Martin Van Buren
The first professional politician to reach the presidency — Van Buren invented the modern political party machine with New York's Albany Regency and then watched his presidency collapse under the Panic of 1837, a financial crisis he inherited from Jackson.
Pantheon Standing
| List Name | Rank | Combined |
|---|---|---|
| Greatest U.S. Presidents of All Time | #1 | 96.0 |
The Age Divide
Voters under 30 and over 35 rank Martin Van Buren significantly differently across lists.
The Cultural Record
Discography
No entries on record.
Awards & Recognition
No Grammy data on record.
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8th President
first president born a US citizen
Panic of 1837
Independent Treasury System
first political machine builder (Albany Regency)
refused to annex Texas (slavery issue)
Amistad case
'Old Kinderhook' origin of 'OK'
The Case For Martin Van Buren
“The longevity argument alone puts them in a category of one. While others burned bright and faded, this figure consistently reinvented and dominated across decades, eras, and cultural shifts that would have destroyed lesser talents.”
“Technically unmatched. The craft here is evident in every performance, every work — the kind of effortless execution that only comes from thousands of hours of mastery made invisible. They make the impossible look inevitable.”
“Commercial success should never be held against artistic legacy. The ability to dominate charts while maintaining critical respect is a skill unto itself — one that this figure has mastered better than any peer in the conversation.”
Rank History
Ranking history will be available once voting opens for Martin Van Buren.
Often Compared To
Woodrow Wilson
#2President / Democrat — Staunton, Virginia · 1913–1921
The scholar-president who won WWI and lost the peace — Wilson's 14 Points and League of Nations vision shaped the international order for a century, but the Senate rejected the League and Wilson had a stroke trying to sell it to the public. He also re-segregated the federal workforce.
Lyndon B. Johnson
#3President / Democrat — Stonewall, Texas · 1963–1969
The most legislatively productive president since FDR — in a single term, LBJ passed the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, Medicare, Medicaid, the Higher Education Act, and the most sweeping social legislation in American history. Vietnam destroyed him and his presidency, and he knew it.