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Tertiary sourceBook1914

Van Buren, Martin, entry in The New Student's Reference Work

1914

A 1914 student reference entry on Martin Van Buren, eighth president of the United States, summarizing his career in law, state politics and the presidency.

This student reference entry summarizes Van Buren's career from law to presidency, showing how he was presented to young readers in the early twentieth century.

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Source: Wikisource

About this source

What it is

This is an entry on Martin Van Buren in The New Student's Reference Work, published in Chicago by F.E. Compton and Co. in 1914. It is written for students and is a reference article, not a first-hand document. It is listed on Wikisource under works about Van Buren.

Why it matters

The entry summarizes Van Buren's career in order: his law practice, his election to the New York state senate, his service as United States senator and governor of New York, and his time as secretary of state under President Jackson. It also covers his nomination for vice president, his election as president in 1836, and his defeat in 1840 by William Henry Harrison. Student reference works like this shaped how young readers learned the story of early national politics.

Look closer

  • Which events in Van Buren's career does the entry place in sequence, and why might that order matter to a student?
  • What does the entry say about the 1840 election, and what does it leave out?
  • Who was the intended reader of this book, and how does that affect the language used?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Martin Van Buren on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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