There are stories about two U.S . presidents , Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren , which attempt to explain the American English term OK. We don’t know if either story is true , but they are both interesting. The first explanation is based on the fact that President Jackson had very little education. In fact , he had difficulty reading and writing. When important papers came to Jackson , he tried to read them and then had his assistants explain what they said. If he approved of a paper, he would write “all correct” on it. The problem was that he didn’t know how to spell. So what he really wrote was “ol korekt”. After a while , he shortened that term to “OK”. The second explanation is based on the place where President Van Buren was born , Kinderhook , New York. Van Bnren’s friends organized a club to help him become President. They called the club the Old Kinderhook Club , and anyone who supported Van Buren was called “OK”.