Martin Van Buren (#8)

Martin Van Buren (1782–1862) was the first president born as a citizen of the United States — all his predecessors had been born British subjects before independence. A New Yorker of Dutch descent, Van Buren was the ultimate political operator of his era, building the Albany Regency into one of the most effective political machines in American history and helping found the Democratic Party alongside Andrew Jackson.

As the eighth president (1837–1841), Van Buren inherited a financial catastrophe: the Panic of 1837, triggered partly by Jackson's bank policies, plunged the country into a severe depression. His cautious, non-interventionist response — establishing an independent treasury — did little to restore public confidence, and he lost re-election in 1840 to William Henry Harrison. Van Buren later ran again in 1848 as the Free Soil candidate on an anti-slavery expansion platform. His nickname, "The Little Magician," reflected both his short stature and his legendary political cunning. The word "OK" is widely believed to derive from his nickname "Old Kinderhook."