Among 19th Century Presidents, Martin Van Buren’s name is not often cited among the most noteworthy for what he accomplished while in office or during his career. We know about Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and U.S. Grant, but Van Buren’s role in American political history is pretty significant. James M. Bradley’s Martin Van Buren: America’s First Politician highlights a man who helped in the rise of the Democratic Party and the formations of America’s two-party system that still hold today.
Van Buren was elected President in 1836 after serving as Andrew Jackson’s Vice President for a term and prior roles in Congress and New York’s state government. The son of a tavern owner, Van Buren worked his way up into being a leader of the so-called “Albany Regency,” a collection of New York state- elected and appointed officials who are often cited by historians as one of the first political machines in state politics. Many of these members moved into Van Buren’s administration.
Bradley’s book chronicles a man who helped Andrew Jackson establish the Democratic party and followed many of Jackson’s policies while in office, including the removal of Native Americans from the Eastern US and the gradual demise of the 2nd National Bank of the United States. Van Buren lost in 1840 to William Henry Harrison, a retired hero from the War of 1812, and “retired” to his manor in New York State, only to try to run again for the White House in 1844 and 1848.
Bradley details many parallels from the 1830’s and 1840’s to the present, such as allegations of voter fraud and a toxic political environment. Van Buren in some respects helped contribute to those issues through his belief in partisanship. However, his views on various political issues of the day could evolve. His 1848 run was as part of the “Free Soil” party, a collection of abolitionists from the Democrats, Whigs, and other minor parties opposed to the expansion of slavery into newly acquired western and southern territories. In some respects, Van Buren epitomized many politicians of our nation’s history - imperfect but influential. Van Buren’s legacy is as one of the forces to help codify a two-party system in the United States and as one of the first to organize and steer state political machines through his leadership in the Albany Regency.
MY RATING: 4.5
