Martin Van Buren (1782-1862)

Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), ran for President three times, but won only the first time. He served during the nations first great depression, the Panic of 1837. The panic brought financial ruin and misery to millions. Many turned to the government for help, but Van Buren refused all public aid. He believed in Thomas Jefferson's theories 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 him "The Little Magician" and "The Fox of Kinderhook." They ridiculed his courteous manners. When Van Buren continued to deal politely with his political rivals, they said this 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, Van Buren was defeated in re-election 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 Southernors 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.