词条 | Van Buren, Martin |
释义 | Van Buren, Martin president of United States born December 5, 1782, Kinderhook, New York, U.S. died July 24, 1862, Kinderhook eighth president of the United States (1837–41) and one of the founders of the Democratic Party. He was known as the “Little Magician” to his friends (and the “Sly Fox” to his enemies) in recognition of his reputed cunning and skill as a politician. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America.) Van Buren was the son of Abraham Van Buren, a farmer and tavern keeper, and Maria Hoes Van Alen, both of Dutch descent. Apprenticed to the lawyer Francis Silvester in 1796, Van Buren began his own practice in Kinderhook in 1803. In 1807 he married his cousin Hannah Hoes (Hannah Van Buren (Van Buren, Hannah)), with whom he had four children. Van Buren served two terms in the New York Senate (1812–20) and during his tenure was appointed state attorney general. After his election to the U.S. Senate in 1821, he created the Albany Regency, an informal political organization in New York state that was a prototype of the modern political machine. Van Buren regarded himself as a disciple of Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson, Thomas). As a member of the Jeffersonian faction of the Republican Party, he supported the doctrine of states' rights, opposed a strong federal government, and disapproved of federally sponsored internal improvements. After John Quincy Adams (Adams, John Quincy) was elected president in 1824, Van Buren brought together a diverse coalition of Jeffersonian Republicans, including followers of Andrew Jackson (Jackson, Andrew), William H. Crawford (Crawford, William H), and John C. Calhoun (Calhoun, John C), to found a new political party, which was soon named the Democratic Party. In 1828 Van Buren resigned his Senate seat and successfully ran for governor of New York. However, he gave up the governorship within 12 weeks to become President Andrew Jackson (Jackson, Andrew)'s secretary of state. In this role he was criticized for expanding the system of political patronage, though some later historians considered the criticism unfair. Resigning as secretary of state in 1831 to permit reorganization of the cabinet, he served briefly as minister to Great Britain. ![]() ![]() Additional Reading Works written by Van Buren include the memoirs he wrote in 1833, The Autobiography of Martin Van Buren, ed. by John C. Fitzpatrick (1920, reprinted in 2 vol., 1973), and Inquiry into the Origin and Course of Political Parties in the United States, ed. by Abraham Van Buren and John Van Buren (1867, reprinted 1967).Biographies include Edward M. Shepard, Martin Van Buren, rev. ed. (1899, reprinted 1983); Robert V. Remini, Martin Van Buren and the Making of the Democratic Party (1959, reissued 1970); John Niven, Martin Van Buren: The Romantic Age of American Politics (1983); and Donald B. Cole, Martin Van Buren and the American Political System (1984).James C. Curtis, The Fox at Bay: Martin Van Buren and the Presidency, 1837–1841 (1970); and Major L. Wilson, The Presidency of Martin Van Buren (1984), analyze the activities and policies of the Van Buren administration. |
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