Martin Van Buren was born into a middle-class New York family. When he was 14 years old, he began apprenticing in a local lawyer's office. Van Buren joined the New York bar in 1803. As a young man, he built his political reputation opposing DeWitt Clinton, New York's Republican governor. In 1812, Van Buren was elected to the New York state senate. There he joined the Bucktails. They were a group of Republican political reformers.
The Bucktails soon formed the Albany Regency. For a time, it was the most powerful political machine in New York. In 1815, the machine helped Van Buren become attorney general of New York. In 1821, the New York legislature appointed him to the U.S. Senate. Seven years later, he became governor of New York.
By then, Van Buren was a supporter of President ANDREW JACKSON. In 1829, Jackson appointed him secretary of state. In 1831, Jackson decided to appoint Van Buren U.S. minister to Britain. The Senate rejected his nomination. But Jackson was not deterred. He chose Van Buren to be vice president in his second administration.
In 1836, Jackson chose Van Buren to succeed him in the presidency. Van Buren was inaugurated president in 1837. President Van Buren opposed bringing Texas into the Union. As president, Jackson had also opposed statehood for Texas. But he changed his mind after he left office. When Van Buren refused to annex Texas, Jackson opposed him for reelection.
In 1840, Van Buren lost the presidential election to WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. He was bitter about his defeat. He declined to attend Harrison's inauguration. In 1841, Van Buren returned to New York. He began planning another presidential race. But Jackson still opposed him. In 1844, Van Buren was defeated for the Democratic nomination by JAMES POLK.
After the 1844 election, Van Buren remained active in politics. He hoped to use the slavery issue to regain support in the Democratic Party. But the Democrats were badly split over slavery. In 1848, the Democratic Party declined to renominate Van Buren for president. He was finally nominated by the antislavery Free Soil Party.
Van Buren lost the 1848 election to ZACHARY TAYLOR. It was his last political campaign. He spent the last years of his life writing his Autobiography. Martin Van Buren died in New York in 1862. He is buried in Kinderhook, New York.
