin/Maarten Van Buren''' (1782-1862) was the eighth president [[AntebellumAmerica (serving from 1837 to 1841)]], and the second from the Democratic Party, after UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson and before Whig president WilliamHenryHarrison. He was the first president born after America gained its independence, and the only one with no ancestry from the British Isles. He was descended from the Dutch-speaking people who originally colonized the Hudson River valley, nicknamed the Knickerbockers (the New York Knicks basketball team derives its name from these settlers). His primary language, naturally, was Dutch, making him the only president whose first language wasn't English. Van Buren, having had no ancestry from the British Isles, has the distinction of being the only President not descended from BadKingJohn of England, although he was descended from William the Conqueror. He was also famous for possessing HotbloodedSideburns.