Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782-July 24, 1862) was the 8th President of the United States, 1837-41; Vice-President under Andrew Jackson, 1832-36; U.S. Minister to Great Britain, 1831-32; Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson, 1829-31; Governor of New York, 1828-29; U.S. Senator, 1821-28; Attorney General of New York, 1815-21; Regent of the University of New York, 1815; New York State Senator, 1812-15; appointed Surrogate of Columbia County, New York, 1808; married Hannah Hoes, 1807, and admitted to bar, 1803.
On Saturday, March 4, 1837, in his Inaugural Address, President Martin Van Buren stated:
<So sensibly, fellow-citizens, do these circumstances press themselves upon me that I should not dare to enter upon my path of duty did I not look for the generous aid of those who will be associated with me in the various and coordinate branches of the Government; did I not repose with unwavering reliance on the patriotism, the intelligence, and the kindness of a people who never yet deserted a public servant honestly laboring in their cause; and above all, did I not permit myself humbly to hope for the sustaining of an ever- watchful and beneficent Providence....
I only look to the gracious protection of that Divine Being whose strengthening support I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently pray to look down upon us all. May it be among the dispensations of His Providence to bless our beloved country with honors and length of days; may her ways be pleasantness, and all her paths peace!> 1782MV001
On Monday, September 4, 1837, in a Special Session Message to Congress, President Martin Van Buren stated:
<Banking has become a political topic of the highest interest....I felt it due to the people to apprise them distinctly that in the event of my election I would not be able to cooperate in the reestablishment of a national bank. To these sentiments I have now only to add the expression of an increased conviction that the reestablishment of such a bank in any form, whilst it would not accomplish the beneficial purpose promised by its advocates, would impair the rightful supremacy of the popular will, injure the character and diminish the influence of our political system, and bring once more into existence a concentrated moneyed power, hostile to the spirit and threatening the permanency of our republican institutions....
Surely banks are not more able than the Government to secure the money in their possession against accident, violence, or fraud. The assertion that they are so must assume that a vault in a bank is stronger than a vault in the Treasury, and that directors, cashiers, and clerks not selected by the Government nor under its control are more worthy of confidence than officers selected from the people and responsible to the Government-officers bound by official oaths and bonds for a faithful performance of their duties, and constantly subject to the supervision of Congress....
The great agricultural interest has in many parts of the country suffered comparatively little, and, as if Providence intended to display the munificence of its goodness at the moment of our greatest need, and in direct contrast to the evils occasioned by the waywardness of man, we have been blessed throughout our extended territory....
We can only feel more deeply the responsibility of the respective trusts that have been confided to us, and under the pressure of difficulties unite in invoking the guidance and aid of the Supreme Ruler of Nations.> 1782MV002
On December 5, 1837, in his First Annual Message to Congress, President Martin Van Buren stated:
<We have reason to renew the expression of our devout gratitude to the Giver of All Good for His benign protection. 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.> 1782MV003
On December 3, 1838, in his Second Annual Message to Congress, President Martin Van Buren stated:
<These blessings, which evince the care and beneficence of Providence, call for our devout and fervent gratitude. We have not less reason to be grateful for other bounties bestowed by the same Munificent Hand, and more exclusively our own.> 1782MV004
On Monday, December 2, 1839, in his Third Annual Message to Congress, President Martin Van Buren stated:
<The ravages of fire and disease have painfully afflicted otherwise flourishing portions of our country, and serious embarrassments yet derange the trade of many of our cities. But notwithstanding these adverse circumstances, that general prosperity which has been heretofore so bountifully bestowed upon us by the Author of All Good still continues to call for our warmest gratitude. Especially have we reason to rejoice in the exuberant harvests which have lavishly recompensed well-directed industry and given to it that sure reward which is vainly sought in visionary speculations....
By ceasing to run in debt and applying the surplus of our crops and incomes to the discharge of existing obligations...we shall see our country soon recover from a temporary depression....
Fortunately for us at this moment, when the balance of trade is greatly against us and the difficulty of meeting it enhanced by the disturbed state of our money affairs, the bounties of Providence have come to relieve us from the consequences of past errors....Our surplus profits, the energy and industry of our population, and the wonderful advantages which Providence has bestowed upon our country...will in due time afford abundant means....
Abuses as we are now encountering...seek to perpetuate their power by means of the influence they have been permitted to acquire....To gain for the few an ascendancy over the many by securing to them a monopoly of the currency...to nourish, in preference to the manly virtues that give dignity to human nature, a craving desire for luxurious enjoyment and sudden wealth, which renders those who seek them dependent on those who supply them; to substitute for republican simplicity and economical habits a sickly appetite for effeminate indulgence and an imitation of that reckless extravagance.> 1782MV005
On December 5, 1840, in his Fourth Annual Message to Congress, President Martin Van Buren stated:
<Our devout gratitude is due to the Supreme Being for having graciously continued to our beloved country through the vicissitudes of another year the invaluable blessings of health, plenty, and peace.> 1782MV006
A member of the English Parliament, James Buckingham, visited the White House on a Sunday, and described:
<President Van Buren walked into the church unattended by a single servant, took his place in a pew in which others were sitting besides himself, and retired in the same manner as he came, without being noticed in any other degree than any other member of the congregation, and walking home alone, until joined by one or two personal friends, like any other private gentleman. In taking exercise he usually rides out on horseback, and is generally unattended.> 1782MV008
In the autumn of 1860, Martin Van Buren joined the Dutch Reformed Church. During his last illness he made this confession:
<The atonement of Jesus Christ is the only remedy and rest for my soul.> 1782MV007
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1782MV001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Martin Van Buren, March 4, 1837, Saturday, in his Inaugural Address. James D. Richardson (U.S. Representative from Tennessee), ed., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published by Authority of Congress, 1897, 1899; Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Literature and Art, 1789-1902, 11 vols., 1907, 1910), Vol. III, pp. 313-320. Benjamin Franklin Morris, The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States (Philadelphia: George W. Childs, 1864), p. 604. Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States-From George Washington 1789 to Richard Milhous Nixon 1969 (Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office; 91st Congress, 1st Session, House Document 91-142, 1969), pp. 61-69. Charles E. Rice, The Supreme Court and Public Prayer (New York: Fordham University Press, 1964), p. 182. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, OR: American Heritage Ministries, 1987; Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas), p. 473. J. Michael Sharman, J.D., Faith of the Fathers (Culpeper, Virginia: Victory Publishing, 1995), p. 41.
1782MV002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Martin Van Buren, September 4, 1837, in a Special Session Message to Congress. James D. Richardson (U.S. Representative from Tennessee), ed., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published by Authority of Congress, 1897, 1899; Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Literature and Art, 1789-1902, 11 vols., 1907, 1910), Vol. III, pp. 331-346.
1782MV003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Martin Van Buren, December 5, 1837, in his First Annual Message to Congress. James D. Richardson (U.S. Representative from Tennessee), ed., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published by Authority of Congress, 1897, 1899; Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Literature and Art, 1789-1902, 11 vols., 1907, 1910), Vol. III, p. 373.
1782MV004. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Martin Van Buren, December 3, 1838, in his Second Annual Message to Congress. James D. Richardson (U.S. Representative from Tennessee), ed., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published by Authority of Congress, 1897, 1899; Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Literature and Art, 1789-1902, 11 vols., 1907, 1910), Vol. III, p. 483.
1782MV005. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Martin Van Buren, December 2, 1839, in his Third Annual Message to Congress. James D. Richardson (U.S. Representative from Tennessee), ed., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published by Authority of Congress, 1897, 1899; Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Literature and Art, 1789-1902, 11 vols., 1907, 1910), Vol. III, pp. 529-530, 553-554.
1782MV006. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Martin Van Buren, December 5, 1840, in his Fourth Annual Message to Congress. James D. Richardson (U.S. Representative from Tennessee), ed., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published by Authority of Congress, 1897, 1899; Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Literature and Art, 1789-1902, 11 vols., 1907, 1910), Vol. III, p. 602.
1782MV008. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Martin Van Buren, description of Sunday church attendance by visiting member of the British Parliament, James Buckingham. (originally 'Church Going of the Presidents,' published 1908.) http://www.oldandsold.com/articles31n/white- house-history-42.shtml
1782MV007. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Martin Van Buren, 1860, joined the Dutch Reformed Church. Benjamin Franklin Morris, The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States (Philadelphia: George W. Childs, 1864), p. 605. John Wilson Taylor, M.A., Ph.D., et al., The Lincoln Library of Essential Information (Buffalo, New York: The Frontier Press Company, 1935), p. 391. Martin Van Buren, acknowledgement made during his last illness, 1862. Benjamin Franklin Morris, The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States (Philadelphia: George W. Childs, 1864), p. 605. Stephen Abbott Northrop, D.D., A Cloud of Witnesses (Portland, OR: American Heritage Ministries, 1987; Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas), p. 473.