Presidential Biographies | Van Buren Administration - Introduction

Introduction

One of the first "professional politicians" to rise to the presidency, Martin Van Buren made the most of a modest upbringing and a poor education in the small upstate village of Kinderhook, New York. Serving as a U.S. senator, secretary of state, and vice president before assuming the presidency, he carried on the strong tradition of democracy that had been established by his political patron, Andrew Jackson.