Crazy Anne

 

You won’t find Martin Van Buren on Mount Rushmore. History doesn’t remember him as a great or even a good president. He was our eighth president, elected chiefly because he was friends with Andrew Jackson, his predecessor. He was the first president to be born a citizen of the U.S.: the previous seven were born subjects of the crown. He was the only president – so far – for whom English was a second language. In his home town of Kinderhook, N.Y. in the 1700’s, most people spoke Dutch. Martin continued Jackson’s harsh anti-Indian policies. He called slavery a great evil, but he did profit from it. During his presidency, the Sultan of Oman gave President Van Buren two tiger cubs. Martin wanted to keep them in the white house, but congress said no. They were eventually donated to a local zoo. My favorite Martin Van Buren quote: “It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't.”