When Martin Van Buren arrived in Washington ... Born in 1782 to a tavern-keeping family in Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren had little schooling but made himself a lawyer, rising to the heights ...
Martin Van Buren ... the situation, but Van Buren's insistence on doing nothing -- along with his tendency to live high and dress well (he had come from a poor family) -- infuriated many Americans.