State of the Union Address - Dodo Press Author:Martin Van Buren The State of the Union Adresses of Martin Van Buren (1782-1862), nicknamed Old Kinderhook, who was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. Before his presidency he served as the eighth Vice President (1833-1837) and the 10th Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson. He was a key organizer of the Democratic Party, a dominant f... more »igure in the Second Party System, and the first president who was not of English, Irish, Welsh, or Scottish descent. He was the first President who did not experience the American Revolution firsthand. He is also the only president not to have spoken English as a first language, having grown up speaking Dutch. As a President, his administration was largely characterized by the economic hardship of his time, the Panic of 1837. Between the bloodless Aroostook War and the Caroline Affair, relations with Britain and its colonies in Canada also proved to be strained. Whether or not these are directly his fault, he was voted out of office after four years, with a close popular vote but a rout in the electoral vote.« less