Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862), nicknamed Old Kinderhook, was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. Before his presidency he served as the eighth Vice President (1833-1837) and the 10th Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson. He was a key organizer of the Democratic Party, a dominant figure in the Second Party System, and the first president who was not of English, Irish, Welsh, or Scottish descent. Van Buren was the first President who did not experience the American Revolution firsthand. He is also the only president not to have spoken English as a first language, having grown up speaking Dutch.Van Buren was the first of a series of eight presidents between Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln who served one term or less. He also was one of the central figures in developing modern political organizations. As Andrew Jackson's Secretary of State and then Vice President, he was a key figure in building the organizational structure for Jacksonian democracy, particularly in New York State. However, as a President, his administration was largely characterized by the economic hardship of his time, the Panic of 1837. Between the bloodless Aroostook War and the Caroline Affair, relations with Britain and its colonies in Canada also proved to be strained. Whether or not these are directly his fault, Van Buren was voted out of office after four years, with a close popular vote but a rout in the electoral vote. In 1848 he ran for president on a third party ticket, the Free Soil Party Martin Van Buren was born in the village of Kinderhook, New York, approximately 25 miles south of Albany, the state capital, as the third of five children. He was the first president born in the United States, as all previous ones were born before the American Revolution. His great-great-great-great-grandfather Cornelis had come to the New World in 1631 from the Netherlands. His father was Abraham Van Buren (February 17, 1737–April 8, 1817), a farmer and popular tavern-master. His mother was Maria Hoes Van Allen (February 27, 1743–February 16, 1817), a widow who had three sons from a previous relationship. Van Buren was educated at the common schools and at Kinderhook Academy. In 1796, he began the study of law, completing his preparation in 1802 in New York City, where he studied under William Peter van Ness. In 1803, he was admitted to the bar and continued an active and successful practice for 26 years.On February 21, 1807, he married Hannah Hoes, a maternal cousin. Hannah died in 1819, before her husband became President (and, therefore, never became First Lady of the United States). | 
