Timeline Description: Martin Van Buren was America's eighth president. He was also the eighth vice president, under President Andrew Jackson. He was the first President to be born an American instead of born during British rule.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1782 | Martin Van Buren is born Martin was born in a small village in New York. He was the first president to be born as an American, instead of as a citizen under British rule. |
| 1803 | Van Buren the lawyer Martin's family was not a wealthy one, and he had to work hard in order to get an education. He was admitted to the bar as a lawyer at the age of twenty-one. |
| 1808 | Getting into politics Mr. Van Buren was involved in political affairs from the age of seventeen, but he officially began his political career as a surrogate in New York in 1808. He changed political parties often, though, causing him to be removed from many groups. |
| 1812 | The State Senate In 1812, Van Buren moved on to work in the New York State Senate, and then the New York Attorney General in 1815. |
| 1817 | The Voting Game Van Buren began working with other politicians to streamline political voting. They invented systems and requirements to simplify the process. |
| 1821 | The US Senate Mr. Van Buren moved on to work in the US Senate, but his loyalties continued to change. He often came out as against something, only to change his mind a year later. |
| January 1829 | New York Governor Martin Van Buren continued gaining support, in spite of his wishy-washy beliefs. He began his term as New York governor in 1829. |
| March 1829 | The vice Presidency Mr. Van Buren resigned the office of governor only two short months after he began. He moved on to work as the Secretary of State under President Andrew Jackson, and later as vice-president in 1832. |
| 1836 | President! In the 1836 election, Martin Van Buren ran for president with the support of President Andrew Jackson. He had a fairly easy victory and began his term in 1837. |
| 1837 | The Panic of 1837 An unexpected depression hit America shortly after Van Buren became president. The depression lasted for five years and included the failure of banks and loss of jobs; many people blamed Van Buren. |
| 1837 | No State for Texas When the Texas territory requested to join the United States, President Van Buren denied their request to become an American state. |
| 1840 | An Independent Treasury During the depression, Van Buren secured the US Treasury by making it independent. This meant the treasury would be in control of all federal money. |
| 1840 | Van Buren loses the Presidency During the next presidential election, the people blamed Van Buren for the depression in the country. He lost the election to William Henry Harrison. |
| 1844 | Another try at the Presidency Van Buren tried running for office once again in the 1844 election, but he could not get enough votes and lost again. He finally retired to his home village in New York. |
| 1862 | Martin Van Buren dies After retiring to New York, Mr. Van Buren died of asthma and heart failure. He was seventy-nine years old, and he was buried in his home village. |