I often wonder because I'm a giant nerd what people like Van Buren would think of the modern process, particularly the 2016 election.

That's Washington Post politics reporter Chris Aliza.

And why does he wonder what Martin Van Buren would think of the American political machine and party system today?

Well, because Martin Van Buren basically created the beast.

I'm Lilian Cunningham and this is the eighth episode of Presidential.

The President

Here are the presidential vital stats for Martin Van Buren.

He's born in Kinderhook, New York in 1770.

He's born in the United States in the United States in the United States in the United States.

Here are the presidential vital stats for Martin Van Buren.

He's born in Kinderhook, New York in 1782 and his family is Dutch.

He's actually the only president we've had in all of American history so far, who spoke English as his second language.

He comes from a modest family, his father owns a farm and a tavern.

Taverns at the time though were the main places that people would gather to talk politics.

So he's exposed to politics from a very early age and gets involved at the local level.

Van Buren works his way up the political ranks from the local level to the state level to the national level.

He eventually becomes the main strategist for Andrew Jackson's successful presidential run in 1828.

And by Jackson's second term, Martin Van Buren is appointed vice president.

When Jackson's time in office is up, Van Buren goes from being vice president to being elected president himself in 1836.

But he serves one term and it's a term that's not considered great and he's not elected a second time.

Do people in like politics circles think about Martin Van Buren today or is he's really just like on the radar for everyone?

I would, and I'd love to say yes, we have a weekly Van Buren reading of various pieces that he's written over his time in office.

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