Editing Martin Van Buren (section)

==Early life and education==
{{Further|Family of Martin Van Buren}}
[[File:"The Birthplace of President Martin Van Buren in Kinderhook, New York", by J.W. Barber.jpg|thumb|Van Buren's birthplace by [[John Warner Barber]]]]
[[File:Martin Van Buren Baptism record.jpg|thumb|Baptismal record with the Dutch spelling of Van Buren's first name, "Maarten"]]

Martin Van Buren was born on December 5, 1782, in [[Kinderhook, New York]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/dutch_americans/buren-martin-van/ |title=Martin van Buren [1782–1862] |website=New Netherland Institute.org |publisher=New Netherland Institute |location=Albany, NY |access-date=February 24, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914221702/https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/dutch_americans/buren-martin-van/ |url-status=live }}</ref> about {{convert|20|mi}} south of [[Albany, New York|Albany]] in the [[Hudson Valley|Hudson River Valley]].

His father, [[Abraham Van Buren]], was a descendant of Cornelis Maessen, a native of [[Buurmalsen|Buurmalsen, Netherlands]], who had emigrated to [[New Netherland]] in 1631 and purchased a plot of land on [[Manhattan Island]].{{sfn|Cole|1984|pp=3, 9}}{{sfn|Widmer|2005|pp=153–165}} Along with being the first U.S. president who was not born a British subject, Van Buren was also the first U.S. president not of British ancestry; he was of entirely Dutch descent.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://millercenter.org/president/vanburen/life-before-the-presidency |title=Martin Van Buren: Life Before the Presidency |last=Silbey |first=Joel |date=October 4, 2016 |website=Miller Center |publisher=University of Virginia |location=Charlottesville, Virginia |access-date=November 3, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/our-non-anglo-saxon-presidents/1933301/#:~:text=Here's%20a%20list%20of%20presidents,ancestors%20from%20the%20British%20Isles | title=Our Non-Anglo-Saxon Presidents | date=July 25, 2012 | access-date=May 7, 2022 | archive-date=May 7, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220507093129/https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/our-non-anglo-saxon-presidents/1933301/#:~:text=Here's%20a%20list%20of%20presidents,ancestors%20from%20the%20British%20Isles | url-status=live }}</ref> Abraham Van Buren had been a [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] during the [[American Revolution]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=James A.|date=1898|title=New York in the Revolution as Colony and State|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u-81AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA109|location=Albany|publisher=Brandow Printing Company|page=109|isbn=978-0-8063-0496-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kane|first=Joseph Nathan|date=1998|title=Presidential Fact Book|url=https://archive.org/details/presidentialfact00kane |url-access=registration|publisher=Random House|page=[https://archive.org/details/presidentialfact00kane/page/53 53]|isbn=978-0-375-70244-0}}</ref> and he later joined the [[Democratic-Republican Party]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Foss|first=William O.|date=2005|title=Childhoods of the American Presidents|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpAMAQAAMAAJ |location=Jefferson|publisher=McFarland Publishing|page=45|isbn=978-0-7864-2382-8}}</ref> He owned an inn and tavern in Kinderhook and served as Kinderhook's town clerk for several years. In 1776, he married Maria Hoes (or Goes) Van Alen (1746–1818) in the [[Kinderhook, New York|town of Kinderhook]], also of Dutch extraction and the widow of Johannes Van Alen (1744-c. 1773). She had three children from her first marriage, including future U.S. Representative [[James I. Van Alen]]. Her second marriage produced five children, of which Martin was the third.{{sfn|Niven|1983|pp=5–6}}

Van Buren received a basic education at the village schoolhouse, and briefly studied [[Latin]] at the [[Kinderhook Academy]] and at [[Claverack College|Washington Seminary]] in [[Claverack, New York|Claverack]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Martin Van Buren, 1782–1862|url=https://www.nycourts.gov/history/legal-history-new-york/legal-history-eras-02/history-era-02-van-buren.html|publisher=Historical Society of the New York Courts|access-date=March 4, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402100814/https://www.nycourts.gov/history/legal-history-new-york/legal-history-eras-02/history-era-02-van-buren.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Cole|1984|p=14}} Van Buren was raised speaking primarily Dutch and learned English while attending school;<ref>{{cite book |last=Alexander |first=De Alva S. Alexander |author-link=De Alva S. Alexander |date=1906 |title=A Political History of the State of New York |volume=I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TEIOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA206 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Henry Holt and Company |page=206 |isbn=9780608374819 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> he is the only president of the United States whose first language was not English.{{sfn|Widmer|2005|pp=6–7}} Also during his childhood, Van Buren learned at his father's inn how to interact with people from varied ethnic, income, and societal groups, which he used to his advantage as a political organizer.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sidey |first=Hugh |title=The Presidents of the United States of America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eIujFN5vfwMC |location=Washington, DC |publisher=White House Historical Association |date=1999 |page=23 |isbn=978-0-912308-73-9}}</ref> His formal education ended in 1796, when he began [[reading law]] at the office of [[Peter Silvester (1734–1808)|Peter Silvester]] and his son Francis.{{sfn|Brooke|2010|p=230}}

Van Buren, at {{convert|5|ft|6|in}} tall, was small in stature, and affectionately nicknamed "Little Van".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Henretta |first1=James A. |last2=Edwards |first2=Rebecca |last3=Hinderaker |first3=Eric |last4=Self |first4=Robert O. |title=America: a Concise History, Combined Volume |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zv7cBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA290 |publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's |location=Boston |date=2015 |page=290 |isbn=978-1-4576-4862-5}}</ref> He was also called the "Red Fox" due to his "bushy reddish sideburns, striking forehead and prominent nose."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Loizeau |first1=Pierre-Marie |title=Martin Van Buren: The Little Magician |date=2008 |publisher=Nova Science Publishers, Inc. |location=New York |isbn=9781616680541 |pages=3}}</ref> When he began his legal studies he wore rough, homespun clothing,<ref>{{cite book |last=Loizeau|first=Pierre-Marie|date=2008|title=Martin Van Buren: The Little Magician|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQQQAQAAMAAJ |location=Hauppauge|publisher=Nova Science Publishers|page=10|isbn=978-1-60456-773-1}}</ref> causing the Silvesters to admonish him to pay greater heed to his clothing and personal appearance as an aspiring lawyer. He accepted their advice, and subsequently emulated the Silvesters' clothing, appearance, bearing, and conduct.<ref>{{cite book|last=Koenig |first=Louis William |title=The Invisible Presidency |url=https://archive.org/details/invisiblepreside0000koen |url-access=registration |publisher=Rinehart & Company |location=New York |date=1960 |page=[https://archive.org/details/invisiblepreside0000koen/page/89 89] |ref={{sfnRef|Koenig|1960}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Foss |first=William O. |title=Childhoods of the American Presidents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZpAMAQAAMAAJ |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=McFarland & Company |date=2005 |page=46 |isbn=978-0-7864-2382-8}}</ref> The lessons he learned from the Silvesters were reflected in his career as a lawyer and politician, in which Van Buren was known for his amiability and fastidious appearance.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bright |first=John W. |date=1970 |title=Master Plan, Lindenwald National Historic Site, New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wrlAxCr1j-oC&pg=PA9 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=National Park Service |page=9 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Despite Kinderhook's strong affiliation with the [[Federalist Party]], of which the Silvesters were also strong supporters, Van Buren adopted his father's Democratic-Republican leanings.{{sfn|Niven|1983|pp=8–9}} The Silvesters and Democratic-Republican political figure [[John Peter Van Ness]] suggested that Van Buren's political leanings constrained him to complete his education with a Democratic-Republican attorney, so he spent a final year of apprenticeship in the New York City office of John Van Ness's brother [[William P. Van Ness]], a political lieutenant of [[Aaron Burr]].{{sfn|Niven|1983|pp=10–11}} Van Ness introduced Van Buren to the intricacies of New York state politics, and Van Buren observed Burr's battles for control of the state Democratic-Republican party against [[George Clinton (vice president)|George Clinton]] and [[Robert R. Livingston (chancellor)|Robert R. Livingston]].{{sfn|Niven|1983|pp=14–15}} He returned to Kinderhook in 1803, after his [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admission to the New York bar]].{{sfn|Niven|1983|pp=15–17}}

[[File:Hannah van buren 2.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Hannah Van Buren]]]]
Van Buren married [[Hannah Van Buren|Hannah Hoes]] in [[Catskill, New York]], on February 21, 1807, when he was 24 years old and she was 23. She was his childhood sweetheart and a daughter of his maternal first cousin, Johannes Dircksen Hoes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lazo|first=Caroline Evensen|date=2005|title=Martin Van Buren|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkIHdziH5EQC&pg=PA14 |publisher=Lerner Publications Company|page=14|isbn=978-0-8225-1394-0 |ref={{sfnRef|Lazo}}}}</ref> She grew up in [[Valatie, New York|Valatie]], and like Van Buren her home life was primarily Dutch; she spoke Dutch as her first language, and spoke English with a marked accent.<ref>{{cite book|last=Matuz |first=Roger|date=2012|title=The Presidents Fact Book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C0ixeA5QxXwC&pg=PA152|publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers|page=152|isbn=978-1-57912-889-0}}</ref> The couple had six children, four of whom lived to adulthood: [[Abraham Van Buren II|Abraham]] (1807–1873), unnamed daughter (stillborn around 1809), [[John Van Buren|John]] (1810–1866), Martin Jr. (1812–1855), Winfield Scott (born and died in 1814), and Smith Thompson (1817–1876).<ref name="MVLiB" /> Hannah contracted [[tuberculosis]], and died in Kinderhook on February 5, 1819.{{sfn|Silbey|2002|p=27}} Martin Van Buren never remarried.<ref>{{cite book|last=McGeehan|first=John R.|date=2007|title=The Everything American History Book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jep_y0tYIj0C&pg=PA295|publisher=Adams Media|page=295|isbn=978-1-60550-265-6}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>