The Presidency of Martin Van Buren (American Presidency Series) (Hardcover)

~ L. Wilson (Author) "In 1931 a distinguished visitor to the United States, Alexis de Tocqueville, found Americans to be a "restless people..." (more)
Key Phrases: old deposit banks, specie feature, divorce proposal, Van Buren, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A masterful account of the banking practices and federal policies that precipitated the panic of 1837." -- American Historical Review

"Makes the case that the Van Buren presidency was an important era in the formation of the second-party system." -- Journal of the Early Republic

"Scholars will find this book indispensable." -- Choice

"Wilson's evenhanded discussion of financial and foreign policy accurately reflects Van Buren's administrative concerns and his conduct of public affairs." -- Journal of American History

Product 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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas (January 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0700602380
• ISBN-13: 978-0700602384
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,019,819 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rich in Detail, May 24, 2000

By A Customer

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much time spent describing the battle over the bank, August 12, 2002

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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.

4.0 out of 5 stars Martin van Buren, June 9, 2009

By	pat Rick "Rick" (Raleigh) - See all my reviews

A good book about one of America's first true machine politicians. Again of the American Presidency Series a somewhat short book of the intrigues of American Politics