Jeff Hummel joins our lengthy debate about who Van Buren really was as a person and as a President. Hummel argues that Van Buren took a small “r” republican position for most of his career, both in the law and in politics. Hummel also argues that Van Buren was more consistent as President than those who came before him.

Why would Jeff Hummel categorize Van Buren as the “least bad” President? Why is Van Buren considered the first “ethnic President”? Was Van Buren consistently classically liberal? How does Van Buren compare to Calhoun? What did Van Buren think was the purpose of political parties?

Further Reading:

Jeff Hummel’s articles on Van Buren: In The Independent and from Reassessing the Presidency

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

Silbey, Joel. Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2002.

Van Buren, Martin. Inquiry into the Origin and Course of Political Parties in the United States. New York: Hurd and Houghton. 1867.

The Autobiography of Martin Van Buren, Edited by John C. Fitzpatrick. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1920.

Widmer, Edward. Martin Van Buren. New York: Times Books. 2005.

Music by Kai Engel

Related Content:

Free Soil After Van Buren, Liberty Chronicles Episode

Van Buren’s Dirty Game, Liberty Chronicles Episode

What’s a Loco-Foco?, Liberty Chronicles Episode

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