Van Buren, Martin

Martin Van Buren : The Romantic Age of American Politics (Signature Series)

Average customer rating:

Excellent, highly detailed bio of an underrated American
well written and informative
The Life of the Little Magician
Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren : The Romantic Age of American Politics (Signature Series)
John Niven , and Katherine Speirs
Manufacturer: American Political Biography Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Presidents & Heads of State | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Biographies | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time
John Tyler: Champion of the Old South
President James Buchanan: A Biography
Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest (Southern Biography)
Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President

ASIN: 0945707258

Book Description

Based upon extensive use of the Van Buren papers and other basic primary sources of the period, this is a readable, authoitative biography of the 8th President of the United States and a close political ally of Andrew Jackson, and later upholder of the Jacksonian tradition.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, highly detailed bio of an underrated American.......2005-04-21

I came away from this book with a new appreciation for Martin Van Buren--who was certainly much more than the Jackson coattail rider I thought previously. This is THE definitive biography of Martin Van Buren, but I agree with the other reviewers that some of the many and DETAILED accounts of the political machinations in New York at the time were a bit much. That's really the only complaint I had about the book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and recommend it highly if you really want to know Van Buren.

well written and informative.......2004-11-06

Like others, I've set out to read at least one biography on each American President. This particular biography is extremely well researched. A myriad of detail about Martin Van Buren and his times is presented. It's not the book if you are looking for a brief summary of the highlights of Van Buren's career, but if you are looking for detail it's great. Occasionally I got a little lost, probably due to my relative ignorance of the political figures and movements of those times. You form a definite picture of the little magician with both flaws and strengths brought forward. The one significant historical event that I didn't read about was the interaction of Van Buren with the early Mormons, of which I have read some very interesting things elsewhere.

The Life of the Little Magician.......2003-05-31

It is hard to tell how a man will do as President based on his experience. Some figures with virtually no political experience became good Presidents, such as Washington and Lincoln; others were failures such as Grant or Hoover. On the other hand, political experience is no guarantee of success: John Quincy Adams and James Buchanan had decent resumes going into office and had miserable presidencies. Martin Van Buren, one of the most politically talented of all Presidents, was not an utter failure, but he didn't shine in office either.

In Niven's biography, we follow Van Buren from his impoverished roots through his rise in New York state government. Although not perfect, Van Buren had enough political astuteness and the right sort of temperment to help create and lead a party machine and elevate New York's prominence on a national level. Becoming a trusted advisor to Andrew Jackson and a member of his cabinet eventually led to his Vice Presidency and then the Presidency. With a major financial crash occurring right as he got into office, Van Buren was struggling right off the bat, and wound up serving only a single term; nonetheless, in an era of one-term presidents (from 1837 to 1861, no president was re-elected), Van Buren was hardly thrown into ignonimy after his defeat; instead, he remained a powerful member of the Democratic party for the next two decades.

Niven's biography is generally favorable although he doesn't hide Van Buren's flaws. We learn of a man who was not a great ideologue but was one of the most masterful politicians of his era, holding his own with the often more prominent figures such as Jackson, Calhoun, Clay and Webster. He also wound up being a prominent figure in the anti-slavery movement, even running on the Free-Soil ticket at one point.

At times, however, this biography is a bit ponderous and often focuses so much on the political part of Van Buren's life that the personal part is pushed aside. Thus, although this may be the best Van Buren biography available (it may also be the only one), I cannot give it a full five stars. Nonetheless, this is overall a very good book and worth reading if you are interested in this period of history.

Martin Van Buren.......2002-03-17

This is a very readable and interesting book that deals with the long and highly political life of Martin Van Buren. He comes off very well as a hard-working, fair and moral politician who practically establishes the democratic party as a well-oiled machine for both New York state and the United States. I have now read multiple books about the first eight presidents and he can hold his own with almost all of them so far. Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

A strong summary
Many Gaps Left in the Story
Flippant writing style, flittering approach to subject
Great.
An engaging look at a forgotten president

American Presidents: Martin Van Buren
Ted Widmer , and Arthur M. Schlesinger
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Presidents & Heads of State | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Biographies | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

James K. Polk (The American Presidents)
Benjamin Harrison (The American Presidents)
James Monroe (The American Presidents)
John Quincy Adams: (The American Presidents Series)
James Buchanan (The American Presidents)

ASIN: 0805069224
Release Date: 2004-12-09

Book Description

The first president born after America's independence ushers in a new era of no-holds-barred democracy The first "professional politician" to become president, the slick and dandyish Martin Van Buren was to all appearances the opposite of his predecessor, the rugged general and Democratic champion Andrew Jackson. Van Buren, a native Dutch speaker, was America's first ethnic president as well as the first New Yorker to hold the office, at a time when Manhattan was bursting with new arrivals. A sharp and adroit political operator, he established himself as a powerhouse in New York, becoming a U.S. senator, secretary of state, and vice president under Jackson, whose election he managed. His ascendancy to the Oval Office was virtually a foregone conclusion.Once he had the reins of power, however, Van Buren found the road quite a bit rougher. His attempts to find a middle ground on the most pressing issues of his day-such as the growing regional conflict over slavery-eroded his effectiveness. But it was his inability to prevent the great banking panic of 1837, and the ensuing depression, that all but ensured his fall from grace and made him the third president to be denied a second term. His many years of outfoxing his opponents finally caught up with him.Ted Widmer, a veteran of the Clinton White House, vividly brings to life the chaos and contention that plagued Van Buren's presidency-and ultimately offered an early lesson in the power of democracy.

Customer Reviews:

A strong summary.......2007-03-14

Van Buren had a lengthy and complex career, from his rise in New York politics in the early 19th Century to becoming the first ex-President to be seriously considered for a new term in 1844, until his unpopular opposition to annexing Texas led to the upset nomination and victory of James Polk. In a short book of under 200 pages, Widmer can't discuss all of this in detail. He makes a good decision to focus on Van Buren's work as a political organizer and in large part the founder of the Democratic Party, when he brought together the Northern and Southern factions which had supported Andrew Jackson in 1824 to back his successful return in 1828. He obviously covers, but doesn't really emphasize, Van Buren's single term as President, made a failure by an economic collapse that he had nothing to do with.

It is as the founder of the Democratic Party and as Jackson's right hand that Van Buren made his most important contributions to history. Democrats generally prefer to assign this role to the more revered Jefferson, but the parties of his era were such loose and unorganized groupings that they were more factions than real political parties. True national parties, with national conventions and permanent structures date to the era of Jackson, and probably nobody had more to do with creating them than Van Buren.

Also included here are other major events of Jackson's presidency, such as the "war of the Petticoats" and the nullification crisis. It was these controversies that led Jackson to break with John Calhoun, naming Van Buren as his Vice President and natural successor.

Widmer has worked in the White House as a speechwriter for Clinton, and refers to that experience and the Clinton presidency several times. Some reviewers thought that a distraction from the proper subject of the book; I thought it added contemporary interest and showed a continuity of politics across very different eras.

On the whole this book is interesting, readable and informative. It recounts a substantial amount of history in a concise package.

Many Gaps Left in the Story.......2005-11-19

If you want a book about the highlights (and only the highlights) of Martin Van Buren's public service career then buy this book.

This book had alot of gaps in it. It kept saying that he was an up and coming star and that he was a political mastermind, but it never once said why he was a star and what manuevers he made to make him a mastermind.

I agree with the other reviewer about Bill Clinton. This was supposed to be a book about the 8th president not the 42nd. I found the constant refrences to Bill Clinton to be out of place. I guess that the author was drawing on his own experience with a president.

The only reason that I bought this book is that it is a short and concise biography of Van Buren. I am trying to read a biography of each of the presidents and did not want to spend alot of time reading a 500-600+ page book on one of the lesser known presidents. I think that the book could have been longer (say about 300 to 350 pages)in order to further detail the career of Van Buren.

Flippant writing style, flittering approach to subject.......2005-11-12

I've read probably more than my share of presidential biographies and this book is probably the worst (as in "unprofessionally written") bio I have ever come across. Period.
It's not the subject. It's Mr. Widmer's flippant, "terminally hip", straight-out-of-People-Magaine, style of writing.

What do I mean? Well, the first thing that struck me was that though the book is not very long -- which given the fairly obscure subject matter is understandable -- the rambling intro to this work IS long. We're talking someting like twenty+ pages!

I kept reading page after page after page of the intro and found myself wondering "Ok. So where's the actually book??" I mean, was the author getting paid by the word or something?

And the work itself...again, "flippant" is the work that pretty much sums it up. Ex-president Bill Clinton was mentioned more than once, as well as BC and his intern Monica L. were also mention (in a book about Martin Van Buren?), The sainted (to Mr. Widmer) FDR is also mentioned several times, likewise Hollywood's Steven Spielburg and TV-producer Aaron Spelling... yeah, I know. In about about Martin Van Buren?? But then, I just said these folks were mentioned in Mr. Widmer's book. I didn't say that had any thing to DO with the subject of the book.

In addition, there were terrible gaps/unresolved events in VB life that the writer skipped over. For example: The young VB, an up and coming legal eagle, goes to NYC and there hones his legal skills + moves in very lofty circles + became close friends of titans like Aaron Burr, etc., and then, we are told, that after 6 years of this that VB up and left NYC to become a law partner with this step-brother in some little town in upstate NY. The end. Huh??

A young, rising attorney moving strickly "Class A" social circles in NYC, suddenly drops everything and buries himself in the country? And there's no explaination by the writer. Probably b/c he doesn't know either.

Another example, VB's wife suddenly dies (She just dies. No accident, no illness, her time just ran out) and he is left widower with three young sons. What arrangements does he make for those children, esp. as he is now a mover-and-shaker in DC by now. Again, we'll never know. The three boys simply ***PPIFF*** off the radar and we (the readers) don't learn of them again until they are young men. Granted, it's not vital but it is a loose end, and it would go a long way in fleshing out the personal side of VB. Again, maybe the writer himself didn't know.

And so it goes....

The book is littered with things like this: dead ends, loose ends, and washed out bridges. This book isn't writing. It's pop journalism. Strickly "People" magazine school of journalism. I gave it one star b/c, heck, if you can pick it up for a quarter at a yard sale go ahead and get it, read it. Otherwise, save your money.

Great........2005-07-31

The most important part of this book is the discussion about how Martin Van Buren pretty much created the two-party system in the U.S. The idea that an organization and it's policy positions should take precedence over any particular individual was an important change in American politics. Furthermore, it led to an important advance in the spreading of democracy in the U.S. Of course, as with all changes, these changes did not come without costs. But the country is, for the most part, better because of Van Buren's party leadership. As for his presidency, who cares?

An engaging look at a forgotten president.......2005-04-12

Ted Widmer's new biography of Martin Buren sets out to rescue this forgotten president from obscurity and give him much of the credit for creating the modern Democratic party. The book that emerges is a solid, engaging introduction to a president most of us know nothing about. (Were you aware, for example, that he grew up in Kinderhook, NY speaking Dutch before he ever spoke English?)

Widmer sketches Van Buren's rapid rise from poverty to power in New York, his unlikely alliance with Andrew Jackson, and his own one-term presidency cursed by the 19th century version of the Great Depression (The Great Panic of 1837) and the increasingly rancorous national debate over slavery. He paints a compelling picture of Van Buren trying to stake out the middle ground, a hated by both sides as he clings to a center that will not hold.

One thing that seems to stand out 150 years after Van Buren's death is the irrational intensity of the hatred directed against him, seemingly all out of proportion to his deeds or alleged misdeeds. Widmer worked for another centrist president who inspired a good deal of hatred-Bill Clinton-and one senses that the parallels there may be part of the reason he was drawn to Van Buren as a subject.

His thesis that Van Buren almost singlehandly gave birth to the modern political party is intriguing, but perhaps a bit of a stretch. His arguments reminded me of a prosecutor who makes a bold opening statement about the defendant's guilt, but then can't quite back it up with the evidence. He may well be right, but I'm not entirely convinced. Still, it is a thought provoking idea that helps readers get a handle on Van Buren.

Widmer's style incorporates a bit of the speechwriter and a bit of the scholar, and benefits from both. He throws in numerous modern political and pop culture references (from George Bush to Vito Corleone) that are only occasionally annoying, and he keeps the story moving forward at a good pace. (At 208 pages, the book is anything but a heavy tome). There are some amusing anecdotes-my favorite is a wonderful story of Van Buren as a former president stuck in a small town on a national tour and spending a hilarious evening of storytelling in the company of a young politician on the rise named Abraham Lincoln.

Ultimately, Van Buren remains elusive, hard to know. Was he an idealist trying to steer a moderate course, or a politician adept at being all things to all people? (Again, the echoes of Bill Clinton). One thing we know for sure: he is the president who popularized the expression "O.K." in his 1840 re-election bid (one of his many nicknames was "Old Kinderhook") and he deserves to be remembered. This book is a good way to do so.

The Presidency of Martin Van Buren (American Presidency Series)

Average customer rating:

Too much time spent describing the battle over the bank
Rich in Detail

The Presidency of Martin Van Buren (American Presidency Series)
L. Wilson
Manufacturer: University Press of Kansas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Biographies | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Presidency of John Quincy Adams
The Presidencies of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore (American Presidency Series)
Presidencies of William Henry Harrison and John Tyler (American Presidency Series)
The Presidency of James Buchanan (American Presidency Series)
The Presidency of Andrew Jackson (American Presidency Series)

ASIN: 0700602380

Book Description

Martin Van Buren, eighth president of the United States, has been judged harshly by some historians as a politician by trade and a spoilsman without principles, a "little magician" who was interested only in his own advancement. This volume provides a thorough recounting of the events and decisions of Van Buren's White House years (1837-1841), and adds to the positive reappraisal of Van Buren as an able statesman and effective chief executive. Wilson stresses that Van Buren faced the major problems of his presidency with courage and consistency, and that he brought repose to a nation wrenched both by sectional differences and by the violent fluctuations of economic expansion and contraction.

Wilson discusses Van Buren's close relationship with Andrew Jackson and substantially qualifies the persistent interpretation of the Van Buren presidency as the "third term" of Jackson. Van Buren, a pragmatic Jeffersonian with a statesmanlike concern for order, reversed Jackson's priorities. Wilson describes how Van Buren resolved the crisis with Mexico and succeeded in keeping peace with Britain at a time when incidents arising out of rebellion in Canada and the disputed Maine boundary might have precipitated war.

The most distinctive contribution of this volume is its in-depth analysis of the economic and political aspects of Van Buren's domestic policy, especialy the Independent Treasury, the issue that gave basic shape to his entire presidency. Jackson had divorced the Treasury from the national bank; Van Buren took one further step and rendered the operations of the Treasury independent of the state banks as well. By the end of his term, debate on the issues of currency and enterprise had brought the second-party system in the U.S. to maturity. In 1840 Van Buren's views in this area would cost him reelection.

This study sheds lights on a turbulent period in American history and contributes to our understanding of Martin Van Buren's achievements. He kept the nation out of war, reduced sectional tensions, and established the basis for a fiscal policy which he believed would bring greater stability to economic development.

This book is part of the American Presidency Series.

Customer Reviews:

Too much time spent describing the battle over the bank.......2002-08-13

The presidential campaigns of Andrew Jackson marked a major change in the American political landscape. Those who came before were members of the aristocracy, who believed that the office of the president sought the man rather than the man the office. Jackson's success as a political figure was largely due to the political maneuverings of Martin Van Buren, who was widely known in polite circles as the "little magician." However, his opponents used much less polite phrases to describe his actions. Like so many hand-picked successors to a very popular president, Van Buren served only one term and his elected successor was from another party.
His presidency was dominated by the battle over fiscal strategies and the role of central banks in the U. S. economy. However, it was not so dominant that half the book should have been devoted to it. Other major events were taking place, the continued westward expansion of the nation led to increased sectional tension over slavery in the new states. Van Buren took the position that he was not pro slavery, but would act against it only with the approval of the southern members of congress. While this limited the conflict during his presidency, it also increased the power of a few radicals at the expense of more reasonable voices. Quite frankly, I grew weary at reading the material on the debates over the role of banks. The explanations are over done, they could have been reduced and more time spent on the sectional tensions, both over slavery and the growing economic disparities between the regions. Industrialization was beginning in earnest and there was also a great deal of debate over the role of the federal government in major projects involving transportation.
Martin Van Buren was the first modern politician to hold the office of the president. In that respect, he is a major figure in the history of the office. I would have preferred a book where more pages were devoted to that aspect of the Van Buren presidency rather than the battle over the national bank. The nation was poised for an explosion of westward growth as well as beginning to bottle the tensions that finally led to an internal war. Those aspects of his four years in office should also have received more coverage.

Rich in Detail.......2000-05-25

Van Buren's presidency was dominated by two major issues: 1) reshaping the government's financial system after President Jackson's successful campaign to destroy the Bank of the United States; 2) rebounding from the economic depression (Panic of 1837). Major Wilson does an excellent job explaining and analyzing the complex economic, social and political issues of the Van Buren presidency. The book is extremely detailed (sometimes overly detailed) in it's account of the efforts to establish an independent treasury to take the place of the former Bank of the US. For readers not well versed (or interested) in the intricacies of specie and credit systems (I include myself in this category), parts of the book can be difficult to get through. However, there are numerous passages which concisely explain the larger implications of the issues involved. For example, there is a passage in which Wilson presents how the bank and currency issues fit into the Democratic and Whig social, economic and political philosophy of the time. It's one of the best and most concise description of Whig philosophy I've read. Naturally, I would've liked to see more about Van Buren's early career as one of the principal founders of the Jacksonian Democratic party. But the book is entitled "The Presidency of Martin Van Buren" and one shouldn't expect a full biography.

Ontology: The Hermeneutics of Facticity (Studies in Continental Thought)

Average customer rating:

FASCINATING AND CHALLENGING

Ontology: The Hermeneutics of Facticity (Studies in Continental Thought)
Martin Heidegger , and John van Buren
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Metaphysics | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Ontology | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Phenomenological Interpretations of Aristotle: Initiation into Phenomenological Research
The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics: World, Finitude, Solitude
Introduction To Phenomenological Research (Studies in Continental Thought)
The Phenomenology of Religious Life (Studies in Continental Thought)
Supplements: From the Earliest Essays to Being and Time and Beyond (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)

ASIN: 0253335078

Book Description

"With thematic trajectories pointing both toward and beyond Being and Time, this translation . . . is of enormous significance for students of the development of Heidegger's early thought." --Daniel O. Dahlstrom, Boston University

Ontology follows Heidegger's lectures at the University of Freiburg during the summer semester of 1923. In these lectures, Heidegger reviews and makes critical appropriation of the hermeneutical tradition from Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine to Schleiermacher and Dilthey.

Customer Reviews:

FASCINATING AND CHALLENGING.......2003-07-08

This translation of Heidegger's lectures at Freiburg during the summer of 1923 represents an important event in English-speaking Heidegger scholarship. Van Buren has done a masterful job, and rendered us all a real service.

This lecture contains some of the most interesting material from Heidegger's entire corpus. His historical analysis of hermeneutics and of the concept of "man" in the Western philosophical tradition are only the beginning - the whole lecture is simply riveting. Anyone with an interest in Heidegger needs to own this book. The same goes for those who have only heard of Heidegger from the blithering obscurantists who pass themselves off as "scholars." Here is Heidegger addressing issues of real philosophical import with insight and lucidity. A fascinating and challenging piece!

Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics (American Profiles (Rowman & Littlefield Paperback))
Average customer rating:

Broad Brush Analysis of Van Buren

A Tragic Genius and the American Tragedy

Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics (American Profiles (Rowman & Littlefield Paperback))
Joel H. Silbey
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Presidents & Heads of State | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | United States | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | 19th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time

John Tyler: Champion of the Old South

Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest (Southern Biography)

John Quincy Adams: A Public Life, a Private Life

Millard Fillmore: Biography of a President

ASIN: 074252244X

Book Description

In the early part of the 19th century, America was skeptical of popular politics, distrustful of political parties, and disdainful of political management. However, as prominent historian Joel H. Silbey demonstrates, Martin Van Buren took the lead among his contemporaries in remolding the old political order as he captured the New York state governorship, a seat in the United States Senate, and ultimately the Presidency. Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics takes a fresh look at the life and political career of one of America's most often overlooked, yet most influential, public figures.

Customer Reviews:

Broad Brush Analysis of Van Buren.......2005-02-17

This book focuses on Van Buren's role in the development of modern political parties in America, but Silbey also ably narrates the life of Van Buren. This is a broad brush biography--Silbey does paint the whole canvas, and he paints it well, but you won't find the exquisite (and sometimes excruciating) detail that most biographers give.

Silbey is very good at relating Van Buren's life to the times he lived in. By far the strong point of the book is the cogent analysis of Van Buren's life, why he took certain actions, and fitting it all into his life purpose of party formation.

One question I had about the biography was whether Van Buren really did do nothing as president (which would have fit his political philosophy) or whether Silbey just narrated the events that had to do with party formation during his administration and that there just weren't many of them. I suspect the former.

The book is well-written, although there aren't many of those memorable turns of phrases; but it certainly won't put you to sleep either. A bit pricey, especially for the length. Overall, a good book.

A Tragic Genius and the American Tragedy.......2004-01-01

Martin van Buren invented the American Democratic Party.

More broadly, he was responsible as much as any other single man for the overall political party structure which exists in the United States to this day.

Yet, to most of his latter-day countrymen, he is merely one of those forgettable nobodies who inhabited the White House between Andy Jackson and Honest Abe.

Joel Silbey's readable and engaging book tries to correct that historical neglect.

Silbey ably tells the story of van Buren's rise from modest beginnings to dominance of the New York political scene, van Buren's movement to the national stage and his restructuring of the national political party system, his ascendance to the Presidency, and his ultimate failure to attain his long-term political goals.

As fascinating as is the story of van Buren's successes, it is his failures which hold the greatest lessons for posterity.

As a young, loyal Jeffersonain, van Buren early in his career supported "Mr. Madison's War" (the War of 1812). But the increase in federal power and enhancement of federal legitimacy which came from that war led the country in the direction of expanded federal activity and authority relative to the states.

This offended van Buren's laissez-faire/states-rights Jeffersonian sensibilities. To combat what he denounced as resurgent Federalism, van Buren created a new political structure around a new political party based on states rights, limited government, and laissez-faire economic policy.

That party was the Jacksonian Democratic Party and, until the end of the nineteenth century, the Democratic Party largely adhered to the principles which van Buren imprinted upon it at its birth.

(It may seem strange to hear that the Democratic Party was, through most of its history, the limited-government/states-rights party in the United States. Yet, as late as 1928, Frank Kent, in his lengthy "The Democratic Party: A History" defined states rights as the central unifying principle of the Democratic Party. It was only in the depression of the 1930s that party positions were reversed and the Democrats abandoned the founding principles upon which van Buren had built the party.)

Although the Democrats did generally adhere to van Burenite principles through the nineteenth century, in the course of the nineteenth century the Democratic Party slowly lost its ability to control the nation's destiny. By the middle of the twentieth century, the party had abandoned all of its founding principles: van Buren would have been appalled by the militarism, welfare-statism, corporate favoritism, and outright imperialism which now characterize the Republic he so loved.

What went wrong?

Van Buren himself was brought low by two intractable problems of nineteenth-century America: imperial expansion and slavery. As Silbey narrates in detail, van Buren lost the Democratic nomination in 1844 due to his refusal to countenance imperial expansion (the annexation of Texas, which led, ultimately, to the U.S. seizure of half of Mexico). Van Buren vacillated wildly in his attitudes toward the slave states: as President he was an outspoken enemy of the abolitionists and ally of the slave power, but in 1848 he became the Presidential candidate of the anti-slavery Free Soil Party.

In his final years, van Buren endorsed Abraham Lincoln's military crusade against the slave states, a crusade that decisively destroyed the states-rights position which had been the guiding star of van Buren's political life.

But perhaps the ultimate problem, which van Buren failed to perceive, was the inner logic of the Constitutional structure established in 1787. The Constitution, unlike the preceding Articles of Confederation, created a strong federal Executive and granted the power of taxation to the central government: the Constitutional system was, in its intrinsic logic, despite the Founders' intentions, not a confederation of sovereign states but a centralized, national government.

Of course, neither the actual text of the Constitution nor the intentions of its authors mandated the huge, interventionist, imperialist federal government which we possess today. But to believe, as the Framers and van Buren did believe, that the Constitutional government could be prevented from turning into an all-encompassing leviathan was politically naive.

So great was van Buren's political genius (he was known in his time as the "Little Magician") that he almost succeeded in his grand historical aims. For over three decades, until the catastrophe of the War Between the States, the poltical structures created by van Buren succeeded in defying the logic of history and keeping America as a decentralized federation rather than a centralized nation-state.

But van Buren's grand design for a strictly limited federal government was ultimately wrecked by the War Between the States and by the economic and geopolitical disasters of the twentieth century.

In our own day, both American citizens and all the nations of the world must confront the results of van Buren's historically tragic failure. Can the federal government of the United States of America somehow be restrained in either its domestic powers or its international adventurism? Silbey's brief but fascinating book is a cautionary warning to all who now grapple with this central problem facing the human race.

The Giant of Seville: A "Tall" Tale Based on a True Story
Average customer rating:

Being different is okay

He's a relative of mine

The Giant of Seville: A "Tall" Tale Based on a True Story
Dan Andreasen
Manufacturer: Abrams Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | United States | Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Nonfiction | Friendship | Social Situations | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Historical | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The End

Dog and Bear (Neal Porter Books)

The Talented Clementine

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook

The Scallywags

ASIN: 081090988X

Book Description

Based on the life of a real circus giant, Captain Martin Van Buren Bates!

Nothing exciting ever happens in the sleepy town of Seville, Ohio—until Captain Martin Van Buren Bates arrives. Standing seven feet and eleven and a half inches, Captain Bates is a giant who has toured around the world in the circus. In search of a quiet home for himself and his wife, (who is also a giant!) Captain Bates decides to get off the train in Seville, although he fears he will be too big for the little town. But Seville is full of surprises, and the giant is about to learn that the only thing that matters is the size of one's heart.

A “tall” tale based on the true story of a real-life circus giant, The Giant of Seville is a heartwarming story of friendship and acceptance that will resonate with children. The book includes an author's note and an archival photograph of Captain Martin Van Buren Bates and his wife, Anna Bates, Seville's most famous residents.

Customer Reviews:

Being different is okay.......2007-05-12

Reviewed by Eric Zeda (age 8) for Reader Views (5/07)

This story is about Martin the Giant, who was looking for a place to live. He arrived at a town called Seville. When he got to town a crowd of people came to him. He stayed at a boardinghouse and was treated nicely. The problem was that he was too big for the bed and the house. One day, he went to a square dance and broke the floor. He felt sad and said "put it on my tab." He thought people weren't going to like him and he decided to leave town, but the people surprised him and made a giant-sized house. He called his wife and they moved to the town.

I loved the part when Martin ate a lot of pancakes. I learned that being different is okay. You don't have to be the same to get along. I think kids should read "The Giant of Seville."

Reviewed by Samuel Peralta (age 6) for Reader Views (5/07)

This "Tall Tale" is based on a true story. Measuring seven-feet, eleven-and-a-half-inches, "Martin the Giant" arrives in the town of Seville, Ohio looking for a home. He is concerned that he is too big for the town. He spends some time at a local boardinghouse and is befriended by Mrs. Crawley. During his stay Martin the Giant discovers that friendships are worth more than materialistic assets. He learns that he has made true friends that accept and love him for who he is.

My son Sammy is six. He was happy to see that the people from town built Martin the Giant a house. He thought it was "cool that the house had doorways that were eight feet tall." He would recommend this book to his friends.

Parent's Note: This is a good book when you need to talk to your children about being different or accepting others who are different. I enjoyed the author's note. Sammy was really impressed when he found out Ms. Van Buren measured eight feet tall.

He's a relative of mine.......2007-03-20

Capt. Bates is, as I mentioned, related to me. He was a man who wore many hats in his life: He was a farmer, a war hero, a circus phenomenon and... yes.. a giant. He was a gentle soul who cared very much about people but was also a very brave man who was tough as nails.

It's great to find a book that captures the spirit of this formidable and respectable man.

Nice work, Mr. Andreasen! :-)

Martin Van Buren And The American Political System

Average customer rating:

Martin Van Buren And The American Political System
Donald B. Cole
Manufacturer: Eastern National Park and Monument Associatio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Presidents & Heads of State | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Biographies | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time
John Tyler, the Accidental President
John Tyler: Champion of the Old South
American Presidents: Martin Van Buren
Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times

ASIN: 159091029X

Remini: Martin Van Buren & the Making of the Democratic Party (Cloth)

Average customer rating:

Remini: Martin Van Buren & the Making of the Democratic Party (Cloth)
Robert V. Remini
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Average customer rating:

the presidents

Martin van Buren
Edward Morse Shepard
Manufacturer: Adamant Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Old Tippecanoe: William Henry Harrison and His Time
American Presidents: Martin Van Buren

ASIN: 1402175442
Release Date: 2005-12-05

Book Description

This Elibron Classics edition is a facsimile reprint of a 1899 edition by Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston and New York. Series: American Statesmen. Edited by John T. Morse, JR. [Vol.18]

Customer Reviews:

the presidents.......2007-07-04

this was written in 1899 , the language used in this era sent me to the dictionary . well writen and well footnoted . if any one is going by chronologica order of the presidents it is a good read.

Inquiry into the Origin and Course of Political Parties in the United States

Average customer rating:

Inquiry into the Origin and Course of Political Parties in the United States
Martin Van Buren
Manufacturer: Library Reprints
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Political Parties | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0722242492

United States Presidents:

United States Presidents

United States Presidents