And a new biography, “Martin Van Buren: America’s First Politician,” makes the case that Van Buren’s achievements go beyond his bodacious sideburns. Chatham-based author James M.

But a new biography, Martin Van Buren: America’s First Politician, by James M. Bradley sheds new light on the obscure politician perhaps best remembered today for a running joke from a 1997 ...

Born: December 5, 1782, in Kinderhook, New York... Martin Van Buren allied himself with President Andrew Jackson, who in turn rewarded Van Buren with cabinet positions and the vice presidency.

If he couldn't claim vertical space, he's claiming some horizontal space." Widmer wrote a biography of Martin Van Buren: "I was attracted to the idea of trying to make an obscure president a ...

Martin Van Buren did much to create the political party establishments we have today. Experts Barbara Bair and Mark Cheathem, along with Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza, examine his mark ...

Martin Van Buren earned two nicknames during his lifetime: “the Little Magician”—he was a smooth politician—and “Old Kinderhook” from the town where he was born. “Old Kinderhook ...

Bradley in Martin Van Buren: America’s First Politician, a lively and illuminating new biography of our eighth president—the first to be born a U.S. citizen. Absent a strong opposition party ...