Editing Martin Van Buren (section)

=== 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>