14. The Martin Van Buren National Historic Site honors an American president who spoke Dutch as his first language
Martin Van Buren was the eighth president of the United States, raised in Kinderhook, New York by Dutch speaking parents, and did not learn English until he attended school. Van Buren remains to date the only American president for whom English was a second language. He first entered national politics as a Senator during the administration of President James Monroe and quickly became adept at political maneuvering. Van Buren was elected governor of New York in 1828, though he served in that position for a mere forty-three days before resigning to serve as Andrew Jackson’s Secretary of State. His remains the shortest term of any New York governor. He later served as Ambassador to Britain and as Jackson’s Vice President during his second term.
Van Buren was Jackson’s appointed successor, and he won the presidency convincingly, though his single term in office is largely forgotten. He ran for president twice more, using his Kinderhook estate he named Lindenwald to direct his campaigns. Neither was successful. The 36 room mansion and surrounding farm became his retirement home, and is today preserved as it was during his time there in the antebellum period. Van Buren died there and is buried on the estate. The site offers guided tours of parts of the mansion only. As for the use of English as a second language, the name of the estate, Lindenwald, is a German word meaning Linden forest, for the trees which line the unpaved road which approaches the estate.