Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren

Author: Edward L. Widmer

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2005-01-05

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 0805069224

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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.

Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren

Author: John Niven

Publisher:

Published: 2000-06

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780945707257

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They called him "the Magician," "the Red Fox" and other names that celebrated his political skill. And, indeed, there is no doubt that Martin Van Buren was the most innovative politician of his age. In the first modern biography of the eighth President, John Niven reveals a man who was preeminently a statesman - not just a superb practitioner of the art of the possible, as he is commonly depicted. First prominent in New York politics, Van Buren served as Andrew Jackson's Secretary of State and later as his vice president. The balance wheel of the administration, he was Jackson's most influential adviser. His own presidency (1837-1841) was beset by the worst depression the United States had yet faced, but, as Niven shows, Van Buren met the crisis with courage. His corrective measures incensed the financial community but save the public credit. Defeated in the 1840 election, he was denied the Democratic nomination in 1844, for opposing on moral grounds, the immediate annexation of Texas. In 1848, as the presidential candidate for the anti-slavery Free Soil Party, he again lent his name to an unpopular cause he felt was right. Charming, witty, enigmatic, Van Buren could hold his own with the other key political figures of his day: Jackson, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, John Quincy Adams. Correcting many false images of Van Buren (including the view that he was a compromiser on the slavery issue), this authoritative biography unveils a brilliant career in American political life, set against the backdrop of a fascinating era. --Book jacket

The Autobiography of Martin Van Buren
The Autobiography of Martin Van Buren

Author: John Clement Fitzpatrick

Publisher: Sagwan Press

Published: 2018-02-03

Total Pages: 814

ISBN-13: 9781376558777

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

American Political History: A Very Short Introduction
American Political History: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Donald T. Critchlow

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2015-01-14

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 0199393737

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The Founding Fathers who drafted the United States Constitution in 1787 distrusted political parties, popular democracy, centralized government, and a strong executive office. Yet the country's national politics have historically included all those features. In American Political History: A Very Short Introduction, Donald Critchlow takes on this contradiction between original theory and actual practice. This brief, accessible book explores the nature of the two-party system, key turning points in American political history, representative presidential and congressional elections, struggles to expand the electorate, and critical social protest and third-party movements. The volume emphasizes the continuity of a liberal tradition challenged by partisan divide, war, and periodic economic turmoil. American Political History: A Very Short Introduction explores the emergence of a democratic political culture within a republican form of government, showing the mobilization and extension of the mass electorate over the lifespan of the country. In a nation characterized by great racial, ethnic, and religious diversity, American democracy has proven extraordinarily durable. Individual parties have risen and fallen, but the dominance of the two-party system persists. Fierce debates over the meaning of the U.S. Constitution have created profound divisions within the parties and among voters, but a belief in the importance of constitutional order persists among political leaders and voters. Americans have been deeply divided about the extent of federal power, slavery, the meaning of citizenship, immigration policy, civil rights, and a range of economic, financial, and social policies. New immigrants, racial minorities, and women have joined the electorate and the debates. But American political history, with its deep social divisions, bellicose rhetoric, and antagonistic partisanship provides valuable lessons about the meaning and viability of democracy in the early 21st century. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

America's Three Regimes : A New Political History
America's Three Regimes : A New Political History

Author: Morton Keller Professor of History Brandeis University

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2007-09-26

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 0198043570

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When historians take the long view, they look at "ages" or "eras" (the Age of Jackson, the Progressive Era). But these time spans last no longer than a decade or so. In this groundbreaking new book, Morton Keller divides our nation's history into three regimes, each of which lasts many, many decades, allowing us to appreciate, as never before, the slow steady evolution of American public life. Americans like to think of our society as eternally young and effervescent. But the reality is very different. A proper history of America must be as much about continuity, persistence, and evolution as about transformation and revolution. To provide this proper history, Keller groups America's past into three long regimes--Deferential and Republican, from the colonial period to the 1820s; Party and Democratic, from the 1830s to the 1930s; and Populist and Bureaucratic, from the 1930s to the present. This approach yields many new insights. We discover, for instance, that the history of colonial America, the Revolution, and the Early Republic is a more unified story than usually assumed. The Civil War, industrialization, and the Progressive era did relatively little to alter the character of the democratic-party regime that lasted from the 1830s to the 1930s. And the populist-bureaucratic regime in which we live today has seen changes in politics, government, and law as profound as those that occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. As Keller underscores the sheer staying power of America's public institutions, he sheds light on current concerns as well: in particular, will the current political polarization continue or will more moderate forces prevail. Here then is a major contribution to United States history--an entirely new way to look at our past, our present, and our future--packed with provocative and original observations about American public life.

The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party
The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party

Author: Michael F. Holt

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2003-05-01

Total Pages: 1298

ISBN-13: 0199830894

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Here, Michael F. Holt gives us the only comprehensive history of the Whigs ever written. He offers a panoramic account of the tumultuous antebellum period, a time when a flurry of parties and larger-than-life politicians--Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, Martin Van Buren, and Henry Clay--struggled for control as the U.S. inched towards secession. It was an era when Americans were passionately involved in politics, when local concerns drove national policy, and when momentous political events--like the Annexation of Texas and the Kansas-Nebraska Act--rocked the country. Amid this contentious political activity, the Whig Party continuously strove to unite North and South, emerging as the nation's last great hope to prevent secession.