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.

When Martin Van Buren arrived in Washington to be sworn in as a senator in 1821, he told a friend he planned to “build up a party” for himself. It was an odd time to be party-mongering ...

The American republic began in 1789, but it took a while for leaders and voters alike to organize themselves within a national framework, a process that would transform the nature of politics.