In the early part of the nineteenth century, America was skeptical of popular politics, distrustful of political parties, and disdainful of political management. However, as prominent historian Joel H. Silbey demonstrates, Martin Van Buren took the lead among his contemporaries in remolding the old political order as he captured the New York state governorship, a seat in the United States Senate, and ultimately the Presidency. Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics takes a fresh look at the life and political career of one of America's most often overlooked, yet most influential, public figures.

Chapter 1: The Tavern Keeper's Son: The Making of a Politician, 1782-1812
Chapter 2: "The Partisan Leader" I: Master of the State, 1812-1821
Chapter 3: "The Partisan Leader" II: The Senator From New York, 1821-1828
Chapter 4: The Seats of the Mighty, 1828-1832
Chapter 5: The Democracy's Heir Apparent, 1832-1836
Chapter 6: At the Summit: The Eighth President of the United States, 1837-1841
Chapter 7: "The People Could Not Be Rallied for Van Buren"
Chapter 8: The Partisan Leader at Bay, 1841-1847
Chapter 9: "The Most Fallen Man I Have Ever Known": The Party Leader Becomes a Political Rebel-For a Time, 1848-1852
Chapter 10: Political Afterlife, 1852-1862
Chapter 11: "The Honors of Their Statesman"
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