Martin Van Buren was a one-term president whose public life has long been overshadowed by the more fiery personalities of his day—Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun. Nevertheless, Van Buren was a transforming political figure in American history, one of the first of the new republic's professional politicians.   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. Silbey argues that Van Buren recognized the need for effective national political organization and, in the process, helped remake America's political culture.   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.

"A satisfying biography of one of our least-known presidents, covering his entire life from start to finish. Silbey offers many fresh and welcome perspectives. . . . [The biography] succeeds as both a concise biography for the casual reader, and a critical re-examination for the seasoned historian. Recommended." - Fauquier Times Democrat

"Joel Silbey has produced a fine work on the eighth U.S. president worthy of examination by scholars of the American presidency and political scientists engaged in the study of America's two-party system." - North Carolina Historical Review

"This is an excellent short biography." - Journal of Southern History

"This book makes an undeniably important contribution." - Civil War History

"Silbey has provided a well-written and concise analysis of [Martin Van Buren's] career." - The Historian