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Martin Van Buren National Historic Site

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

This historic home is named after the country's eighth president and founder of the Democratic Party, Martin Van Buren. Van Buren was preeminent among the second generation of American politicians. As eighth President - the first born under the U.S. flag - he continued building the Democratic Party he helped organize. His administration faced daunting challenges: The nation suffered a severe and lingering economic depression. Crises with Great Britain, Spain, and the Republic of Texas taxed his diplomatic skills. Most troubling throughout his forty year political career was the issue of extending slavery into new states. Van Buren opposed extension while still trying to cultivate a coalition of northern and southern interests. The issue divided the nation and his party and foreshadowed the whirlpool of frustration, anger and violence which was to consume the country in the 1860s. Martin Van Buren National Historic Site is a unit of the National Park Service and is operated for the benefit of present and future generations.


Images

  • Martin Van Buren's former home and farm are known as Lindenwald.
  • Statue of Van Buren located in the Village of Kinderhook.
  • Van Buren practiced politics in the main hall of his home for more than twenty years. He would lobby, cajole, argue, discuss and debate with other politicians while entertaining them in the elegant room.
  • Beautiful scenery abounds along several trail within the park.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Politics before the Civil War was a whirlwind of opposing interest groups. Martin Van Buren was able to unite those groups becoming president in 1837. As frustration and violence over the extension of slavery grew in the 1840s, Van Buren ran for the presidency twice more from this house. He hoped to unite sectional interests but failed; ultimately so did the union.

The history associated with Martin Van Buren and the culture of antebellum America is a rich vein to mine to learn about the country. Likewise, his farm Lindenwald provides a microcosm for us to discover the transformations taking place in America during the 1840s and 1850s.


Sources

http://www.nps.gov/mava/learn/historyculture/index.htm. Retrieved 10-12-15. Bronwyn Krog. "Lindenwald," National Register of Historic Places. 10-15-66.

Additional Information