Editing Martin Van Buren (section)

==Legacy==

===Historical reputation===
Van Buren's most lasting achievement was as a political organizer who built the Democratic Party and guided it to dominance in the [[Second Party System]],{{sfn|Cole|1984|p=16}} and historians have come to regard Van Buren as integral to the development of the American political system.<ref name=MVLiB>{{cite web |url=https://millercenter.org/president/vanburen/life-in-brief |first1=Joel |last1=Silbey |title=Martin Van Buren: Life in Brief |publisher=Miller Center of Public Affairs University of Virginia |access-date=March 6, 2017 |date=October 4, 2016 |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403204126/https://millercenter.org/president/vanburen/life-in-brief |url-status=live }}</ref> According to [[Robert V. Remini]], "Van Buren's creative contribution to the political development of the nation was enormous, and as such he earned his way to the presidency… Heretofore parties were regarded as evils to be tolerated; Van Buren argued that the party system was the most sensible and intelligent way the affairs of the nation could be democratically conducted, a viewpoint that eventually won national approval".<ref>Robert Remini, "Van Buren, Martin" in John A. Garraty, ed., ''Encyclopedia of American Biography'' (1974) pp 1120–1122.</ref>[[File:MVanBuren.png|thumb|upright=0.8|Gubernatorial [[portrait]] of Martin Van Buren by [[Daniel Huntington (artist)|Daniel Huntington]] in The Civil War]]
His presidency is [[Historical rankings of presidents of the United States|considered to be average]], at best, by historians. He was blamed for the Panic of 1837 and defeated for reelection.<ref name=MVLiB/> His tenure was dominated by the economic conditions caused by the panic, and historians have split on the adequacy of the Independent Treasury as a response.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://millercenter.org/president/vanburen/impact-and-legacy| title=Martin Van Buren: Impact and Legacy| publisher=Miller Center of Public Affairs University of Virginia| access-date=March 16, 2017| date=October 4, 2016| archive-date=March 28, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328020512/https://millercenter.org/president/vanburen/impact-and-legacy| url-status=live}}</ref> Some historians disagree with these negative assessments. For example, libertarian writer [[Ivan Eland]], in his 2009 book ''[[Recarving Rushmore]]'', ranked Van Buren as the third greatest president.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Eland |first=Ivan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m7DtAAAAMAAJ |title=Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty |date=2009 |publisher=Independent Institute |isbn=978-1-59813-022-5 |pages=70–91 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Doucet |first=Bradley |date=2013 |title=What Makes a Good President? A Review of Ivan Eland's Recarving Rushmore |url=http://www.quebecoislibre.org/12/121015-9.html |access-date= |website=[[Le Québécois Libre]] |archive-date=August 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819025052/http://www.quebecoislibre.org/12/121015-9.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He argues that Van Buren handled the Panic of 1837 well, and praised Van Buren for reducing [[government spending]], [[Balanced budget|balancing the budget]], and avoiding potential wars with Canada and Mexico.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Historian Jeffrey Rogers Hummel states that Van Buren was America's greatest president, arguing that "historians have grossly underrated his many remarkable accomplishments in the face of heavy odds".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hummel |first=Jeffrey Rogers |date=1999 |title=Martin Van Buren: The Greatest American President |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24560894 |journal=The Independent Review |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=255–281 |jstor=24560894 |issn=1086-1653 |access-date=April 13, 2022 |archive-date=April 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413144937/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24560894 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several writers have portrayed Van Buren as among the nation's most obscure presidents. As noted in a 2014 ''Time'' magazine article on the "Top 10 Forgettable Presidents":
{{Blockquote|Making himself nearly disappear completely from the history books was probably not the trick the "Little Magician" Martin Van Buren had in mind, but his was the first truly forgettable American presidency.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Fletcher|first=Dan|magazine=Time|title=Top Ten Forgettable Presidents: Martin Van Buren|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1879648_1879646_1879654,00.html|access-date=March 14, 2017|date=March 10, 2009|archive-date=February 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228200102/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1879648_1879646_1879654,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

===Memorials===
{{Main|List of memorials to Martin Van Buren}}
Van Buren's home in Kinderhook, New York, which he called Lindenwald, is now the [[Martin Van Buren National Historic Site]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/mava/learn/historyculture/stories.htm |title=One Hundred Years in the Making: Lindenwald Celebrates "Being Forty and Fabulous" |website=Martin Van Buren National Historic Site |publisher=National Park Service |location=Washington |access-date=May 2, 2017 |archive-date=April 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407215714/https://www.nps.gov/mava/learn/historyculture/stories.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Counties are named for Van Buren in [[Van Buren County, Michigan|Michigan]], [[Van Buren County, Iowa|Iowa]], [[Van Buren County, Arkansas|Arkansas]], and [[Van Buren County, Tennessee|Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Gannett|first=Henry |date= 1905|title= The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/origincertainpl00ganngoog |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page= [https://archive.org/details/origincertainpl00ganngoog/page/n315 309]}}</ref> [[Mount Van Buren]], {{USS|Van Buren|1839|6}}, three state parks and numerous towns were named after him.

=== Popular culture ===

====Association with "OK" ====
During Martin Van Buren's 1840 re-election campaign, the abbreviation "OK" gained prominence as a slogan supporting his candidacy. Van Buren, whose nickname "Old Kinderhook" referenced his birthplace in Kinderhook, New York, used the term as a symbol of approval and solidarity among his supporters. Although "OK" was initially popularized as a humorous abbreviation for "oll korrect" (a deliberate misspelling of "all correct") in newspapers during the late 1830s, its association with Van Buren's campaign helped solidify its place in American vernacular. Despite the widespread use of "OK," Van Buren was defeated in the 1840 election by William Henry Harrison, but the term continued to gain global recognition over the following decades.

====Books====
In [[Gore Vidal]]'s 1973 novel ''[[Burr (novel)|Burr]]'', a major plot theme is an attempt to prevent Van Buren's election as president by proving he is the illegitimate son of [[Aaron Burr]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hanc |first=John |date=June 6, 2016 |title=Before There Was "Hamilton," There Was "Burr" |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/there-was-hamilton-there-was-burr-180959295/ |magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |location=Washington, DC |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |access-date=September 12, 2022 |archive-date=September 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912195454/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/there-was-hamilton-there-was-burr-180959295/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Comic strips ====
After the [[1988 United States presidential election|1988 presidential campaign]], [[George H. W. Bush]], a [[Yale University]] graduate and member of the [[Skull and Bones]] secret society, became the first incumbent vice president to win election to the presidency since Van Buren. In the comic strip ''[[Doonesbury]]'', artist [[Garry Trudeau]] depicted members of Skull and Bones as stealing Van Buren's skull as a congratulatory gift to the new president.{{sfn|Widmer|2005|p=170}}<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 |publisher= Nova Science Publishers |page= 1|isbn= 978-1-60456-773-1 }}</ref>

==== Currency ====
Martin Van Buren appeared in the [[Presidential dollar coins]] series in 2008.<ref>Unusually, the date appears on the rim of the coin, as do the mottoes [[In God We Trust]] and [[E Pluribus Unum]]</ref> The U.S. Mint also issued commemorative silver medals for Van Buren, released for sale in 2021.<ref>{{cite press release|author1=U.S. Mint|title=Silver Medal Honoring President Martin Van Buren on Sale February 1|url=https://coinweek.com/us-mint-news/silver-medal-honoring-president-martin-van-buren-on-sale-february-1/|website=CoinWeek|access-date=January 31, 2021|date=January 28, 2021|archive-date=January 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130132954/https://coinweek.com/us-mint-news/silver-medal-honoring-president-martin-van-buren-on-sale-february-1/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.catalog.usmint.gov/martin-van-buren-presidential-silver-medal-S808.html|title=Martin Van Buren Presidential Silver Medal – US Mint|access-date=October 18, 2021|archive-date=October 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018205134/https://www.catalog.usmint.gov/martin-van-buren-presidential-silver-medal-S808.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Film and TV ====
Van Buren is portrayed by [[Nigel Hawthorne]] in the 1997 film [[Amistad (film)|''Amistad'']]. The film depicts the legal battle surrounding the status of slaves who in 1839 rebelled against their transporters on ''[[La Amistad]]'' slave ship.<ref>{{cite web |title = Stephen Spielberg's "Amistad" (1997) |publisher = University of Missouri-Kansas City |url = http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/amistad/AMI_MOVI.HTM |access-date = July 9, 2016 |archive-date = June 24, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160624113955/http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/amistad/AMI_MOVI.HTM |url-status = live }}</ref>

On the television show ''[[Seinfeld]]'', the 1997 episode "[[The Van Buren Boys]]" is about a fictional [[street gang]] that admires Van Buren and bases its rituals and symbols on him, including the hand sign of eight fingers pointing up to signify Van Buren, the eighth president.<ref>{{cite book |last=Delaney |first=Tim |date=2006 |title=Seinology: The Sociology of Seinfeld |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YaoMT-RZY_4C&pg=PA152 |location=Amherst, NY |publisher=Prometheus Books |page=152 |isbn=978-1-6159-2084-6 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>