Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American politician who served as the eighth President of the United States. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in a number of senior roles, including eighth Vice Presidentand tenth Secretary of State, both under Andrew Jackson. Van Buren's inability as president to deal with the deep economic depression following the Panic of 1837 and with the surging Whig Party led to his defeat in the 1840...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionUS President
Date of Birth5 December 1782
CityKinderhook, NY
CountryUnited States of America
For myself, therefore, I desire to declare that the principle that will govern me in the high duty to which my country calls me is a strict adherence to the letter and spirit of the Constitution as it was designed by those who framed it.
The people under our system, like the king in a monarchy, never dies.
No evil can result from its inhibition more pernicious than its toleration.
With European powers no new subjects of difficulty have arisen, and those which were under discussion, although not terminated, do not present a more unfavorable aspect for the future preservation of that good understanding which it has ever been our desire to cultivate.
The atonement of Jesus Christ is the only remedy and rest for my soul.
The government should not be guided by Temporary Excitement, but by Sober Second Thought.
The less government interferes with private pursuits, the better for general prosperity.
In time of peace there can, at all events, be no justification for the creation of a permanent debt by the Federal Government. Its limited range of constitutional duties may certainly under such circumstances be performed without such a resort.
I shall tread in the footsteps of my illustrious predecessor.
To avoid the necessity of a permanent debt and its inevitable consequences, I have advocated and endeavored to carry into effect the policy of confining the appropriations for the public service to such objects only as are clearly with the constitutional authority of the Federal Government.
There is but one reliance.
The United States have fulfilled in good faith all their treaty stipulations with the Indian tribes, and have in every other instance insisted upon a like performance of their obligations.
With respect to the northeastern boundary of the United States, no official correspondence between this Government and that of Great Britain has passed since that communicated to Congress toward the close of their last session.
Our country presents on every side the evidences of that continued favor under whose auspices it, has gradually risen from a few feeble and dependent colonies to a prosperous and powerful confederacy.