Burr lost the election. Mat took the bar exam and was very nervous about it, but he passed and was now an attorney in the state of New York. Mat moved back to Kinderhook because he thought he had no chance of opening a firm with the competition in New York. Instead he opened a firm in Kinderhook, which did great.
By late 1806 Mat had become one of the best lawyers in New York. Although he was just 24 he had more cases than he could handle. On February 21,1807 Mat married Hannah Hoes. During their first year of marriage a son, Abraham Van Buren, was born in December 1807. Van Buren tried his luck at Senate and won. During the next 10 years sons John, Martin Jr., and Smith were born. Van Buren's 5th son, Winfield was born the following year. He died of sickness shortly after birth. Martin's wife Hannah died in 1819 of tuberculosis at the age of 36. .
Martin was stepping up in New York from Senate to Governor. He decided to run for President. He was up against William Henry Harrison. Andrew Jackson helped Mat with his campaign. Mat's current state was New York. He was a democrat. The east favored him. What do you know? Martin Van Buren won the Presidency. His Vice President was Richard M. Johnson. Because no vice presidential candidate won a majority of electoral votes, the senate elected Johnson as Vice President. He was the first vice president elected by the senate. Mat served one term from 1837-1841. He was inducted into office March 4, 1837. The people of the United States had liked Jackson better and the Panic of 1837 caused the new president's popularity to plummet. The Panic of 1837 was a time when the nation's banks refused to convert paper money to silver and gold, which created a depression. Brokerage houses closed, factories closed, people were unemployed and left penniless. The depression lasted two years after Mat left office and marred his presidency.
Despite the surrounding chaos, Martin's family was doing very well.
