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50 free Martin Van Buren trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Martin Van Buren grew up speaking Dutch in a Kinderhook tavern, stood five foot six, and built the first modern political machine before he built the Democratic Party itself. He was Andrew Jackson's fixer, secretary of state, rejected ambassador, vice president and chosen heir, and then the president who got the Panic of 1837 two months into the job and never recovered from it. This quiz covers the whole arc: the Bucktails and the Albany Regency, the Tariff of Abominations, the forty-three-day governorship, the Petticoat Affair, Calhoun's tie-breaking vote that 'killed him dead', the 1836 win over four Whigs, the Independent Treasury, the Trail of Tears, the Caroline and Aroostook crises, the Amistad case, the Gold Spoon Oration, the log-cabin campaign of 1840, the Texas letter that cost him the 1844 nomination, the Free Soil ticket of 1848, and the OK slogan that outlived him. Early questions suit anyone who remembers the presidents in order; later ones ask for cabinet members, vote counts and the name of his estate. Fifty questions, every one sourced.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Martin Van Buren was which number president of the United States?
Eighth
He served one term, 1837 to 1841, after four years as Jackson's vice president.
Q 02In which New York village was Van Buren born?
Kinderhook
Most residents were of Dutch descent; his nickname 'Old Kinderhook' later fed the slogan 'OK'.
Q 03Van Buren is the only president to have spoken English as what?
A second language
He was raised speaking Dutch and learned English at school.
Q 04Van Buren was the first president born after which document?
The Declaration of Independence
He was born in December 1782, so still technically a British subject at birth.
Q 05How tall was Van Buren, earning him the nickname 'Little Van'?
5 feet 6 inches
His bushy reddish sideburns also got him called the 'Red Fox'.
Q 06Whom did Van Buren marry in 1807?
Hannah Hoes
She was his childhood sweetheart and a daughter of his maternal first cousin; he never remarried after her 1819 death.
Q 07Van Buren named his fourth son after which general he worked with during the War of 1812?
Winfield Scott
He later sent the same general to calm two border crises with Canada as president.
Q 08Van Buren led which anti-Clintonian faction in New York politics?
The Bucktails
From it he built the Albany Regency, one of America's first political machines.
Q 09What name was given to the political machine Van Buren built in New York?
The Albany Regency
It relied on small farmers but also drew support from Tammany Hall in New York City.
Q 10Despite leading the anti-Clinton faction, Van Buren supported which Clinton project?
The Erie Canal
He believed the canal would benefit the state and helped its bill pass the legislature.
Q 11In 1821 the legislature elected Van Buren to which body?
The United States Senate
He arrived in Washington during the Era of Good Feelings and chaired the Judiciary Committee.
Q 12Which candidate did Van Buren back in the four-way 1824 presidential election?
William H. Crawford
Crawford suffered a stroke mid-campaign; Van Buren even visited Jefferson to seek an endorsement.
Q 13What did opponents call the 1828 import duties Van Buren helped pass?
The Tariff of Abominations
It was meant to protect northern and western farm products but angered the South and New England alike.
Q 21Van Buren's 1836 win cemented which era of American politics?
The Second Party System
By the end of the campaign nearly every faction had been absorbed by Democrats or Whigs.
Q 22Whigs blamed the Panic of 1837 on which Jackson order?
The Specie Circular
Jackson sent word asking Van Buren not to rescind it.
Q 23Van Buren's answer to the Panic was a plan to store federal funds where?
In government vaults
The Independent Treasury passed in 1840, was abolished in 1841, revived in 1846 and lasted until 1913.
Q 14How long was Van Buren's term as Governor of New York, the shortest in state history?
43 days
He resigned in March 1829 to become Jackson's Secretary of State.
Q 15As governor, Van Buren passed which early form of deposit insurance?
The Bank Safety Fund Law
He also placed allies William Marcy and Silas Wright in key state posts.
Q 16Van Buren helped persuade Jackson to veto federal funding for which 1830 project?
The Maysville Road
It reaffirmed limited government and shielded New York's Erie Canal from rival projects.
Q 17Which cabinet wives' snub of Peggy Eaton caused the Petticoat Affair that Van Buren helped resolve?
Those led by Floride Calhoun
As a widower, Van Buren was untouched by the feud and resigned to let Jackson reorganise the cabinet.
Q 18Who cast the deciding Senate vote rejecting Van Buren as ambassador to Britain in 1832?
John C. Calhoun
He crowed 'It will kill him dead, sir' — and instead propelled Van Buren to the vice presidency.
Q 19How many Whig candidates ran against Van Buren in 1836?
Four
Harrison, White, Webster and Mangum hoped to throw the election to the House.
Q 20How many electoral votes did Van Buren win in 1836?
170
He took 50.9% of the popular vote; Harrison led the Whigs with 73 electors.
Q 24The Independent Treasury system finally ended with the passage of what 1913 law?
The Federal Reserve Act
The Whigs killed it in 1841 but it was revived in 1846.
Q 25Which 1835 agreement set the terms for the Cherokee removal Van Buren enforced in 1838?
New Echota
About 20,000 people were removed on the Trail of Tears; an estimated 4,000 died.
Q 26Which writer sent Van Buren a letter protesting his treatment of the Cherokee?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Van Buren told Congress the Cherokee had not protested their removal.
Q 27Which costly war in Florida marred Van Buren's presidency?
The Second Seminole War
The December 1837 Battle of Lake Okeechobee opened a phase of attrition; some Seminoles were allowed to stay.
Q 28How did Van Buren respond when Texas proposed annexation in August 1837?
He refused to entertain it
Constitutional scruples, fear of war with Mexico and the slavery question all weighed; Texas withdrew the offer in 1838.
Q 29Which American steamboat did British forces burn and sink on the Niagara River in December 1837?
The Caroline
It had been supplying Canadian rebels on Navy Island; Van Buren proclaimed neutrality.
Q 30The secret society behind the Patriot War raids into Upper Canada was called what?
The Hunters' Lodge
Charles Duncombe and Robert Nelson formed it in Vermont; Washington prosecuted its leaders under the Neutrality Act.