Martin Van Buren was the first American president not of British descent.  He was the son of a Dutch tavernkeeper and farmer in the small upstate New York village of Kinderhook.  As a young lawyer in Albany, he became involved in local politics and was elected New York State representative to the U.S. Senate in 1821. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party and served at various times as Governor of New York State, Minister to Great Britain, Secretary of State, and Vice President to Andrew Jackson.  Known to his supporters as the little magician and to his enemies as the sly fox, Martin became Jackson’s back room organizer and most trusted advisor.

He rode to the presidency on Jackson’s coattails in 1836 after Jackson determined not to run for a third term.  While his term began with a prospering economy, after only three months the country experienced the worst financial crash in its history; banks and businesses failed and thousands lost their lands.  While the cyclical bust and boom economy of the 19^th century, coupled with his predecessor’s financial measures, contributed to the 1837 panic, Van Buren proved ineffective at stemming the economic collapse.

Martin continued many of Jackson’s policies.  His administration’s involvement  on behalf of the Spanish government in the U.S. vs Amistad case before the Supreme Courtwas construed as a defense of slavery.  He also continued Jackson’s forcible, genocidal removal of Native Americans from their lands.  In what became known as the Trail of Tears, about 4,000 of the 15,000 Cherokees Van Buren’s administration evicted from their traditional lands in what are now parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama died in transit to new land set aside for them in Oklahoma.

Van Buren gained a reputation in Washington as a wannabe aristocrat.  He was a bon vivant and epicure who wore a corset and perfumed his whiskers.  Having witnessed the chaos of Jackson’s open houses, he prohibited food and drink at public receptions. Privately, however, he hosted extravagant dinner parties at the White House that made use of gold-plated spoons James Monroe had purchased in France and the finest quality cut crystal wine glasses. He was known to drink with abandon, sharing his mentor’s preference for whiskey, and despite his small stature (he was 5 feet 6 inches tall) he held his liquor with little visible effect.  His culinary tastes combined an appreciation of hearty Dutch fare with more sophisticated dishes.  He avoided sweets and preferred fruit, especially apples.  Like the Dutch of his day, he liked oysters.

The public, still reeling from the panic of 1837, accused the president of living lavishly while ordinary Americans struggled to make ends meet.  He lost his bid for reelection to war hero William Henry Harrison in the 1840 election. Van Buren spent the remainder of his life at Lindenwald, his Kinderhook home.