Martin Van Buren Read online

  Crockett, David. The Life of Martin Van Buren (Philadelphia: R. Wright, 1835).

  Curtis, James C. The Fox at Bay: Martin Van Buren and the Presidency, 1837–1841 (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1970).

  Donovan, Herbert D. A. The Barnburners: A Study of the Internal Movements in the Political History of New York State and of the Resulting Changes in Political Affiliation, 1830–1852 (New York: New York University Press, 1925).

  Emmons, William. Biography of Martin Van Buren, Vice President of the United States (Washington, D.C.: J. Gideon, 1835).

  Gardiner, O. C. The Great Issue (New York: W. C. Bryant & Co., 1848).

  Garraty, John Arthur. Silas Wright (New York: Columbia University Press, 1949).

  Gunderson, Robert Gray. The Log-Cabin Campaign (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1957).

  Hammond, Jabez D. The History of Political Parties in the State of New York (Albany, N.Y.: C. Van Benthuysen, 1842).

  Hofstadter, Richard. The Idea of a Party System (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969).

  Holland, William M. The Life and Political Opinions of Martin Van Buren, Vice President of the United States (Hartford, Conn.: Belknap and Hamersley, 1835).

  Hone, Philip. The Diary of Philip Hone, ed. Allan Nevins (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1927).

  Lynch, Denis Tilden. An Epoch and a Man (New York: H. Liveright, 1929).

  McCormick, Richard P. The Second American Party System (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1966).

  McGrane, Reginald C. The Panic of 1837 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1919).

  Merk, Frederick. Slavery and the Annexation of Texas (New York: Knopf, 1972).

  Mushkat, Jerome, and Rayback, Joseph G. Martin Van Buren: Law, Politics and the Shaping of Republican Ideology (De Kalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1997).

  Niven, John. Martin Van Buren: The Romantic Age of American Politics (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983).

  Remini, Robert. Martin Van Buren and the Making of the Democratic Party (New York: Columbia University Press, 1959).

  Richards, Leonard L. The Slave Power: The Free North and Southern Domination, 1780–1860 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2000).

  Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. The Age of Jackson (Boston: Little, Brown, 1945).

  ______, ed. History of U.S. Political Parties (New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1973).

  Shepard, Edwin M. Martin Van Buren (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1888).

  Sibley, Joel H. Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002).

  Strong, George Templeton. The Diary of George Templeton Strong, ed. Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas (New York: Octagon Books, 1952).

  Temin, Peter. The Jacksonian Economy (New York: Norton, 1969).

  Van Buren, Martin. The Autobiography of Martin Van Buren, ed. John C. Fitzpatrick (New York: Da Capo Press, 1973 [1920]).

  ______. Inquiry into the Origin and Course of Political Parties in the United States (New York: Hurd and Houghton, 1867).

  Weed, Thurlow. Life of Thurlow Weed Including His Autobiography and a Memoir (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1884).

  Wilentz, Sean. Chants Democratic (New York: Oxford University Press, 1984).

  Wilkes, Charles. Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition (Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1845).

  Wilson, Major L. The Presidency of Martin Van Buren (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1984).

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank all the people who provided encouragement of one kind or another during the writing of this book, including Dan Aaron, Bob Allison, Tina Bennett, John Bethell, Alan Brinkley, Doug Brinkley, Alex Chilton, Bill Clinton, Robin Dennis, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Adam Goodheart, Max Kennedy, Thomas LeBien, David Michaelis, Kees de Mooy, Maura Pierce, Mary Rhinelander, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Josh Shenk, Elisabeth Sifton, Jean Sucharewicz, Patricia West, Freddy Widmer, and Sean Wilentz. I am also grateful to the librarians at Harvard University, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and Washington College.

  Index

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Adams, Charles Francis

  Adams, Henry

  Adams, John

  Adams, John Quincy

  campaign of 1840 and

  death of

  diaries of

  as president

  slavery and

  Adelaide, Queen of the Netherlands

  Age of Jackson, The (Schlesinger)

  Albany Argus

  “Albany Regency, the,”

  Amistad

  André, John

  Arnold, Benedict

  Astor, John Jacob

  Autobiography of Martin Van Buren

  Bancroft, George

  Bank of the United States

  Benton, Thomas Hart

  Biddle, Nicholas

  Blair, Francis Preston

  Blair, Frank

  Blair, Montgomery

  Bledsoe, Albert T.

  Brown, John

  Brownson, Orestes

  Buchanan, James

  Buckingham, James Silk

  Bull Moose party

  Burnside, Ambrose E.

  Burr, Aaron

  death of

  duel with Hamilton

  “Little Band” of

  resemblance between Van Buren and

  run for governor of New York

  Van Buren as bastard son of, rumors of

  Bush, George H. W.

  Bush, George W.

  Butler, Benjamin

  Butler, William Allen

  Calhoun, John C.

  death of

  Eaton affair and

  sectional divisions and nullification doctrine

  slavery issue and

  Texas annexation and

  –Van Buren relationship

  as vice president

  Canada

  capitalism

  Caro, Robert

  Caroline affair

  Carroll, Charles

  Cass, Lewis

  caucus, party

  census of 1840

  Charles River Bridge case

  Cherokees

  Chinn, Julia

  Cilley, Jonathan

  Civil War

  Clay, Henry

  Clermont (steamboat)

  Cleveland, Grover

  Clinton, Bill

  Clinton, DeWitt

  described

  as governor of New York

  Clinton, George

  Congress, U.S.

  House of Representatives, see House of Representatives

  Senate, see Senate, U.S.

  Congressional Globe

  Constitution, U.S.

  Crawford, William

  credit, availability of

  Crockett, Davy

  daguerreotypes, first

  Darnton, Robert

  “Dear Abby,”

  debtors, imprisonment of

  democracy

  in Europe

  Jacksonian

  two-party system and

  Van Buren’s commitment to

  Democratic Party (the Democracy)

  conventions

  creation of

  Jackson’s election and

  platform of 1840

  two-thirds of delegates required for presidential nomination

  Van Buren’s shaping of

  Doonesbury

  Douglas, Stephen

  Douglass, Frederick (né Frederick Bailey)

  Eaton, John

  Eaton, Peggy

  E. C. Booz Distillery

  Edmonds, John

  Edwards, Jonathan

  1830s, inventions of

  Eis
enhower, Dwight D.

  elections, presidential, see presidential elections

  Emancipation Proclamation

  Emerson, Ralph Waldo

  England

  balance of trade with

  border disputes with

  Van Buren as minister to

  War of 1812

  Erie Canal

  Exposition and Protest, Calhoun’s

  Fairfield, John

  federal deficit

  federal government, states’ rights versus power of

  Federalist Party

  changes in American culture and

  federal surplus

  federal workers, ten-hour day for

  fiscal policy, instruments of

  France

  Free Soil campaign of

  French and Indian War

  French Revolution

  Friedman, Pauline Esther

  Fulton, Robert

  Goodyear, Charles

  Gore, Al

  Graham, Sylvester

  Grant, Ulysses S.

  Graves, William

  “Great New England Path,”

  “Great Wall of China, The,”

  Greeley, Horace

  Half Moon

  Hamilton, Alexander

  duel with Burr

  Hamilton, James

  Hamilton, John

  Hamlin, Hannibal

  Hammet, William

  Hammond, Jabez

  Harrison, William Henry

  Hawthorne, Nathaniel

  Hayes, Rutherford B.

  Hayne, Robert

  Hemings, Sally

  Hill, Isaac

  History of Political Parties in the State of New York, The (Hammond)

  Hone, Philip

  Hoover, Herbert

  House of Representatives, U.S.

  gag rule on slavery in

  presidential election of 1824 and

  Hudson, Henry

  Hudson, New York

  Hudson Valley, New York

  economy of

  history of

  landed gentry of

  immigration

  Indians, American

  Inquiry into the Origin and Course of Political Parties in the United States (Van Buren)

  internal improvements

  inventions

  Ireland

  Irving, Washington

  Jackson, Andrew

  Battle of New Orleans and

  death of

  inauguration

  Kitchen Cabinet

  Maysville Road veto

  presidential election of

  slavery and

  Texas’ admission to the Union and

  Van Buren and

  Jackson, Rachel

  Jacksonian democracy

  Jefferson, Thomas

  agrarian republic and

  death of

  “factions” and

  Van Buren’s relationship with

  Jefferson Day dinner, toasts at

  Johnson, Andrew

  Johnson, Lyndon B.

  Johnson, Richard Mentor

  Kafka, Franz

  Kendall, Amos

  Kennedy, John F.

  Kennedy, Joseph

  Kerry, John

  Kinderhook, New York

  politics and

  Van Buren’s return in 1841

  King, Rufus

  labor

  landed gentry

  League of Nations

  Leaves of Grass (Whitman)

  Leggett, William

  Lewis, Morgan

  Liberty party

  Life of Martin Van Buren, The (Crockett)

  Lincoln, Abraham

  slavery and

  Van Buren and

  Lindenwald (Van Buren home)

  Washington Irving and

  Livingston, Edward

  Livingston family

  Locofocos

  Lodge, Henry Cabot

  Log Cabin

  Log Cabin campaign of 1840

  Longfellow, Henry

  Lovejoy, Elisha P.

  Macon, Nathaniel

  Madison, Dolley

  Madison, James

  Manifest Destiny

  Marcy, William L.

  Marie Antoinette

  Martineau, Harriet

  Martin Van Buren: Lawyer, Statesman and Man (Butler)

  Martin Van Buren to the End of His Public Career (Bancroft)

  Melville, Gansevoort

  Melville, Herman

  Mexican War

  Mexico

  Missouri, admission to the Union of

  Monroe, James, and Monroe administration

  Morrill Act

  Morse, Samuel

  Mussolini, Benito

  Nader, Ralph

  National Intelligencer

  Native Americans

  Newburgh, New York

  New Orleans, Battle of

  New York City, New York

  as commercial capital

  population of

  reception for Van Buren on leaving the presidency

  Van Buren moves to, as young man

  New York Constitutional Convention of 1821

  New York Public Library

  New York State

  abolition of slavery in

  “Albany Regency, the,”

  division of New York Democracy into Hunkers and Barnburners

  electoral strength of

  governor’s race of 1828

  patronage system in

  presidential election of 1844 and

  during the Revolutionary War

  rewriting of rules of government of

  Van Buren as first president from

  Van Buren as governor of

  vastness of, in eighteenth century

  –Virginia alliance

  during War of 1812

  New York State Senate:

  Classification Bill

  Van Buren as senator

  Ogle, Charles

  “OK,” origins of the phrase

  Osceola

  O’Sullivan, John Louis

  Ottoman Empire

  Pacific Railroad Act

  Panic of 1837

  foreshadowing of

  Parker, Theodore

  Partisan Leader, The (Tucker)

  Parton, James

  patronage system

  patroons, see landed gentry

  Paulding, James K.

  Perot, Ross

  Pierce, Franklin

  Pinckney, Henry

  political parties

  Founding Fathers’ view of

  single party, inadequacy of a

  third parties, see third parties

  two-party system, see two-party system

  see also individual parties

  Polk, James

  Pound, Ezra

  preemptive war

  presidential elections

  of 1800

  of 1824

  of 1828

  of 1832

  of 1836

  of 1840

  of 1844

  of 1848

  presidential electors, direct vote for

  progressivism, roots of

  railroads

  Randolph, Ellen

  Randolph, John

  Reagan, Ronald

  Rensselaerswyck

  Republican Party (founded in 1850s)

  Republican Party (Jeffersonian Republicans)

  “Resurgemus,”

  Revolutionary War

  Richmond Junto

  “Rip Van Winkle,”

  Ritchie, Thomas

  Rockefeller, John D.

  Rogers, Will

  Roman Catholics

  Roosevelt, Cornelius V. S.

  Roosevelt, Franklin D.

  Hudson Valley roots

  Roosevelt, Theodore

  Saratoga, battle of

  Saratoga, New York

  Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr.

  scientific expeditions

 
Scott, Winfield

  sectional divisions

  secession of the Southern states

  slavery and, see slavery

  Seminoles

  Senate, U.S.

  class of 1782

  Judiciary Committee

  Van Buren as senator

  Van Buren’s election to

  Van Buren’s maiden speech in

  Seventy Cantos (Pound)

  Seward, William H.

  Shays’s Rebellion

  Silvester, Francis

  Simms, William Gilmore

  Singleton, Angelica

  Skull and Bones Society

  slavery

  abolitionism

  admission of states to the Union and, see Missouri, admission to the Union of; Texas, admission to the Union and slavery issue

  Emancipation Proclamation

  Lincoln and

  mood of 1830s

  in New York

  Van Buren and issue of

  see Van Buren, Martin, slavery and voting rights for freemen

  Sorrento, Italy

  South, the, see sectional divisions

  South Carolina, secession of

  Specie Circular

  speculators

  states’ rights

  nullification and

  power of federal government versus

  Strong, George Templeton

  suffrage improvements during Van Buren’s federal career

  Sumner, Charles

  Supreme Court

  Talleyrand-Périgord, Charles-Maurice de

  Tallmadge, James

  Tammany Hall

  tariffs

  Tariff of Abominations

  Taylor, John

  Taylor, Zachary

  Tecumseh

  telegraph

  Texas, admission to the Union and slavery issue

  1844 presidential election and

  third parties

  Free Soil party

  Liberty party

  Thirty Years’ View (Benton)

  Thoreau, Henry

  Tilden, Samuel

  Tocqueville, Alexis de

  Tompkins, Daniel

  Tower, Charlemagne

  Treasury, independent

  Trudeau, Garry

  Truman, Harry S.

  Tucker, Nathaniel Beverley

  Turkey

  Turner, Frederick Jackson

  Turner, Nat

  two-party system

  Founding Fathers, vision of the

  New York politics prior to

  Tyler, John

  United States Exploring Expedition

  United States Magazine and Democratic Review

  Upjohn, Richard

  urban North

  concern for urban poor

  population growth and political power of

  Van Alen family

  Van Buren, Abraham (father)

  marriage of

  political affiliations

  as slave owner

  Van Buren, Abraham (son)

  Van Buren, Cornelis

  Van Buren, Hannah Hoes (wife)