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The Autobiography of Martin Van Buren
Book by Van Buren, Martin
808 pages, Hardcover
First published June 28, 1973
About the author
Martin Van Buren
89 books5 followersMartin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. Before his presidency, he served as the eighth Vice President (1833–1837) and the 10th Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson. He was a key organizer of the Democratic Party, a dominant figure in the Second Party System, and the first president who was not of British (i.e. English, Welsh, Scottish, or Irish) descent—his ancestry was Dutch. He was the first president to be born an American citizen (his predecessors were born British subjects prior to the American Revolution), and is also the only president not to have spoken English as a first language, having grown up speaking Dutch.Moreover, he was the first president from New York.
Van Buren was the third president to serve only one term, after John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams. He also was one of the central figures in developing modern political organizations. As Andrew Jackson's Secretary of State and then Vice President, he was a key figure in building the organizational structure for Jacksonian democracy, particularly in New York State. However, as a president, his administration was largely characterized by the economic hardship of his time, the Panic of 1837. Between the bloodless Aroostook War and the Caroline Affair, relations with Britain and its colonies in Canada also proved to be strained. Whether or not these were directly his fault, Van Buren was voted out of office after four years, with a close popular vote but a rout in the electoral vote. In 1848, he ran for president on a third-party ticket, the Free Soil Party.
Martin Van Buren is one of only two people, the other being Thomas Jefferson, to serve as Secretary of State, Vice President and President.
Van Buren was the third president to serve only one term, after John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams. He also was one of the central figures in developing modern political organizations. As Andrew Jackson's Secretary of State and then Vice President, he was a key figure in building the organizational structure for Jacksonian democracy, particularly in New York State. However, as a president, his administration was largely characterized by the economic hardship of his time, the Panic of 1837. Between the bloodless Aroostook War and the Caroline Affair, relations with Britain and its colonies in Canada also proved to be strained. Whether or not these were directly his fault, Van Buren was voted out of office after four years, with a close popular vote but a rout in the electoral vote. In 1848, he ran for president on a third-party ticket, the Free Soil Party.
Martin Van Buren is one of only two people, the other being Thomas Jefferson, to serve as Secretary of State, Vice President and President.
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November 29, 2020
This book took me an insane amount of time to read. From a very basic perspective that no currently available copy is truly legible, to the fact that it's written in some of the most esoteric, 19th-century brouhaha language out there (complete with enormous paragraph-sentences that make even the one you're reading cry in embarrassing smallness), this book was hard. That in and of itself makes this a less-than-enjoyable read, but it was important to me anyway and I loved it after finishing it.
Beyond that, it's woefully incomplete. Besides ignoring some important aspects (I personally thought it glanced far too quickly over Van Buren's role in the Tariff of Abominations), it ended before even Van Buren's presidential nomination. The book mentions the nomination and administration many times, but even in its own largesse, the volume(s) end suddenly because Van Buren died before completing it. It would have been very interesting to read what he intended (explaining his post-presidential actions of never giving up and trying to pull a Grover Cleveland). As it was, you get one of the most one-sided, biased, incredible self-masturbatory pieces of all time.
Van Buren was a politician's politician. If you've seen West Wing, think of him as the OG Josh Lyman AND Toby Ziegler wrapped together in one supergenius slimeball. The book is intended to entirely vindicate Van Buren and his actions, and it's meant to paint himself in the greatest light possible. I think one of my favorites was early in the book, when he was New York attorney General (1815-1819), he sent people he didn't like on fool's errands to keep them out of the way. He schemed his way onto the canal board, screwed over DeWitt Clinton in lovely ways, and "just happened to find himself" nominated and elected to ever higher position. What a coincidence.
He also seems like one of those people who save every scrap of paper ever written on or sent to him in order to screw people over later. He would stuff copies of letters from enemies in envelopes, then send them to third parties who could screw over lives if they wanted. In the autobiography, he would claim he was doing the right thing or that he was forwarding information in the simplest way. It was blatantly obvious it was just him stirring things up.
It was absolutely incredible how the man found papers and letters to twist everything around to vindicate himself and villainize others (especially Daniel Webster, who he seems to have had it out for). He claimed credit where he was due none or little. He was just this absolute Little Magician.
Beyond that, it's woefully incomplete. Besides ignoring some important aspects (I personally thought it glanced far too quickly over Van Buren's role in the Tariff of Abominations), it ended before even Van Buren's presidential nomination. The book mentions the nomination and administration many times, but even in its own largesse, the volume(s) end suddenly because Van Buren died before completing it. It would have been very interesting to read what he intended (explaining his post-presidential actions of never giving up and trying to pull a Grover Cleveland). As it was, you get one of the most one-sided, biased, incredible self-masturbatory pieces of all time.
Van Buren was a politician's politician. If you've seen West Wing, think of him as the OG Josh Lyman AND Toby Ziegler wrapped together in one supergenius slimeball. The book is intended to entirely vindicate Van Buren and his actions, and it's meant to paint himself in the greatest light possible. I think one of my favorites was early in the book, when he was New York attorney General (1815-1819), he sent people he didn't like on fool's errands to keep them out of the way. He schemed his way onto the canal board, screwed over DeWitt Clinton in lovely ways, and "just happened to find himself" nominated and elected to ever higher position. What a coincidence.
He also seems like one of those people who save every scrap of paper ever written on or sent to him in order to screw people over later. He would stuff copies of letters from enemies in envelopes, then send them to third parties who could screw over lives if they wanted. In the autobiography, he would claim he was doing the right thing or that he was forwarding information in the simplest way. It was blatantly obvious it was just him stirring things up.
It was absolutely incredible how the man found papers and letters to twist everything around to vindicate himself and villainize others (especially Daniel Webster, who he seems to have had it out for). He claimed credit where he was due none or little. He was just this absolute Little Magician.
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