LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORN 
 
 Ktceired --r-S^, iSS , 
 
 Acffssipiis A T o. 2. & <f J 3 .S//. // .\ n. 
 

-^ v 
 
oV5 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE 
 
 POLITICAL OPINIONS 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN, 
 
 VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 WILLIAM M. HOLLAND, 
 
 SECOND EDI 
 
 HARTFORD. 
 
 BELKNAP & HAMERSLEY. 
 1836. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1835, by 
 
 BELKNAP & HAMERSLEY, 
 
 in the Clerk s Office of the District Court of Connecticut. 
 
 CASE, TIFFANY & CO,. PRINTERS. 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 ASIDE from the present relation of Mr. Van 
 Buren to the people of the United States, the fact 
 of his having risen in times of peace, from the or 
 dinary level of life, to the second office in the gov 
 ernment, renders a view of his principles, and of 
 the incidents of his personal history, a matter of 
 reasonable curiosity. 
 
 The author lias therefore, devoted a period of 
 entire vacation from his ordinary duties, to the col 
 lection and arrangement of such materials as may 
 fully exhibit the political sentiments of Mr. Van 
 Buren, together with such details of his personal 
 history, as may be published with a due respect for 
 private feelings. In doing this, it has not been the 
 design of the writer merely to contribute to the 
 
i v PREFACE. 
 
 political elevation of any man; he has aimed, 
 rather to display the spirit and principles of the 
 republican party in this country, and to exhibit, by 
 the history of an individual, the nature of the re 
 lation which that party sustains to its public men. 
 He has endeavored, in this way, to throw some 
 light upon the character of our institutions, and to 
 illustrate, in some degree, the spirit of the nation 
 and the age. 
 
 The philosophy of history is more valuable than 
 its facts. Remarkable, as are the incidents in the 
 life of Mr. Van Buren, they would not have at 
 tracted the particular attention of the writer, if he 
 had not believed, that in laying them before the 
 public, an opportunity would be furnished of dis 
 cussing political principles which are of vital im 
 portance to the prosperity of our country. The 
 author, therefore, has no where in the following 
 pages, affected to conceal his strong political bias ; 
 though he has conscientiously endeavored, never 
 to be led by it, into the suppression or misrepre 
 sentation of facts. If the conclusions which the 
 writer has drawn from those facts, be not approv 
 ed of by the reader, he is at liberty to form his 
 own ; the means of forming them have been faith 
 fully laid before him. 
 
 AS the author has had recourse only to sources 
 
PREFACE. v 
 
 of information which are accessible to all, he has 
 not thought it necessary to consult Mr. Van Buren 
 with regard to the propriety of his undertaking. 
 That gentleman, therefore, is not, in any sense, re 
 sponsible for the opinions advanced in the present 
 work, except such as are fairly expressed by ex 
 tracts from his own writings and speeches^ 
 
 The great obligations of the present writer to the 
 Honorable Benjamin F. Butler, will be obvious to 
 all who have noticed the ability and zeal, with 
 which he has, on several occasions, defended the 
 character of his distinguished friend. Among 
 those who have kindly facilitated the collection of 
 materials for this work, the Honorable James Van- 
 derpoel, of Albany, deserves the particular thanks 
 of the author. 
 
 In submitting to the public, this contribution to 
 the support of democratic principles, the author is 
 well aware that he shall not escape the censure of 
 those, who anticipate the destruction of all politi 
 cal and religious truth, by the leveling spirit of de 
 mocracy. Without questioning the sincerity of 
 their melancholy forebodings, he would adopt in 
 reply, the language ascribed to an eminent states 
 man and philosopher of the present age ;* " If 
 by democracy, you understand that progress of in- 
 
 * M. Roger Collard, 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 dustry, art, law, manners, and light, which has now 
 for some centuries, been constantly increasing, I 
 am well pleased with such democracy ; and, for 
 my own part, instead of blaspheming the age in 
 which I live, I feel grateful to Providence for hav 
 ing assigned my birth to an epoch, in which God 
 has been pleased to call a greater number of his 
 creatures than heretofore, to a participation in the 
 virtues, the intelligence, and the manners, which 
 had been heretofore reserved but for a few." 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE 
 
 SECOND EDI TION, 
 
 IN the present edition of this volume, some er 
 rors which occurred in the former, have been cor 
 rected : they related chiefly to matters of small im 
 portance. The principal additions are two letters 
 of Mr. Van Buren, which have been written since 
 the former publication. One of these letters ex 
 presses his views of the constitutional power of 
 Congress over the subject of slavery in the Dis 
 trict of Columbia, and of the expediency of exer 
 cising that power. The other relates to the Bank 
 of the United States, and, incidentally, to the 
 granting of Bank charters by State Legislatures. 
 Both letters are important, and are written with 
 the discrimination and ability which characterizes 
 every thing that comes from the pen of their au- 
 1 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 thor. The latter, in particular, expresses Mr. Van 
 Buren s calm, but firm opposition, not only to the 
 Bank of the United States, but also to that " im 
 providence of State Legislation" which threaten* 
 to entail upon the country, the evils, from which, 
 by the termination of the United States Bank, 
 there was a hope of escaping. Considering the 
 relation of M r. Van Buren to public affairs, it is a 
 matter of sincere congratulation that his views of 
 banking are so strictly in accordance with those of 
 radical democracy. 
 
 The present work has been the subject of some 
 candid, and much uncandid remark, on the part of 
 those who dissent from its doctrines. No impor 
 tant errors, however, in the statement of facts, 
 have been pointed out; and the author has seen 
 nothing, in the strictures which have been made 
 upon his sentiments, to induce him to modify or 
 change them in the present edition. He is still 
 open to conviction ; but as his opinions have been 
 deliberately formed, without reference to any tem 
 porary, political agitation or canvass, he cannot be 
 induced either to abandon or conceal them, by the 
 violence of party denunciation, or from any other 
 motive than a conviction of their unsoundness. 
 
 The most careless observer must have noticed 
 that one result has followed the publication of the 
 
PREFACE. -^ 
 
 volume. It contains so full an exposition of Mr. 
 Van Buren s opinions on all leading political ques 
 tions, that the charge of concealing his sentiments, 
 heretofore so often reiterated by the partizan press, 
 has, in a great measure, been silenced. Whether 
 those sentiments are such as to meet the approval 
 of the people of the United States, is a question 
 which must soon be determined. 
 
 Hartford July 1, 1836. 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The parentage of Mr. Van Buren, and his educa 
 tion preparatory to the study of Law, . , 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The professional education of Mr. Van Bur en be 
 fore his admission to the Bar, ... 25 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren s professional career, in Kinder- 
 hook, from the period of his admission to the Bar, 
 in 1803, to his removal to the city of Hudson, in 
 1308, 33 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren s professional course from the time 
 of his removal to the city of Hudson, in the winter 
 of 1808-9, until his final withdrawal from the 
 bar, in 1828, ....:. 57 
 
 1* 
 
x ii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Mr. Van Bur en s first agency in political affairs. 
 Is active in supporting 1 the election of Jefferson. 
 Is delegate to a county convention in his nine 
 teenth year. His first appearance as an elector. 
 Supports Lewis for Governor in 1804 : and Tomp- 
 kins in 1807. Is appointed Surrogate of Colum 
 bia County. Opposes the renewal of the charter 
 of the Bank of the U. S. and the chartering of 
 the JBank of America. Is elected a member of the 
 State Senate, 75 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Mr. Van Bureri>s course in the Senate of New York 
 in regard to the War and the support of De Witt 
 
 Clinton for the Presidency. Supports Tompkins 
 for Governor in 1813. His energetic support of 
 
 the War, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Mr. Van Burerts defence of the Classification bill. 
 Is appointed Attorney General of New York. 
 Gives an efficient support to the project for the 
 Erie and Champlain Canals, . . . 109 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren acquiesces in the first election 
 of De Witt Clinton, as Governor. Opposes his 
 re-election. Is removed from the office of At 
 torney General Separates from Mr. Clinton 
 and his political friends. His encomium upon 
 Mr. Clinton s character at a meeting of the New 
 York Congressional delegation in Washington, 119 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Mr. Van Buretfs support of Rufus King for Sen- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 ator of the United States. His connection with 
 the proceedings in Albany, and in the Legisla 
 ture of New York, in regard to the Missouri ques 
 tion, 127 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren is elected a Senator of the United 
 States. His participation in the Convention to 
 amend the Constitution of New York. Speech on 
 vesting veto power in the Governor. On the 
 length oj Governor s tenure of office. On prefix 
 ing a bill of rights. On the elective franchise. 
 Vote on admitting colored people to be electors. 
 Speech on the appointment of Justices of the 
 Peace. On the re-organization of the Supreme 
 Court so as to eject the incumbents, . 145 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren s course in the Senate of the 
 United States. His views on the subject of Im 
 prisonment for Debt, 201 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren proposes to amend the constitution 
 of the United States so as to keep the choice of 
 President and Vice President from the House 
 of Representatives. Extracts from his speech 
 on that subject, ...... 207 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Mr. Van Bur en s proposed amendment of the Judi 
 ciary system of the United States. His speech 
 on the Judiciary system, .... 215 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Speech of Mr. Van Buren on the establishment of 
 a uniform system of Bankruptcy. Brief re 
 marks on the public lands. Extracts from his 
 speech on the colonial trade, .... 229 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Opposition of Mr. Van Buren to the Panama Mis 
 sion. Extract from one of his speeches on that 
 question, 245 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Mr. Van Bur en s opinions on the constitutionality 
 and expediency of appropriations of money by the 
 General Government for Internal Improvements, 261 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Sentiments of Mr. Van Bur en with regard to pro 
 tective duties. Votes for the Tariff bill in 1824, 
 and in 1828, by instructions from his constituents. 
 Extract from his letter to the committee at Shoc- 
 co Springs, 269 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Mr. Van Bur en s support of a strict construction of 
 the constitution, with extracts from his speech on 
 the power of the Vice President to call to order, 
 for words spoken in debate, in the Senate, . 275 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Pernicious effects of the system of incorporated 
 Banking companies in the United States. Op 
 position of Mr. Van Buren to the extension of 
 this system in the state of New York. His oppo 
 sition to the bank of the United States. Letter 
 
CONTENTS. xv 
 
 to certain gentlemen in Cincinnati, on the Bank 
 of the United States, and on the chartering of 
 State Banks, 293 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Mr. Van Bur en s support of the bill providing for 
 the surviving- officers of the Revolution, Sum 
 mary mew of his sentiments on various political 
 questions. His constant observance of the will of 
 the people. Right and capacity of the people to 
 direct the administration of the government. 309 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Mr. Van Bur en supports Mr. Crawford for the 
 Presidency, in 1824. Opposes the administration 
 of Mr. Adams. Sustains General Jackson for 
 the Presidency, in 1828. Is elected Governor of 
 the state of New York, and resigns his seat in 
 the Senate. Introduces the" safety fund system," 317 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Mr. Van Bur en is appointed Secretary of State of 
 the United States. Situation of our foreign re 
 lations, especially with Great Britain. Mr. Van 
 Buren s successful administration of the De 
 partment of foreign Affairs. Resigns the office 
 of Secretary of State 323 
 
 CHAPTE.R XXIII. 
 
 Mr. Van Bur en is nominated minister to the Court 
 of St. James. The rejection of his nomination 
 by the Senate. Extract from his instructions 
 to Mr. McLane. Correspondence of the republi 
 can members of the Legislature of New York, 
 with the President, on the rejection of Mr. Van 
 Buren, 333 
 
xvi CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Nomination of Mr. Van Buren to the Vice Presi 
 dency of the United States. His election to that 
 office. His sentiments on the interference of the 
 General Government and of the free states, with 
 the question of slavery. Letter on the power of 
 Congress over slavery in the District of Colum 
 bia, 343 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The nomination of Mr. Van Buren to the office of 
 President of the United States by a national con 
 vention. Hie letter accepting the nomination, 357 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Conclusion, ..,,.,, 363 
 
LIFE 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TVie parentage of Mr. Van Buren, and his education 
 preparatory to the study of Law. 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN, Vice-President of the 
 United States, is not indebted for his eminence to 
 the wealth or distinction of his family. His fa 
 ther, Abraham Van Buren, was a farmer of mode 
 rate estate, in the town of Kinderhook, county of 
 Columbia, and state of New York. He was de 
 scended from one of those families, who, at an 
 early period in the history of this country, emigra 
 ted from Holland and settled in the ancient town 
 of Kinderhook. He is represented to have been 
 an upright, amiable, and intelligent man. of strong 
 common sense, and distinguished for his pacific 
 disposition. 
 
 2 
 
14 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of Mr. Van 
 Buren was Hoes ; she also was of Dutch descent. 
 The name was originally Goes, and will be recog 
 nized as a name of distinction, by those who are 
 familiar with the history of the Netherlands. 
 She was twice married. The name of her first 
 husband was Van Alen, a gentleman of respecta 
 bility, by whom she had two sons, (John I. and 
 James I. Van Alen,) and a daughter, all of whom 
 are now dead. Both the sons, and especially John, 
 the elder, assisted and encouraged their younger 
 half brother during his professional studies. James 
 was bred to the profession of the law, was a mem 
 ber of the convention to amend the constitution of 
 the State of New-York in 1802, was afterwards 
 Surrogate of the county of Columbia, and was 
 elected a member of Congress in 1808. He was 
 afterwards a judge of the county court and again 
 Surrogate of the county at the time of his decease. 
 When the subject of this memoir was admitted to 
 the bar he received him into partnership in the 
 practice of the Law. 
 
 The mother of Mr. Van Buren was distantly 
 connected with the family of his father before their 
 marriage. She is said, by all who knew her, to 
 have been distinguished for her amiable disposi 
 tion, her exemplary piety, and more than ordina 
 ry sagacity.* 
 
 *This lady survived until 1818 ; the father of Mr. Van Buren 
 died in 1814. Both lived to see the brilliant success of their son 
 at the bar, and the commencement of his political distinction. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 15 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN is the eldest son of these 
 parents. He was born at Kinderhook, on the 5th 
 day of December, 1782. 
 
 At an early age he exhibited indications of a su 
 perior understanding. His opportunities for ear 
 ly instruction were limited, probably on account of 
 the moderate property of his father, who had two 
 other sons and two daughters.* 
 
 After acquiring the rudiments of an English ed 
 ucation, he became a student in the academy, in 
 his native village. He there made considerable 
 progress in the various branches of English litera 
 ture, and gained some knowledge of Latin. It may 
 be inferred, however, that all these acquisitions 
 were not great in amount, as he left the academy, 
 when but fourteen years of age, to begin the stu 
 dy of his profession. 
 
 At that early period he evinced a strong passion 
 for extempore speaking and literary composition. 
 The native characteristics of his mind, which have 
 since so much distinguished their possessor, began 
 thus early to display their activity. The declam 
 ation of the school-boy was destined to ripen into 
 the manly eloquence of the advocate and states 
 man, and his youthful facility in composition, to be 
 formed into a compact, vigorous and copious style. 
 
 Even at that early age, too, Mr. Van Buren is 
 
 *These are still living, viz. Lawrence, a farmer, residing on the 
 family estate, in Kiuderhook ; Abraham, a Lawyer, in Hudson , 
 and Surrogate of Columbia County; and two daughters, one of 
 whom is married to Barent Hoes, Esq. brother of the late wife of 
 Mr. Van Buren, 
 
1C THE LIFE OF 
 
 represented by those who knew him, to have had 
 a spirit of observation, with regard to public events 
 and the personal dispositions and characters of 
 those around him, which gave an earnest of his 
 future proficiency in the science of politics and of 
 the human heart. He was not wont to receive 
 opinions upon mere authority. Every proposition 
 was examined before it received his concurrence 
 or dissent. A fondness for argumentative discus 
 sion also appeared ; a native element in his char 
 acter, which was afterwards formed by discipline 
 and reflection into the habit of vigorous and clear 
 reasoning, that characterized his riper years. 
 
 Such was the preparation with which Martin 
 Van Buren, at the age of fourteen commenced the 
 study of the Law. What an encouraging exam 
 ple does his subsequent success present to the 
 young men of our country ! Few are denied ad 
 vantages of education fully equal to those which 
 he possessed. 
 
 It is an interesting matter of speculation to con 
 jecture what would have been the effect of a regu 
 lar education, so called, upon the mind of the sub 
 ject of this memoir. He has shown himself to be 
 a profound reasoner, at least in his profession, yet 
 he probably knew little, in early life, of the artifi 
 cial rules which have professed to teach the art of 
 thinking, from the days of Thales to those of 
 Thomas Brown. He evinces freedom, accuracy 
 and copiousness in the use of language, yet he had, 
 as we have seen, but a slight acquaintance with 
 any of the languages of antiquity. He has acquir- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 17 
 
 ed habits of patient and accurate research, but not 
 from the diagrams of Euclid, or the mystic steps 
 of analytic mathematics. 
 
 Such examples of distinguished success ought, 
 perhaps, to excite some more thorough inquiry in 
 fo the usefulness, in all cases, of our ordinary rou 
 tine of studies. The theory is, that a well balanced 
 mind is the end to be attained. Hence exercises 
 are prescribed in literature and science, in lan 
 guages and mathematics, in such just proportions 
 as to develope the several mental faculties in equal 
 degrees, in every department. But is there no 
 danger, in this process, of reducing all these facul 
 ties to a contemptible mediocrity ? 
 
 Some persons possess, beyond a doubt, strong 
 natural aptitudes to excel in certain departments, 
 and great natural inability to reach even moderate 
 excellence in others. Ought not a true system of 
 education to turn the peculiar powers of the pu 
 pil to the best account and to waste no time in at 
 tempting to render him a proficient in those bran 
 ches of science, literature or art, for which he has 
 neither capacity nor inclination ? If so, is not that 
 system of questionable utility which forces every 
 student, at an uniform pace, through the same 
 round of mathematical and classical discipline, 
 without reference to the peculiar tendencies of 
 his native talents ? 
 
 Again, in most of our higher seminaries the same 
 
 course of instruction, the same text-books, the 
 
 same principles in literature, science and the arts, 
 
 are presented, year after year, to successive gen- 
 
 2* 
 
18 THE LIFE OF 
 
 erations. It is not unreasonable to suppose that 
 young minds, thus moulded upon an uniform sys 
 tem, will generally fall into common and uniform 
 habits of thought, and will be led to reason, be 
 lieve and act, precisely as their fathers and teach 
 ers have reasoned and believed before them. The 
 strong tendency of the system is to repress inquiry 
 and original investigation, to eradicate every idio 
 syncrasy of intellect, and merely to infuse into a 
 passive mind, the views which have been passively 
 received by those who teach them. 
 
 To this kind of discipline Martin Van Buren 
 was never subjected ; whether to his advantage 
 or loss can only be a matter of conjecture. To 
 regret the deficiencies of his early education may 
 perhaps be a useless waste of feeling. No one 
 can precisely demonstrate the influence of colle 
 giate training upon his peculiar intellectual powers. 
 In the study of books, he might, perhaps, have 
 been withdrawn from the study of men, which he 
 has pursued with such eminent success. The 
 rules of logic might have been manacles upon a 
 mind that resisted all artificial restraint. From the 
 eloquent pages of Livy, or the honied eulogiums 
 of Virgil, or the servile adulation of Horace, he 
 might have been inspired with an admiration for 
 regal pomp and aristocratic dignity, uncongenial 
 to the native independence of his mind. From the 
 same fascinating pages, he might have imbibed that 
 contempt for plebeians and common people which 
 is so bitterly expressed in every line of their elo 
 quent productions. Unless, indeed, the spirit-stir- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 19 
 
 ring appeals, put by the father of Roman history, 
 in the mouths of his popular leaders, had kindled 
 his instinctive love of justice and freedom into new 
 activity ; or the sarcastic vigor with which the 
 philosophic Tacitus depicts the brutal tyranny of 
 the Roman Emperors, had created in his bosom a 
 fixed hatred of tyranny in every shape. 
 
 It is the manner in which ancient history is pre 
 sented, and not its materials, which loads to the 
 formation of erroneous views of human rights. It 
 needs to be re-written by a republican pen. 
 When that shall have been done with fidelity and 
 independence, ancient history will be a most use 
 ful study for the young American. The republics 
 of Greece, as they are miscalled, will then no lon 
 ger be cited as examples of the failure of systems 
 of political equality. The enormous evils which 
 spring from inequalities of rank, influence and 
 wealth, will be made to appear in every era. The 
 Gracchi and other champions of popular rights 
 will be relieved from the unjust reproaches which 
 have been heaped upon the lovers of their fellow 
 men from that day to this ; and a full vindication 
 will appear of that much talked of Agrarian law, 
 which, through the perversions of servile histori 
 ans, has been made a term of reproach and a bye- 
 word of infamy, to frighten reformers withal, for 
 more than two thousand years.* 
 
 The example of Mr. Van Buren, is dwelt upon 
 
 * Some of the most eloquent defences of popular rights any 
 where extant, are to be found in the speeches ascribed to popular 
 leaders, by Livy. See, for example, the harangue of Canulejus 
 the Tribune, in the 4th book, and 3d section of Livy s history. 
 
20 THE LIFE OP 
 
 more at length, in this connection, for the encour 
 agement of the youth of our country who may 
 believe themselves to be cut off by their poverty 
 from aspiring to distinction. So numerous are the 
 instances of success in public life, attained by men 
 of imperfect education, as to raise a doubt wheth 
 er, after all, their exclusion from a regular routine 
 of study may not have been, in some respects, a 
 benefit. Many instances of this kind appear in the 
 brief history of our country. The names of Pat 
 rick Henry and Franklin, will occur to every one 
 and the early education of Washington himself was 
 by no means complete. 
 
 At the present moment, the facilities for self ed 
 ucation are so great that no person who can read, 
 is of necessity cut off from them. Text books in 
 every department of science and art may be pro 
 cured at a trifling expense, and if the want of a 
 teacher renders the progress of the pupil more dif 
 ficult and slow, it fixes the knowledge he may ac 
 quire, more permanently in his memory. 
 
 It is erroneous to suppose that a knowledge of 
 the ancient languages is indispensable to the high 
 est degree of excellence in writing and public 
 speaking. This opinion may be regarded as lit 
 erary heresy, but it is fully shown to be true by 
 numerous examples. Washington and Franklin 
 are perspicuous, elegant, and, generally, correct in 
 their use of the English language. What orators 
 have surpassed Patrick Henry and William Pinck- 
 ney? Yet the former never studied the ancient 
 languages at all, and the latter only obtained an im- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 21 
 
 perfect knowledge of Latin, in the fortieth year of 
 his age. 
 
 The subject of the present memoir may be ad 
 duced as an example of eminent success, both in 
 public speaking and composition, without the aid of 
 a classical education. 
 
 These remarks are not made to disparage the 
 value of classical learning, but to encourage those 
 who may not be able to acquire it, nevertheless, to 
 pursue the best means of improvement in their 
 power, which means will generally be adequate to 
 their real wants. 
 
 The improvements which are supposed to have 
 been made in the modes of instructing the young 
 are the boast of the present age. The advanta 
 ges to be derived from infant schools, Sunday 
 schools, lycetims, gymnasiums and other new sys 
 tems of teaching are extolled with so much zeal, as 
 to awaken a regret in men of middle age, that their 
 own entrance upon life took place before these 
 novel aids to wisdom were available. But it is a 
 matter of reasonable doubt whether much is gain 
 ed, after all, in the business of instruction by 
 these modern, labor-saving machines. It is an un 
 deniable fact that the seeds of wisdom and moral 
 ity may best be sown in the family circle. Noth 
 ing can supply the place of parental advice and 
 example. When children are assembled at the 
 family board, to hear the maxims of piety, industry, 
 economy and patriotism which experience has 
 taught their fathers, they are enjoying the discipli 
 nary instruction which nature intended for them* 
 
22 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and which can never be imparted by any public and 
 stipendiary teacher. 
 
 The social affections require exercise for their 
 full development : they are most perfectly trained 
 and cherished at the paternal fire-side. The com 
 mand of the passions, discretion, and above all, 
 conscientious morality are imperfectly taught in 
 all public seminaries. The proper teacher is the 
 parent ; the proper school, home. 
 
 It is a matter of reasonable concern that these 
 principles are so widely departed from, at present, 
 in this country. Mere infants are withdrawn from 
 maternal care and sent to schools, by parents who 
 have leisure and ability to instruct them at home. 
 At a riper age, they are disposed of in literary 
 seminaries, and are thus withdrawn, in a great 
 measure, from the personal instruction of their pa 
 rents, who are too much engrossed in the various 
 pursuits of life to conduct the education of their 
 children or aid in the formation of their characters. 
 As if any higher duty could devolve upon parents 
 than the instruction of those they have brought in 
 to existence ! or any higher honor could be at 
 tained, than the presenting their country with an 
 intelligent and well disposed family ! How true is 
 the remark of a great philosopher of antiquity that 
 " men ought either not to beget children or else, 
 properly to educate them." 
 
 If these principles be correct, it may, after all, 
 be a matter of no regret that the native talents of 
 the subject of this memoir were not subjected to 
 the ordinary methods of discipline, and that his 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 23 
 
 youthful mind and feelings were formed under the 
 paternal roof, by the sound sense of a wise father 
 and the pious care of a discreet mother. Perhaps 
 to this very cause he may in no small degree be 
 indebted for his extraordinary command over his 
 temper on all occasions, his strong attachment to 
 his early friends, and his amiable social qualities ; 
 as well as for the benevolence of his disposition, the 
 amenity of his manners and the blameless purity 
 of his moral character. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The professional education of Mr. Van Buren before 
 his admission to the Bar. 
 
 In the year 1796, at the age of fourteen, Mr. 
 Van Buren commenced the study of the Law, in 
 the office of Francis Sylvester, Esq., a respectable 
 Lawyer, then and still, a resident in Kinderhook. 
 The courts of Law in the state of New York, have 
 adhered more closely to the English forms of prac 
 tice than has been done in most of the other 
 states. Hence the proceedings are technical, dif 
 fuse, and sometimes tedious. The first business 
 of a candidate for admission to the bar, is to be 
 come familiar with these forms ; and the earlier 
 portions of his preparatory discipline are more 
 usually devoted to the drawing of declarations, 
 bills in Chancery, answers and other technical 
 pleadings, than to the study of the elementary 
 writers upon law. The preparation of these 
 forms, however, requires attention and care, and 
 3 
 
26 THE LIFE OF 
 
 often involves the exercise of nice discrimination 
 and sound logic. 
 
 The period of study preparatory to admission 
 to the bar was seven years, for candidates, who 
 like the subject of this memoir, had not the benefit 
 of a collegiate education. This period w r as meant 
 to be large enough to afford time, not only to be 
 come a proficient in the technical parts of the 
 profession, but to lay a thorough foundation for 
 legal science by the perusal of elementary writers, 
 and leave leisure for considerable attention to 
 general literature. 
 
 There was at the time now alluded to, another 
 school of discipline for the student of law, in the 
 state of New York, in some measure peculiar to 
 that state. The jurisdiction of Justices of the 
 Peace, in civil cases, extended to questions involv 
 ing a considerable amount of property ; and the 
 parties, in almost every case, had a right of trial by 
 jury. The management of cases in these popular 
 courts not unfrequently devolved upon students at 
 law, and was, in some respects, an admirable arena 
 for the display of their knowledge and the disci 
 pline of their talents. The legal forms in these 
 cases were generally very simple, and the legal 
 questions involved, not always difficult and pro 
 found ; but the facts put in issue were numerous 
 and exciting to the parties, whose passions were 
 as frequently the cause of litigation as any in 
 fringement of important rights. 
 
 These trials, therefore, formed an admirable 
 exercise for the ingenuity and industry of the neo- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 27 
 
 phyte lawyer. He could there exercise his inge 
 nuity in the clear and legal statement of facts, 
 derived from the passionate and confused narra 
 tion of clients ; in the preparation and examina 
 tion of witnesses ; in that keen encounter of judg 
 ment, acuteness, and wit, so observable at the bar ; 
 and in placing the whole case favorably before a 
 
 At the period when Mr. Van Buren was engag 
 ed in his legal studies, Columbia County was not 
 distinguished for its freedom from litigation. Many 
 legal principles, affecting real and personal prop 
 erty, were not as well settled by judicial decisions 
 as they are at the present day. Many new inter 
 ests were starting into existence and novel ques 
 tions of personal rights not unfrequently arose. 
 From a state of penury and suffering, the commu 
 nity had advanced into a condition of comparative 
 affluence and ease ; and being relieved from their 
 serious evils had leisure to litigate and discuss mat 
 ters of minor importance. 
 
 It will be doing no injustice to the Lawyers of 
 that day to say, that the humbler members of the 
 profession were themselves less competent to 
 advise, in legal matters, than attorneys of the same 
 comparative standing at this time. Party politics 
 moreover, raged violently, and frequently disturb 
 ed the peaceful relations of neighbors whose real 
 interests were not in conflict with each other. In 
 short, whatever may have been the cause, all tra 
 dition unites in establishing the fact, that the village 
 of Kinderhook with its immediate vicinity, was the 
 
28 THE LIFE OF 
 
 theatre of incessant litigation and judicial combat, 
 especially in the local courts. 
 
 The early indications of ability, as a speaker 
 and reasoner, which were exhibited by Mr. Van 
 Buren, occasioned his almost incessant employ 
 ment in trials of the kind we have described, from 
 the earliest period of commencing the study of 
 his profession. His father was a firm whig in the 
 Revolution and a democrat in the days of John 
 Adams ; and the son was educated in the same 
 principles and of course formed his most intimate 
 connections with persons of the same political 
 faith. The democratic party were then a small 
 minority in the town and county of his nativity. 
 His political opinions, as well as the display of more 
 than ordinary talent, led to his employment by the 
 members of his own party, in their controversies 
 with regard to personal rights and rights of prop 
 erty. At this early period, they appreciated the 
 value of his industry, perseverance, and fidelity in 
 the cause of his friends, and looked forward to the 
 period in which they should possess, in him, a 
 champion of their legal rights in the highest courts 
 of law and of their political opinions in the public 
 councils. 
 
 In these local and temporary contests, so well 
 suited to the developement of native talent, Mr. 
 Van Buren was laboriously and zealously engaged, 
 during the whole period of his preparation for the 
 bar. It often happened, moreover, that in the 
 management of cases he encountered men of age, 
 talent, and high standing in the profession. It can- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 29 
 
 not be doubted that the utmost stretch of his exer 
 tions, which such occasions called forth, contribut 
 ed, greatly, to the thorough discipline and develop 
 ment of his native powers of mind. 
 
 Many characteristic anecdotes are related of his 
 successful efforts, at this early age, w r hich might 
 fitly occupy a portion of this memoir were it not 
 destined rather for instruction than amusement. 
 One remarkable display of his powers is often al 
 luded to, by gentlemen who then resided in that 
 vicinity, when the young advocate, not yet sixteen 
 years of age, successfully managed a cause of great 
 interest and considerable importance, against two 
 opponents, one of whom was then in full practice 
 at the bar, and the other afterwards filled several, 
 respectable public offices. 
 
 At this early period Mr. Van Buren was an ar 
 dent and active politician. His political course 
 will be more fully developed in another place ; 
 but it is proper to remark at this point, that it was 
 his constant habit to attend all meetings of the 
 democratic party, to study with attention the polit 
 ical intelligence of the day, and to yield his most 
 zealous aid to the principles he held to be true, both 
 by speaking in public and employing his ready pen 
 to furnish resolutions and addresses whenever his 
 services were required. As early as 1800, when 
 only in his eighteenth year, and still a student at 
 law, he was deputed by the Republicans in his na 
 tive town to attend a convention of delegates from 
 Columbia and Rensselaer counties, to nominate a 
 candidate for representative to Congress. From 
 3* 
 
30 THE LIFE OF 
 
 that time onward, during his minority, he con 
 stantly had similar marks of the confidence of his 
 political friends and exhibited similar activity in 
 their behalf. 
 
 The last year of Mr. Van Buren s preparatory 
 studies was passed in the city of New York, in the 
 office of Mr. William P. Van Ness, and under his 
 direction. Mr. Van Ness was a native of Colum 
 bia County, but at that time, a distinguished mem 
 ber of the bar in the city of New York and a very 
 conspicuous leader of the Republican party. The 
 reputation which Mr. Van Buren had acquired in 
 his native county, both as a politician and an advo 
 cate, secured for him the especial interest and at 
 tention of Mr. Van Ness. Thus, he had every pos 
 sible advantage for improvement ; and his eager 
 thirst for knowledge, together with his aptitude in 
 acquiring it, enabled him to make great advances. 
 During this period, his devotion to the study of the 
 principles of his profession, was intense. In an 
 association of young gentlemen engaged in similar 
 pursuits, which occasionally met for the discussion 
 of legal, political and miscellaneous questions, he 
 soon became conspicuous by his ready command 
 of language and closeness of reasoning. Some 
 elder members of the profession who occasionally 
 attended these discussions, at that time, foresaw 
 and predicted his future eminence at the bar. 
 
 Mr. Van Ness, as a leading republican in the 
 city of New York, was occasionally associated 
 with the celebrated Aaron Burr, at that time Vice 
 President of the United States. Through this 
 
MARTIX VAN BUREN. 3! 
 
 medium Mr. Van Buren was introduced to the no 
 tice of the Vice President. As Col. Burr, not im 
 probably, foresaw the possibility of his becoming 
 a candidate for the office of Governor in the state 
 of New York, he was led by his knowledge of 
 Mr. Van Buren s political activity and influence 
 in his native county, as well as by a quick sighted 
 observation of the future eminence promised by 
 his early display of talent, to treat him with mark 
 ed attention and to make every reasonable effort 
 to secure his favorable regard. 
 
 o 
 
 In November, 1803, in the twenty-first year of 
 his age, Mr. Van Buren was admitted, as an attor 
 ney at law, to the bar of the Supreme Court in 
 the state of New York. He immediately return 
 ed to his native village to commence the practice 
 of his profession. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Mr. Van Bur erf s professional career, in Kinderhook, 
 from the period of his admission to the Bar, in 1803, 
 to his removal to the city of Hudson, in 1808. 
 
 Near the close of his twenty-first year, the sub 
 ject of this memoir began the practice of his pro 
 fession, as an attorney at law, in the village of Kin- 
 derhook. He formed a partnership in business 
 with the Hon. James I. Van Alen, a half-brother 
 on his mother s side. Mr. Van Alen was consid 
 erably his senior and had already acquired no 
 small degree of political and professional distinc 
 tion. His early kindness to the subject of this 
 memoir has already been alluded to. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren had previously been admitted as 
 an attorney in the Supreme Court, and at the first 
 succeeding session of the Columbia County Court, 
 he was enrolled in the list of its attorneys and 
 counsellors. 
 
 The bar of Columbia County, at that time, 
 
34 THE LIFE OF 
 
 embraced some of the most distinguished members 
 of the legal profession in the state of New York. 
 It will not be invidious to mention the names of 
 William W. Van Ness, (afterwards a Judge of the 
 Supreme Court in New York,) Elisha Williams, 
 Thomas P. Grosvenor, and Jacob R. Van Rensse- 
 laer. Many other distinguished names might be 
 added to the list, but the gentlemen already men 
 tioned were at that time in the full practice of 
 their profession and for legal knowledge and splen 
 did talents were surpassed by few lawyers in the 
 state. 
 
 Such was the field of competition upon which 
 the youthful candidate then entered. But in order 
 fully to understand the difficulties with which he 
 contended and the circumstances which contribut 
 ed to the formation of his character and fame, it 
 will be necessary to advert to the state of political 
 parties at the period alluded to ; for the political 
 and professional acts of Mr. Van Buren have been 
 so closely interwoven, from his first entrance upon 
 the duties of active life, that the description of the 
 one class cannot well be separated from that of 
 the other. 
 
 It is not the object of the present writer to pre 
 sent a political history of the times, any farther 
 than may be necessary to the clear elucidation of 
 the principles and character of the subject of this 
 narrative. It has been truly said by a writer of 
 great celebrity in the departments both of biogra 
 phy and history, that " the biographer never ought 
 to introduce public events, except as far as they 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 35 
 
 arc absolutely necessary to the illustration of char 
 acter ; and that the historian should rarely digress 
 into biographical particulars, except as far as they 
 contribute to the clearness of his narrative of po 
 litical occurrences."* But as the political course 
 of Mr. Van Buren, appears to the writer to pre 
 sent a pure and attractive example for the imita 
 tion of the young men of our country, it would 
 seem that an account of his life and opinions, should, 
 in some measure, be a text book of democratic 
 principles. 
 
 It is well known that the people of these states 
 have always been divided into two broadly separ 
 ated and distinctly marked parties. One of these 
 parties has been the constant antagonist of popular 
 influence, equality and freedom ; the other has 
 constantly relied on the capacity of the people for 
 self-government and has, at all times, regarded 
 their voice as the ultimate rule of action in all po 
 litical matters. A writer of considerable research, 
 and of high authority where he is not under the 
 bias of party prejudice, has intimated that this great 
 division began at the time of the adoption of the 
 Federal Constitution ;f but this, perhaps, is not the 
 most accurate view of the origin of these parties. 
 A closer observation will show that the elements 
 of this division existed anterior to the Revolution. 
 Indeed these elements are inherent in the nature 
 
 * Life of Sir Thomas More, by Sir James Mackintosh. 
 tPitkin s political and civil History of the United States, vol. 
 ii. p. 352. 
 
36 THE LIFE OF 
 
 of man, and have separated mankind, in all coun 
 tries and in all ages, into the lovers and champions 
 of popular rights on one side, and the oppressors 
 of their fellow-men on the other. But in the pres 
 ent place, it is purposed to consider rather the his 
 torical, than the philosophical origin of these 
 parties. 
 
 During the whole period of British aggression 
 and American suffering, a strong party existed in 
 this country, averse to any demonstrations of re 
 sistance to England or any exertions for the pro 
 tection of colonial freedom. The popular voice 
 was divided in regard to public measures, from 
 the operation of various motives. Some of those 
 who were for passive submission, feared English 
 power ; others loved English patronage ; and all 
 distrusted the capacity of a free people to govern 
 themselves. 
 
 The same division was perceptible during the 
 war of the Revolution ; though the violence of the 
 enemy forced into the popular ranks, for a time, 
 many who were at heart averse to a republican 
 form of government. Many of the colonists had 
 been educated in Europe, others had family con 
 nections there r and a still larger number had, by 
 reading or travel, formed high notions of the much- 
 lauded excellence of the British Constitution. 
 These persons would gladly have preserved in 
 America, many features of an aristocratic govern 
 ment, and they saw with alarm and regret the un 
 paralleled determination of the American people, 
 never to cease from the contest until they had 
 
MARTIN VAN BUHEN. 37 
 
 prostrated every vestige of authority, proceeding 
 from any other source than the will of the people. 
 Before the disbanding of the American army, it 
 is pretty well understood, that two of the general 
 officers, who stood high in its affections, proposed, 
 very distinctly, to General Washington to assume 
 monarchical powers, and promised to sustain him 
 by the armies under their control. Fortunately 
 for the cause of freedom, that great and good man 
 was equally incapable of being influenced by per 
 sonal ambition, and of distrusting the ability of 
 freemen to govern themselves. 
 
 It would not be difficult to point out frequent 
 indications, on the part of leading politicians, of a 
 preference for monarchical institutions and of a dis 
 trust of popular discretion, during the period which 
 intervened between the termination of the war of 
 the Revolution and the adoption of the Federal 
 Constitution. The country was then divided into 
 two distinct parties, the republicans and monar 
 chists, the former insisting on the utmost liberty of 
 action, consistent with the preservation of social 
 rights, and the latter struggling to curtail popular 
 rights, and looking to a monarchy and a heredita 
 ry nobility as the only protections of individual in 
 terests. 
 
 But it was in the convention which formed the 
 Federal Constitution that the monarchical party 
 made the most distinct demonstration of their 
 views. The convention sat with closed doors, and 
 few of the opinions expressed by individual mem 
 bers have been preserved. There is no reason to 
 4 
 
38 THE LIFE OF 
 
 doubt, however, that there were members of the 
 assembly who would have been gratified with the 
 nearest possible approach of our government to 
 that of Great Britain. But the popular will had 
 been so decidedly expressed, as to show the impos 
 sibility of indulging such preferences. Propositions 
 were, nevertheless, made, and that too, by men 
 who were afterwards the leaders of the Federal 
 party, to elect a President and Senate for life, or 
 during good behavior, to have the Governors of 
 the respective states appointed by the Executive of 
 the Federal Government, and to give that govern 
 ment a veto upon all the acts of the State Legis 
 latures. Fortunately these propositions were re 
 jected by the democratic part of the convention, 
 and the Constitution, as finally adopted, took so 
 popular a form as to be highly offensive to many 
 of the anti-republican members. Nevertheless, 
 such alarming indications appeared, in certain 
 quarters, of a preference for a consolidated and 
 privileged government, that the democracy of the 
 country were exceedingly cautious in yielding their 
 final assent to the new instrument, nor was their 
 jealousy of its provisions allayed, until after the 
 adoption of several important amendments, secur 
 ing to the people certain cardinal rights of free 
 men, and tending to the unimpaired preservation 
 of the sovereignty of the states. 
 
 Even after the adoption of the Federal consti 
 tution, there was a body of politicians, and those 
 too of no humble influence and character, who 
 had no faith or pleasure in the idea of a republic, 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 39 
 
 who longed for a monarchical form of government, 
 and who openly spoke of our system as a humbug 
 which could not last a quarter of a century, while 
 they professed to regard the British government 
 as the most perfect, ever invented by human wis 
 dom.* 
 
 During the administration of General Washing 
 ton, the peculiar and opposite views of the two 
 parties became more apparent ; and the distinc 
 tive features of each, at that time, have continued 
 to characterize them, respectively, to the present 
 day. Names indeed, have changed ; and a vocab 
 ulary of considerable extent, has been exhausted 
 on one side, in the vain endeavor to hide real prin 
 ciples from public view. But at whatever era, or 
 under whatever name, the aristocratic party have 
 appeared, they have exhibited the same aversion 
 to the full enjoyment of popular rights, the same 
 distrust of popular capacity and integrity, and the 
 same dread of popular freedom. 
 
 In the administration of Washington, w r hen 
 Hamilton presided over the Treasury department 
 and Knox was secretary of War, the doctrines of 
 the anti-republican party were similar to those of 
 the same party, at the present day. They were 
 for a splendid, consolidated government, supported 
 by a national Bank and revolving about an intrigu 
 ing and corrupting treasury. Large salaries, per 
 manence in office, pomp, profusion, arid ceremony 
 were, then, as now, earnestly contended for. The 
 
 *Jcfferson s "Works, vol. iv. page 450 et seq. 
 
40 THE LIFE OF 
 
 constant cry was of danger from the people, of 
 popular effervescence and popular power, and un 
 less the democracy of these states had rallied, un 
 der Jefferson, and brought back the constitution to 
 its original simplicity and purity, we might, ere this, 
 have seen Presidents and Senators and, perhaps, 
 Representatives in Congress, quietly seated in their 
 offices for life, and transmitting their stations, their 
 titles and their fortunes, to a promising race of their 
 legitimate descendants. 
 
 At that early period, too, the leading doctrines 
 of the democratic party were nearly the same as 
 are professed by that party at the present day. A 
 perfect equality of political rights ; the sovereignty 
 of the State Governments ; a strict construction 
 of the constitution; no privileges to particular 
 sections of the country or to particular classes of 
 the community ; no monopolies, trading compa 
 nies, or corrupt governmental Banks ; frequent ro 
 tation, strict responsibility and small parade in of 
 fice ; moderate legislation ; a revenue meeting the 
 wants of the people and no more ; simplicity in 
 the laws ; and the least possible restraint upon the 
 mind, person, energy and industry of every man, 
 consistent with the rights of his fellow-man. 
 
 The distinctive features of each party have re 
 mained nearly the same, down to the present day. 
 On one side, there has been seen the scheme of a 
 splendid, national, consolidated Government, a 
 single department of which, it has been claimed, 
 may control a sovereign state and remove even fel 
 ons from the cells of her penitentiaries ; an over- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 41 
 
 grown national Bank, its head reaching to the high 
 est offices in the government, its members extended 
 to every state, its right hand raised to depose the 
 President of the people, its breath spreading dis 
 may throughout the land, its operations extensive, 
 secret and corrupt, its resources unlimited and its 
 continuance, perpetual ; a system of raising reve 
 nue vastly disproportioned to the wants of the 
 government, to be lavished in magnificent roads, 
 through favored sections of the country, or invest 
 ed in joint-stock speculations ; a latitudinarian con 
 struction of the Federal compact, begetting the 
 exercise of powers which endanger the continu 
 ance of the Union ; a practical avowal of the 
 principle that a national debt is a national blessing ; 
 a disposition to legislate over-much, and to tamper, 
 capriciously, with the interests of the people ; a 
 general disregard of the popular voice and distrust 
 of the popular capacity, leading to the crooked 
 policy of attempting to cheat the people into salu 
 tary measures, thus rendering office holders, not 
 their servants, but their masters. 
 
 On the contrary, the democratic party set out 
 with the cardinal principle that might and right 
 belong, equally and exclusively, to the people ; that 
 in them resides all sovereignty; that there is no 
 power on earth which may rightfully subject them 
 to any laws or restraints, of body or mind, which 
 they choose not to adopt for themselves ; that gov 
 ernment is for their own comfort and protection, 
 and not for the especial benefit of the governors : 
 that magistrates are servants, and office-holders 
 4* 
 
42 THE LIFE OF 
 
 agents, whom the people create and may at pleas 
 ure, control or remove ; that the unimpaired sove 
 reignties of the several states are vastly more es 
 sential to liberty than any other feature of our po 
 litical system ; that the National Government pos 
 sesses no inherent powers, but is authorized to act 
 only so far as the spirit and letter of the constitu 
 tion clearly intend; that no revenue should be 
 raised beyond the wants of the government ; that 
 the Federal Government was intended mainly for 
 the regulation of foreign relations and cannot con 
 stitutionally expend large sums of money in do 
 mestic, local, internal improvements and splendid 
 plans of national embellishment and speculation ; 
 that, inasmuch as a national Bank is not expressly 
 authorized by the constitution, and the right of 
 creating one lias always been questioned by sound 
 politicians, no such institution should be established 
 without further authority from the people, what 
 ever advantages may be claimed for it ; that the 
 several departments of the Federal Government 
 are co-ordinate and equal in their respective 
 spheres, and that each is bound to interpret and 
 execute its functions and duties, on its own responsi 
 bility and by its own lights. 
 
 These are some of the principles of the demo 
 cratic party at the present time. They are, no 
 doubt, held with various modifications, by differ 
 ent members of the party ; but they all aim at re 
 moving every burden and restriction upon the nat 
 ural freedom of man, to the utmost extent which is 
 consistent with the preservation of social order. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 43 
 
 They are based upon the fundamental axiom that 
 the great mass of the American people are honest 
 and are capable of self-government ; and that, ad 
 mitting their liability to mistakes and to occasional 
 perversions of right, yet the liberties of the people 
 may more safely be entrusted with themselves, than 
 with any of those zealous patriots who are ready, 
 from pure benevolence, to govern them. 
 
 Between the two parties, whose antagonist prin 
 ciples have been briefly stated, the community 
 have ever been divided according to their natural 
 dispositions, their early education, their personal 
 interests or the dictates of their judgment. Among 
 the leaders of the anti-democratic party have gen 
 erally been found those persons who were born to 
 the inheritance of large estates, who have passed 
 through the training of a regular collegiate educa 
 tion, and have any claims to distinction on the score 
 of ancestry. Their distrust of popular capacity 
 and integrity may generally be traced to the 
 tenor of their early education, by which they have 
 been so far withdrawn from the necessity of man 
 ual labor and from contact with those who live 
 by it, as to form erroneous notions of their capaci 
 ty and an ill founded distrust of their virtue. The 
 educated sons of opulent and distinguished pa 
 rents very naturally come to regard themselves as 
 the natural inheritors of the honors of their family 
 and are easily disposed to claim priority in political 
 promotion, over the undistinguished and the 
 poor. Not unfrequently, the course of educa 
 tion through which they pass is fitted to inspire an 
 
44 THE LIFE OF 
 
 admiration for the glare of aristocratic pomp in 
 foreign countries and in ancient times. They read 
 of the Roman " plebeians" and the English " mob" 
 and are prone to regard the common people of 
 their own country in the same contemptuous esti 
 mation. As they advance in life, they soon begin 
 to feel that entire equality in civil and political 
 rights, is a principle not altogether consistent with 
 their own estimate of themselves and of those 
 around them. They begin to regard those who 
 are not their equals in wealth, family and educa 
 tion, as inferiors, also, in political rights. Having 
 never freely mingled with the mass of their fellow 
 men, they under-rate their capacity and virtue. 
 They forget that integrity of character and true pa 
 triotism are more frequently imbibed from the pa 
 rental and domestic education of the farmer or me 
 chanic, than in public seminaries of learning. They 
 forget that learning is not always wisdom ; that a 
 full scholar may be a shallow thinker ; and that 
 books, teachers, apparatus and the other instru 
 ments of learning are not the bestowers of a sound 
 judgment or a clear head. These are, indeed, 
 great helps to mental discipline and the acquisition 
 of knowledge ; but some of the strongest minds 
 that ever appeared have been formed without 
 them. Patient reflection may proceed as rapidly 
 and steadily, over the desk of the merchant, the 
 bench of the mechanic, the anvil of the smith, or 
 at the hearth of the farmer, as amid the splendid 
 halls of learning or in the cloisters of the man of 
 science. There is less difference between men of 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 45 
 
 reflection and native judgment than is generally 
 imagined ; how different soever may have been 
 their means of education or their conditions in life. 
 The principles which lie at the basis of true sci 
 ence, both in morals and politics, are simple., and 
 may generally be as clearly comprehended by the 
 man of plain, uneducated common sense, as by the 
 scholar whose mind has been trained by artificial 
 modes of reasoning. The latter has greatly the 
 advantage of the former in the facility with which 
 his literary resources enable him to express, illus 
 trate and enforce his sentiments. But the unedu 
 cated man may, nevertheless, be a profound think 
 er, though destitute of the technical rules which are 
 convenient for the clear expression of the grounds 
 of his opinions.* 
 
 The truth is, the principles of political and moral 
 science are not so profound and abstruse that only 
 a select few, of striking genius and great learning, 
 can possibly comprehend them. If it were so, 
 there would be an end of all freedom in the politi 
 cal world, and of all independence of judgment 
 in the moral and religious world. If the principles 
 of politics are beyond the apprehension of man- 
 
 
 
 No epoch of liumanity, not even a single individual, wheth 
 er the first or the last, has ever been cut off from the inheritance 
 of truth. * * * A peasant, the meanest of peasants, knows 
 as much as Leibnitz, about himself, about the world and God, 
 and about their relations; but he does not possess the secret and 
 the complete explication of his knowledge; he knows not how to 
 account for it: he possesses it, but ke does not possess it in that 
 superior form of thought, which we call philosophy." Cousin s 
 Introduction to the History of Philosophy : Lecture ii. 
 
46 THE LIFE OF 
 
 kind at large, government must, of necessity, be 
 taken from their control and committed to the di 
 rection of the few who have the requisite learning 
 and capacity. If the principles of moral and re 
 ligious truth are equally obscure, then must the 
 right of private judgment in these matters, cease 
 to be exercised, and the mass of mankind must re 
 ceive their religious belief and their rules of action 
 from a controlling priesthood. But in matters of 
 religious belief and practice, the competency of 
 every moral agent to form his individual opinions, 
 and his responsibility for his faith and practice 
 are no longer a matter of dispute. The Chris 
 tian religion is characterized by such plainness 
 and simplicity that its doctrines and precepts 
 are within the apprehension of the most common 
 understanding; nor can any person, be relieved 
 by the interposition of any human expositor from 
 the responsibility of examining and believing for 
 himself. 
 
 The same course of reasoning applies to political 
 knowledge. The true principles of government 
 must be within the apprehension of ordinary men 
 or the great mass of mankind must be excluded 
 from the exercise of self-control. If it be the law of 
 our nature that men shall form their own civil insti 
 tutions, it mnst be upon principles which men can 
 understand. If social institutions cannot be foun 
 ded and maintained on such principles, they must 
 be formed exclusively by the few who can under 
 stand them, and the only duty of the great body of 
 mankind, must be submission. If these principles 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 47 
 
 arc correct, the mystery and obscurity which 
 sometimes surround law-making and civil govern 
 ment are the result either of ignorance or imposi 
 tion, and ought to be dissipated. 
 
 Hence the opponents of democratic power fall, 
 at once, into a two-fold error. They ascribe an 
 undue degree of intricacy to the science of politics, 
 and at the same time, underrate the capacity of the 
 great mass of their fellow-men. From these er 
 rors of opinion flow the most unhappy consequen 
 ces. They who entertain them are engaged in a 
 constant endeavor to curb the popular influence 
 and withdraw aH political power, as far as possible 
 from the people. Borrowing their notions of po 
 litical science from foreign governments, they 
 constantly lose sight of the cardinal principle that 
 all pow r er, here, belongs to the people. Forget 
 ting that the people are the lawful sovereigns of 
 this realm and that law-makers and office-holders 
 are their agents and servants, invested with tem 
 porary duties for the execution of which they are 
 responsible to the people as their masters and are 
 rewarded by them, these men who are rather edu 
 cated in the principles of foreign governments 
 than of our own, constantly aim to assert for them 
 selves a supremacy of the same kind as that which 
 men of rank, wealth and education are entitled to, 
 in a different organization of society. Accustomed 
 to estimate themselves as much above their fellow- 
 men in political advantages, as they, often, really 
 are in wealth and education, they look upon the 
 claim of the common people to equal rights and 
 
4S THE LIFE OF 
 
 legitimate supremacy, as an encroachment upon 
 their own peculiar privileges. They regard the 
 struggles of the democracy as attempts to strip 
 them of a just superiority. The real tendency of 
 those struggles, they readily perceive, is to level 
 and equalize wealth and political power through 
 out the community ; hence they spare no effort in 
 resisting them. It is difficult for men whose minds 
 are thus formed to feel that the undue superfluity 
 of wealth and rank they may chance to obtain, 
 must devolve a corresponding privation upon other 
 men, who, by the laws of nature and the principles 
 of our government, are, equally with themselves, 
 entitled to the enjoyment of these privileges. They 
 cannot feel that to the truly benevolent mind, the 
 suffering of the undistinguished poor man, seems 
 to be as great an evil as the corresponding distress 
 of the high born and rich. 
 
 These are hard lessons for men to learn wha 
 are born to the possession of superior, social and 
 intellectual enjoyments, and who forget that the 
 nature of our institutions forbids them from also 
 engrossing political superiority. Stimulated by 
 these false notions of their real position in our re 
 public, men, who in social intercourse evince the 
 most attractive qualities are led into the most vio 
 lent political practices. They hesitate not to de 
 claim on the ignorance, degradation, servility, cor 
 ruption and violence of the common people the 
 mob the radicals the haters of good order and 
 breakers down of all useful institutions ; the men 
 in short, who dare to believe, with the illustrious 
 
MARTIN VAN BUKEN. 4y 
 
 Jefferson that one half of mankind are not born 
 with saddles on their backs, to be ridden by the 
 other half. These violent denunciations are heap 
 ed, with exaggerated fury, upon any men of edu 
 cation, moral worth and talent, who may espouse 
 the popular cause. Underrating the intelligence 
 of the great body of the democratic party, they 
 erroneously suppose that its strength, in a great 
 measure, depends upon the leaders, and these 
 leaders become the objects of especial attack. 
 Feeling no sympathy, themselves, with the com 
 mon people, they ascribe the efforts of intelligent 
 men in the popular cause, to the vilest motives. 
 They charge these men with misleading others 
 whom they only co-operate with, or perhaps, in 
 reality, follow. They ascribe the exertions of the 
 intelligent and able champions of popular rights to 
 demagogueism, thirst for office, inordinate ambi 
 tion, or moral corruption ; for they can never 
 appreciate that truly expansive benevolence which 
 embraces all mankind as brethren. The feeling 
 of sympathy and good will for his fellow men, of 
 all conditions, which is the pervading principle of 
 action with the true philanthropist, finds no place 
 in the breast of the aristocrat. It is supplanted, 
 too often, by fear, jealousy and hate. The aristo 
 crat sees, lurking in every poor man s eye, a design 
 upon his life or property ; he regards every man 
 who is beneath his own caste, as under the influ 
 ence of a demoniacal spirit, which is only kept 
 within bounds, by the restraints of fear and self 
 interest. Hence, he seeks for protection behind 
 
50 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the bulwarks of power, rank, title and authority. 
 It is his creed that the common people the rabble, 
 must be kept under, either by force or corruption 5 
 and he solemnly believes that were they let loose 
 upon the world, at large, they would exterminate 
 " the better sort of people" plunder the rich, re 
 duce all to the common level of poverty; and 
 finally prey with violence upon each other, in the 
 frantic exercise of liberty ! 
 
 The true friend of equal rights, looks abroad 
 upon his fellow men with far different eyes, 
 He believes that nature has generally bestowed 
 upon them benevolent and social feelings. He 
 reads good will and sympathy in their countenan 
 ces. He discovers in their dispositions, when 
 unperverted by bad education or example, a lean 
 ing towards sincerity and truth, and a strong innate 
 love of virtue and justice, lie traces their faults 
 and defects to other causes than the hand of nature 
 or of God. Hence he never fears and hates his 
 fellow-men, but confides in them and loves them. 
 He delights to do them good, to see them equal, 
 free and happy ; nor has he any doubt that with 
 proper information, they will generally act, honest 
 ly and wisely. Certainly, if the lover of popular 
 rights and equality errs, his error is on the side of 
 benevolence. 
 
 At the time when Mr. Van Buren commenced 
 his professional career, the violence of party spirit 
 was extreme throughout the country. The state 
 of New York was fearfully agitated by its influ 
 ence ; and in the county of Mr. Van Buren s resi- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 51 
 
 tlonce, political dissensions were carried to the 
 greatest extremities. 
 
 The administration of the Federal Government 
 and of the state of New York, had then passed, af 
 ter a considerable struggle, into the hands of the 
 democratic party ; but it was by no means certain 
 that their ascendency would be of long continu 
 ance. In the county of Columbia, the federal 
 party held the reins of power by an overwhelming 
 majority. The more opulent land holders in Kin- 
 derhook and its vicinity, generally belonged to that 
 party; and the southern part of the county was 
 almost exclusively owned by a few families which 
 had inherited large estates from a long line of 
 wealthy ancestors, and had exercised, an influence 
 over their tenants and the more recent immigrants, 
 analagous in its nature, and almost in its extent, to 
 the baronial prerogatives of feudal lords. The 
 great mass of mercantile and professional men in 
 the county, were dependent upon these wealthy 
 free holders for patronage, as also were the labor 
 ers and mechanics, in a still greater degree. The 
 members of these families were generally federal 
 ists and looked with anxious disapprobation upon 
 any etforts to extend popular rights. Towards 
 the champions of the democracy, they exhibited 
 neither liberality nor toleration, but carried on a 
 warfare against them, both in public and private, 
 of the most obstinate and embittered character. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren s early exhibition of energy and 
 talent attracted their attention. It was readily 
 observable that they had much to fear from his 
 
52 THE LIFE OF 
 
 exertions if he continued to co-operate with the 
 democracy, and no ordinary pains were taken to 
 detach him from that connection. The respecta 
 ble gentleman with whom Mr. Van Btiren studied 
 his profession was a high toned federalist. His 
 elder half brother and early patron was of the same 
 political faith. These gentlemen, by their exam 
 ple and advice, earnestly endeavored to withdraw 
 him from a political connection which they proba 
 bly believed to be dangerous and wrong, and 
 which they could not but foresee must bring upon 
 their young friend much persecution and obloquy. 
 Gentlemen of high standing and character, many 
 years his seniors, who were sincerely and ardent 
 ly attached to him, made the most strenuous en 
 deavors to induce him to change his political creed. 
 They urged every consideration, flattering to his 
 pride, or which could tempt the ambition of an 
 aspiring youth. They pointed out to him the dan 
 gerous tendency of what they called the "Jacobin 
 ical principles" of the party to which he was at 
 tached, and the certain defeat and ruin which 
 awaited them. The result of every interview was 
 a disappointment of their hopes to influence his 
 course, not unmixed with an admiration for the 
 firmness with which he adhered to his principles 
 and the adroitness with which he met their argu 
 ments. These attempts were finally abandoned. 
 Firmly fixed by reflection and observation in the 
 political faith of his father, who was a whig in the 
 Revolution, an anti-federalist in 1788, and an early 
 supporter of Jefferson, the subject of this memoir 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 53 
 
 shrunk not from tiic severe tests which were ap 
 plied to the strength and integrity of his convic 
 tions. Without patronage, comparatively poor, a 
 plebeian by birth, and not furnished with the ad 
 vantages of a superior education, he refused to 
 worship either at the shrine of wealth or power, 
 but followed the dictates of his native judgment 
 and benevolent feelings, and hesitated not, in behalf 
 of the cause which he thus adopted, to encounter 
 the utmost violence of his political enemies. That 
 violence soon burst upon his head with concentra 
 ted fury. His character was traduced, his person 
 ridiculed, his principles branded as infamous, his 
 integrity questioned, and his abilities sneered at, 
 by those who had recently extolled them. In 
 short, Mr. Van Buren encountered, in the earliest 
 period of his career, an earnest of that malignant 
 and persevering abuse with which he has been 
 incessantly assailed, from that time to the present. 
 But the shafts of malice were aimed at him in vain. 
 His moral character was beyond reproach. His 
 habitual self respect and the pervading decorum 
 of his deportment defied ridicule. His principles 
 were so fortified by truth, as to gain ground amid 
 obloquy and denunciation. His integrity won 
 the confidence of all candid men. His abilities 
 extorted general admiration. 
 
 The ruthless warfare carried on by the exclusive 
 party in this country, against the leaders of the 
 democracy, is well illustrated by the case of ^fr. 
 Van Buren, both in its character and its effects. 
 For nearly thirty years it has been the constant 
 *5 
 
54 THE LIFE OF 
 
 effort of his political antagonists, in public and pri 
 vate, by the press, by conversation and in set 
 speeches, to lessen his influence with the American 
 people and to impair their confidence in his capa 
 city and honesty. The attempt has proved utterly 
 futile. Indeed, it has indirectly conduced to his 
 elevation, by drawing public attention to his char 
 acter and subjecting it to a constant scrutiny, well 
 calculated to disclose its excellencies. The exam 
 ple will not be without its influence upon other 
 defenders of the true principles of our government, 
 as it evinces how little these violent attacks de 
 serve to be regarded. The people have already 
 learned that these assaults are generally propor 
 tionate in their violence, to the merit of the subject, 
 and that signal integrity of character in a demo 
 crat, is most likely to excite their greatest fury. 
 It is rather a matter of surprise that they who re 
 sort to these intemperate measures have not al 
 ready learned their futility ; since the people have 
 almost uniformly, delighted to honor those who 
 have been most bitterly assailed. Every one will 
 call to mind, in this connection, the father of Amer 
 ican democracy, the illustrious Jefferson, and the 
 equally conspicuous example of our present, ven 
 erable chief magistrate. 
 
 On this subject, as on many others, the cardinal 
 error of the anti-democratic party, is a false esti 
 mate of the intellectual capacity of the people. 
 Presuming upon their ignorance and credulity, 
 they employ for purposes of deception, a tone of 
 exaggeration and hyperbole which leads to distrust 
 
MARTIN VAN BURRN. r )5 
 
 and defeats its own object. Thus they have lost, 
 the popular car, and their most solemn assevera 
 tions have ceased to influence any but weak 
 minds. 
 
 Undismayed by persecution, as he had been 
 unmoved by persuasion, Mr. Van Buren steadily 
 acted upon his carefully formed convictions, and 
 vigorously co-operated, on all occasions, with the 
 democratic party. Mild and unobtrusive in his 
 personal deportment, while he never offensively 
 obtruded his sentiments upon others or denounced 
 their opposite opinions, he was ever ready, by ar 
 gument and illustration, to defend his own tenets 
 and to enforce them in private life or on public oc 
 casions. 
 
 Thus connected with a party, which, though des 
 tined, in his own county, to a long succession of 
 defeats, still, embodied a numerous and intelli 
 gent portion of the community, he naturally be 
 came the vindicator not only of their political faith 
 but of their legal rights. The conspicuous po 
 sition in which he \vas thus placed, called into ex 
 ercise the utmost energy of his mind and the most 
 strenuous exertion of his talents. We have alrea 
 dy seen that the weight of legal talent and learn 
 ing was greatly on the other side. To encounter 
 successfully, in the tribunals of justice, the distin 
 guished antagonists with whom he was thus politi 
 cally and professionally brought in collision, re 
 quired the most unremitting industry, the most dil 
 igent preparation, and the most vigorous exertion 
 of his powers. The conflicts in which he thus en- 
 
r>(> LIFE OF MARTIN VAN BUIIEN. 
 
 gaged rapidly invigorated and enlarged his natural 
 powers. They quickened his apprehension, 
 strengthened his judgment, added clearness and 
 vigor to his reasoning faculties, and brought into 
 full operation the whole resources of his well en 
 dowed mind. It was soon seen that he was able 
 fully to cope with the ablest of his opponents in the 
 local Courts. He soon challenged them to the en 
 counter in a broader field. In February, 1807, he 
 was admitted as a counsellor in the Supreme 
 Court, and thus had opened to his ambition the 
 highest arena of professional competition. Upon 
 this arena he entered with equal eagerness and 
 equal success. He was here brought into more 
 immediate collision with the distinguished men 
 whom years of exertion had raised to the highest 
 professional eminence. 
 
 In 1808, the democratic party still having the as 
 cendency in the appointing department of the 
 State Government, Mr. Van Buren was appoin 
 ted Surrogate of Columbia County. In the latter 
 part of this year or the beginning of 1809, he remo 
 ved from the village of Kinderhook to the city of 
 Hudson, in consequence of the increase of his pro 
 fessional business in the higher Courts. He was 
 thus established in the capital of his native county, 
 with a professional reputation which had already 
 extended considerably beyond the limits of that 
 county. At this point he may be considered as 
 having enterred upon the most brilliant period of 
 his professional career. 
 
CP1 AFTER IV. 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN S professional course from the time of 
 his removal to the city of Hudson, in the winter of 1808 
 -9, until his final withdrawal from the bar, in 1828. 
 
 It has already been remarked, that the bar of 
 Columbia County embraced, at the period now 
 spoken of, some of the most distinguished lawyers 
 in the state of New York, or indeed in the United 
 States. After the promotion of William W. Van 
 Ness to the bench of the Supreme Court of the 
 State,* the most eminent in the remaining group 
 was the late Elisha Williams. This gentleman 
 was a resident in the city of Hudson at the time 
 of Mr. Van Buren s removal thither. As a popu 
 lar speaker, especially, as an advocate before a 
 jury, he was unrivalled in the State of his resi 
 dence, and probably in the Union. He was an ac 
 tive and ardent politician, and already stood at 
 
 * Mr. Van Ness was appointed Judge, in June 107, in placa 
 of Brockholgt Livingston, resigned. 
 
58 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the head of the federal party in that rogion, as Mr. 
 Van Buren did at the head of the democratic causo- 
 Mr. Williams was then in the prime of manhood 
 and in the zenith of his fame, and was little dispo 
 sed to divide professional pre-eminence with a ri 
 val advocate, or to surrender party ascendency to 
 a political opponent. 
 
 With such an antagonist, already in possession 
 of the field, Mr. Van Buren was constrained to 
 measure his abilities. Conspicuous leaders of op 
 posite parties, rivals in personal interests, profes 
 sional success and political fame, they were prompt 
 ed to the contest by every motive of interest, 
 duty and ambition. Accordingly the Courts of 
 Columbia county exhibited, during the period allu 
 ded to, the most striking displays of forensic talent 
 and the most extraordinary exhibitions of profes 
 sional zeal and industry, on the part of these con 
 flicting champions. The following graphic pic 
 ture of their respective peculiarities is from the 
 pen of a gentleman who was an eye witness of 
 their contests, and who is equally distinguished for 
 his professional eminence and the integrity of his 
 character,* 
 
 " Never were two men more dissimilar. Both 
 were eloquent ; but the eloquence of Williams 
 was declamatory and exciting ; that of Van Buren, 
 insinuating and delightful. Williams had the livlier 
 imagination ; Van Buren the sounder judgment, 
 The former presented the strong points of his case 
 
 * The Hon. Benjamin F. Duller, Attonu-y General of the Uni- 
 "reij States:. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 59 
 
 in bolder relief, invested them in a more brilliant 
 coloring, indulged a more unlicensed and magnifi 
 cent invective, and gave more life and variety to 
 his arguments by his peculiar wit and inimitable 
 humor ; but Van Buren was his superior in analy 
 zing, arranging and combining the insulated mate 
 rials, in comparing and weighing testimony, in un 
 ravelling the web of intricate affairs, in eviscerating 
 truth from the mass of diversified and conflicting 
 evidence, in softening the heart and moulding it to 
 his purpose, and in working into the judgments of 
 his hearers the conclusions of his own perspicuous 
 and persuasive reasonings. " 
 
 The following interesting particulars, from the 
 same authentic source, exhibit the honorable prin 
 ciples by which the competition of these distin 
 guished opponents was controlled. 
 
 " Notwithstanding the fierceness of their politi 
 cal collisions, their professional business was con 
 ducted in a spirit of unbounded liberality and chiv- 
 alric confidence. Legal technicalities were en 
 tirely disregarded, and every thing that related to 
 the mere form of proceeding was accommodated 
 by each to the wishes and convenience of the other. 
 The tendency of this mode of practice to beget 
 controversy and mistake, even between friends, is 
 sufficiently obvious ; it is therefore a crowning fact, 
 one that reflects honor not only upon themselves 
 but upon the profession they adorned, that the 
 courts were never troubled with a single special 
 motion growing out of their conduct as practition 
 ers, ; that no complaint of unfairness attempted, or 
 
60 THE LIFE OF 
 
 advantage taken, or courtesy withheld, was ever 
 preferred by either, and that each has since borne 
 ample testimony to the generosity and good faith 
 with which he was treated by his adversary." 
 
 The active practice at the bar, in which Mr. 
 Van Buren had been hitherto engaged, had some 
 what interfered with the systematic study of his 
 profession. lie determined, at this time, to apply 
 himself to legal study with unabating diligence. 
 He had always aspired to the highest distinction 
 at the bar; and feeling within him not only the 
 desire but the elements of success, he determined 
 not to be deficient in any one quality of a profound 
 and accomplished lawyer. Perhaps too, he was 
 stimulated to a greater effort in this direction, by 
 the circumstance that profound legal knowledge 
 was not the peculiar distinction of his great antago 
 nist. Mr. Williams trusted very much to the 
 natural resources of his powerful mind and was 
 led, by the brilliancy of his parts, into some impa 
 tience of thorough legal study. He was rather 
 copious and oratorical than closely logical and ar 
 gumentative. With a jury, few could stand before 
 him ; with the Court, he did not always command 
 equal success. 
 
 To this branch of his profession, then, Mr. Van 
 Buren applied himself with the most intense ardor. 
 He purchased a very extensive and well selected 
 library which had been the property of an eminent 
 lawyer, then deceased, and devoted his best ener 
 gies to a systematic and extended course of 
 reading. But he made no parade of his assiduity ; 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 61 
 
 indeed his habits were rather fitted to conceal it. 
 During the busy part of the day, he was seen con 
 stantly mingling in conversation or engaged in his 
 ordinary business, with those who had occasion to 
 consult him. He mingled with freedom and even 
 with zest, in the social circle and more formal 
 visiting assemblies ; and in the habitual cheerful 
 ness of his manner there was nothing to indicate 
 the severe student. He chose that his industry 
 should rather appear by its proper fruits at the bar, 
 than be indicated by morose infractions of social 
 customs, or the anxious, care worn visage which 
 many put on, as an evidence of severe thought. 
 
 But in the stillness of the night, he buried his 
 xvhole soul in the researches of legal science. At 
 that propitious season, he knelt at the shrine, of 
 that "jealous mistress which allows no rival," and 
 communed with those eloquent oracles of enlight 
 ened reason, which are too often allowed to re 
 pose in silence on the dusty shelf. 
 
 During the eight years he resided at Hudson, 
 by laborious practice in the courts and severe pri 
 vate study, he rapidly advanced towards the high 
 est rank in his profession. In the mean time, his 
 extending practice had conducted him to the high 
 er courts, and to the tribunal of final resort.* He 
 thus was brought in contact with the most eminent 
 members of his profession from every section of 
 
 *The first appearance of Mr. Van Buren at the Bar of the Su 
 preme Court, was at the May term in the city of New York in 
 1808, in the case of Wilson and Gibbs vs. Reed. 3 Johnson s 
 Reports, p. 175. 
 
 6 
 
62 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the state. Few men of his age entered that high 
 arena with equal advantages, either of natural 
 parts or of previous study and discipline. His suc 
 cess was commensurate with his merits and efforts. 
 They who had hitherto known him only through 
 the distorted representations of the party press, 
 were now forced to the formation of a more cor 
 rect estimate. They felt his powers and dreaded 
 a collision with him. They saw the extent of his 
 legal learning and found their utmost industry 
 taxed to encounter it. Amid the most distinguish 
 ed talent in the State, his abilities were so conspic 
 uous, and his success so eminent, that in February 
 1815, the republican party having regained the 
 ascendency, he was appointed Attorney Gen 
 eral of the state. The preceding incumbent was 
 the venerable Abraham Van Vechten, a man emi 
 nently distinguished for his professional merit and 
 political influence, and who still survives, the ven 
 erated father of the New York bar. 
 
 The intellectual character of Mr. Van Buren 
 at this period, is thus forcibly sketched by the same 
 hand that furnished the parallel, before inserted, 
 between him and Mr. Williams. 
 
 " Amongst such competitors* it was impossible 
 to acquire, still more to maintain, a factitious repu 
 tation. Mr. Van Buren s was based on materials 
 the most durable. Gifted with a large share of 
 
 *Of these competitors it will be sufficient to name Wells and 
 Emmet of New York, and J. V. Henry of Albany ; men, (now 
 no more) whose professional eminence is familiar to the whole 
 American Bur. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 63 
 
 good sense, with a quickness of apprehension al 
 most intuitive, with a nice discrimination, and with 
 great accuracy of judgment, and illustrating these 
 qualities by powers of reasoning and oratory rarely 
 surpassed, he was peculiarly qualified for the dis 
 cussion of those varied and complicated questions 
 of law, and of fact, which are so often presented 
 for decision in our higher tribunals. It was ac 
 cordingly in the management of important cases in 
 the superior courts, that his most successful efforts 
 as an advocate were made. 
 
 " Whether before a jury, or at bar, he partic 
 ularly excelled in the opening of his subject. The 
 facts out of which arose the questions for discus 
 sion, the nature of those questions, and the mode 
 in which he intended to treat them, were always 
 stated with great clearness and address. In the 
 exposition of his argument he was usually copious 
 and diffusive, presenting his case in all its lights, 
 and bringing to bear upon it every consideration 
 which could tend to elucidate its me rits, or cover 
 its defects. His style and manner were judiciously 
 adapted to the character of his subject, and of his 
 hearers ; sometimes direct and argumentative, and 
 at others discursive and impassioned ; but even in 
 the management of the most abstruse legal topics, 
 he was able by the perspicuity of his statements, 
 the aptness of his illustrations, the vivacity and 
 force of his tone and gesture, and the felicity of his 
 whole manner, to excite and to retain the undi 
 vided attention of all classes of his auditors. 
 
 " No one was better qualified to speak, with 
 
r>4 THE LIFE OK 
 
 ability and effect, upon little, or without any pre 
 paration ; but no one could be more careful or la 
 borious in his preparatory studies. We mention 
 this for the purpose of reminding the junior mem 
 bers of the bar, that if they would emulate and 
 equal the successful career we have delineated, 
 they must rely, not on genius alone, nor on general 
 knowledge, or a diversified experience, but on the 
 surer aids to be derived from a perfect acquaint 
 ance with their subject and a careful premedita 
 tion of what they are to say." 
 
 In April 1812, Mr. Van Buren had been elect 
 ed a member of the State Senate from the then 
 Middle District. By this election, which will be 
 more fully noticed in another place, he became a 
 member of the Court for the Correction of Errors. 
 His first sitting as a member of that august body, 
 was at Albany, in March 1813. During that ses 
 sion, he delivered a very learned and elaborate 
 opinion, in the case of Barry vs. Mandell, reported 
 in the tenth volume of Johnson s Reports, page 
 575. It will not be proper to embody many of his 
 legal arguments or opinions in the present work ; 
 but the following extract from the case above cit 
 ed, will show his sentiments at that early period 
 on a topic of great interest, and which has for many 
 years occupied the attention of another eminent 
 statesman, whose name is closely connected, at the 
 present moment, with that of Mr. Van Buren. 
 
 "Permit me next, respectfully to examine with what 
 propriety it can be alleged, th it escapes of this description 
 are so far against, the policy of the statute, as to render 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 65 
 
 the construction of the Court below, proper and necessa 
 ry. As it has truly been remarked, this Statute was 
 passed for humane purposes ; it was among the first con 
 cessions which were made by that inflexible spirit, which 
 has hitherto maintained its hold upon society, authoriz 
 ing imprisonment for debt. Coeval with the authority of 
 imprisonment for debt, have been the exertions of men of 
 intelligence, reflection and philanthropy, to mitigate its 
 rigor ; of men who viewed it as a practice fundamentally 
 wrong, a practice which forces their fellow creatures 
 from society, from their friends and their agonized fami 
 lies, into the dreary walls of a prison ; which compels 
 them to leave all those fascinating endearments, to become 
 an inmate with vermin ; which confines them within the 
 same walls which contain the midnight incendiary and 
 the ruthless assassin ; not for crimes which they have 
 committed ; not for frauds which they have practised on 
 the credulous and unwary ; (for such distinctions are not 
 made ;) but for the misfortune of being poor; of being 
 unable to satisfy the all-digesting stomach of some raven 
 ous creditor ; of men who looked upon the practice as 
 confounding virtue and vice, and destroying the distinc 
 tion between guilt and innocence, which should unceas 
 ingly be cherished in every well regulated government." 
 
 As Mr. Van Buren held the office of Attorney 
 General during a considerable portion of the peri 
 od that he was a member of the State Senate, and 
 was extensively engaged in practice, as an advo 
 cate,, he seldom sat in the Court of Errors and his 
 legaj opinions in that body are less frequent than 
 they would otherwise, probably, have been. 
 
 In 1816, on account of the duties of his c^^e 
 as Attorney General, and the increase of his pro 
 fessional business, he removed from Hudson to Al 
 bany. From this time forth, his professional occu 
 pations were very pressing and lucrative. His 
 name appears in the Reports of the Supreme 
 Court and Court of Errors, in the state of New 
 6* 
 
66 TT1R L1KK OF 
 
 York, in a large number of the most important ca 
 ses. He became the frequent associate and antag 
 onist of such men as Aaron Burr, Thomas Addis 
 Emmet, John Wells, Samuel Jones, Thomas J. 
 Oakley, J. V. Henry and Abraham Van Vechten ;- 
 names familiar to the American people. For 
 some years preceding his final withdrawal from 
 the bar, his practice, it is believed, was unsurpass 
 ed in its extent and responsibility, by that of any 
 lawyer in his native state, and perhaps in the 
 United States. Thus, after nearly twenty years 
 of unrernitted industry, the highest wishes of his 
 early life were crowned with complete fruition. 
 Wealth, influence and fame, were the natural 
 fruits of his successful exertion. His natural tal 
 ents had reached their full expansion ; his labori 
 ous industry exhibited its proper results ; and 
 amid a constellation of great minds, whose briliant 
 efforts erected and adorned the fabric of New 
 York jurisprudence, the vigor of his intellect, and 
 the richness of his learning, won for him a con 
 spicuous and acknowledged eminence. 
 
 It is to be regretted that no provision is made, 
 in this country, to preserve the best specimens of 
 forensic eloquence. The arguments of counsel, 
 addressed to the court, are briefly given by report 
 ers, but are seldom interesting to any but profes 
 sional readers. But the best speeches of every 
 eminent lawyer are addressed to the jury, and 
 these are seldom preserved. It is not known to 
 the writer that any of Mr. Van Btiren s speeches 
 before a jury, during his long course of practice, 
 
MARTIN VAX ETTREX. (57 
 
 have been reported. And of his legal arguments, 
 seldom any thing more than a bare statement of 
 the case and a reference to the authorities, is given 
 in the Reports. In the case of Yarick against 
 Jackson, which was tried in the Court of Errors, 
 at Albany, in 1828, and is reported by Mr. Wen 
 dell, in his second volume, page 166, the argument 
 of Mr. Van Buren on one of the most profound 
 and difficult questions ever brought before that 
 Court, is given somewhat at length, and, as it is 
 said, with great fidelity. It extends through twen 
 ty-three pages ; and the professional reader may 
 be referred to it. as a fair specimen of the learn 
 ing and talent which he brought to the discussion of 
 topics of this nature. Aaron Burr, who \vas sen 
 ior counsel on the same side, apparently consider 
 ing the subject as exhausted, declined making any 
 additional remarks on the main questions in contro 
 versy. 
 
 In the case of AVilkes vs. Lion, argued before 
 the Court of Errors, at Albany, December 1823, 
 and reported in the second of Cowen, page 333, 
 the speech of Mr. Van Buren is given at length. 
 
 This was a case of great interest and impor 
 tance : in reference to a prominent point involved 
 in it, Chancellor Kent is said, by the Reporter, to 
 have remarked : ** this may well be considered a 
 grave and important question, demanding the ut 
 most care and attention on the part of this Court ; 
 for it was said on the argument, that property, to 
 the amount of half a million of dollars, depended 
 upon the decision to be made in this case." Aaron 
 
08 TI1R LIFE OF 
 
 Burr was also associated with Mr. Van Buren in 
 the trial of this case, and the opposing counsel were 
 S. Jones of New York, and the late Samuel A. 
 Talcott, then Attorney General. The argument 
 of Mr. Van Buren extends through seventeen 
 pages of the Report, and upon his conclusion, Mr. 
 Burr, remarked that "he should add but little on 
 the three first points of the defence ; the ability 
 with which all the points had been examined by 
 his associate, forbade his saying much in relation 
 to either." 
 
 The argument of Mr. Van Buren in this case, 
 may be particularly commended to the attention 
 of professional readers, as an example of his ex 
 ceeding clearness and felicity in opening an intri 
 cate case. 
 
 The following extracts from this argument will 
 be interesting to the general reader, as they may 
 be understood without an abstract of the case, and 
 exhibit a fair specimen of the manner in which 
 the speaker treated subjects of this nature. 
 
 After a full and clear statement of the facts, Mr. 
 Van Buren said; 
 
 " This cause was brought before the Superior Court, 
 and the questions which it involved, upon the limitations 
 over, were considered as of a familiar, every day charac 
 ter; but in Anderson vs. Jackson, they were, for the first 
 time, before this Court. Gentlemen were then heard up 
 on them in another man s cause, depending upon the iden 
 tical clause nowunder discussion ; and the decision of the 
 Supreme Court in our favor, was affirmed upon the very 
 principle involved in the first point. 
 
 " The decision, there, is said to have been erroneous, 
 and that is the great and only material question in this 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 69 
 
 cause. That decision I am called upon to support : and I 
 proceed to do it. with the greatest pleasure, because this 
 Court consent to hear me. It is perhaps proper, as the late 
 Chancellor Kent gave a very long and learned opinion, 
 sustained by a respectable minority, against the majority 
 who g-ave the judgment. I also owe it as a matter of re 
 spect to this Court, to show that its decision is not to be 
 shaken." 
 
 He then furnishes a brief review of the various 
 decisions upon the same principles, down to the 
 case of Anderson vs. Jackson, and proceeds : 
 
 "But we shall be told that the decision in Anderson vs. 
 Jackson, was not unanimous. True, it was not so ; a fact 
 which we looked upon as somewhat strange ; for we had 
 supposed the principle of that case as well settled as any 
 one in the law. And it was peculiarly unfortunate that 
 the opposition should came from that very quarter in 
 which we had reposed our rights. Yes, the late Chief 
 Justice, (then Chancellor,) Kent gives an opinion which 
 occupies nearly thirty pages in the report, to show that 
 the decision of the Supreme Court had been grossly er 
 roneous ! 
 
 How stood the point, upon authority, on coming into 
 this Court ? The parties came here to litigate a principle 
 so fully and plainly established, in the Supreme Court, 
 that the decision of the cause, there, though involving a 
 large amount of property, was not deemed worth report 
 ing. You saw that principle concurred in by Kent, Chief 
 Justice, Thompson, Chief Justice, and Spencer, Van 
 Ness, Yates, and Platt, Justices; after a series of discus 
 sions almost unparalleled in the history of any principle 
 in our law. You saw the same question arising and the 
 same principle established in neighboring states From 
 every source, opposition was hushed; not only with men 
 of books, but in the common walks of life. You knew 
 that thousands of wills had been made upon that very 
 principle, and that if you unsettled the rule, you opened 
 Pandora s box. You knew it to be more important that 
 the law should be settled, than how it should be settled. 
 You secured lo us a principle which had been established 
 in the mind of every man for a long time; and you were 
 
70 THE LIFE OF 
 
 right, for the contrary would have been incalculably mis 
 chievous. 
 
 " But the propriety of your course was questioned by a 
 long opinion from the late Chancellor, professing to show 
 this series of adjudications by the most enlightened tribu 
 nals in the state, to be legal heresy. It is my duty to ex 
 amine that opinion. I confess 1 do this with reluctance. 
 It was this, and not any fears from its effect, which led 
 me to join in the preliminary objection made by my asso 
 ciate, against this point being heard. In this, we were 
 overruled. The opinion lies in our way and we must 
 travel over it. 
 
 " With deference, then ; it is an opinion inconclusive 
 in all its parts, and of the twenty-six cases upon which it 
 is founded, there is but one which gives color to it. * * 
 
 " It was, at least, to have been expected from the late 
 Chancellor, that he would have shed a new ray of light 
 upon the question, putting doubt at defiance. But I re 
 peat it, out of twenty-six cases relied on by him^Chadock 
 vs. Cowley, alone, is against us." 
 
 After an elaborate review of the cases cited by 
 the Chancellor, he proceeds : 
 
 "How then, stands the question ? Does not the word 
 survivor, rescue this case from the general principle ? Is 
 it not clearly so ? This Court then decided, rightly, in 
 Anderson vs. Jackson. For four years the law has been 
 fixed by a court of dernier resort. Men have gone to 
 their graves after having settled their estates upon the 
 principles which you have promulgated. If erroneous, it 
 is because the decision was made by men. You ought 
 not to affirm it so much because it was right, as because it 
 was law. There is hardly a will settling real estate 
 which does not contain the disposition in question. It is 
 the most common case in a devise. You have not the 
 moral power to change your ground, because it is not 
 right. Who can know what the law of this state is, un 
 less your decision is final ? Shall we look into your de 
 cisions under the idea that they are to be overturned by a 
 new set of men who shall come here to-morrow? A 
 change of decision with a change of men would be a less 
 evil in the Supreme Court of this state, or of the United 
 , because from the tenure of the Judge s office, fre- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 71 
 
 quent changes are not to be looked for. This Court may 
 change once in four years.* Are we barely enabled to 
 say, these words meant a definite failure of issue yester 
 day, but whether this will be the law next year, I will tell 
 you after election ? The law of discretion, with the 
 best of men and the best of judges, is, more or less, the 
 creature of prejudice or passion. Your decisions should 
 be as stable as the Constitution; they should be so, in 
 order that the suitor may, at least, see one spot where there 
 is an end of uncertainty." 
 
 The last appearance of Mr. Van Buren before 
 a jury, is said to have been in the trial of the cele 
 brated Astor case, and the case of the Sailors 
 Snug Harbor, in the city of New York, in the fall 
 of 1827. During the trial of the latter case, Mr. 
 Emmet fell in an apoplectic fit from which he nev 
 er recovered. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren s last effort at the bar was in 
 the case of Varick vs. Jackson, argued before the 
 Court of Errors at Albany, in the spring of 1828. 
 At that point his professional career was interrupt 
 ed by his political promotion. In connection with 
 the former, however it may be proper to remark 
 that he was removed from the office of Attorney 
 General, in July, 1819, his political opponents hav 
 ing gained the ascendency in the council of ap 
 pointment. He had discharged the duties of the 
 office with ability, for more than five years. His 
 friends regained their influence the following year, 
 
 * The Senators of the state of New York, eligible every four 
 years, together with the Lieutenant Governor, Chancellor and 
 Justices of the Supreme Court constitute the Court for the correc 
 tion of Errors. 
 
72 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and a re-appointment to the same office was ten 
 dered to him, but declined.* 
 
 Thus has been presented a summary view of 
 Mr. Van Buren s progress at the bar, during more 
 than a quarter of a century. We have seen him 
 commencing the practice of his profession in his na 
 tive village, in his twenty-first year, amid embar 
 rassments which could only have been overcome 
 by extraordinary perseverance and energy. It 
 has been truly said by a great philosopher of mod 
 ern times, that " it belongs to the essence of every 
 thing which is strong, to develope itself, to realize 1 
 itself/ This is strikingly evinced in the subject of 
 the present narrative. We have seen his progress 
 from his native village to the capital of the county 
 and thence to the capital of the state. We have 
 seen him, gradually but steadily, rising in the ranks 
 of his profession, by the force of his talents and his 
 persevering industry, until he was called to exer 
 cise the functions of the highest law office in the 
 state. We have seen him ascend from the hum 
 blest judicial tribunal to the court of final resort. 
 We have seen him encountering antagonists of 
 
 * Mr. Van Buren was married in 1806 to Miss Hannah Hoes, 
 sister of his brother in law, Barent Hoes, Esq. She was dis 
 tantly related to him before their marriage. The intimacy which 
 resulted in this union was formed in very early life and was con 
 summated amid circumstances highly creditable to the steadfast 
 ness of his attachments, as soon after his admission to the bar as 
 seemed to be prudent. His ardent attachment to her was evinced 
 on all occasions until the period of her decease, by the consumption 
 in 1818. A gentleman of high distinction who knew her inti 
 mately, from her earliest years, says, in a letter to the present 
 writer " there never was a woman of a purer and kinder heart." 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 73 
 
 the most eminent abilities r at every step of his pro 
 gress, and finally enrolling hi& name in the illus 
 trious catalogue of great men, who in the first 
 quarter of the present century, gave such distinc 
 tion and splendor to the judicial tribunals of New- 
 York. After such an exposition of his success, 
 amid such circumstances, to assert for him a claim 
 to pre-eminent talent, would but detract from the 
 demonstration afforded by the narrative. If it be 
 true that intrigue, without merit or talent, may 
 sometimes secure political distinction, it must at 
 least be universally admitted, that eminence in the 
 legal profession can only be gained by great abili 
 ty and great industry. In these lay the secret of 
 Mr. Van Buren s success. Such and such only 
 was the magic by which he rose to eminence. Let 
 those who envy his success rather emulate his ex 
 ample. Equal industry united with equal talent 
 may be certain of an equal reward. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 MR VAN "Bv REX S first agency in political affairs, h 
 active in supporting the election of Jefferson. Is del 
 egate to a county contention in his nineteenth year. 
 His first appearance as an elector. Support* Lew is 
 Jor Governor in ISOi: and Tompkins in 1807. />* 
 appointed Surrogate of Columbia County. Opposes 
 the renewal of the charter of the Bank of the U. S. 
 and the chartering of the Bank of America. Is elect 
 ed a member of the State Senate. 
 
 It must be obvious to the most cursory obser 
 ver of passing events that the great body of the peo 
 ple, throughout the world, and especially in this 
 country, are rising against all extraneous and artifi 
 cial restraint, and are daily becoming more and more 
 " a law unto themselves."* 
 
 * In 1828, it was said by a great philosopher of modern Eu 
 rope; " The human race is, this day, assuming the robe and en 
 signs of virility ; it has determined to see clearly into more things 
 than one, which have hitherto been kept in darkness by the res 
 pect for former years. I confess I am myself among the numlier 
 of those whom such an exhibition fills with gratitude to the provi- 
 
7t> THE LIFE OF 
 
 This must be a startling truth to those who be 
 lieve in the folly, depravity and ignorance of the 
 gi eat mass of mankind. It is the theory of our 
 .government that all men are politically equal and 
 that the supreme political power resides in the 
 people. Few persons openly deny these princi 
 ples, though many practically resist them ; and per 
 haps the full extent to which they reach has not 
 yet been fully appreciated by the most enlightened 
 jiiinds. 
 
 It is true that an individual, taken at random 
 from the mass, may seem incompetent, in most in 
 stances, to the management of legislative affairs : 
 but after all, the aggregate voice of the majority is 
 the final and supreme standard of political truth. 
 Just as in the estimates of the duration of human 
 fife or of the results in a game of chance, the age 
 of a single individual or the throw of a single die 
 furnishes no certain basis of calculation ; yet when 
 great numbers are considered, certain estimates 
 may be formed of general results. 80 in political 
 matters ; how erroneous soever individual opinions 
 may appear, experience has shown and reason 
 would demonstrate, that the general conclusions 
 derived from the aggregate voices of a great peo 
 ple, are always right. 
 
 From the doctrine of popular supremacy it fol 
 lows, that the nature of a political office, in this 
 
 dence of God, for having given them birth in an epoch, wherein ii 
 has pleased him, gradually, to elevate to the highest degree of in 
 telligence, a greater number than ever of their frJJowr men," 
 0y/?;V.< Jnlrfl. //;. .;/. Phil, Jjfc. ii. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 77 
 
 country, is the exact opposite of a similar franchise 
 in aristocratic governments. Office holders are, 
 here, the servants and not the rulers of the people. 
 The real monarch is the private citizen ; the 
 private station is the real post of honor. The 
 American private citizen has no political superior 
 upon earth. Hence, in foreign countries, the peo 
 ple are not his equals ; he is of the same rank with 
 their monarchs. The office-holder in this coun 
 try is in a state of obedience ; his constituents are 
 masters. If these truths were duly appreciated, 
 there would be less scrambling for the privilege of 
 becoming every body s servant. It would be felt 
 that the station most worthy of the character of a 
 freeman, is that of a private citizen. 
 
 Nothing more distinctly characterizes the two 
 great parties in this country, than the relation in 
 which they respectively stand to their political 
 leaders. The anti-democratic party, regarding 
 government as a matter too important and intricate 
 to be trusted to the integrity and capacity of com 
 mon people, cast around for great men to sustain 
 its functions and regulate its principles. Distrust 
 ing the capacity of the people for self-government, 
 they search after men of splendid talents to govern 
 them. Destitute of self-reliance, they grope about 
 for some independent spirit whom they may follow 
 as a guide. They love to be governed ; they feel 
 great reverence for high birth, wealth and station ; 
 and delight to do homage to some political idol. 
 Their leaders are, often, men of powerful intellect, 
 ardent feelings and lofty ambition. They are 
 7* 
 
;*, THE LIFE OF 
 
 never hampered by the instructions of their con 
 stituents, who are content to submit themselves to 
 the discretion of those whom they appoint to office. 
 The democratic party sustain a very different 
 relation to the men whom they put in office. Their 
 sympathies are most strongly drawn towards the 
 individual who can best embody and express the 
 spirit of their own principles. They want, for 
 public office, servants and not masters ; agents who 
 will execute their will and not dictators to control 
 it. The individual is nothing ; his individual mer 
 its or demerits are nothing. It is only as a faith 
 ful representative of the pervading feelings and 
 principles of his fellow men, their interests and 
 their wants, that he is invested with distinction and 
 entrusted with the exercise of power. He is 
 merely in front of public sentiment, not its director 
 or governor. It is his function to embody and dis 
 play the spirit of his age and nation, and while he 
 may seem to lead public sentiment he is merely 
 borne forward by its tide. The sentiments which 
 are common to the great mass, but which exist in 
 ordinary minds in more or less indistinctness and 
 confusion, are, in his example, developed, illustra 
 ted and brought into action. Apparently a leader, 
 he is, in fact, but the representative of the general 
 spirit of his age and of the great mass of the peo 
 ple with whom he is connected. Between him and 
 the body of his fellow men there exists an interior, 
 spontaneous and irresistible sympathy ; a sympa 
 thy which directs them to him as a fit agent to 
 demonstrate and execute their own feelings and 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 79 
 
 As I he personifications of their own most 
 sacred convictions, they regard him with confi 
 dence, enthusiasm, devotion. They recognize in 
 him the spirit of their time, the very spirit of them 
 selves ; and every energetic display of his princi 
 ples awakens a kindred response of feeling in their 
 own bosoms. 
 
 This is the true secret of the unbounded confi 
 dence reposed in our present chief magistrate. He 
 embodies and represents, more completely and fully 
 than any other man, the spirit of the age and na 
 tion. This is the only unerring characteristic of a 
 truly great man. Devotion to a faction may win 
 reputation ; notoriety will follow the exhibition of 
 striking parts ; but true greatness consists in em 
 bodying the feelings, securing the confidence, and 
 commanding the admiration of the great mass of 
 the people. 
 
 This feeling of confidence and sympathy, on the 
 part of the great majority of the people, has ac 
 companied Martin Van Buren from the first period 
 of his entrance upon the arena of political life. 
 Guided by his own internal convictions of right 
 and wrong, of truth and falsehood, he has never 
 theless had the good fortune to reflect as in a mir 
 ror, the sentiment and spirit of the nation and the 
 epoch. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren s complete identity with the 
 popular cause in the earliest part of his life, has 
 been alluded to in the former part of this narrative. 
 His first active participation in political affairs 
 was in the great contest which preceded the eleva- 
 
80 THE LIFE OF 
 
 lion of Mr. Jefferson to the presidency, in 1801. 
 lie was at that time a student at law in Kinder- 
 hook, and espoused the interests of the democratic 
 party with the greatest ardor. His early devotion 
 to the popular cause secured him the confidence 
 and esteem of the democratic party in his native 
 town. The same feeling soon extended through 
 out the county, and in the winter of 1800 1, he 
 was deputed by the republicans of Kinderhook to 
 represent their sentiments, in a convention of dele 
 gates from Rerisselaer and Columbia counties, 
 which convened to nominate a representative to 
 Congress. 
 
 Thus, we find him at the early age of eighteen 
 years, entrusted with the expression of the politi 
 cal views of a portion of the democratic party. His 
 abilities were put in requisition on that occasion, 
 in preparing an address to the electors of the dis- 
 Irict. 
 
 Similar marks of confidence were reposed in 
 him during every year in the remainder of his mi 
 nority ; and he mingled, constantly and actively, 
 with the veteran politicians of the county in the 
 political contests of the day. 
 
 He entered upon his twenty-first year in the fall 
 of 1803, and the ensuing spring, made his first ap 
 pearance at the polls as an elector. At that elec 
 tion, Morgan Lewis and Aaron Burr were the op 
 posing candidates for the office of Governor. Both 
 professed to belong to the democratic party ; but 
 the latter was arrayed against the general admin 
 istration, and the former was the candidate of the 
 
MARTIN VAN BTJREN. 81 
 
 majority of Jeffersonian democrats. In this con 
 test, the circumstances of the case imposed upon 
 Mr. Van Buren a severe test of his integrity and 
 independence. Col. Burr was warmly sustained 
 by many leading politicians in Columbia county, 
 among whom were some of Mr. Van Buren s 
 warmest political friends. During his own resi 
 dence as a student at law, in the city of New York, 
 he had received many flattering marks of attention 
 from the thea Vice President, who embraced 
 among his most zealous personal and political 
 friends, Mr. Wtfliam P. Van Ness, with whom Mr. 
 Van Buren was a student. But true to Jiis own 
 principles and the spirit of his party, lie gave his 
 vigorous and unhesitating support to Mr. Lewis, at 
 the hazard of a temporary estrangement from se 
 veral valued friends, who had hitherto also repre 
 sented the feelings of the democracy. 
 
 In 1807, the antagonist candidates for the office 
 of Governor, were Morgan Lewis and Daniel D, 
 Tompkins. The latter, as the candidate of the 
 democratic party and the most faithful organ of its 
 sentiments, received Mr. Van Buren s zealous 
 and decided support He was elected by a 
 Majority of 4085 votes. In 1801, Mr. Tompkins 
 received from Mr. Van Buren a similar support 
 Indeed the views of these two eminent politicians 
 appear to have been strikingly similar to each oth- 
 er on the leading political questions of that period. 
 In 1808, Mr. Van Buren was appointed Surro 
 gate of Columbia county, and retained the office 
 witfU February, 1813 ; when his political opponent* 
 
82 THE LIFE OF 
 
 having regained a temporary ascendency, he was* 
 promptly removed. 
 
 As the election of Mr. Jefferson had called forth 
 the earliest exertions of Mr. Van Buren, his ad 
 ministration received, daring its whole course, his 
 unremitting support. Never for a moment did he 
 waver or relax in his exertions. The democratic 
 principles which gave the first direction to his po 
 litical course, continued to be his steady rule of ac 
 tion. In that gloomy period, w*hen the threatening 
 aspect of our foreign relations, suspended com 
 mercial intercourse and forbode ruin to the enter- 
 prize and industry of our country, he shrunk not 
 from the firm support of the firmest measures. The 
 non-intercourse act, the embargo and every effi 
 cient measure of the administration for the security 
 of our national rights, received his hearty concur 
 rence. In the forcible language of another: 
 " His support of the government was not merely 
 active but zealous ; nor was his the zeal of ordina 
 ry men. It absorbed his whole soul ; it led to un 
 tiring exertion ; it w r as exhibited on all occasions 
 and under all circumstances. Neither the con 
 tumely of inflated wealth, nor the opposition of in 
 vidious talent, nor the weekly rcvilings of a licen 
 tious press, could awe it into silence or soften it 
 to moderation." 
 
 In the mean time, his political influence and re 
 putation was rapidly extending beyond the coun 
 ty of his residence. At a political meeting in Al 
 bany, in 1811, consisting principally of the repub 
 lican members of the Legislature, Mr. Van Buren 
 was present and took a leading part. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 83 
 
 At this period, the question of the renewal of 
 the charter of the first Bank of the United States 
 was violently agitated. That charter expired on 
 the 4th of March 1811. On the 2d of March 
 1809, Mr. Gallatin, then Secretary of the Treas 
 ury, made a report upon the subject, concluding 
 with a proposition for the renewal of the charter. 
 On the 20th of February 1811, after a protracted 
 debate, a vote was taken upon the main question 
 in the Senate of the United States, and the mem 
 bers w r ere equally divided. The venerable George 
 Clinton, then Vice President of the United 
 States, sealed the fate of the bill, by his casting 
 vote against it. This vote was in strict accordance 
 w r ith the vie\vs of the democracy of the country. 
 It was warmly defended and justified by Mr. Van 
 Buren. 
 
 When the prospect of the continuance of the 
 United States Bank disappeared, application was 
 made to the Legislature of New York, by a pow 
 erful association, to charter a Bank in the city of 
 New York, with a capital of six millions of dol 
 lars, to be called the Bank of America. The 
 petitioners supported their application by proposi 
 tions well calculated to appeal to temporary and 
 pecuniary interests : they offered a bonus of four 
 hundred thousand dollars, and a loan of two mill 
 ions on easy terms ; propositions which were the 
 more opportune, as the great system of internal 
 improvements in the state had already been agi 
 tated. It is w r ell known that those fathers of de 
 mocracy, George Clinton and Daniel D. Tomp- 
 
v } THE LIFE OF 
 
 kins, were opposed to banking incorporations of 
 almost every kind. Mr. Van Burexi coincided 
 with them in this sentiment, and it was doubtless 
 the general sentiment of the democracy of the 
 state. They regarded the Bank of America as a 
 substitute for the Bank of the United States ; and 
 the latter institution was never viewed with a 
 friendly eye by the democratic party. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren took the strongest ground against 
 the proposed incorporation. 
 
 A convention of the republicans of the county 
 was held in reference to the measure, at which 
 he delivered a powerful speech against it, as a 
 proposition fraught with danger to the public weal. 
 The convention adopted a series of resolutions, 
 prepared by him, denouncing the scheme as anti- 
 republican and dangerous. 
 
 Such however was the influence exerted by the 
 applicants, by open, and as it was believed, by cor 
 rupt, secret means, that in the spring of 1812, the 
 most serious indications appeared in the Legisla 
 ture of a disposition to grant the proposed char 
 ter. 
 
 In this emergency, Governor Tompkiris, with a 
 degree of firmness which has few parallels in polit 
 ical history, prorogued the Legislature from March 
 27th to the 21st of May. This energetic meas 
 ure received the support of Mr. Van Buren s ut 
 most influence and best talents. Upon the re-as 
 sembling of the Legislature in May, the act was 
 passed in the Senate by a majority of three votes, 
 embracing the names of Edward P. Livingston 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 85 
 
 and Morgan Lewis, as well as of some other 
 members of the democratic party, and became a 
 law, by the approbation of a majority of the 
 council of Revision. 
 
 At this juncture, Mr. Van Buren was, for the 
 first time, a candidate for an elective office, having 
 been nominated as a Senator from the then Mid 
 dle District. His opponent was Edward P. Liv 
 ingston, a gentleman of eminent worth and talent, 
 with powerful family friends, and strong political 
 connections. Circumstances had indeed placed 
 him, temporarily in a false position with respect 
 to the democracy of the district ; but he received 
 the warm support of many who had formerly been 
 distinguished in the republican ranks. 
 
 The opposition to Mr. Van Buren embraced the 
 entire federal party ; the former friends of Col. 
 Burr and Governor Lewis ; and the partizans of 
 the proposed Bank of America. 
 
 The contest was one of the most violent ever 
 known in the state, and resulted in the election of 
 Mr. Van Buren, by a majority of less than two 
 hundred out of twenty thousand votes. 
 
 Thus, in the thirtieth year of his age, he was 
 placed in the highest branch of the Legislature of 
 his state ; and from this time forth he has constant 
 ly appeared as a public man. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN S course in the Senate of New York in 
 regard to the War and the support of De Witt Clin 
 ton for the Presidency. Supports Tompkinsfor Gov 
 ernor in 1813. His energetic support of the War. 
 
 MR. Van Buren s legal term of service in thd 
 Senate of New York began on the 4th of July 
 1812. His first actual entrance upon the duties 
 of the office was in the November following, at a 
 special session of the Legislature convened to 
 choose presidential electors. His course, at this 
 period, has been so fully described by a gentleman 
 whose means of information were complete, and 
 whose candor and integrity are beyond all ques 
 tion, that the present writer would do injustice to 
 the subject of this memoir by omitting to adopt 
 that gentleman s own words.* The extracts re- 
 
 * Letter of Hon. Benjamin F. Butler to Hugh A. Garland, Esq. 
 of Virginia, in March 1835, 
 
88 THE LIFE OF 
 
 late to the course of Mr. Van Buren in regard to 
 the nomination of De Witt Clinton for the Presi 
 dency, and his course in relation to the War. 
 
 " The Republican members of the Legislature of New 
 York, elected in the spring of 1811, resolved, during their 
 session in the spring of 1812, to meet in Convention, for 
 the purpose of nominating a candidate for the Presiden 
 cy. Their numerical strength in the two Houses, was 
 nearly one hundred. Of this number, eighty-seven met in 
 Convention on the 29th of May, 181:3, and unanimously 
 nominated Mr. Clinton ; who. on being informed of the 
 nomination, accepted it. Mr. Van Buren was not then a 
 member of the Legislature, nor was he in any way con 
 nected with these proceedings. He, however, concurred 
 in the propriety of supporting the nomination thus made 
 and accepted and at the session of the Legislature, held 
 in November 1812, in conjunction with a majority of the 
 republican members of each branch, he took a decided 
 part in the support of Presidential electors, who were vo 
 ted for as friendly to Mr. Clinton, and who ultimately 
 gave him the vote of the state. 
 
 " The Republican members of the Legislature of 1811 
 -12, who brought forward Mr. Clinton as a candidate, 
 had been themselves nominated and chosen, by the re 
 publican electois of the several counties and districts, in 
 the manner usually adopted in New York, and were con 
 sidered the Representatives of the democracy of the 
 state. They and their constituents had supported the 
 Admistration of Mr. Jefferson, and that also of Mr. Mad 
 ison, in all the great questions of public policy connected 
 with our foreign relations. The great mass of them, so 
 far from being opposed to belligerent measures against 
 Great Britain, were in favor of a more decided policy than 
 had been pursued towards her. 
 
 "In regard to Mr. Van Buren, this was peculiarly the 
 case. There was probably no person in the state, of his 
 own age, who had given a more efficient support to the 
 measures of the General Government, during the whole 
 period of the restrictive system, than himself. His co- 
 temporaries of all parlies, in the county of his residence, 
 might be applied to as witnesses, on this point. Pie was 
 an "open and decided advocate of all the strong measures 
 proposed against Great Britain, during the session of Con- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 89 
 
 gress of 1811 12, the war included. Having been horn 
 and reared in the same town having been, from July 
 1812, until after the peace, an inmate of his family, I am 
 able to speak on this subject, from personal knowledge. 
 No man of character, acquainted with his course and 
 opinions in 1812, will venture to assert that he ever ex 
 pressed a doubt as to the justice of the war, or the expe 
 diency of engaging in it, at the time it was declared, 
 
 "In supporting the nomination of Mr. Clinton, Mr. 
 Van Buren consulted what he believed to be the wishes 
 of the republicans of his state. His efforts, however, 
 were confined to New York. With those made by the 
 friends of Mr. Clinton, in other states, he had no concern. 
 And though in the choice of electors, Mr. Clinton ulti 
 mately received the votes of the federal members of the 
 Legislature of New York, and was also supported by that 
 party in other states, Mr. Van Buren s relations to it were 
 entirely unaltered. The hostility towards him, of the fed 
 eralists as a party, in the county in which he then resided, 
 was as decided and as violent, during the year 1812, as it 
 had been before, or was afterwards. Indeed, it has never 
 been withdrawn, nor suspended, from the commencement 
 of his political career to the present day. Occasional 
 exceptions might be made in regard to individuals, but 
 not enough to vary the general result. 
 
 " Upon the whole, it is submitted to the judgment of 
 intelligent and candid men, that whether the support of 
 Mr. Clinton was right or wrong, there is nothing in the 
 mere fact of that support, under the circumstances stated, 
 to sustain the imputation of opposition to the war. 
 
 " Let me now give you a summary of Mr. Van Buren s 
 public course in the Legislature of New York, so far as 
 it bears upon this point. As has been stated, he took his 
 seat in the Senate of New York, in November, 1812. 
 
 " Until the adoption of the new constitution in 1821, the 
 Governor, instead of a message, delivered a speech to the 
 Legislature, at the opening of each session. An answer 
 was made to the speech, by each house, in which the 
 views of the majority upon the prominent political ques 
 tions of the day, were set forth, and thus made the sub 
 ject of discussion, before any legislative measures in re 
 spect to them, were matured. Committees were appoin 
 ted to prepare the answer, a majority of whom would, it 
 was supposed, be most able and willing to present faithful 
 ly the views of the minority of their respective houses, 
 and the strongest man of the minority was usually select* 
 
90 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ed to offer a substitute. Although this was Mr. V r an Ba 
 ren s first appearance in any legislative body, he being, 
 with perhaps a single exception, the youngest man that 
 had, up to that time, been elected to the Senate, he was 
 placed upon the committee, and prepared and reported the 
 answer to the Governor s speech. This answer was pub 
 lished by his friends on the occasion referred to. It vindi 
 cated the justice of the war, and urged a vigorous prose 
 cution. This you will observe, was at the very session 
 at which electors were chosen friendly to Mr. Clinton. 
 
 "At the ensuing session of the Legislature, which 
 commenced in January 1S13, the political relations previ 
 ously existing between Mr. Clinton and Mr. Van Buren 
 were dissolved, and never again resumed. The disastrous 
 results of the preceding year had then begun to press 
 heavily on the country, and especially on the state of 
 New York. Her course in respect to the war, became there 
 fore a matter of the first importance. Mr. Van Buren, 
 from the commencement of his legislative career, gave to 
 all war measures the most decided and vigorous support. 
 Independently of his speeches and votes on the floor of 
 the Senate, he took a leading part in the re-nomination of 
 Governor Tompkins, and was appointed by the meeting 
 to prepare an address to the republican electors in support 
 of this nomination. In this paper he went at large into 
 the causes and grounds of the war, and vindicated, with 
 much force of reasoning, and with all the fervor of youth 
 ful patriotism, the indispensable doty and high justice of 
 the measure. In the recent compilation of Mr. Emmcns, 
 which you may have seen, you may find copious extracts 
 from this address. No man I think cm read them with 
 out a decided conviction of the writer s sincerity and zeal. 
 
 " In April, 18 13, Governor Tompkins was re-elected ; but 
 the federalists obtained a majority in the house of Assem 
 bly. During the next session of the Legislature, which 
 commenced in January. 1814, Mr. Van Buren was again 
 conspicuous during the war, and as the popular branch 
 was in the hands of the opposition, the course of the Sen 
 ate became doubly important. He assisted in carrying 
 through the Senate several measures intended to aid the 
 General Government in the prosecution of the war. which 
 were rejected by the other house, and in the public con 
 ferences to which these differences between the two hous 
 es led, was one of the principal speakers on the part of 
 the Senate. At the special session of the Legislature of 
 New York, held in September, 1814, his efforts, though 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 91 
 
 not more zealous, were more efficient and useful the dem 
 ocratic party having in the mean time regained their as 
 cendency in the Assembly. This session had been con 
 vened by Executive proclamation, in consequence of the 
 new character which had been given to the war during 
 the year, and of the exposed condition of the state. The 
 answer of the Senate to the speech of the Governor, again 
 prepared by him as chairman of the committee, and which 
 you will also find in the compilation of Mr. Emmons, re 
 affirmed the justice of the contest on our part, adverted to 
 the eventful nature of the crisis, Us dangers, and its du 
 ties, and pledged to the state and Union, the active co-op 
 eration of the Senate. I think, on perusing it, you will 
 agree that it was in keeping with the character and exi 
 gency of the times. 
 
 " During this special session, Mr. Van Buren matured, 
 brought forward and defended in debate, several war 
 measures of the strongest character. Of these the most 
 prominent was An act to authorize the raising of troops 
 for the defence of the state, which passed both houses, 
 and being approved by the Governor, became a law on the 
 24th of October, 1814. It authorized the Governor to 
 place at the disposal of the General Government, 12,000 
 men for two years, to be raised by suitable classifications 
 of the militia of the state ; but with such improvements 
 in its^details as to avoid many of the inequalities and oth 
 er objectionable features of the former system of militia 
 drafts. This law has been truly characterized by Col. 
 Benton, in his late letter to the committee of the Missis 
 sippi Convention, as the most energetic war measure 
 ever adopted in this country. In the Legislature, it en 
 countered the most strenuous opposition, which was con 
 tinued after the adjournment of that body, and until the 
 restoration of peace. A copy of it was, soon after its in 
 troduction, delivered to Mr. Munroe, then Secretary of 
 War, and it would seern to have suggested to that gentle 
 man some portion of the plan submitted by him to Con 
 gress, in his report of the 15th of October,"l814. 
 
 " At the ensuing session of the Legislature, which com 
 menced in January 1815, Mr. Van Buren again took the 
 lead in support of the war; and was actually engaged, as 
 chairman of a committee, appointed on his motion, to con 
 sider whether any additional provisions were necessary 
 to carry the classification law, into immediate and suc 
 cessful operation, in the deliberations of that committee, 
 
cj2 THE LIFE OF 
 
 when the news of peace was received at the seat of gov-* 
 ernment."* 
 
 In the above extract it is stated that Mr. Van 
 Buren supported the re-election of Governor 
 Tompkins in 1813. He was chairman of the com 
 mittee which made the nomination, and the follow 
 ing extracts are from an address to the republican 
 electors, written by him and adopted by the con 
 vention. 
 
 " FELLOW CITIZENS It is not to the arbitrary man 
 dates of despotic power, that your submission is demand 
 ed ; it is not to the seductive wiles and artful blandish 
 ments of the corrupt minions of aristocracy, that your at 
 tention is called but to an expression and discussion of 
 the wishes and feelings of your representatives, 
 
 "You are invited to listen with calmness and impar 
 tiality, to the sentiments and opinions of men who claim 
 no right superior to yours, who claim no anthorily to 
 address you save that of custom ; who would scorn to 
 obtain the coincidence of your opinion by force or strata 
 gem, and who seek no influence with you, except that 
 which arises from conscious rectitude, from a community 
 of hopes and fears, of right and of interests, 
 
 " In making this appeal, which is sanctioned by usuage 
 and the necessity of which is rendered imperious by the 
 situation of our common country, we feel it to be our du 
 ty, as it is our wish, to speak to you in the language which 
 alone becomes freemen to use the language to which 
 alone it becomes freemen to listen the language of truth 
 
 * The original draft of the Classification Law, in the hand 
 writing of Mr. Van Buren, is still on file in the office of the Clerk 
 of the Senate of New York, AV ith the folio wing memorandum, also 
 in the handwriting of Mr, Van Buren : 
 
 " The original Classification Bill, to be preserved as a memen 
 to of the patriotism, intelligence and firmness of the Legislature of 
 1814-15. 
 
 M, V. B. Albany, Feb. 15, 1815." 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 93 
 
 and sincerity ; to speak to you of things as they are and 
 as they should be, to speak to you with unrestrained 
 freedom, of your rights and your duties, and if by so do 
 ing we shall be so fortunate as to convince you of the 
 correctness of the opinions we hold; to communicate to 
 you the anxious solicitude we feel for our country and its 
 rights; to turn your attention from the minor considera 
 tions which have hitherto divided, distracted, and disgra 
 ced the American people, and to direct it exclusively to 
 the contemplation and support of your national honor and 
 national interests, our first and only object will be 
 effected. 
 
 " That tempest of passion and of lawless violence 
 which has hitherto almost exclusively raged in the coun 
 tries of the old world, which has ravaged the fairest por 
 tions of the earth, and caused her sons to drink deep of the 
 cup of human misery not satiated oy the myriads of vic 
 tims which have been sacrificed at its shrine, has reached 
 our hitherto peaceful shores. After years of forbearance 
 in despite of concessions without number, and we had al 
 most said, without limitation, that cruel and unrelenting 
 spirit of oppression and injustice which has for centuries 
 characterized the spirit of the British cabinet, overwhelm 
 ed nation after nation, and caused humanity to shed tears 
 of blood, has involved us in a war, on the termination of 
 which are staked the present honor, and the future welfare 
 of America. 
 
 " While thus engaged in an arduous and interesting 
 struggle with the open enemies of our land from without, 
 the formation of your government requires that you should 
 exercise the elective franchise, a right which in every 
 other country has been destroyed by the ruthless hand of 
 power, or blasted by the unhallowed touch of corruption ; 
 but which, by the blessings of a munificent Providence, 
 has as yet been preserved to you in its purity. 
 
 " The selection of your most important functionaries is 
 at hand. In a government like ours, where all power and 
 sovereignty rests with the people, the exercise of this right 
 and the consequent expression of public interest and pub 
 lic feeling, is on ordinary occasions, a matter of deep 
 concern, but at a period like the present, of vital impor 
 tance ; to satisfy you of that importance, and to advise 
 you in its exercise, is the object of this address. 
 
 " Fellow Citizens Your country is at war, and Great 
 Britain is her enemy. Indulge us in a brief examination 
 of the causes which have lead to it ; and brief as from the 
 
94 THE LIFE OF 
 
 necessary limits of an address it must be. we yet hope it 
 will be found sufficient to convince every honest man, of 
 
 THE HIGH JUSTICE AND INDISPENSABLE NECESSITY OF THE 
 ATTITUDE, WHICH OUR GOVERNMENT HAS TAKEN J OF THE 
 SACRED DUTY OF EVERY REAL AMERICAN TO SUPPORT IT 
 IN THAT ATTITUDE, AND OF THE PAHRICIDAL VIEWS OF 
 THOSE WHO REFUSE TO DO SO." 
 
 The address then gives a rapid and eloquent 
 summary of the causes of the war, and alludes to 
 the re-enactment, by the British government, of 
 the orders in council ; after which it proceeds : 
 
 " The American people a people rich in resources, 
 possessed of a high sense of national honor, the only free 
 people on earth had resolved in the face of an observing 
 world, that those orders were a direct attack upon their 
 sovereignty ; that a submission to them involved a sur 
 render of their independence and a solemn determina 
 tion to adhere to them, was officially declared by the ru 
 ler of the British nation. Thus situated, what was your 
 government to do? Was there room for doubt or hesita 
 tion as to the hostile views of England? No. Lest such 
 doubts might prevent a rupture, to acts of violent injustice 
 were continually added acts of the most opprobrious in 
 sult. While the formal relations of amity remained yet 
 unbroken while peace was yet supposed to exist in 
 cool blood an unprovoked attack is made upon one of your 
 national ships, and several American citizens basely and 
 cowardly murdered. At the moment your feelings were 
 at the highest pitch of irritation in consequence of the per 
 fidious disavowal of Erskine s agreement, a minister is 
 sent, not to minister to your rights not to extenuate the 
 conduct of his predecessor but to beard your Executive 
 to add insult to injury ; and to fling contumely and 
 reproach in the face of the Executive of the American 
 nation, in the presence of the American people. 
 
 " To cap the climax of her iniquity ; to fill up the meas 
 ure of our wrongs ; she resolved to persist in another 
 measure, surpassed by none in flagrant enormity a meas 
 ure which of itself was adequate cause of Avar a meas 
 ure which had excited the liveliest solicitude, and recei 
 ved the unremitting attention of every administration of our 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 95 
 
 government, from the time of Washington to the present 
 day ; the wicked, the odious and detestable practice of 
 impressing American seamen into her service; of en 
 tombing our sons within the walls of her ships of war; 
 compelling them to waste their lives, and spill their blood 
 in the service cf a foreign government a practice which 
 subjected every American tar, to the violence and petty 
 tyranny of a British midshipman, and many of them to a 
 life of the most galling servitude a practice which nev 
 er can be snbmitted to by a nation professing claims to 
 freedom ; which can never be acquiesced in by govern 
 ment without rescinding the great article of our safety, 
 the reciprocity of obedience and protection between the 
 rulers and the ruled. 
 
 " Under such accumulated circumstances of insult and 
 of injury, we ask again, what was your government to do? 
 We put the question not to that faction which misrep 
 resents the government to the people, and the people to 
 the government ; traduces one half the nation to cajole 
 the other and by keeping up distrust and division, wishes 
 to become the proud arbiter of the fortune and fate of 
 America, not to them, but to every sound head and hon 
 est heart in the nation it is that w r e put the question, * 
 what was your government to do ? Was she basely and 
 ingloriously to abandon the rights for which you and your 
 fathers fought and bled ? Was she so early to cower to 
 the nation which has sought to strangle us in our infancy, 
 and which has never ceased to retard our approach to 
 manhood? No: we will not for a moment doubt, that 
 every man who is in truth and fact an American will say 
 that WAR, AND WAR ALONE, was our only refuge 
 from national degradation, our only courseto national 
 prosperity. 
 
 " Fellow Citizens throughout the w r hole period of the 
 political struggles, which if they have not absolutely dis 
 graced, have certainly not exalted our character, no re 
 mark was more common no expectation more cheerfully 
 indulged in than that those severe and malevolent 
 contentions would only be sustained in time of peace ; 
 that when the country should be involved in war, every 
 wish, and every sentiment would be exclusively Ameri 
 can. But unfortunately for our country, those reasonable 
 expectations have not been realized, notwithstanding every 
 one knows, that the power of declaring war, and the duty 
 of supporting it, belong to the General Government ; not 
 withstanding that the constitutional remedy for the remo- 
 
96 THE LIFE OF 
 
 val of the men to whom this power is thus delegated, has 
 recently been afforded ; notwithstanding the re-election 
 of the same President by \vhom this war was commen 
 ced, and a majority of representatives, whose estimate of 
 our rights, and whose views are similar to those who first 
 declared it; men, who by the provisions of the constitution, 
 must retain their respective stations for a period of such 
 duration, as precludes a continued opposition of their 
 measures without a complete destruction of our national 
 interest an opposition at once unceasing and malignant, 
 is still continued, to every measure of the administration. 
 
 " Fellow Citizens, these things will not do. They are 
 intrinsically wrong; your country has engaged in a war 
 intlie. last degree unavoidable; it is not waged to the 
 destruction of the rights of others; but in defence of our 
 own ; it is, therefore, your bounden duty to support her. 
 You should lay down the character of partizans, and be 
 come patriots ; for, in every country, war becomes an 
 occasional duty, though it ought never to be made an oc 
 cupation. Every man should become a soldier in defence 
 of his rights ; no man ought to continue a soldier for of 
 fending the rights of others. In despite of truth so self- 
 evident, of incentives to a vigorous support of government 
 so pressing, we yet have to deplore the existence of a fac 
 tion in the bosom of our land, whose perseverance and in 
 dustry are exceeded only by their inveteracy ; who seek 
 through every avenue to mislead your judgment and to 
 inflame your passions. 
 
 " When your government pursues a pacific policy, it be 
 comes the object of their scorn and derision ; the want of 
 energy in your rulers is decried, as a matter of alarming 
 consideration ; the injuries of your country are admitted, 
 and the fact is triumphantly alleged that the adminis 
 tration cannot be kicked into a war. When they are im 
 pelled to a forcible vindication of our rights, the cry of 
 enmity to peace, of a wish to war with England to serve 
 France, is immediately resounded through the land. 
 When war is declared, public opinion is sought to be pre 
 judiced against the measure, as evincing a disposition un 
 necessarily to shed your blood, and waste your treasures. 
 When it is discovered, that that declaration is accompa 
 nied with a proposition, a just and equitable proposition, 
 to the enemy, on which hostilities may cease and peace 
 be restored, that proposition is derided as evidence of the 
 most disgraceful pusillanimity. No falsehood is consid 
 ered too glaring, no misrepresentation too flagitious, to 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 97 
 
 impose oo your credulity, and seduce your affections from 
 your native land. 
 
 " Lest general allegartons might fail to effect their un 
 holy purposes, and consummate their dark designs, specific 
 charges are resorted to calumnies which have again and 
 again met the detestation of an enlightened public, are 
 periodically brought forward, new dressed, and with new 
 authorities to give them credence with you. Among the 
 most prominent of those charges, is that of enmity to 
 commerce, on the part of the republican administrations. 
 Never was there a calumny more wicked. Enmity to 
 commerce ! We ask, and we ask emphatically, where is 
 the evidence of it ? What is the basis on which they rest 
 their claim to public confidence? It is that the adminis 
 tration is engaged in a war which they claim to be un 
 popular. What are the causes for which this war is wa 
 ged, and which have hitherto embroiled us with the na 
 tions of Europe? They are the violation of our com 
 mercial rights, and the impressment of our seamen ! 
 The administration then, are jeopardising their interest 
 with the people ; they furnish weapons of offence to their 
 adversaries ; they brave all dangers, for the maintenance 
 and support of our commercial rights; and yet they are 
 the enemies of commerce ! Can such base sophistry, such 
 contemptible nonsense, impose on the credulity, or per 
 vert the understanding of a single honest man? 
 
 " Suffer not yourselves to be deceived by the pretence, 
 that because Great Britain has been forced by her sub 
 jects to make a qualified repeal of her orders, our govern 
 ment ought to abandon her ground. That ground was 
 taken to resist two great and crying grievances, the de 
 struction of our commerce, and THE IMPRESSMENT OF OUK 
 SEAMEN. The latter is the most important, in proportion 
 as we prefer the liberty and lives of our citizens to their 
 property. Distrust, therefore, the man who could advise 
 your government at any time, and more especially, at this 
 time, when your brave sailors are exciting the admira 
 tion, and forcing the respect of an astonished world, when 
 their deeds of heroic valor make old Ocean smile at the 
 humiliation of her ancient tyrant at such a time, we say 
 again, mark the man who would countenance government 
 in COMMUTING OUR SAILORS RIGHTS FOR 
 THE SAFETY OF OUR MERCHANTS GOODS. 
 
 "Next to the cry for peace, the most potent spell which 
 has been resorted to, to alarm your fears and pervert your 
 understandings is the alleged distresses of the country, 
 9 
 
98 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Fellow citizens, it has been our object, it is our wish to 
 treat you fairly, to appeal to your judgments, not to your 
 passions ; and as we hope our address to you hitherto has 
 been marked by that character it is to your consciencies 
 then that we appeal upon this subject. Is not this clamor 
 most unfounded, most ungrateful? If you doubt that 
 it is so, if you hesitate to believe that it originates exclu 
 sively with the ambitious and designing spend one mo 
 ment in comparing your situation with that of the major 
 part of the civilized world. 
 
 " Fellow citizens should those political witlings, who 
 are not only ignorant themselves of the leading points of 
 controversy in our disputes with the belligerents, but who 
 are uniformly assailing you as men destitute at once of 
 spirit and of judgment should they point to the wars 
 which agitate and have convulsed Europe, as arguments 
 against the prosecution of that just and necessary one 
 which has been forced upon us, we know that you will 
 indignantly repel the unfounded suggestion. The wars 
 of Europe are waged by monarchs, to gratify their indi 
 vidual malice, their individual caprice, and to satiate 
 their lawless ambition. Ours is in defence of^rio- hts 
 which must be defended, or our glory as a nation will be 
 
 extinguished the sun of our greatness will set forever 
 
 As well might it have been said during the revolution 
 that war should not be waged, because wars had desolat 
 ed Europe. The same rights you then fought to obtain 
 you must now fight to preserve the contest is the same 
 now as it ic as then and the feelings which then agita 
 ted the public mind, which on the one hand supported 
 and on the other sought to destroy, the liberties of the 
 country, will be seen and felt in the conduct of the men 
 of this day. 
 
 " Fellow citizens we are compelled to close this ap 
 peal to you. The limits of an address will not permit us 
 to do justice to the various subjects which should occupy 
 your attention. We are aware that this has been already 
 unreasonably extended ; but the period has arrived when 
 mere words andjdle declarations must be unavailing 
 We have, therefore, felt it our duty to give you, as far as 
 practicable, a clear view of your true situation, of your le 
 gitimate duties. Unfortunately for us, when we outfit to 
 be an united, we are a divided people. The divisions 
 which agitate us are not as to men only, but to principle 
 You will be called on at the next election, to choose be 
 tween different candidates not only for the two ^reat offi- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 99 
 
 ces of state. Governor and Lieutenant governor, but for ev 
 ery other elective office to make a selection which the 
 actual situation of your country renders of infinite impor 
 tance. 
 
 " We are divided between the supporters and opposers 
 of our government. We have witnessed the distressing 
 truth, that it is not in the power of circumstances to de 
 stroy the virulence of party spirit. The opposition offer 
 for your support, men, who] whatever their private wishes 
 may be, are devoted to the support of a party whose views 
 and whose conduct we have attempted to delineate. In 
 opposition to them, we respectfully solicit your support 
 for the men whose nomination accompanies this address^ 
 one of whom* has for six years served you in the capacity 
 in which we now offer him ; the otherf "has for many years 
 served you in the most responsible situations. The noto 
 riety of their merit supersedes the necessity of our eulo- 
 gium their lives are their best encomiums; they are the 
 true friends of commerce; their view^s are, and their con 
 duct will be, in unison with the measures of the General 
 Government ; they are the sincere friends of an honorable 
 peace, the firm and energetic opposers of a base surrender 
 of our rights. 
 
 : We respectfully solicit for them your undivided sup 
 port. We solemnly conjure every real friend to his coun 
 try, to reflect on the danger of abandoning his government 
 at a period so perilous ; to reflect on the impropriety of 
 even indirectly aiding the views of our enemies by con 
 tinuing his opposition to government at a period so event 
 ful. 
 
 " We solicit the honest men of all parties to remem 
 ber that ours is the last republic that all the influence of 
 the crowned heads of Europe has been exerted to propa 
 gate the doctrine, that a government like ours can never 
 stand the rude shock of war; toreflect that this is the first 
 occasion in which this government has been engaged in a 
 war, and that the great and interesting questions, whether 
 man is capable of self-government, whether our republic 
 must go the way of its predecessors, or whether, support 
 ed by the hearts and arms of her free citizens, she shall 
 deride the revilings, and defeat the machinations of her 
 enemies are now to be tried. 
 
 " Fellow citizens In the result of our elections during 
 the continuance of this war, these important considerations 
 
 *Daniel D. Tompkins, tjohn Taylor. 
 
100 THE LIFE OF 
 
 are involved, the question of WHO is FOR nis COUNTRY 
 OR AGAINST HIS COUNTRY, must now be tried the eyes of 
 Europe are directed towards us the efficacy of your mild 
 and wholesome form of government is put to the test. 
 To the polls, then, and by a united and vigorous support 
 of the candidates we submit to you, discharge the great 
 duty you owe to your country, preserve for your posterity 
 the rich inheritance which has been left you by your an 
 cestors, that future ages may triumphantly point to the 
 course you pursued on this interesting occasion, as evi 
 dence that time had not yet extinguished that spirit which 
 actuated the heroes of Breedhill and of Yorktown ; of 
 those who fell at Camden, and of those who conquered 
 on the plains of Saratoga." 
 
 The following answer of the Senate to the speech 
 of the Governor at the extra session of the Legis 
 lature in 1814, is from the pen of Mr. Van Buren. 
 During this session he was chairman of the com 
 mittee of Ways and Means. 
 
 "To his Excellency, D. D. Tompkins, Governor of New York. 
 
 "SiR The Senate, at the close of their last session, 
 indulged, in common with their fellow citizens, the pleas 
 ing expectation, that before this period the blessings of 
 peace upon just and honorable terms would have been re 
 stored to their country. They have thus far been disap 
 pointed ; and although the mission to which they looked 
 for its accomplishment has not yet terminated, the delay 
 which has taken place in the commencement of negocia- 
 tions, and the spirit of increased hostility manifested by 
 the enemy in the prosecution of the war, combine to for 
 bid any confident reliance upon the disposition professed 
 by him in the communication which led to that mission. 
 
 " " If, in the result, it shall appear, that in these profes 
 sions he was originally insincere ; or that, influence by 
 after circumstances, he delayed the negociations proposed 
 by himself, until he should have exerted against us the 
 additional means of annoyance which recent occurrences 
 in Europe had placed at his disposal the world will not 
 hesitate, in either case, to pronounce upon his conduct 
 the sentence of strong and indignant reprobation. 
 
 " The world have already seen, and they cannot bat 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 have seen with astonishment, that when ambassadors for 
 peace, invited by himself, had already crossed the ocean, 
 he has given a new and peculiar character to the contest, 
 a character of violence and outrage, not only incompati 
 ble with the feelings of reconciliation, but, in the highest 
 degree disgraceful to civilized nations, and repugnant to 
 the established rules of legitimate warfare. 
 
 " Whether this conduct has proceeded from ancient an 
 imosities now seeking their gratification, in the infliction 
 of injuries upon those who once defied and foiled his 
 power whether from a desire of finding employment for 
 troops whom it was not thought prudent to disband at 
 home whether from hostility to our civil institutions, 
 and the vain hope of subverting the fair fabric which by 
 the wisdom, the virtue, and the valor of our fathers, has 
 been reared and secured to us or from a calculation that 
 by carrying his arms into the heart of the country, and 
 marking his course w r ith desolation and ruin, he could 
 make an impression on the government which should 
 avail him in the proposed negociations, or on the people 
 which should be remembered to his advantage in any 
 question which should hereafter arise between the na 
 tions whatever may have been his motives, or whatever 
 his expectations, the Senate cannot but exult in common 
 with your excellency and the country, that thus far we 
 have sustained the shock with firmness and gathered lau 
 rels from the strife. 
 
 "Although he has succeeded in penetrating to the cap- 
 itol, his momentary triumph, disgraced as it was by the 
 destruction of public edifices and the subsequent plunder 
 of a defenceless city, has before this time been embittered 
 by the reflection, that by the conflagration of those monu 
 ments of art which public spirit and munificence had 
 erected, and which were consecrated by the name of their 
 illustrious founder, he has kindled a flame of patriotism 
 which pervades every section of the union, which has al 
 ready lit the way to his severe discomfiture, and which 
 threatens his complete annihilation, at every assailable 
 point of the Union to which his ambition or his resent 
 ment may lead him. 
 
 " The Senate have witnessed with the same admira 
 tion, evinced by your excellency, the brilliant achieve 
 ments of our army and navy during the present campaign 
 achievments, which, in their immediate effects, have 
 been so highly and extensively beneficial to our frontier 
 citizens achievments which have pierced the glcom, 
 9* 
 
102 THE LIFE OF 
 
 that for a season obscured our political horizon and dis 
 pelled those fearful forebodings which past disasters had 
 excited exploits which will not suffer in a comparison 
 with the most heroic efforts of the veterans of the old 
 world, which have fully maintained if not enhanced the 
 proud and enviable fame of our gallant seamen exploits 
 which have covered the actors in those bright scenes with 
 never fading laurels, and which will, until public grati 
 tude ceases to be a public virtue, call for the highest testi 
 monials which a free people can yield to freemen un 
 ceasing reverence for the memories of those who have 
 died on the field of honor, and acts of unceasing grati 
 tude to their heroic survivors. 
 
 "The Senate have seen with great satisfaction, the 
 prompt and efficacious measures adopted by your excellen 
 cy, to avert the dangers which threatened the state ; and 
 believing as they do, that whatever executive authority 
 may have been exercised, for which no legislative provis 
 ion existed, has not only been intended for the promotion 
 of the public good, but was rendered indispensable by 
 the pressure of existing circumstances ; they cannot doubt 
 that the measures to which your excellency has referred, 
 will be found to deserve their approbation and support. 
 
 "The Senate cannot forego the opportunity afforded 
 them, of uniting with your excellency, in an expression 
 of the high satisfaction with which they have witnessed 
 the unanimity and patriotism displayed by all classes of 
 the community in the present crisis, and the disposition 
 which they have manifested to combine their efforts for 
 the maintenance of national honor and common safety. 
 
 " That on questions of general policy, or the fitness of 
 individuals for particular stations, we shall ever be ex 
 empted from differences of opinion, is not to be expected. 
 Divisions like those are inseparable from the blessings 
 of our free constitution ; and although sometimes carried 
 to an excess which all good men must deplore, they are, 
 notwithstanding, generally productive of much national 
 good. But to suppose that a people jealous of their rights 
 and proud of their national character, would on a ques 
 tion of resisting the aggressions of an open enemy ag 
 gressions which have polluted our soil, and which threat 
 en the subversion of those inestimable political institu 
 tions which have been consecrated to freedom by the 
 blood and sufferings of their fathers that on a question 
 of such vital interest, so well calculated to excite all the 
 patriotism, to arouse all the spirit, and to call into action 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 103 
 
 all the energies of the nation, they would waste their 
 strength in useless collision with each other would be 
 a reflection upon their discernment and their characrer, 
 which they can never merit. 
 
 " The various other subjects submitted by your excel 
 lency to the Legislature, will receive from the Senate 
 that prompt attention to which their importance entitles 
 them. 
 
 " The important interest which the state of New York 
 has in the successful termination of the controversy in 
 which we are involved, and the high destiny to which 
 her local situation, the extent and variety of her resources, 
 and the valor and patriotism of her citizens, aided by a 
 just and liberal policy, may advance her, have been duly 
 appreciated by your excellency. The Senate cheerfully 
 pledge their best exertions to realize those great and well 
 founded expectations; and relying on the patriotism and 
 good sense of the American people, they confidently trust 
 that the rights and interests of the nation will be main 
 tained, and that at no distant period the mild reign of 
 peace will be restored to our bleeding country." 
 
 The sessions of the Legislature in New York in 
 1813 and 1814, exhibited scenes of the greatest 
 political violence. The federal party had a ma 
 jority in the house of Representatives, but the re 
 publicans had the control in the Senate. Among 
 the most prominent members of the latter body 
 were Mr. Van Buren, Nathan Sanford, and Eras- 
 tus Root. Differing thus in their views of public 
 policy the two branches of the Legislature were 
 often in conflict with each other. Many public 
 acts of a patriotic character, which were passed 
 by the Senate, were rejected by the House. This 
 led to frequent conferences of committees from 
 both bodies. In these conferences the measures 
 in dispute were publicly discussed, and the discus 
 sion embraced the general policy of the adminis- 
 
i04 THE LIFE OP 
 
 tration and the expediency of the war. The ex 
 citing nature of the questions thus debated, the 
 solemnity of the occasion, the discussions being 
 conducted in the presence of the two houses, and 
 the brilliant talents of the parties to the controver 
 sy, drew vast audiences, and presented a field for 
 the display of eloquence unsurpassed, in dignity 
 and interest, by the assemblies of ancient Greece. 
 Mr. Van Buren was always the leading speaker 
 on the part of the Senate ^ and by the vigor of his 
 logic, his acuteness and dexterity in debate, and 
 the patriotic spirit of his sentiments, commanded 
 great applause. A speech which he delivered on 
 one of those occasions was so replete with elo 
 quence and patriotic views, that a committee ap 
 pointed by the republicans of Albany, formally 
 presented him the thanks of the party and request 
 ed a copy for publication. This request could not 
 be complied with as the speech had been delivered 
 entirely without notes. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren s patriotic services during this 
 trying period, have been depicted with much truth 
 and spirit in the letter of Col. Benton, alluded to 
 in a former extract, from which the following pas 
 sages are taken. In refuting the allegation that 
 Mr. Van Buren had rendered the republic little ser 
 vice, Col. Benton says : 
 
 " Justice to him would require an answer to go further 
 back, to the war of 1812, when he was a member of the 
 New York Senate; when the fate of Mr. Madison s ad- 
 mistration, and of the Union itself, depended upon the 
 conduct of that great state great in men and means, and 
 greater in position, a frontier to New England, and to 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 105 
 
 Canada to British arms and Hartford Convention trea 
 son ; and when that conduct, to the dismay of every pa 
 triotic bosom, was seen to hang, for nearly two years, in 
 the doubtful scales of suspense. The federalists had the 
 majority in the house of Representatives; the democracy 
 had the Senate and the Governor; and for two successive 
 sessions no measure could be adopted in support of the 
 war. Every aid proposed by the Governor and Senate, 
 was rejected by the house of Representatives. Every state 
 paper issued by one, was answered by the other. Con 
 tinual disagreements took place ; innumerable conferences 
 were had ; the hall of the house of Representatives was 
 the scene of contestation ; and every conference was a 
 public exhibition of parliamentary conflict a public trial 
 of intellectual digladiation, in which each side, represent 
 ed by committees of its ablest men, and in the presence 
 of both houses, and of assembled multitudes, exerted itself 
 to the utmost to justify itself, and to put the other in the 
 wrong, to operate upon public opinion, govern the impend 
 ing elections, and acquire the ascendency in the ensuing 
 Legislature. Mr. Van Buren, then a young man, had 
 just entered the Senate at the commencement of this ex 
 traordinary struggle. He entered it, November 1812 ; and 
 had just distinguished himself in the opposition of his 
 county to the first national bank charter in the support 
 of Vice President Clinton for giving the casting vote 
 against it and in his noble support of Governor Tomp- 
 kins, for his Roman energy in proroguing the General As 
 sembly, (April 1812,) which could not otherwise be pre 
 vented from receiving and embodying the transmigratory 
 soul of that defunct institution, and giving it anew exist 
 ence, in a new place, under an altered name and modified 
 form. He was politically born out of this conflict, and 
 came into the Legislature against the bank, and for the 
 war. He was the man which the occasion required ; the 
 ready writer prompt debater judicious counsellor ; cour 
 teous in manners firm in purpose inflexible in princi 
 ples. He contrived the measures brought forward the 
 bills and reports delivered the speeches and drew the 
 state papers, (especially the powerful address to the re 
 publican voters of the state,) which eventually vanquish 
 ed the federal party, turned the doubtful scales, and gave 
 the elections of April, 1814, to the friends and supporters 
 of Madison and the war; an event, the intelligence of 
 which was received at Washington with an exultation 
 only inferior to that with which was received the news- of 
 
106 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the victory of New Orleans. The new Legislature, now 
 democratic in both branches, was quickly convened by 
 Governor Tompkins ; and Mr. Van Buren had the honor 
 to brinof forward, and carry through, amidst the- applauses 
 of patriots, and the denunciation of the anti-war party, 
 the most energetic war measure ever adopted in our Amer 
 ica the classification bill, as he called it, the conscription 
 bill, as they called it. By this bill, the provisions of 
 which, by a new and summary process, were so contrived 
 as to act upon property, as well as upon persons, an army 
 of twelve thousand state troops were immediately to be 
 raised ; to serve for two years, and to be placed at the dis 
 position cf the General Government. The peace which 
 was signed in the last days of December 1814, rendered 
 this great measure of New York inoperative ; but its merit 
 was acknowledged by all patriots at the time ; the princi 
 ple of it was adopted by Mr. Madison s administration; 
 recommended by the Secretary at War, Mr. Monroe, to 
 the Congress of the United States, and found by that 
 body too energetic to be passed. To complete his course 
 in support of the war, and to crown his meritorious labors 
 to bring it to a happy close, it became Mr. Van Buren s 
 fortune to draw up the vote of thanks of the greatest state 
 of the Union, to the greatest General which the war had 
 produced the thanks of the New York legislature to 
 Major General JACKSON, his gallant officers and troops, 
 for their wonderful, and heroic victory, in defence of the 
 grand emporium, of the West? Such was the appropri 
 ate conclusion to his patriotic services in support of the 
 war: services, to be sure, not rivalling in splendor the he 
 roic achievments of victorious arms; but services, never 
 theless, both honorable and meritorious in their place ; 
 and without which battles cannot be fought, victories can 
 not be won, nor countries be saved. Martial renown, it 
 is true, he did not acquire, nor attempt; but the want of 
 that fascination to his name can hardly be objected to 
 him, in these days, when the political ascendency of mili 
 tary chieftains is so pathetically deplored, and when the 
 entire perils of the republic are supposed to be compress 
 ed into the single danger of a military despotism." 
 
 The classification bill alluded to in the foregoing 
 extracts was the favorite measure of Mr. Van Bu 
 ren. A debate was continued during two days, in 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 107 
 
 the Senate, on the question whether troops should 
 be raised by voluntary enlistment or by classifica 
 tion. Messrs. Root and Radcliff were the princi 
 pal advocates of the former method : and Messrs. 
 Van Buren and Hubbard of the latter. On the 
 12th of October, the principle of classification 
 was adopted by a vote of twenty to eight. On 
 the 14th of October, the bill finally passed, and 
 provided for the raising of twelve thousand troops 
 for two years. 
 
 The principle of raising troops by classification 
 is said to have had its origin in New England, dur 
 ing the war of the revolution. Its object is to 
 equalize the burden of military duty among all 
 classes of the community according to property. 
 
CHAPTER VI I. 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN S defence of the Classification bill, ftf 
 appointed Attorney General of New York. Gives an 
 efficient support to the project for the Erie and Cham" 
 plain Canals. 
 
 AFTER the passage of the classification bill by 
 the Legislature, it met with great opposition from 
 Chancellor Kent in the Council of revision. On 
 the 21st of October he delivered an opinion, em 
 bracing five objections to the bill, which \vere forti 
 fied by his usual ingenuity and learning. The opin 
 ion of the Chancellor was overruled by the other 
 members of the council, but his objections found 
 their way into the public prints, and coming from 
 so respectable a source, were seized upon by polit 
 ical partizans, as a means of impairing public confi 
 dence in the validity of the laws and in the discre 
 tion of those who enacted them. 
 
 Col. Samuel Young, who was at that time speak 
 er of the house of Representatives in the New 
 10 
 
HO THE LIFE OF 
 
 York Legislature, and had been the most promi 
 nent supporter of this measure in that body, ad 
 dressed a series of letters to the Chancellor in the 
 public prints, in which he defended the measures 
 of the democratic party, and the classification bill 
 in particular, with signal eloquence and ability. 
 The letters were signed Juris Consultus. They 
 were replied to by the Chancellor himself, under 
 the signature of Amicus Curiae. At this point, 
 Mr. Van Buren entered into the controversy, and 
 replied to the strictures of the Chancellor under 
 the signature of Amicus Juris Consultus. He first 
 took a general view of several topics connected 
 with the controversy, and, in conclusion, minutely 
 reviewed the several objections raised by the Chan 
 cellor in the Council of revision, and as Amicus Cu 
 riae. The controversy, involving questions of 
 constitutional law of the greatest magnitude, as 
 well as the most exciting political questions, at 
 tracted great attention and drew forth the fullest 
 display of learning and ability on both sides. By 
 some of Mr. Van Buren s friends, it was deemed 
 rashness, on his part, to enter the lists against such 
 a veteran in politics and one so profoundly learned 
 in constitutional law as Chancellor Kent. The re 
 sult, however, showed that they had not sufficient 
 ly appreciated his powers. His papers exhibited 
 great ability and research, and he so clearly demon 
 strated both the policy and constitutionality of the 
 act, and so completely annihilated the arguments 
 of his adversary, that the latter withdrew from the 
 contest by the publication of a " card." 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. m 
 
 The learning and talent displayed in this contro 
 versy, contributed greatly to his elevation to the 
 office of Attorney General of the state, which ap 
 pointment he received in February, 1815. He was 
 at that time thirty-two years of age. During the 
 same session, he was also appointed by the Legis 
 lature, a regent of the University of New York. 
 
 In the spring of 1816, he was re-elected to the 
 Senate of the state for the further period of four 
 years. 
 
 The project of uniting the waters of the Hud 
 son with lake Erie and with lake Champlain, was 
 a leading subject of consideration in the Legisla 
 ture of New York, during the winter of 1816. For 
 six years previous, there had been a board of com 
 missioners to make examinations and surveys with 
 a view to this magnificent enterprize. During the 
 war, it had been impossible for them to prosecute 
 the objects of their appointment ; but on the 8th 
 of March 1816, they laid their surveys and esti 
 mates before the "Legislature, accompanied by a 
 report, which recommended the adoption of " such 
 preliminary measures as might be necessary for 
 the accomplishment of this important object." On 
 the 21st of March, Mr. Jacob R. Van Rensselaer, 
 from a joint committee, made a report to the house 
 of Representatives, in favor of the immediate com 
 mencement of both canals, and introduced a bill 
 for that purpose. On the 10th of April, Mr. Duer 
 proposed a substitute, merely authorizing surveys 
 and estimates ; but the bill, as finally adopted in 
 the house on the 13th of April, authorized the im- 
 
112 THE LIFE OK 
 
 mediate commencement of a portion of the work. 
 
 On the 16th of April, this bill was taken up in the 
 Senate. But two days of the session remained. 
 On motion of Mr. Van Buren, that portion which 
 authorized the immediate commencement of the 
 work was stricken out, and the bill was confined 
 to the procurement of more accurate surveys and 
 estimates. In support of his motion, Mr. Van Bu 
 ren said it was evident to his mind, that the Legis 
 lature did not possess sufficient information to jus 
 tify the immediate commencement of the work ; 
 and fearing inconsiderate legislation might pre 
 judice the measure, as a sincere friend to its suc 
 cess, he believed a temporary postponement to be 
 the safest course. The amendment passed the 
 Senate by a vote of twenty to nine and was final 
 ly adopted by the house. 
 
 On the llth day of April, of the next subsequent 
 year, a bill for the commencement of this great 
 work finally passed the house of Representatives. 
 It w r as immediately taken up for consideration in 
 the Senate. It was strongly opposed by some 
 gentlemen of great abilities, whose constituents 
 would probably be affected in their local interests, 
 and was sustained by Mr. Tibbets and Mr. Van 
 Buren. The speech of the latter is thus introduced 
 by the gentleman from whose report it is here ex 
 tracted.* 
 
 * Win. L. Stone, Esq. Editor of the Commercial Advertiser in 
 New York, in the Appendix to Hosack s life of Clinton, p. 451. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 113 
 
 " This was Mr. Van Buren s great speech of 
 the session, and it was indeed a masterly effort. 
 I took notes of the whole debate at the time, but 
 being then young in the business of reporting, and 
 this being the first time I had ever attempted to 
 follow Mr. Van Buren, whose utterance is too 
 rapid for an unpractised pen, and whose manner 
 was, on that occasion, too interesting to allow a 
 reporter to keep his eyes upon his paper, my effort 
 was little more than a failure." 
 
 " Mr. Van Buren said he must trespass upon the com 
 mittee, while he stated the general considerations which 
 induced him to give his vote for the bill. It was a subject 
 which had been so fully discussed, and upon which so 
 much had been said, that he should deem it arrogance to 
 enlarge. The calculations which had been made with 
 respect to the probable expense of the canal, and ways 
 and means for raising funds were fit subjects for consid 
 eration. But to do this he deemed himself incompetent. 
 He must place great confidence upon the reports of the 
 commissioners upon these points. Mr. V. B. here took a 
 brief review of the measures adopted at the last session 
 of the Legislature, in relation to the canal, when a bill 
 similar to the one now before the Senate, was under con 
 sideration, and stated the reasons why he voted against 
 the bill at that time. We then had no calculations made 
 by the commissioners so minute as at present. Under 
 these considerations, he conceived it his duty at the last 
 session to move the rejection of the whole bill relating to 
 the commencement of the canal. It was done, and he 
 had the satisfaction to find that most gentlemen have 
 since united with him in his opinion. Now the scene is 
 entirely changed. We at that time passed a law appoint 
 ing new commissioners, and applying 20,000 dollars to 
 enable them to obtain all the information possible. We 
 now have the information, and we have arrived at the 
 point, when, if this bill do not pass, the project must for 
 many years be abandoned. His convictions were, that it 
 is for the honor and interest of the slate to commence the 
 work at or.ce ; \ve are pledged by former measures to do 
 10* 
 
114 THE LIFE OF 
 
 it. Mr. Van. Buren here reviewed the proceedings of 
 former Legislatures upon the subejct, during the year 1810, 
 11, 12, and 14, when, in consequence of the war, the law 
 appropriating five millions for the canal, was repealed. 
 He proceeded : Since that period, new commissioners 
 have been appointed, and new authority given, to exam 
 ine the route for the canal, and report at the present ses 
 sion of the Legislature. A law authorising the com 
 mencement of the \vork has passed the popular branch of 
 the Legislature, and unless we have the clearest convic 
 tions that the project is impracticable, or the resources of 
 our state insufficient, you must not recede from the meas 
 ures already taken. Are we satisfied upon these two 
 points? We have had able, competent commissioners to 
 report, and they have laid a full statement before us ; we 
 are bound to receive these reports as correct evidence up 
 on this subject. In no part of the business have we 
 looked to individual states, or to the United States for 
 assistance other than accidental or auxiliary. Mr. Van 
 Buren here made some calculations relative to the funds. 
 Lay out of view, said he, all the accidental resources, and 
 the revenue from the canal, and in completing the work 
 you will only entail upon the state a debt, the interest 
 of which will amonnt to but about 300,000 dollars. He 
 then stated the amount of real estate within the state 
 now, and what it probably would be, if the canal were 
 completed. The tax would not amount to more than one 
 mill on the dollar, unless the report of commissioners is a 
 tissue of fraud or misrepresentation, this tax will be suffi 
 cient, and more than sufficient, to complete the canal. 
 We are now to say that all our former proceedings have 
 been insincere, or we must go on with the work. The 
 people in the districts where we are first to make the ca 
 nal, are willing and able to be subjected to the expense of 
 those sections. Mr. Van Buren contended that the du 
 ties upon salt, and the auction duties, were a certain 
 source of revenue, and that these two sources of revenue 
 would be abundant, and more than abundant, forever to 
 discharge the interest of the debt to be created. Ought 
 we under such circumstances, to reject this bill? No, sir; 
 for one I am willing to go to the length contemplated by 
 the bill. The canal is to promote the interest and char 
 acter of the state in a thousand ways. But we are told 
 that the people cannot bear the burden. Sir, I assume it 
 as a fact, that the people have already consented to it. 
 For six years we have been engaged upon this business. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 115 
 
 During this time our tables have groaned with the peti 
 tions of the people from every section of our country in 
 favor of it. And not a solitary voice has been raised 
 against it. Mr. V. B. said he had seen with regret the 
 divisions that have heretofore existed upon this subject, 
 apparently arising from hostility to the commissioners. 
 Last year the same bill, in effect, passed the Assembly, 
 the immediate representatives of the people; and this 
 year it has passed again. This was conclurive evidence 
 that the people have assented to it. Little can be done 
 by the commissioners, other than to make a loan, before 
 another session. The money cannot be lost there can, 
 be no loss at six per cent. We have now all the infor 
 mation we can wish we must make up our minds either 
 to be expending large sums in legislation year after year, 
 or we must go on with the project. After so much has 
 been done and said upon the subject, it would be discredi 
 table to the state to abandon it. 
 
 " He considered it the most important vote he ever gave 
 in his life but the project, if executed, would raise the 
 state to the highest possible pitch of fame and grandeur. 
 He repeated that we were bound to consider that the peo 
 ple have given their assent. Twelve thousand men of 
 wealth and respectability in the city of New York, last 
 year petitioned for the canal ; and at all events, before the 
 operation would be commenced, the people, if opposed to 
 the measure, would have ample time to express their will 
 upon the subject. 1 
 
 The reporter adds : " When Mr. Van Buren 
 resumed his seat, Mr. Clinton who had been an 
 attentive listener in the Senate chamber, breaking 
 through that reserve which political collisions had 
 created, approached him and expressed his thanks 
 for his exertions in the most flattering terms." 
 
 It will be proper, here, to insert a brief descrip 
 tion of Mr. Van Buren s manner as a speaker, at 
 that period, sketched by the same able writer who 
 furnished the above report ; the author of it will, 
 at least, be free from the charge of personal or po 
 litical partiality. 
 
116 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " Mr. Van Buren is a very eloquent speaker ; but the 
 character of his eloquence is sui generis. We know of 
 none of the mighty masters of the persuasive art, whom 
 he has adopted for his model ; and yet his manner is 
 graceful, and animated when occasion requires, or im 
 passioned when engaged upon an inspiring theme. He 
 has a happy command of language, but his utterance is 
 too rapid. His figure is small, and there is nothing pe 
 culiar in his person, excepting the fine formation of his 
 head, which would afford an admirable subject for a cra- 
 niologist. With manners affable and insinuating, he in 
 spires his friends with the strongest attachment known to 
 political ties ; and though self-educated, his professional 
 knowledge is such as to have placed him in the front rank 
 at the bar, while his successful career in politics bears 
 ample testimony to talents of an elevated order, and a 
 tact in the management of men and in the control of par 
 ties, without a living parallel. 3 
 
 As the great scheme of internal improvements 
 in New York, was thus indebted, in part, for its 
 first adoption, to his exertions, so, at every subse 
 quent period, it received his efficient support. To 
 enumerate the various occasions upon which this 
 support was exhibited would swell this portion of 
 the present narrative to an undue extent. It will 
 suffice to subjoin the following general statement 
 from the pen of the learned and amiable biographer 
 of the illustrious Clinton. 
 
 " To the Hon. Cadwallader D. Golden, Martin Van 
 Buren, Jacob Rutsen Van Rcnsselaer, James Lynch, Pe 
 ter A. Jay, William Ross, and William A. Duer, the 
 state owes a debt of gratitude for their patriotic exertions 
 in behalf of the canal." * * " The Hon. Martin Van 
 Buren and the other gentlemen just mentioned, were dis 
 tinguished by their support of the legislative measures 
 then adopted. Those gentlemen, then members of the 
 Legislature, independently of their able, and in most in 
 stances, their uniform support of the canal policy, sig 
 nalized themselves by very important services in rescuing 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 117 
 
 the bill from a state of jeopardy, even when it had been, 
 to a certain degree, abandoned by its friends. By their 
 personal and almost miraculous exertions, it was resusci 
 tated and again restored to the approbation of the two 
 houses of the Legislature."* 
 
 *Hosack s Memoir of De Witt Clinton, pp. 105-7. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN acquiesces in the first election of De 
 Witt Clinton, as Governor. Opposes his re-election. 
 Is removed from the office of Attorney General. 
 Separates from Mr. Clinton and his political friends. 
 His encomium upon Mr. Clinton s character at a 
 meeting of the New York Congressional delegation 
 in Washington. 
 
 IN March 1817, De Witt Clinton was nomina 
 ted to the office of Governor of the state of New 
 York, by a republican convention, in the place of 
 Daniel D. Tompkins, who had been elected Vice 
 President of the United States. Mr. Van Buren 
 acquiesced in this nomination, though it was con 
 trary to his individual wishes and opinions. The 
 distinguished talents of Mr. Clinton and his recent 
 zealous efforts in promoting the great interests of 
 the state, had so far won the respect and confi 
 dence of all parties, that there was comparatively 
 little opposition to his election. During the first 
 
120 THE LIFE OF 
 
 year of Mr. Clinton s administration, but little oc 
 curred to disturb this singular coalition of opposite 
 political parties. But in the difficult task of ma 
 king his appointments, Governor Clinton gave great 
 offence to the republicans who had yielded him 
 their support. This difficulty widened into an 
 open rupture ; and a large majority of the repub 
 lican party, Mr. Van Buren among their number, 
 withdrew their support from Mr. Clinton s public 
 measures and made preparation to oppose his re 
 election. The participation of Mr. Van Buren in 
 this opposition, brought upon him the political ven 
 geance of the council of appointment, who were 
 devoted to the wishes of Mr. Clinton. Accord 
 ingly, in July 1819, he was removed from the office 
 of Attorney General ; the duties of which he had 
 discharged, with ability, for more than five years. 
 No other reason was assigned for this measure 
 than the opposition of Mr. Van Buren to the Gov 
 ernor. 
 
 This violent act united the great mass of the 
 republican party in opposition to Governor Clin 
 ton and bound them more strongly than ever to 
 Mr. Van Buren. His long course of public ser 
 vices were remembered, especially his zealous 
 support of the democratic cause during the gloomy 
 period of the war, and his honorable co-operation, 
 at a more recent period, with Mr. Clinton himself, 
 in the great work of internal navigation. Accord 
 ingly, when the period of Mr. Clinton s public ser 
 vice drew towards a close, the most strenuous ex 
 ertions were made by the republicans throughout 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 121 
 
 the state, to prevent his re-election. Mr. Van 
 Buren naturally took the lead in these efforts ; an<f 
 Daniel D. Tornpkins, emphatically the man of the 
 people, was prevailed upon to become the oppos 
 ing candidate. Although Mr. Clinton s policy had 
 already assumed the strongest anti-democratic 
 character, yet the splendor of his abilities, his for 
 mer public services, and his great personal weight 
 of character drew temporarily to his support, no 
 inconsiderable portion of the former democratic 
 party. The contest was close and animated, and 
 the result, for several days, was extremely doubt 
 ful, Mr, Clinton finally succeeded by a majority 
 of 1457, out of 93,437 votes. This result suffi 
 ciently indicated the great change in public opin 
 ion, produced by the unexpected turn which he 
 gave to his administration. The whole number of 
 votes against him, on his former election, was but 
 twenty-two more than his present majority. 
 
 Both houses of the Legislature and the Council 
 of appointments, however, were decidedly demo 
 cratic ; and it was hence apparent that the rule 
 had passed out of federal hands. 
 
 A restoration to the office of Attorney General 
 was now tendered to Mr. Van Buren but was de 
 clined by him. 
 
 The writer is persuaded that he shall but speak 
 the sentiments of Mr, Van Buren and all his polit 
 ical friends, in bearing testimony, in this place, to 
 the learning, splendid talents and great public ser 
 vices of De Witt Clinton. On many public oc 
 casions, he gave expression to political sentiments 
 11 
 
122 THE LIFE OF 
 
 which indicated, in the words of his biographer. 
 " a living faith in man r s capacity for self-govern 
 ment and an unconquerable hostility to arbitrary 
 and illegal power, in whatever shape it might ap 
 pear. * The promulgation of these sentiments 
 brought upon him the hostility of the federalists, 
 and won for him the high respect of the democrat 
 ic party, who were disposed to transfer to him, the 
 reverence, confidence and affection they had al 
 ways entertained for his illustrious uncle, George 
 Clinton. But " these political principles" as the 
 biographer, before quoted, aptly remarks, " though 
 recognized by the great body of our fellow citi 
 zens, are apt to be forgotten by our public men 
 when elevated to office." Mr. Clinton s public 
 course does not seem to have been so steacily reg 
 ulated by them, as to have retained the confidence, 
 the democracy were disposed to place in him.* 
 
 By the current of events w r hich we have thus 
 briefly related, Mr. Van Buren and Mr. Clinton 
 \vere arrayed against each other as the distinguish 
 ed and able leaders of opposite political parties. 
 A most violent contest ensued, and was sustained 
 for years with unabated energy on both sides. To 
 enter minutely into the histoiy of these conflicts 
 would be an ungrateful task, and would extend 
 this portion of the present history beyond its prop 
 er bounds. It will suffice to say, that during these 
 
 * The Roman historian s remark, with respect to the Emperor 
 Galba, may be applied to Mr. Clinton : " major private visus, 
 dum privatns fuit et omnium consonsu cnpax Imperil, nisi irnpe- 
 r asset. Tacit. TfJxf. fib. J. cnp. 49. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 conflicts, Governor Clinton was twice driven into 
 retirement and two of his distinguished supporters, 
 Chief Justice Spencer and Judge Van Ness, both 
 compelled to retire from the bench of the Supreme 
 Court ; and on the other hand, Mr. Van Buren 
 was twice removed from office, and was pursued 
 for many years, with the most unrelenting party 
 violence. It is a point of bright relief in this dark 
 picture, that amid all the collisions of party vio 
 lence, the two great antagonists, retained their con 
 fidence in the personal integrity of each other, and 
 each expressed his respect for the private upright 
 ness and honesty of his rival. Such, at least, are 
 said, on the best authority, to have been the senti 
 ments of Governor Clinton, almost in the last mo 
 ments of his life ; and the following affecting and 
 eloquent testimony of Mr. Van Buren to the pub 
 lic services and private worth of his illustrious 
 competitor, is publicly on record. At a meeting 
 of the Senators and Representatives in Congress, 
 from the state of New York, held at Washington, 
 on the 19th of February 1828, to express their 
 feelings on the sudden demise of Governor Clin 
 ton, Mr. Van Buren, then a member of the Sen 
 ate, introduced some appropriate resolutions with 
 the following remarks, 
 
 <{ MR. CHAIRMAN We have met to pay a tribute of re 
 spect to the memory of our late Governor and distinguish 
 ed fellow-citizen, De Witt Clinton. Some of our breth 
 ren have been so kind as to ask me to prepare a suitable 
 expression of our feelings ; and I have, in pursuance of 
 their wishes, drawn up what has occurred to me as proper 
 to be said on the occasion. Before I submit it to the con- 
 
124 THE LIFE OF 
 
 sidcration of the meeting, I beg to be indulged in a few- 
 brief remarks. I can say nothing of the deceased, that is 
 not familiar to you all. To all, he was personally known, 
 and to many of us, intimately and familiarly, from our 
 earliest infancy. The high order of his talents, the un 
 tiring zeal and great success with which those talents 
 have, through a series of years been devoted to the prose 
 cution of plans of great public utility, are also known to 
 you all, and by all, I am satisfied, duly appreciated. The 
 subject can derive no additional interest or importance 
 from any eulogy of mine. All other considerations out of 
 view, the single fact that the greatest public improvement 
 of the age in which we live, was commenced under the 
 guidance of his councils, and splendidly accomplished 
 under his immediate auspices, is of itself sufficient to fill 
 the ambition of any man, and to give glory to any name. 
 But, as has been justly said, his life, and character, and 
 conduct, have become the property of the historian : and 
 there is no reason to doubt that history will do him jus- 
 lice. The triumph of his talents and patriotism, cannot 
 fail to become monuments of high and enduring fame. 
 We cannot, indeed, but remember, that in our public ca 
 reer, collisions of opinion and action, at once extensive, 
 earnest, and enduring, have arisen between the deceased 
 and many of us. For myself, sir, it gives me a deep-felt, 
 though melancholy satisfaction, to know, and more so, to 
 be conscious, that the deceased also felt and acknowledg 
 ed, that our political differences have been wholly free 
 from that most venomous and corroding of all poisons, 
 personal hatred. 
 
 " But in other respects it is now immaterial what was 
 the character of those collisions. They have been turned 
 to nothing, and less than nothing, by the event we de 
 plore, and I doubt not that we will, with one voice and 
 one heart, yield to his memory the well deserved tribute 
 of our respect for his name, and our warmest gratitude 
 for his great and signal services. For myself, sir, so 
 strong, so sincere, and so engrossing is that feeling, that 
 I, who whilst living, never, no never, envied him any 
 thing, now that he has fallen, am greatly tempted to envy 
 him his grave with its honors. 
 
 " Of this, the most afflicting of all bereavements, that 
 has fallen on his wretched and desponding family, what 
 shall I say ? Nothing. Their grief is too sacred for de 
 scription; justice can alone be done to it by those deep 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 125 
 
 and silent, but agonizing feelings, which on their account 
 pervade every hosom." 
 
 The resolutions, thus introduced, expressed, on 
 behalf of the meeting, " their deep and sincere sor 
 row for a dispensation of Providence which had, 
 in the midst of his usefulness, cut off from the ser 
 vice of that state, whose proudest ornament he 
 was, a great man, who had won and richly de 
 served the reputation of a distinguished benefac 
 tor." 
 
 The noble generosity of these sentiments con 
 sidering the source from whence they proceeded, 
 will be appreciated by the reader. 
 
 11* 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN S support of Rufus King for Senator 
 of the United States. His connection with the proceed 
 ings in Albany, and in the Legislature of New York, 
 in regard to the Missouri question. 
 
 IT may be proper to advert, in this place, to two 
 or three particulars in the public life of Mr. Van 
 Buren, which have been the subject of considera 
 ble remark. The first of these is his support of 
 Rufus King for the office of Senator of the United 
 States. 
 
 In the winter of 1819, the Legislature of New 
 York was divided into three distinct parties. As 
 has already been remarked, a large portion of the 
 democratic party had become dissatisfied with the 
 public measures of De Witt Clinton, then Govern 
 or, and had seceded from the support of his ad 
 ministration. These seceders, with Mr. Van Bu 
 ren at their head, formed one party in the Legis 
 lature. A respectable portion of the old federal- 
 
128 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ists had also separated from the friends of Mr. 
 Clinton, and constituted a second faction in the 
 Legislature. The friends of Clinton, embracing 
 both republicans and federalists, constituted the 
 third division. 
 
 On the 2d of February 1819, the strength of 
 these respective parties was developed in ballot 
 ing for a Senator of the United States. John C. 
 Spencer, a near relative of Mr. Clinton and sup 
 ported by his interest, had sixty-one votes. Sam 
 uel Young, the candidate of the republican party 
 friendly to the national administration, received 
 fifty-six votes ; and Rufus King, the federal candi 
 date, who was at that time the actual incumbent 
 of the office, received thirty-eight votes. At sever 
 al successive ballotings, each party adhered to its 
 own candidate, and as neither had a majority of 
 the whole votes, no election was made during that 
 session. 
 
 The great personal worth of Mr. King, his patri 
 otic services as a member of the Convention which 
 framed the Federal Constitution, and subsequent 
 ly as Minister to England from the last year of 
 General Washington s administration to the third 
 year of Mr. Jefferson s, and finally, his zealous and 
 honorable support of Governor Tompkins and of 
 the national administration, during the most gloomy 
 period of the war, had won for him the high re 
 spect and confidence of the democratic party. 
 After the unsuccessful attempt to elect a Senator, 
 in 1819, Col. Young declined being any longer a 
 candidate. The attention of his political friends 
 
MARTIN VAX BUREX. 129 
 
 was then directed to Mr. King, whom they were 
 strongly disposed to support, provided it could be 
 done without suspicion of an improper coalition 
 with his federal friends, and without hazarding the 
 prospect of a democratic ascendency in the Le 
 gislature. 
 
 In December 1819, a pamphlet entitled " Con 
 siderations in favor of the appointment of Rufus 
 King, to the Senate of the United States," was ad 
 dressed to the republican members of the Legisla 
 ture of New York, by " one of their colleagues." 
 It was understood to be from the pen of Mr. Van 
 Buren ; and as it contains, not merely an exposi 
 tion of the reasons for his support of Mr. King* 
 but also discriminating views of the federal party* 
 and a distinct expression of the great rule of ac 
 tion which has guided his political life, to wit, a 
 scrupulous observance of the will of his constitu 
 ents, the following passages are extracted from it. 
 
 " To the Republican members, of the Legislature of the 
 Slate of New Yorh\ 
 
 " A fellow member, who knows, and is personally 
 known to most of you, who has, from his infancy, taken 
 a deep interest in the honor and prosperity of the party to 
 which you belong, and who, if he has ever erred in his labor 
 to promote its best interests, has erred from defect of judg 
 ment and not from a want of devotion to the cause, ven 
 tures to address you on the subject of the choice of Sena 
 tor to represent this state in the Legislature of the Union. 
 
 " The state of parties, the character and standing of 
 the most prominent candidate for your favor, the general 
 aspect of political affairs, and a variety of concurring cir 
 cumstances, render the subject one of conceded delicacy, 
 and not entirely free from difficulty. 
 
130 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " It is, notwithstanding, one on which it will be our 
 duty soon to act ; and all experience demonstrates, that 
 nothing is sj well calculated t j lead to a judicious exer 
 cise of power, as a free, frank, and unrestrained discus 
 sion of the subjects of it; and nothing, certainly, better 
 comports with the character, or is more congenial to the 
 feelings of freemen, than that those discussions should be 
 attended with all possible publicity. It is with those 
 convictions, and upon the impulse of such feelings, that 
 this examination is undertaken. 
 
 " When this question was presented to the Legislature 
 at their last session, the names of several of our friends, 
 who are rich in the esteem and confidence of republicans, 
 were spoken of, and one was actually voted for to fill the 
 existing vacancy. It is satisfactorily ascertained that all 
 ihose gentlemen, for reasons which it is unnecessary here 
 to state, but which are of a nature reflecting upon them 
 the highest honor, which evince an entire devotion to our 
 cause, and entitle them to a continuance of our best opin 
 ion, are unwilling to be regarded as candidates for the 
 station, and are desirous that our attention should be di 
 rected to another quarter. 
 
 "In consequence of the general understanding, which 
 has obtained as to the views of the gentlemen of whom I 
 have spoken, and from other causes, the only name which 
 has, for some time past, been held up to public view, and 
 occupied the public mind, as connected with the subject, 
 is that of RUFUS KING, in whose favor there has been 
 apparently, a spontaneous, and certainly, a very extensive 
 expression of public sentiment. 
 
 "Having learned from experience, to place almost im 
 plicit confidence in the general justice and ultimate wis 
 dom of the predominant sentiments of the republican 
 party, I have felt it my duty scrupulously to observe the 
 indication of these sentiments on this interesting subject; 
 and I am entirely satisfied that 1 am not mistaken when I 
 say, that the republicans of this state think and feel that 
 the support of Mr. King, at this time, would be an act 
 honorable to themselves, advantageous to the country, 
 and just to him , and that the only reluctance which they 
 have to a public avowal of their sentiments in his favor, 
 arises from the commendable apprehension that their de 
 termination to support him, under existing circumstances 
 might subject them to the suspicion of having become a 
 party to a political bargain, to one of those sinister com 
 mutations of principle for power, which they think com- 
 
MARTLX VAX BUREX. 131 
 
 mou with their adversaries, and against which they have 
 remonstrated with becoming spirit. 
 
 "I have no hesitation in declaring my sentiments to be 
 in unison with those which I helieve generally to prevail 
 among ihe republicans of the state; and I cannot but 
 avow my conviction that this apprehension, which evin 
 ces an honorable solicuuda to avoid even the imputation 
 of the errors of their opponents, is without adequate cause, 
 and can be fully obviated. 
 
 "Although the ru!e may, possibly, in some instances be 
 carried too Car, it is certainly true, that the conduct of pub 
 lic men, who were in active life, or in a situation to be 
 so, during the last war, has been, and will, unavoidably, 
 long continue to be the test of their claims to public con 
 fidence and support. 
 
 "The federalists of that day may justly, and, by the 
 historian of the time, will probably be divided into three 
 classes ; the first consisting of those who, influenced by 
 strong predilection for the enemy, and instigated by the 
 most envenomed malignity against the administration of 
 their own government, adopting rule or ruin," for their 
 motto, exercised an industry and perseverance worthy of 
 a better cause, to paralyze the arms of their own govern 
 ment, and encourage the hopes of the foe. 
 
 " The second class was composed of a very numerous 
 and respectable portion, who, inured to opposition, and 
 heated by collision, were poorly qualified to judge dis 
 passionately of the measures of government; who deem 
 ed the declaration of war impolitic in the then state of the 
 country, and were not as well satisfied, as subsequent re 
 flection has rendered them, of its justice and indispensa 
 ble necessity ; who were deceived, too, by appearances, 
 and by the bold and confident denunciations of their lea 
 ders of the first class, into a belief that their own govern 
 ment was partial to France and averse to peace with Bri 
 tain, and who from the causes 1 have enumerated, aided 
 by that strong desire to supplant their political opponents, 
 which is common to all parlies, were induced to make all 
 the opposition to government which they lawfully could, 
 within the pale of the constitution. 
 
 "In the third class, are included all those who. enter 
 taining a correct sense of their country s rights, a lively 
 sensibility for her wrongs, and a suitable spirit to defend 
 the former, and redress the latter, rose superior to the pre 
 judices and passions of those with whom they once act- 
 
132 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ed, and throwing down the weapons of parly warfare, 
 enrolled themselves under the banners of their country. 
 
 "Those whom I have first designated, displayed their 
 principles, and gave earnest of their designs, by assisting 
 a t, or abetting, the ever memorable convention at Hart 
 ford, and tho?e preceding efforts of factious opposition, 
 which were connected with it. The rising indignation of 
 the American people, however, retarded the execution of 
 their designs until peace put an end to their prosecution. 
 Their labors led to the same results with those of their 
 prototypes of the revolution ; and as their motives were 
 less [jure, and their conduct less excusable, they have 
 reaped a more abundant harvest of public obloquy and 
 disgrace. 
 
 " Many of those included in the second class, whatever 
 may have been the extent of their delusion at the moment, 
 and however strong the infatuation by which they were 
 blinded, would, at all times, have shrunk from the aban 
 donment of the acknowledged interests of their country, 
 and have, subsequently, embraced every opportunity to 
 testify their devotion to the public interest. There is, 
 moreover, good reason to believe, that they will all, in 
 clue season, be found to have embarked in trie same cause 
 with the republicans of the state, and of the Union. Nor 
 have we failed, and, I hope, we never shall fail, in be 
 coming liberality of sentiment, towards that portion of 
 our fellow citizens, or in exercising that respectful defer 
 ence for the freedom of opinion, which should ever char 
 acterize the conduct of men. who, actuated by pure mo 
 tives themselves, are sensible of "the safety with Avhich 
 error of opinion may be tolerated when reason is left free 
 lo combat it. 
 
 " As to the merits of that description of federalists, who 
 are embraced in the third class, there has not been, nor 
 can there ever be a diversity of opinion among us. If 
 we look back to that period which, a second time, tried 
 men s souls, as the proudest of our lives, they also have 
 reason to exult in the recollection of the parts they re 
 spectively acted in those interesting scenes. 
 
 "It is true, they have not the merit of advising to the 
 commencement of the war. a war by which the fame, the 
 honor, the true interests of our common country, have 
 been so much advanced ; but that circumstances alone 
 ought not to impair their claims to the respect and confi 
 dence of their fellow citizens. 
 
 It was fully compensated by the alacrity with which 
 
MARTIN VAN BUKEN. 133 
 
 they lent their aid to an administration which had so re 
 cently been the object of their warmest opposition, the 
 moment they found the question to be between their own 
 country and a foreign foe. They acted, as it had been 
 fondly hoped the whole American people would have 
 acted: nor were the administrations of the General and 
 state Governments, at the close of the war, backward in 
 bestowing the proudest testimonials of their approbation 
 and respect, on those whose conduct had been thus meri 
 torious. 
 
 " It is true, that, in so doing, they have in some instan 
 ces been deceived and disappointed, in selecting, for high 
 public stations, men who have not that stamina of char 
 acter they were supposed to possess ; but who rendered 
 giddy by their sudden elevation, and forgetful of the sour 
 ces of that power by which they ascended, will soon fall, 
 with the master spirit in whose legion they are enrolled, 
 * never to rise again. 
 
 " These are circumstances, however, which can, at 
 most, produce a transient regret, for the folly and weak 
 ness of these infatuated men. Such consequences are 
 not always to be avoided ; but they are susceptible of ea 
 sy and prompt correction. They do not tend, in the least, 
 to impair the high credit which is justly due to the repub 
 licans of the state and Union, for the course they adopted 
 in regard to the persons now in question. That course 
 had for its object, not the particular benefit of these indi 
 viduals only ; but was meant to exemplify the general 
 justice of our policy to them, and to show the rest of our 
 countrymen that whilst we loudly and inexorably con 
 demned the remissness of a portion of our fellow citizens, 
 in discharging the great duties they ow r ed to their coun 
 try, we dealt out justice with an even hand, and were as 
 ready to applaud as to condemn. 
 
 " There has been, however, one excepiion in this liber 
 al policy, and it is an exception of no ordinary character, 
 It exists in the person of Rufus King. 
 
 " The dark cloud which overspread our political horizon, 
 in the fall of 1814, struck with dismay and terror, some 
 of the firmest of our patriots. The disasters which had 
 befallen us, the difficulties which beset, and the dangers 
 which threatened our country from every quarter, have 
 made impressions too durable to be soon effaced. The 
 causes which jeopardize, and the exertions which pre 
 serve the liberties of a nation, can never, while she is 
 worthy of their enjoyment, cease lo be a subject of the 
 12 
 
134 THE LIFE OF 
 
 keenest solicitude, and most grateful recollection of her 
 sons. These memorable events will long continue to oc 
 cupy the minds, and employ the pens, of our ablest and 
 best men. 
 
 "While enjoying a season of peace to which the na 
 tions of Europe are strangers ; while advancing in wealth, 
 population and grandeur, with a rapidity without a paral 
 lel in the history of civilized man ; while our individual 
 happiness and prosperity kept pace with that of our be 
 loved country, and all combined to render us the envy and 
 admiration of the world ; in those halcyon days, when we 
 knew war but by its distant echo, and the advantages our 
 country derived from the sanguinary conflicts of Europe, 
 we felt that our country was not only strong in its physi 
 cal force, but inexhaustible in its resources, and safe in 
 the patriotic devotion of all its citizens. 
 
 " The events of that memorable period awoke us, how 
 ever, from those flattering dreams, and dissipated those 
 dangerous delusions. When we expected to have found 
 ourselves united, we were a divided people ; when the 
 exigencies of the country demanded all her resources, 
 both of men and money, her public coffers were kept emp 
 ty and her armies unrecruited, by the ruthless ettbrts of 
 faction. 
 
 " At this momentous crisis, which applied the touch 
 stone to the hearis of men, when many of the stoutest 
 were appalled and the weak despaired of the republic, 
 Mr. King was neither idle nor dismayed. His love of 
 country dispelled his attachments to party. In terms of 
 the warmest solicitude and in strains of the most impassion 
 ed eloquence, he remonstrated in his correspondence with 
 the leaders of the opposition in this state and in the east, 
 on the folly, the madness, and the mischief, of their course; 
 he contributed largely of his means to the loans of gov 
 ernment ; he infused confidence into the desponding, and 
 labored to divest the timid of their fears; he sought Go 
 vernor Tompkins, to whom, from the warmth of his de 
 votion to his country s cause, and from the plenitude of 
 his responsibility rather than of his powers, every eye was 
 directed, and to him Mr. King communicated the patriotic 
 ardor with which he was himself animated. 
 
 "The purport and object of his interesting interview 
 with the Governor, is thus described by the latter : Ven 
 erable and patriotic citizens, such as Col. Rutgers, Col. 
 Willet, Gov. Wolcott, Mr. King and others, animated 
 me to the greatest efforts ; the latter gentleman, in an in- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 135 
 
 terview with me, was peculiarly impressive he said 
 that the time had arrived when every good citizen was 
 bound to put his all at the requisition of government that 
 he was ready to do this ; that the people of the state of 
 New York would and must hold me personally responsi 
 ble for its safety. I acquainted him with the difficulties 
 under which I had struggled for the two preceding years, 
 the various instances in which I had been already compel 
 led to act without law or legislative indemnity, and urged, 
 that if I should once more exert myself to meet all the 
 emergencies and pecuniary difficulties with which we 
 were pressed, I must inevitably ruin myself. Well, sir, 
 (added he, with that enthusiasm which genius lends to 
 patriotism,) what is the ruin of an individual compared 
 with the safety of the republic ? If you are ruined, you 
 will have the consolation of enjoying the gratitude of 
 your fellow citizens ; but you must trust to the magna 
 nimity and justice of your country, you must transcend 
 the law, you must save this city and state from the dan 
 ger with which they are menaced, you must ruin yourself 
 if it becomes necessary, and I pledge you my honor that I 
 will support you in whatever you do. Having done all 
 in his power to induce to exertions at home, Mr. King re 
 paired to his post in the Senate of the United States, and 
 in that body zealously supported the prominent measures 
 of the administration to sustain the country in the severe 
 struggle in which she was engaged. He embraced every 
 suitable opportunity to keep Governor Tompkins, (with 
 whom he maintained a regular correspondence,) advised 
 of every fact and circumstance w^hich might be supposed 
 to have a bearing on the conduct of the war, its prosecu 
 tion by the enemy, and the probability of its continuance 
 or termination. 
 
 " The advantages which resulted from the part which 
 Mr. King then took, were by no means inconsiderable ; it 
 served to encourage Governor Tompkins to persevere in 
 his exertions, exertions which redounded so much to the 
 honor of the state, and so essentially advanced the inter 
 ests of the nation. It served to induce the corporation of 
 New York, and some of the banks, who were then in the 
 adverse interest, to comply with requests of Governor 
 Tompkins, and make their respective loans to the gov 
 ernment, on receiving his private responsibility, and pub 
 lic securities, for their repayment. It served, moreover, 
 in some degree to retard the unwearied efforts of the oppo 
 sition, by developing their motives, and bringing shame 
 on their measures. 
 
136 THE LIFE 1 OF 
 
 " Such was the conduct of Mr. King, in the times of 
 which 1 have spoken, and such are his first claims on re 
 publican confidence and support. I know nothing of the 
 republican character, nothing of the views and sentiments 
 of men, with whom I have been so closely allied, if a 
 consideration of the facts and circumstances I have detail 
 ed, has not already led to a spontaneous and united wish 
 to support Mr. King for the Senate, if that support can be 
 given without subjecting them to the suspicions they so 
 justly deprecate. That it can, I hope to demonstrate ; 
 but before I do so, I must solicit a farther continuance of 
 your indulgence, whilst I respectfully submit to your con 
 sideration, additional reasons, why his appointment, at 
 this time, would be politic and just ; and whilst, too, I ob 
 viate some of the objections which honest men may ap 
 prehend, and which will, doubtless, be suggested by fac 
 tion. 
 
 " His talents, his integrity, and fitness for the station, 
 are not questioned. There are, however, circumstances 
 in his life and character, so intimately connected with 
 this question, as to entitle them to particular considera 
 tion and remark. 
 
 " The struggle which gave birth to our nation, must ev 
 er be regarded as one of the most important and interest 
 ing eras the world has ever witnessed. 
 
 " History records no event which called into action a 
 race of statesmen, equal in all the splendid virtues which 
 adorn and give celebrity to the human character ; and it 
 is a fact, honorable to our nature, that of the long list of 
 patriots and sages, who, at the hazard of all that was 
 dear to man, signed the Declaration of Independence, and 
 of those who framed the great charter of our liberties, 
 there has not been one who, in after life, has fallen from 
 the eminence to which, by his connection with those 
 events, he was raised ; or has in the least impaired the 
 character he thus acquired. Those whom the ravages of 
 time have yet spared to their country, are, every where, 
 honored and respected ; and those whose deaths we de 
 plore, who are now numbered with the spirits of just 
 men made perfect, have descended to the tomb, accompa 
 nied by a Nation s tears, and blessed with a Nation s grati 
 tude. 
 
 " It is, certainly, true, that in the various contests for 
 power, which are past, revolutionary merit has not al 
 ways commanded that deference, and received that sup 
 port, which might have been reasonably expected, and 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. l#7 
 
 perhaps justly claimed. It is not my intention to call in 
 question the propriety of the course which has at various 
 times, been pursued in regard to them. There, doubtless, 
 have been occasions when the preferences which have 
 been given to others, were both just and proper; but it 
 has always been a favorite sentiment of my heart, that, 
 all other things equal, the merit of which I am speaking, 
 ought to give a decided preference to its possessor. I can 
 not but think that this sentiment is common to us all, and 
 that the desire to testify our gratitude, by availing our 
 selves of the experience and fidelity of the men of the revo 
 lution, as far as it can be done with safety and with honor, 
 is as universal as it is just. 
 
 "Mr. King not only took an active part in the closing 
 scenes of the revolution, but he was a member of the 
 convention which framed the constitution of our General 
 Government, and one of the committee to whom the final 
 draft of it was referred. 
 
 "As early as the year 1796, Mr. King was appointed, 
 by General Washington, minister to the court of St. 
 James. He represented our government at that court 
 during the last year of that truly great and good man s 
 administration, and throughout that of Mr. Adams ; and 
 such was his understanding of, and his attention to, the 
 great and leading interests of the country, that notwith 
 standing the party violence of the times, he was continu 
 ed by the illustrious head and founder of our party, Mr. 
 Jefferson, for the first two years of his administration, and 
 until Mr. King solicited his own recall. With the ex 
 ception of a single case, growing out of individual con 
 cerns, and of limited operation, the merits of which are 
 before the public, and have been amply discussed, the 
 great duties of his station were discharged in a manner 
 highly satisfactory to all classes of his fellow citizens. I 
 know well the fears w r hich existed in the minds of many 
 honest men in the country, that his long residence in 
 England, had impressed him with undue partialities for 
 that nation ; a belief which, doubtless, derived much 
 force from the mutual crimination and recrimination, of 
 French influence, and British influence, common to 
 the times, and, in a great degree, springing from the over 
 heated agitations of party. I claim no exemption from 
 their influence ; but whatever may have been the feelings 
 or prejudices of that early period, his recent and splendid 
 exertions in the Senate of the United States, to improve 
 our navigation laws, and to protect our commercial rights 
 12* 
 
138 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and interests, against the encroachments of the British 
 government ; the success which has attended those. exer- 
 tions ; the wisdom which was displayed in their adoption, 
 and the strong interest they have excited in Grcat w Brit 
 ain ; the patriotic course he pursued in our recent contest 
 with that power ; the general tenor of his political con 
 duct for the last five years, and the fact, that he has se 
 cured, and enjoys, the full confidence of the men who 
 compose the present administration of the general gov 
 ernment^ and who have had the best possible opportunity 
 to judge of his motives and his conduct, and in whose in 
 tegrity and discernment we may safely repose ; these, 
 together with other circumstances, have satisfied me, that 
 the unfavorable impressions which, in that respect, in 
 common with the great body of the republicans of the 
 state, I have heretofore indulged against him, were unjust 
 and unfounded, and as such, I cheerfully dismiss them. 
 
 " The great advantage which would, probably, be de 
 rived to the state and the Union, from the appointment of 
 a statesman, who ; to splendid talents, adds such collateral 
 advantages, and whose views are in unison with those of 
 the General Government, must be obvious to you, and 
 cannot fail to receive at your hands, all the weight to 
 which they are so justly entitled. 
 
 " I have deplored the violence of party, and lamented 
 the injurious consequences which have resulted from its 
 indulgence. It is possible that I am not entirely free 
 from the infirmity I condemn, and I fear that what I am 
 about to state, may tend to impress that belief. I know, 
 however, of but one true course in such matters, and that 
 is, to avow, with frankness, sentiments which are enter 
 tained with sincerity, and to trust to their justice for their 
 success." 
 
 The writer then proceeds to say that, if he had 
 not reason to believe Mr. King to be decidedly 
 with the republican party, in their opposition to 
 Mr. Clinton, he should promptly and zealously op 
 pose his appointment ; and that the want of clear 
 information on this point, and also with respect to 
 the former election of Mr. King had occasioned 
 some embarrassment in regard to his support, by 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 139 
 
 the democratic party, the preceding winter. He 
 then adds : 
 
 "Under these circumstances, we selected one of our 
 old and tried friends as the object of our support, and 
 thereby abstained from a course, as to which we had not 
 the necessary information to enable us to act with safety 
 to ourselves and justice to our constituents. 
 
 " The state of parties, too, rendered it reasonably cer 
 tain, that without the acquiescence of our friends, there 
 would be no choice, and the situation of things admitted 
 of a continuance of the vacancy, without great public 
 prejudice, until the ensuing session. Thus an opportuni 
 ty was afforded to the republican members, not only to 
 defer a final decision on the question, until the wishes of 
 the people could be known on the subject, (at all times 
 an object of solicitude with them, a sentiment just and 
 proper in itself, and one which it is hoped they will al 
 ways revere, notwithstanding the jeers of the political 
 upstarts of the day,) but also to wait for a subsequent de 
 velopment which would either confirm their doubts or 
 remove the cause of them." 
 
 " A few words more, on the only remaining subject 
 which I have proposed to examine, and I close an appeal 
 which has already been extended farther than was con 
 templated, or may, perhaps, be proper. It is certainly 
 very extensively believed, that our legislative halls have 
 in repeated instances been made the theatres of the most 
 exceptionable and unprincipled political bargains and 
 coalitions ; of coalitions in which men acted, not from the 
 honest dictates of their consciences and with a single eye 
 to the public interests, but from the unworthy motives of 
 personal aggrandizement, not only disconnected with the 
 public good, but in many instances in direct hostility 
 against it. It is equally trup, that in proportion as those 
 charges have been credited abroad, the character of our 
 state has sunk in the estimation of our sister states. It is 
 not my intention, at this time, to enter into an investiga 
 tion of the truth of these charges. It will, doubtless, 
 50o?i become necessary to probe them, as well as other 
 transactions of a deeper cast, and still more injurious in 
 their effects upon our public character, to their inmost 
 recesses ; to separate the innocent from the guilty ; to 
 vindicate the great body of our citizens from the charge 
 
140 THE LIFP: OF 
 
 of participating in the profligacy of the few, and to give 
 rest to that perturbed spirit which now haunts the scenes 
 of former moral and political debaucheries to the end, 
 that this great and otherwise flourishing state, may no 
 longer be retarded in her march to that respectability and 
 influence, to which she is so eminently entitled. But of 
 this hereafter. 
 
 "It is, as I have already stated, apprehended by several 
 honest men, whose devotion to the republican cause, and 
 whose good opinion I hold in the highest regard, that the 
 support of Mr. King, at this time, might expose us to the 
 suspicion of being influenced in our determination, by the 
 single view of securing the co-operation of a sufficient 
 number of federal members to effect the various legisla 
 tive objects at the next session, for which parlies general 
 ly, as it is natural they should, feel considerable solici 
 tude. 
 
 " This is the matter fairly and plainly stated. Now, 
 strong as my desire is that we should confer on Mr. King 
 our support ; sensible as I am of the tendency of such a 
 measure, to repel and to put to shame the volumes of ca 
 lumny and scurrility which have been heaped on us, by 
 those who deceive themselves with the hopes of breaking 
 down the free spirit of a great party, and grateful as I 
 know it would be to the feelings of distinguished repub 
 licans in our sister states, still, if I believed there was 
 adequate cause for such apprehensions, / would on that 
 ground forego its adoption. For it is not so important 
 that we succeed soon, as it is that, when we do so, we 
 proceed in a manner the most unexceptionable. But I 
 know well that those fears are groundless. 
 
 " Our party, in the first place, is not liable to suspicions 
 of this kind. We have throughout sustained a character 
 which has, and will continue to exempt us from them. 
 We are not a personal party? We have no individu 
 als amongst us, who claim and exercise the right of stip 
 ulating for our acts, nothing is done for us, that is not 
 done by the will of the majority, and which is not well 
 understood to be in unison with the general sentiments, 
 and consonant to the wishes of the people. With a party 
 so organized, and thus acting, motives so justly depreca 
 ted can seldom, if ever, operate, and, of course, the sus 
 picion of their existence is not likely to arise." 
 
 Mr. King was elected at the following session of 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 141 
 
 the Legislature, (February 1S20,) by the unanimous 
 vote of the Senate, and with but three dissenting 
 votes in the house of Representatives. It will be 
 seen by the extracts, here given, that the support of 
 Mr. King was yielded on grounds in no way con 
 nected with the questions which had recently been 
 agitated, with regard to the admission of Missouri 
 into the Union. 
 
 There are few acts in the public life of any 
 statesman, more liberal and high-minded than Mr. 
 Van Buren s support of Mr. King ; yet few have 
 ever been assailed with greater violence and un 
 fairness. But the utmost efforts of his political op 
 ponents have never been able to attach the slight 
 est suspicion to his conduct, or to detect the feeblest 
 indication of indirect motives in the whole trans 
 action. No public or private document has ever 
 been adduced to show that the true reasons, and 
 the only reasons, for the course which was taken 
 by the republican members of the Legislature on 
 that occasion, were not contained in the pamphlet 
 whose substance is above given. An extract from 
 what purports to have been a private letter of Mr. 
 Van Buren to a political friend, has been laid be 
 fore the public. Whether this extract is authentic 
 or false is unknown to the present writer. But as 
 it is the only document, of any kind, which either 
 the public scrutiny or the private treachery of the 
 enemies of Mr. Van Buren has been able to ad 
 duce, it is here subjoined, and its consistency with 
 the views above taken is left without comment, ta 
 the judgment of the reader. 
 
142 THE LIFE OF 
 
 "I should sorely regret to find any flagging on the sub 
 ject of Mr. King. We are committed to his support. It 
 is both wise and honest; and we must have no fluttering 
 in our course. Mr. King s views towards us are honorable 
 and correct. The Missouri question conceals, so far as 
 he is concerned, no plot, and we shall give it a true direc 
 tion. You know what the feelings and views of our 
 friends were, when I saw you; and you know what we 
 then concluded to do. My considerations &c. and the 
 aspect of the Albany Argus, will show you that we have 
 entered on the work in earnest. We cannot, therefore, 
 look back. Let us not, then, have any halting. I will 
 put my head on its propriety." 
 
 In the winter of 1819-20, a public meeting of 
 the citizens of Albany was convened to express 
 their opinions on the extension of slavery beyond 
 the Mississippi. Mr. Van Buren has been censur 
 ed for the measures which resulted from this meet 
 ing. His connection with the whole transaction 
 will therefore be briefly stated. He had no agen 
 cy whatever, in commencing the original meeting 
 and did not attend it. The only step taken at that 
 meeting was, to appoint a committee to call a more 
 general convention of the citizens. His name 
 was placed on that committee in his absence, and 
 his permission was afterwards obtained to retain 
 it When the large meeting was held, Mr. Van 
 Buren was absent from Albany on professional 
 business. Sundry resolutions were adopted, and 
 a further committee appointed to prepare a me 
 morial to Congress. The memorial was immedi 
 ately reported to the meeting and adopted. Mr, 
 Van Buren s name had also been placed on this 
 latter committee, though he was not present ; but 
 DJI his return to the city, he declined signing the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 143 
 
 memorial or co-operating with the committee in 
 transmitting it to Congress ; as he disapproved of 
 the sentiments contained in the resolutions. His 
 refusal called forth a letter from Mr. Jones, by 
 whose agency his name had been placed on the 
 committee. The following is a copy of that letter 
 together with Mr. Van Buren s reply. 
 
 ALBANY, Jar. 19, 1820. 
 " To the Hon. M. Van Bur en : 
 
 "Sir: I am informed that you declined signing the res 
 olutions which were sent to Washington, upon the sub 
 ject of the Missouri Question, upon the ground that you 
 never authorized your name to be used as one of the com- 
 m.ttee on that occasion. 
 
 " Before any steps were taken on the subject, I called 
 upon you myself to learn if you was willing to be one of 
 that committee. You replied not; that you was so much 
 occupied that you could not attend to it I remarked that 
 there \vas enough to do the business, and that we only 
 wished for your name in answer to which you observed, 
 that you had no objection to our making use of your 
 name. It you have forgotten this conversation, Mr. Du- 
 er, who was present, will undoubtedly be able to refresh 
 your memory. I think that your refusal to sign your 
 name should have been grounded upon other reasons, than 
 want of authority to use it. 
 
 "You must be sensible, sir, that I care nothing about 
 this affair, any further, than that it places me in an un 
 pleasant situation ; and I presume, in justice to me, you 
 will retract the assertion, that you did not authorize the 
 use of your name. 
 
 " Respectfully yours. &c. 
 
 " HENRY T. JONES. 1 
 
 "P. S. I should call on you, but you are so occupied 
 that it is difficult to find you disengaged." 
 
 " Sir: You had my permission to use my name as a 
 committee to call a meeting of our citizens to express 
 their opinion on the Missouri Question, and the propriety 
 of your doing so has not been questioned by me. You 
 surely cannot suppose that the use of my name for that 
 purpose, imposed on me an obligation to sign whatever 
 memorial might be agreed upon by the meeting. Being 
 
144 LIFE OF MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 out of town when it was held, and having no hand in for 
 ming and adopting the memorial, 1 declined signing it. 
 My reasons for doing so, further than you are concerned 
 in calling the meeting, I presume it is not your mtrntion 
 to inquire into. 
 
 "Yours respectfully, 
 
 " M. V. BUREN. 
 "Jan. 20th, 1820. 
 "HENRY T. JONES, ESQ." 
 
 This is an accurate account of Mr. Van Buren s 
 whole connection with the meeting in Albany, and 
 cannot in any particular be impugned. It will re 
 quire no small degree of ingenuity to find, in his 
 part of the transaction, any ground of censure. 
 
 The attention of the Legislature of New York 
 was called to the question of admitting Missouri in 
 to the Union, with the right to hold slaves, in the 
 message of Governor Clinton, at the opening of 
 the session, in January 1820. An expression of 
 their opinion was earnestly recommended. In 
 compliance with this recommendation, the house of 
 Representatives adopted a resolution, instructing 
 their Senators and requesting the Representatives 
 of the state in Congress, " to oppose the admission 
 as a state in the Union, of any territory not com 
 prised within the original boundary of the United 
 States, without making the prohibition of slavery 
 therein, an indispensable condition of admission." 
 The Senate concurred in this resolution with 
 out division or debate, and among them Mr. 
 Van Buren ; though it was not brought before the 
 Legislature by his agency. Still he must be re 
 garded as having concurred, at that time, in the 
 sentiment of the resolution thus adopted by the 
 Legislature. 
 
CHAPTER X . 
 
 MR. VAN BCREN is elected a Senator of Lhe United 
 States. His participation in the Convention to 
 amend the Constitution of New York. Speech on 
 resting veto power in the Governor. On the length 
 of Governor s tenure of office. On prefixing a bill of 
 rights. On the elective franchise. Vote on admit 
 ting colored people to be electors. Speech on the ap 
 pointment of Justices of the Peace. On the re-organ 
 ization of the Supreme Court so as to eject the in 
 cumbents. 
 
 On the 6th day of February, 1821, Mr. Van 
 Buren was appointed, by the Legislature of New 
 York, a member of the Senate of the United 
 States. In the house of Representatives he re 
 ceived sixty-nine votes and Nathan Sanfordj^/fy- 
 tico ; in the Senate the majority for Mr. Van Bu 
 ren was eight. The Clintonians, together with the 
 federalists, voted for Mr. Sanford, an expression 
 of their confidence for which, it is believed, that 
 gentleman was not remarkably grateful. 
 13 
 
140 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Before attending Mr. Van Buren to this dignifi 
 ed theatre of action, it will be proper to examine 
 his exertions as a member of a public body in his 
 native state, charged with the most solemn and re 
 sponsible duties. This public body was a conven 
 tion to amend the Constitution of the state. 
 
 The constitution of the state of New York was 
 adopted in 1777, and received some amendment 
 in 1801. It was, however, disfigured by many 
 defects, especially with regard to the mode of ap 
 pointing to office, the revision exercised by a Coun 
 cil over the acts of the Legislature, and the limita 
 tions imposed upon the right of suffrage. These ob 
 noxious provisions became so apparent, during the 
 party collisions which preceded the year 1821, 
 that the Legislature in its session that year, provi 
 ded, by law, for the election of delegates to a con 
 vention for the revision of the constitution. The 
 measure was warmly advocated by Mr. Van Bu 
 ren, especially with reference to the extension of 
 the right of suffrage. 
 
 Accordingly, the convention was opened on the 
 28th day of August 1821. Mr. Van Buren, then 
 United States Senator elect, was, unexpectedly to 
 himself, returned as a member of the convention 
 by the republicans of Otsego County. The con 
 vention was not limited, either in the nature or ex 
 tent of its amendments, which however were only 
 to become a part of the constitution, by the subse 
 quent assent of the people. 
 
 Public expectation was highly raised with re 
 gard to the results of this convention, which em- 
 
MART1X VAN BUREN. 147 
 
 braced some of the most venerable, distinguished, 
 and active men in the state. It appeared to be 
 their duty, almost to fix anew, the principles of 
 government for a free people. The magnitude of 
 the changes finally proposed even exceeded all pre 
 vious anticipation. The executive, judicial, and le 
 gislative departments were all remodelled ; and the 
 appointing and revisory powers were placed in 
 new hands. Several important miscellaneous al 
 terations were made, and the right of suffrage very 
 greatly extended. 
 
 During the discussions which resulted in these 
 amendments, all the great interests of a free people 
 passed under review ; the principles of govern 
 ment were largely debated ; the political history 
 of the state was retraced, and the foundations of 
 its civil, religious, and social institutions underwent 
 examination. In short, the convention exercised 
 the right which had been entrusted to them by the 
 sovereign people, of offering to their acceptance a 
 constitution w r hich was to form the basis of their 
 government, and the great charter of their rights 
 and liberties. 
 
 The active agency of Mr. Van Buren in origi 
 nating this convention, avo\vedly for the extension 
 of popular rights ; his conspicuous station, as Sen 
 ator elect of the United States ; his prominence as 
 the leader of a great party ; his high reputation for 
 profound legal knowledge ; his political experience 
 and information ; and the confidence reposed in 
 his integrity and talents, conspired to fix public at 
 tention upon his conduct and to devolve upon him 
 a heavy responsibility. 
 
148 THE LIFE OK 
 
 It will be impossible to embody in the present 
 narrative, a complete account of his laborious ser 
 vices in this convention, or, at a subsequent period) 
 in the Senate of the United States. The writer 
 will, therefore, aim to indicate his leading meas 
 ures, and the part he took on all questions of im 
 portance, subjoining such extracts from his speech 
 es and propositions as seem to illustrate his views 
 of the general principles of political science, as 
 well as the reasons of his course in each important 
 matter. These extracts will enable the reader to 
 form an opinion of his discretion, candor and use 
 fulness, and of the manner in which he was accus 
 tomed to discuss questions of political importance. 
 
 They will, however, but imperfectly indicate the 
 real amount of his laborious participation in the 
 business of the convention. It will be impracti 
 cable to follow him through the tedious forms and 
 practical details, indispensable to the operations of 
 any regular organized deliberative body ; nor is it 
 possible to display his assiduous industry, thorough 
 research, and indefatigable efforts in the commit 
 tee-room. He never detained the convention with 
 speaking except when compelled by necessity, and 
 although, in that enlightened assembly, his experi 
 ence in public affairs and his unrivalled political in 
 fluence, gave him the foremost rank, his conduct 
 was rather distinguished for its moderation, dignity 
 and patriotism, than by any over-bearing exercise 
 of the power conferred by his favorable position, 
 The proceedings of the convention have been laid 
 before the public in a separate volume, and who- 
 
MARTIN VAN BURRN. 149 
 
 ever refers to it, will find the speeches of Mr. Van 
 Buren to be among the ablest it contains. The 
 clearness and comprehensiveness displayed in his 
 discussions of the great principles of government ; 
 the soundness, justice, and moderation of his views 
 of the important questions which arose in the con 
 vention, will not fail to impress the reader with the 
 most favorable opinion of his integrity and talent. 
 
 The business of the convention \vas brought 
 forward, by referring each important portion of 
 the constitution to a committee, \vith directions to 
 report the alterations and amendments it might 
 seem to them to require. That portion which re 
 lated to " the power of appointment to office, and 
 the tenure thereof," was referred to a committee 
 of seven, of w r hich Mr. Van Buren was chair 
 man. 
 
 The first occasion upon which Mr. Van Buren 
 expressed his views, at length, in the convention, 
 was upon a report of the committee on the revi 
 sory power, proposing to vest in the Governor, 
 the right to return a bill which had passed both 
 houses, and requiring it to be re-passed, in each 
 house, by a majority of two thirds, before it should 
 become a la\v. The provision was nearly in the 
 w r ords of that article of the constitution .of the 
 United States, which confers upon the President 
 the veto power. The exercise of that power, by 
 the President of the United States, on two or three 
 occasions of great interest, during the last six years, 
 has turned public attention to an examination of its 
 utility and the proper method of its exercise. 
 
150 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The views of Mr. Van Buren on this important 
 question deserve, therefore, particular attention ; 
 and the speech here subjoined, not only fully ex 
 plains these views, hut embraces an able discussion 
 of some of the most important principles of gov 
 ernment. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren said ; " I had flattered myself, Mr. 
 Chairman, that the Convention would have adopted the 
 revisory power proposed by the select committee, with 
 the same unanimity with which they determined, on 
 Tuesday, to expunge the thircTarticle of the constitution, 
 and to separate the judiciary from the Legislature. But 
 in that expectation [ have been disappointed. Notwith 
 standing the unanimous recommendation of the select 
 comoiittee, and the able manner in which it has been sup 
 ported, a powerful opposition to it appears to exist. A 
 proposition has been made by the gentleman from Dutch- 
 ess (Mr. Livingston) which from the respectability of the 
 source from whence it emanates, the precedents on which 
 it is founded, and the talents and character enlisted in its 
 support, is entitled to the highest consideration. I shall, 
 therefore, proceed to the discussion, with all the brevity 
 which the importance of the subject will admit, and all 
 the simplicity of which I am capable. 
 
 " In the course of that discussion, the first question for 
 our consideration, is, whether it is wiso and proper that a 
 restriction of any kind should be placed upon the legisla 
 tive power ? On that subject it would seem that little 
 doubt could remain. That a check of some kind is neces 
 sary, is a principle that has received the sanction, and been 
 confirmed by the experience of ages. A large majority of 
 the states iu the Union, in which, if the science of gov 
 ernment be not belter understood, its first principles are 
 certainly more faithfully regarded than in any other 
 country, have provided restrictions of this sort. In the 
 constitutions of the freest governments in Europe, the 
 same principle is adopted. It is conceded in both the 
 propositions before the committee. 
 
 " The one imposes the restriction by requiring two- 
 thirds of the Legislature to pass a bill which may have 
 been returned ; and the other, by requiring not only a ma 
 jority of the members present, but a majority of all the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 151 
 
 members elected. It would sccin, therefore, that on the 
 genera! principle that a restriction is proper, we are all 
 agreed ; and the question arises, is the amendment pro 
 posed by the gentleman from Dutchess more desirable, 
 and better adapted to perform the office intended, than the 
 proposition introduced by the committee? To arrive at a 
 just conclusion on this subject, it will be necessary care 
 fully to consider the design of such a check, and the ad 
 vantages which arc expected to result from it. Its object 
 is, first, to guard against hasty and improvident legisla 
 tion; but more especially, to protect the executive and ju 
 dicial departments from legislative encroachments. With 
 regard to the first of these objects the prevention of has-- 
 ry and improvident legislation the system of every free 
 government proceeds on the assumption that checks, for 
 that purpose, are wise, salutary, and proper. Hence the 
 division of all legislative bodies into distinct branches, 
 each with an absolute negative upon the other. The tal 
 ents, wisdom, and patriotism of the representatives could 
 be thrown into one branch, and the public money saved 
 by this procedure ; still experience demonstrates that such 
 a plan tends alike to the destruction of public liberty and 
 private rights. They adopted it in Pennsylvania, and it 
 is said to have received the approbation of the illustrious 
 Franklin ; but they found that one branch only, led to 
 pernicious effects. The system endured but fora season ; 
 and the necessity of different branches of their govern 
 ment, to act as mutual checks upon each other, was per 
 ceived, and the conviction was followed by an alteration 
 of their constitution. The first step, then, towards check 
 ing the wild career of legislation, is the organization of 
 two branches of the Legislature. Composed of different 
 materials, they mutually watch over the proceedings of 
 each other. And having the benefit of separate discus 
 sions, their measures receive a more thorough examina 
 tion, which uniformly leads to more favorable results. 
 But between these branches, as they are kindred bodies, 
 it might sometimes happen that the same feelings and 
 passions would prevail feelings and passions which might 
 lead to dangerous results. This rendered it necessary 3 to 
 establish a third branch, to revise the proceedings of the 
 two. But as this revisory power has generally been pla 
 ced in a small body, or a single hand, it is not vested with 
 an absolute, but merely with a qualified negative. And 
 our experience has proved that this third provision against 
 hasty and unadvised acts of the Legislature, has been sal- 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 utary and profitable. The people of this state have been 
 in the habit of looking at the proceedings of the Legisla 
 ture thus constituted, and they have been accustomed to 
 this revisory power. Their objections have never been 
 that this revisory power existed, or that it was distinct 
 from the Legislature ; but they do complain that it is pla 
 ced in improper hands ; in the hands of persons not di 
 rectly responsible to the people, and whose duty forbids 
 all connection with the Legislature. I am one of those 
 who fully believe in the force and efficacy of that objec 
 tion. 
 
 "The Council of revision was disposed of by the vote 
 of Tuesday, and I could have wished that all further dis 
 cussion on the subject of its merits or demerits had been 
 dispensed with ; but a different course has been pursued. 
 From the explanations of the chairman of the select com 
 mittee, the public would infer that we voted for the abo 
 lition of the Council of revision from feelings of delicacy 
 and tenderness to the judiciary and to shield them from 
 unjust calumny. Sir, my vote was not given from any 
 such motive. I will not vote for the abolition of any arti 
 cle of the constitution out of kindness to any individual. 
 I should be ashamed to have my vote go forth to my con 
 stituents upon any such grounds. The Council of re vis. 
 ion has not answered the purposes for which our fathers 
 intended it. This is the ground and motive upon which 
 my vote was given. I object to the Council, as being 
 composed of the judiciary, who are not directly responsi 
 ble to the people. I object to it, because it inevitably con 
 nects the judiciary those who, with pure hearts, and 
 sound heads, should preside in the sanctuaries of justice, 
 with the intrigues and collisions of party strife ; because 
 it tends to make our judges politicians, and because such 
 has been its practical effect. I am warranted by facts in 
 making this objection. If such had not been the case, I 
 should not have voted for expunging the third article of 
 the constitution. 
 
 " I highly esteem the honorable gentleman from Oneida, 
 (Judge Platt,) who yesterday thought it his duty to raise 
 a discussion upon the merits of the Council. I regret that 
 he has done so. [Judge Platt rose and stated, that that 
 part of the subject was distinctly introduced by the gen 
 tleman from Dutchess, (Mr. Livingston) and that he felt 
 it his duty to reply. It was that gentleman who had giv 
 en this direction to the debate.] MR. VAN BUREN. I was 
 not aware of that fact, but it in no sense changes the 
 
MARTLV VAN BUREN. 153 
 
 character of what I feel it my duty to say. I\o man on 
 this floor is more averse to a discussion on that subject 
 than I am ; but since the example has been set I shall 
 proceed. I respect the members of the Council of revi 
 sion, and for their sakes, this debate should never have 
 been introduced. It will become our duly to revise that 
 part of our constitution relating to the judiciary, and it is 
 of vital importance to its members, to preserve them free 
 from prejudice. 
 
 ; Sir, have I not assumed the true ground which occa 
 sioned the unanimous vote of Tuesday, for separating the 
 judiciary from the legislative department ? It needs but 
 a slight view tu show that the operations of" the Council 
 have been such as I have stated. On the subject I will 
 only call the attention of the committee to two instances. 
 The tirst, is that to which the gentleman from Dutchess 
 yesterday adverted. I ask the convention for a moment to 
 recur to that lamentable occasion, when the high power 
 of prorogation was exercised by ths executive, to check 
 the torrent of corruption, which had set in upon the Le 
 gislature, axid which proved the wisdom and necessity of 
 some constitutional check.* This proving ineffectual 
 every eye was turned to the Council of revision, to arrest 
 the progress of the measure about to be adopted. What 
 was their course ? The bill which had occasioned that 
 strong exercise of power, was passed by the Council, al 
 though there were not wanting in that Council, men who 
 were alive to the interests and the honor of the state ; the 
 language of the majority was, that the bill upon its face, 
 contained no provision contrary to the constitution, and 
 that the Legislature were the judges of its expediency. 
 
 "Pursue the subject farther. The scenes which passed 
 within these walls, during the darkest period of the late 
 war, cannot be forgotten. It is well known that the two 
 branches of the Legislature were divided ; while in the 
 one house we were exerting ourselves to provide for the 
 defence of the country, the other house were preparing 
 impeachments against the executive for appropriating 
 money without law, for the defence of the state. But the 
 effort was unavailing. An election intervened, and the 
 people, with honorable fidelity to the best interests of 
 
 *This allusion is to the prorogation of the Legislature by Gov. 
 Tompkins in 1812, to prevent tjie incorporation of the Bank ot 
 America. 
 
154 THE LIFE OF 
 
 their country, returned a Legislature ready and willing to- 
 apply the public resources tor the public defence. They 
 did so. They passed a variety of acts, called fcr by the 
 exigencies of our country. But from the Council of re 
 vision were fulminated objections to the passage of those 
 acts objections which were industriously circulated 
 throughout the state to foment the elements of faction. 
 Beyond all doubt, at that moment, was produced the sen 
 timent which has led to the unanimous vote to abolish the 
 Council. The Legislature had exerted themselves in the 
 public defence ; and the object of these objections was to 
 impress the public mind with a belief that there repre 
 sentatives were treading under foot the laws and constitu 
 tion of their country. The public voice on that occasion 
 was open and decided ; and it has ever since continued t& 
 set in a current wide and deep against the Council. ID 
 making these remarks, I disclaim all personal allusions to 
 the author of those objections. I entertain for him the 
 highest respect. As a judicial officer, he is entitled to 
 great consideration, and I should esteem his loss from the 
 situation which he fills, as a public calamity. 
 
 " Mr. Van Buren again repeated his regret that this 
 d rseussiion had been called forth, as the constitution of 
 our judiciary is to be reviewed. But he could D;ot con 
 sent, in abolishing the Council, to shed tears over its ru 
 ins, or pass an eulogy on is character. By doing this, 
 and by the course of some gentlemen s arguments, we are 
 mourning over our own acts, and preparing the public to 
 distrust our sincerity. We ourselves are uoderminiug 
 what we ourselves have done. 
 
 " To return to the argument That legislative bodies 
 are subject to passion, and sometimes to improper influ 
 ence is not to be denied.- Their acts are frequently so 
 detrimental to the public interest, that the united voice of 
 the people, calls for their repeal a striking proof, if proof 
 were necessary that legislators are but men, subject to 
 ajl the infirmities and frailties of our nature. The cases 
 cited by the gentleman from Dutchess, (Mr. Talhnadge) 
 a.re strong and direct in point. They show, that the repre 
 sentatives of the people do sometimes err. They show 
 also the necessity of preserving a controlling power. 
 And what is the consequence of placing such a power, 
 upon the footing recommended, by the report of the com 
 mittee ? It may suspend for a time the operations of the 
 Legislature. It may prevent the passage of a bad law, 
 bn.t never can defeat the passage of a good one.. If a good 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 155 
 
 law be returned with objections, it will come before the 
 people, they will pronounce upon it, and return represen 
 tatives, who will insist upon its passage. If it be a bad 
 one, the revisory power will be justified; delay, there 
 fore, for the most part, will be the only consequence of 
 the check, and that will be followed, by all the benefits 
 of further discussion, and a full understanding of the sub 
 ject. But the advantages of such a power, are not con 
 fined to its exercise. I concur with my honorable friend 
 from Oneida, (Judge Platt) as to its silent effect. The ad 
 vantages arising from its silent and unseen operation, arc 
 doubtless greater than those arising from an exercise of 
 the power, A bare majority is not always an indication 
 of honesty, ct that a favorite measure is correct. Great 
 weight of character and powerful talents are often embod 
 ied in the minority. Many laws pass fey a bare laajord 
 fy ; but when there is a qualified negative upon the acts 
 of the Legislature, the gentlemen of the majority, aware 
 of this power, may be restrained from passing many im 
 proper bills. I have no doubt but considerations of this 
 kind have influenced the conduct of legislators for years 
 past. In every point of view, whether from our own ex 
 perience or the experience of other states, we discover 
 this liaV.lity of legislators to.ct hastily and inconsider 
 ately. The judgments of most reflecting men unite in 
 the expediency of some check like that proposed by the 
 committee ; and when it can be productive of no other 
 effect than to suspend the passage of a bill, and thereby 
 ^nable the people to express their will upon the subject, it 
 Is to me, sir, matter of surprise, that so much hostility 
 should be shown to the reports of the committee. 
 
 ;< But, sir, the prevention of party legislation is not the 
 only, nor ihe most important reason, why we are dispos- 
 ed to give this power to the executive. Our government 
 is divided into separate and distinct departments the ex 
 ecutive, judicial, and legislative. And it is indispensable 
 to the preservation of the system that each of these de 
 partments should be preserved in its proper sphere from 
 the encroachments of the others. It is objected, however, 
 lo vesting the power in the hands of a single individual, 
 on account of the liability of man to the abuse of power, 
 But an instance of the abuse of power thus confided, has 
 never existed, where it did not defeat the very object for 
 which it was abused. 
 
 "Distinct branches are not only necessary to the exist 
 ence of government, but when you have prescribed them. 
 
150 THE LIFE OF 
 
 it is necessary that you should make them in a great cfe- 
 grce, independent of each other. No government can be 
 so formed a> to malic them entirely separate ; but it ha& 
 been the study of the wisest and best men, to invent a 
 plan, by which they might be rendered as independent of 
 each other as the nature of government would admit. The 
 legislative department is by far the strongest, and is con 
 stantly inclined to encroach upon the weaker branches of 
 government, and upon individual rights. This arises 
 from a variety of causes. In the first place, the powers 
 of that department are more extensive and undefinable 
 than those of any other, which gives its members an exal 
 ted idea of their superiority. They are the representatives 
 of the people, from which circumstance, they think they 
 possess, and of right ought to possess, all the powers of 
 the people. This is natural and it is easy to imagine the 
 consequences that may follow. 
 
 " This is not allthey hold the purse strings of the 
 state; and every member of all the branches of the gov 
 ernment is dependent on them for his subsistence. You 
 have been told, and correctly told, that those who feed 
 men, and enjoy the privilege of dispensing the public 
 bounty, will in a greater or less decree influence and con 
 trol them. Is it unreasonable, or improbable, to suppose, 
 that power, thus constituted, should have a tendency to 
 exert itself, for purposes not congenial with the true" in 
 terests of the other branches of government? The gen 
 tleman from Duichess, (Mr. Tallmadge.) referred to seme 
 striking illustrations of the conduct of legislative bodies, 
 in this particular, which show that power thus vested is 
 too frequently abused. The case of Pennsylvania is en 
 titled to our serious consideration. In 1783 they provid 
 ed a board of censors to examine into the proceedings of 
 their Legislature. Those censors, though some of them 
 had taken part in the proceedings of that body for years, 
 pointed out and reported a long list of legislative infrac 
 tions of the constitution. In 1790, a Convention \vas cal 
 led, which formed a new constitution. That body, after 
 full and deliberate discussion, inserted in their constitu 
 tion that very article which has been reported as worthy 
 of a place in ours. That Convention was composed of the 
 wisest and best men in the state, many of whom assisted 
 in forming the constitution of the United States. It con 
 tained Miillin, M Kean, Addison, Gallatin, and a long 
 list of other statesmen, distinguished for their talents, 
 wisdom, and experience. The people of Pennsylvania, 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 157 
 
 3.1 the adoption of their first constitution, did not believe 
 in the principle for which I am contending; but experi 
 ence soon taught them that they were wrong. The check 
 proposed in 1790 was adopted, and the Legislature has 
 since been kept in the line of their duty. In my view, 
 the conduct of Pennsylvania affords the strongest testi 
 mony in favor of adopting the course recommended by 
 the committee ; and I cannot but believe, that if the pro 
 position of the gentleman from Dutchess, (Mr. Livings 
 ton) should prevail, New York, would experience the 
 same evils, and be compelled to resort to the same meas 
 ures, to get rid of the experiment. 
 
 " The gentleman from Dutchess, (Mr. Livingston) has 
 referred us to Virginia, and descanted on the number, 
 wisdom, and integrity of their statesmen. Mr* Van Bu- 
 ren would assent cheerfully to all he had said upon that 
 point. In that number was included the political father 
 of the state, Mr. Jefferson. No man had more experience 
 ia the government of that state ; no one had more fear 
 lessly pointed out the defects of their constitution. Un 
 fortunately, it imposes no check upon the legislative pow 
 er; their Governor is elected by the Legislature, and of 
 course is but a creature of that body. And, sir, (said Mr. 
 Van Buren) at this moment it is a source of regret to the 
 best statesmen of Virginia, that they have no check. Mr, 
 Jefferson, in his Notes on Virginia, expresses himself 
 thus : 
 
 " All the powers of government, legislative, executive, 
 and judiciary, result to the legislative body. The con 
 centrating these in the same hands is precisely the defini 
 tion of despotic government. It will be no alleviation 
 that these powers will be exercised by a plurality of hands, 
 and not by a single one. One hundred and seventy-three 
 despots would surely be as oppressive as one. Let those 
 who doubt it turn their eyes on the republic of Venice. 
 As little will it avail us that they are chosen by ourselves. 
 An elective despotism was not the government we fought 
 for ; but one which should not only be founded on free 
 principles, but in which the powers of government should 
 be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magis 
 tracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, 
 without being effectually checked and restrained by the 
 others. For this reason, that Convention which passed 
 the ordinance of government, laid its foundation on this 
 
 14 
 
158 THE LIFE OF 
 
 basis, lhal the legislative, executive, and judiciary de 
 partments should be separate and distinct, so that no per 
 son should exercise the powers of more than one of them 
 at the same time. But no barrier was provided between 
 these several powers. The judiciary and executive 
 members were left dependent on the legislative for their 
 subsistence in office, and some of them for their continu 
 ance in it. If therefore the Legislature assume executive- 
 and judiciary powers, no opposition is likely to be made ; 
 nor if made can be effectual ; because in that case, they 
 may put their proceedings into the form of an act of as 
 sembly, which will render them obligatory on the other 
 branches. They have accordingly -in many instances de 
 cided rights which shonld have been left to judiciary 
 controversy ; and the direction of the executive, during 
 the whole time of their session^ is becoming habitual and 
 familiar* 
 
 " Here, sir, we have the opinion and the complaints of 
 this great man. The Legislature had usurped the power 
 of aH the departments. The people had declared that 
 those departments should be independent, but they deceiv 
 ed themselves by trusting to parchment regulations. And 
 the gentleman from Dutchess, (Mr. Livingston) wishes 
 us to go on, and in the same manner invest the Legisla 
 ture with all the powers of the people. 
 
 "But this is not all. That there may be no mistake in- 
 the views of this distinguished man, I think it proper to 
 state, that in 1783, it was contemplated to call a Conven 
 tion to amend their constitution. Mr. Jefferson, with pa 
 ternal solicitude for the interests of the state, framed a 
 constitution, to be submitted to that body. It may be 
 found in the appendix to the Notes on Virginia. It con 
 tains a provision, declaring that the Governor, two Coun 
 cilors of the state, and a Judge of each of the Superior 
 Courts, should be a council to revise all bills passed by 
 the Legislature, and that a bill when returned by the 
 Council should not become a law unless two-thirds of 
 each house should concur in its passage. Here, then, we 
 have his deliberate opinion, that an efficient check is ne 
 cessary upon the legislative power. And I have no 
 doubt that should there ever be a Convention in Virginia 
 to revise their constitution, such a provision would be one 
 of the first to be adopted. But it is undeniably true, and 
 so admitted by Mr. Jefferson, that Virginia is emphatical- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 159 
 
 ly the land of steady habits, and although there are many 
 detects acknowledged to exist in their constitution, still 
 their reluctance to introduce a change, has hitherto pre~ 
 vented the call of a Convention. 
 
 ; The gentleman from Westchesier, (Mr. Jay) has pre 
 sented a long list of instances, where the Legislature have 
 encroached upon the executive, by concurrent resolutions; 
 a striking proof of the truth of ray remarks. And, sir, if 
 you provide no check, the Legislature can go on to strip 
 the executive of all his power. Then is it not necessary, 
 for the well being of government, to vest a salutary check 
 in some other department I A contrary doctrine, I am 
 satisfied, is dangerous and absurd. In the constitution of 
 the United Stales, and in several of the other states, you 
 have a provision precisely similar to that for which we 
 are now contending. Although amendments to the feder 
 al constitution have been proposed from almost every 
 part of the Union, still against that provision we have 
 never heard a murmur. That provision was avowedly 
 copied from the constitution of Massachusetts, where its 
 utility has never been questioned. Maine lived under it 
 for nearly forty years, and on being separated into an in 
 dependent state, has adopted the same provision. The 
 iate Convention in Massachusetts affords one of the strong 
 est evidences that a patriotic people can give, in favor of 
 this provision. This Convention was composed of their 
 wisest and best men, selected without reference to party, 
 and embracing almost the whole body of the talents of 
 that state. They were two months in session, and in the 
 course of all their debates, not a word of complaint was 
 uttered against this part of the constitution. 
 
 " Sir, such is the superior force and influence of legisla 
 tive power such is the reverence and regard with which . 
 it is looked up to, that no man in the community will have 
 ihe temerity, on ordinary occasions, to resist its acts, or 
 check its proceedings. I cannot illustrate this position 
 more strongly than by a reference to the constitution of 
 England. There the executive is a branch of the Legis 
 lature, and has an absolute negative. Surrounded as he 
 is with prerogative, and placed far beyond the reach of 
 the people, yet since the year 1692, no objection has been 
 made by the king of Great Britain to any bill presented 
 for his approbation. Rather than produce the excitement 
 and irritation which, even there, would result from the 
 rejection of a bill passed by the parliament, he has resorted 
 to means which have degraded the government, and dis- 
 
160 THE LIFE OF 
 
 honored the nation, to prevent the passage of bills which 
 he should feel it his duty to reject. In the declaration of 
 independence, in the catalogue of wrongs under which 
 o.ur fathers had been suffering, one of the most prominent 
 was, that the king had exercised his prerogative, and had 
 refused his sanction to salutary laws. Gentlemen may 
 therefore rest satisfied, that very little danger is to be ap 
 prehended on this subject. There is, besides, a proposi 
 tion to reduce the term of service of the Governor, from 
 three years to one. Is it possible, then, that when thus 
 made immediately responsible to the people, there can 
 exist any well founded causes of alarm ? 
 
 " I hope, sir, we shall adopt the report of the committee, 
 for these, and many other reasons which I shall not tire 
 the patience of the committee by detailing. It is a com 
 mon remark, that in alterations in government, people are 
 apt to go from one extreme to the other. And, sir, are 
 not gentlemen now going upon extremes? We have 
 abolished the Council of revision, and weakened the re 
 visory power, and by the amendment offered by the gen 
 tleman from Dutchess, (Mr. Livingston) we destroy it al 
 together. True, the Governor can return a bill with his 
 objections. But what will it avail? A bare majority 
 can pass the bill notwithstanding, and as his reasons will 
 probably be those which the Legislature have already con 
 sidered, can it be believed, sir, that his recommendation 
 will have any effect? Can it be supposed for a moment 
 fchat the members of the Legislature would to-day record 
 their names on the journals in one way, and to-morrow 
 record them in a different way ? And will not the Gov 
 ernor be restrained from exercising that power, when he- 
 knows it is vain and idle? 
 
 " We have heretofore had the revisory power in the 
 hands of the judiciary and executive united ; and now,, 
 because the people call for its separation, shall we destroy 
 it altogether ? Shall we goto the other extreme, ana* 
 have no restriction whatever? I cannot perceive the ben 
 efits to result from such a course ; I am persuaded of its 
 impropriety. We have decided on abolishing the Coun 
 cil of revision, in a manner that will redound to our cre 
 dit ; and I had flattered myself from the promptness with 
 which that decision was made, that the passage of the 
 amendment would have followed without opposition. 
 Let us not agitate and excite the fears of the community. 
 They have expected an alteration of the legislative check, 
 but not an abandonment of the principle. A portion of 
 
x MARTIN VAN BUREN. 161 
 
 ilie people of this state, believe the Council of revision to 
 have been wisely instituted, and of great practical utility. 
 There are others, who think a change is necessary, and 
 that the judiciary should have no connection with the oth 
 er branches of government. Adopt the proposition of the 
 gentleman from Dutchess, and what will be the conse 
 quence ? You alarm those two great bodies of our citi 
 zens, and hazard the rejection of your proceedings. If 
 we would inspire the people with confidence in our acts 
 if we would ensure their approbation if we would ef 
 fect those wise and salutary amendments which the pub 
 lic voice and the public interest demand, we should be 
 ware of vibrating to extremes, and of introducing an in 
 novation so hazardous and unexpected, as that which we 
 are discussing."* 
 
 The article, as reported by the committee and 
 sustained by Mr. Van Buren, was finally adopted 
 into the constitution. 
 
 Analagous to the question involved in the above 
 article, was that which arose on the term for which 
 the Governor should be elected. A part of Mr. 
 Van Buren s remarks on this point were as follows : 
 
 " As we increase the power of the executive, we should 
 also increase the responsibility of the Governor. We 
 should bring him more frequently before the people. His 
 conflicts, if any, will not be with the Legislature. He 
 was rendered by the provision now proposed, utterly and 
 entirely independent of the Legislature. Of the people 
 he did not think he should be rendered so independent. 
 In the exercise of the veto, which will only take place on 
 important occasions, he will be supported, if he should 
 have acted manifestly for the public good. He had not 
 experienced the evils of triennial elections; but as we 
 had vastly increased the power of the Governor, a strong 
 desire is manifested to abridge his term, and in this senti 
 ment he concurred. But how abridge it ? We wish the 
 
 * Carter and Stone s Reports of the New York Convention, 
 page 70. 
 
1(52 THE LIFE OB 
 
 people to have an opportunity of testing their Governors 
 conduct, not by the feelings of temporary excitements, but 
 by that sober second thought, which is never wrong. Can 
 that be etfected if you abridge the term to one year ? No, 
 sir: it is necessary that his power exist long enough to 
 survive that temporary excitement, which a measure of 
 public importance must occasion, and to enable the peo 
 ple to detect the fallacy with which the acls of govern 
 ment may be veiled as to their real motives. Can a fail- 
 judgment of motives, or of the effect of measures, he made 
 in a few months ? No, sir even a term longer than three 
 years, must sometimes be necessary to enable us to judge 
 of the effect of measures. But we must not go into ex 
 tremes, or we shall rouse the jealousies of the people, in 
 weakening the responsibility to them, of their public offi 
 cers. Let us test the question by reason. You have a 
 state and population, whose concerns bear a strong analo 
 gy to the interests of the Union. Can a Governor, in a 
 term of one year, make himself acquainted with the in 
 terests, the wants, and condition of this great state ? 
 There was one remark he made with groat deference in 
 all the eastern states, the tenure of the chief magistrate is 
 for only one year; and the majority of this Convention 
 have imbibed their notions under those constitutions, and 
 naturally consider them wise. Others, who have lived 
 under the constitution of this state, have preferred, as ho 
 had been accustomed to do, the tenure of three years ; 
 and he asked, if there was not some respect, some comity 
 due, to those who have viewed this, among other provis 
 ions of our constitution, with reverence. For these rea 
 sons he hoped the blank would be filled with two years."* 
 
 On the 17th of September, Mr. Van Buren, as 
 chairman o,f the committee on the appointing pow 
 er, presented an elaborate report, the result of 
 great consideration and reflection on the part of 
 the committee. The principles of this report were 
 defended and explained by Mr. Van Buren on se 
 veral occasions, but as his remarks, on this subject 
 do not involve many important general views, they 
 
 * Debates in New York Convention, page 147. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 are not here inserted. The proposition of the 
 committee, with some modification, was finally 
 adopted. The Council of appointment was abol 
 ished ; the substitutes adopted, appear in the con 
 stitution of that state.* 
 
 On the proposition of prefixing to the constitu- 
 lion a bill of rights, Mr. Van Buren was averse to 
 it : "A bill of rights, Sir," said he " is a privilege, 
 according to the original signification of it: a con 
 cession, extorted from the king in favor of popular 
 liberty. But how does that apply here ?" He then 
 went into a history of the origin of bills of right in 
 England, and concluded by expressing a wish that, 
 as a bill of rights, this might not prevail ; but that 
 any provision in it, which might be deemed salu 
 tary, should be engrafted upon the constitution. 
 
 One of the principal objects of amending the 
 constitution was to extend the right of suffrage ; 
 and the leading discussions in the Convention re 
 lated to that topic. The committee to whom that 
 subject was referred^proposed a residence of six 
 months in thes tate, and having paid^taxes, or work 
 ed on the highways, or done military duty, as the 
 qualification of an elector. Judge Spencer pro 
 posed as an amendment, to require, as a qualifica 
 tion to vote for Senators, a freehold estate of the 
 value of two hundred and fifty dollars. Mr. Van 
 Buren strenuously opposed this amendment, and 
 the following extracts from his speech on this oc 
 casion, will show his general views with regard to 
 
 * See an able speech by Mr. Van Buren, explaining the report 
 of the committee, in the Debates of the Convention, page 296. 
 
)64 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the propriety of restricting the elective franchise to 
 freeholders. 
 
 " MR. Van Buren, said he was opposed to the amend 
 ment under consideration, offered by the gentleman from. 
 Albany, (Chief Justice Spencer;) and he would beg the 
 indulgence of the committee, for a short time, while he 
 should attempt to explain the reasons, which, in his opin 
 ion, required its rejection. The extreme importance 
 which the honorable mover had attached to the subject, 
 and the sombre and frightful picture which had been 
 drawn by his colleague, (the Chancellor,) of the alarming 
 consequences, which would result from the adoption of a 
 course, different from trie one recommended, rendered it a 
 duty, which those, who entertained a contrary opinion, 
 owed to themselves and their constituents, to explain the. 
 motives which governed them. If a stranger had heard 
 the discussions on this subject, and had been acquainted 
 with the character of our people, and the character and 
 standing of those, who find it their duty to oppose this 
 measure, he might well have supposed, that we were on 
 the point of prostrating with lawless violence, one of the 
 fairest and firmest pillars of the government, and of intro 
 ducing into the sanctuary of the constitution, a mob or a 
 rabble, violent and disorganizing, as were the Jacobins of 
 France ; and furious and visionary as the radicals of Eng 
 land, are, by some gentlemen, supposed to be. The hon 
 orable gentleman from Albany, (the Chancellor,) tells us, 
 that if we send the constitution to the people, without 
 the provision, contemplated by the proposition now under 
 consideration, it will meet with the scorn of the wise, and 
 be hailed with exultation by the vicious and the profli 
 gate. He entertained, he said, a high personal respect for 
 the mover of this amendment, and also for his learned 
 colleague, who had so eloquently and pathetically descri 
 bed to them the many evils and miseries which its rejec 
 tion would occasion ; he declared his entire conviction of 
 his sincerity in what he had uttered, his simplicity of 
 character, he had himself so feelingly described, his known 
 candor and purity of character would forbid any one to 
 doubt, that he spoke the sentiments of his heart. But be 
 lieving as he did, that those fears and apprehensions were 
 wholly without foundation, it could not be expected, that 
 he would suffer them to govern his conduct. 
 
 Permit me to ask, (said Mr. Van Buren) where are 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 165 
 
 the wise men to be found, who it is supposed would pas? 
 a censure so severe on our conduct 1 Did the honorable 
 crentleman allude to the wise men of the east? Through 
 out their dominions, not a constitution is to be found, con 
 taining in form or substance, the provision contemplated 
 bv the amendment. Did he allude to their descendants 
 in the west ? In Ohio, and partially in Illinois and in In 
 diana ? Their constitutions were in this particular as 
 ours would be, if this amendment was adopted. Did he 
 allude to those of the south? Tn none of their constitu 
 tions, nor in those of any state in the Union, (except 
 North Carolina.) was such a provisioft as that proposed by 
 the amendment to be found. In the constitution of the 
 Union, too, which has been in operation long enough to 
 test the correctness and soundness of its principles, there 
 was no excessive freehold representation. That constitu 
 tion was now the boast and pride of the American people, 
 and the admiration of the world. He presumed there 
 was not an individual in that committee, who would 
 question the sufficiency of the General Government, for 
 the protection of life, liberty and property. Under this 
 government, and the several state constitutions, the states 
 had been, and continued to be, rapidly advancing in pub 
 lic improvements, and the nation was in the full fruition 
 of the blessings of civil and religious liberty; everyone 
 was sittin^ quietly and safely under his own vine and fig 
 tree, and "every one enjoying, without molestation, the 
 fruits of his own labor and industry. 
 
 " It could not, therefore, fail to strike the mind of every 
 man, that the great alarm, which had been attempted to 
 be excited upon this subject, was entirely imaginary cer 
 tainly without adequate foundation. Why, then, he 
 would ask, had this appeal been made to the fears and ap 
 prehensions of the committee? 
 
 "In the grave and portentous deductions, which the 
 honorable gentleman, who supported the amendment, had 
 drawn from the rejection of the amendment under con 
 sideration, the question raised by it, had been in a great 
 decree, disregarded, if not entirely lost sight of. 1 ne 
 committee had been entertained with the most frightful 
 conjectures, on subjects, if not wholly, certainly in a great 
 decree, unconnected with the object of the amendment 
 They had been told of the present bad character, and 
 worse propensities of a great portion of their present popu 
 lationthe demoralizing effects of great manufacturm 
 establishments, which might or might not. hereafter grow 
 
166 THE LIFE OF 
 
 up among us, had been portrayed in the darkest colors 
 the dissolute and abandoned character of a large portion 
 of the inhabitants of the old cities of Europe, and the pro 
 bability of similar degeneracy in this happy land, had been 
 represented in hideous deformity; and all the powers of 
 eloquence, and the inventions of imagination, had been 
 enlisted, to present to our view, a long train of evils, 
 which would follow, from extending the right of suffrage 
 to such a description of people. And all this had been 
 done, to procure the adoption of the amendment under 
 consideration. He would now put the question to the so 
 ber sense of the committee, and to the highly respectable 
 and venerable gentlemen, who had thought proper to 
 press these matters upon them in this stage of the discus 
 sion, with what propriety had this been done ? Did the 
 amendment raise the question, whether any, and what 
 amount of property should be a requisite qualification for 
 a voter ? Whether contributions to the public for the pro 
 tection of property, in the shape of taxes shall be requir 
 ed? or whether personal services, either in the public de 
 fence, or for public improvements, should be deemed suffi 
 cient? These, he said, were questions brought into view 
 by the report of the select committee, and on which, they 
 would hereafter have to act, but they were not now under 
 discussion. When they would come before them, then 
 would the past, the present, and probable future character 
 of the population of this state, be proper subjects for con 
 sideration. * * * 
 
 " There were two words, continued Mr. Van Buren, 
 which had come into common use with our revolutionary 
 struggle; words which contained an abridgement of our 
 political rights ; words which, at that day, had a talisrnan- 
 ic effect ; which led our fathers from the bosoms of their 
 families to the tented field; which for several long years 
 of toil and suffering, had kept them to their arms; and 
 which finally conducted them to a glorious triumph. 
 They were TAXATION and REPRESENTATION ; nor did 
 they lose their influence with the close of that struggle. 
 They were never heard in our halls of legislation, with 
 out bringing to our recollections the consecrated feelings 
 of those who won our liberties, or without reminding us 
 of every thing that was sacred in principle. * * * 
 
 " Apply, said he, for a moment, the principles they in 
 culcate to the question under consideration, and let its 
 merits be thereby tested. Are those of your citizens re 
 presented, whose voices are never heard in your Senate ? 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 167 
 
 Are these citizens iu any degree represented or heard, in 
 the formation of your courts of justice, from the highest to 
 the lowest ? Was, then, representation in one branch ot" 
 the Legislature, which by itself can do nothing which, 
 instead of securing to them the blessings of legislation, on 
 ly enables them to prevent it as an evil, any thing more 
 than a shadow? Was it not emphatically keeping the 
 word of promise to the ear, and breaking it to the hope V 
 Was it not even less than the virtual representation, 
 with which our fathers were attempted to be appeased by 
 their oppressors ? It was even so; and if so, could they, 
 as long as this distinction was retained, hold up their 
 heads, and, without blushing, pretend to be the advocates 
 for that special canon of political rights, that taxation 
 and representation were, and ever should be, indissoluble? 
 He thought not. 
 
 "In whose name, and for whose benefit, he iuquired f 
 were they called upon to clisappoint the just expectations 
 of their constituents, and to persevere in what he could 
 not but regard as a violation of principle 1 It was in the 
 name, and for the security of farmers, that they were 
 called upon to adopt this measure. This, he said, was,, 
 indeed, acting in an imposing name ; and they who used 
 it, knew full well that it was so. It was, continued Mr. 
 Van Buren, the boast, the pride, and the security of this 
 nation, that she had in her bosom a body of men who, for 
 sobriety, integrity, industry, and patriotism, were une 
 qualled by the cultivators of the earth in any part of the 
 known world ; nay, more, to compare them with the men- 
 of similar pursuits in other countries, was to degrade 
 them. And woful must be our degeneracy, before any 
 thing which might be supposed to affect the interests of 
 the farmers of this country, could be listened to with in 
 difference by those who governed us. 
 
 "He could not, he said, yield to any man in respect for 
 this invaluable class of our citizens, nor in zeal for their 
 support ; but how did this matter stand ? inquired Mr. 
 Van Buren. Was the allegation that they were viola 
 ting the wishes, and tampering with the security of the 
 farmers, founded in fact, or was it merely colorable? 
 Who, he asked, had hitherto constituted a majority of 
 the voters of the slate? The farmers who had called 
 for, and insisted upon the convention. Farmers and 
 freeholders ! Who passed the law admitting those, who 
 were not electors, to a free participation in the decision of 
 the question of Convention or No Convention^ and also iu 
 
168 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the choice of delegates to that body. A Legislature, a 
 majority of whom were farmers, and probably every one 
 of them freeholders, of the value of two hundred and fifty 
 dollars and upwards ! The farmers of this state had, he 
 said, by an overwhelming majority, admitted those who 
 were not freeholders, to a full participation with them 
 selves in every stage, of this great effort to amend our 
 constitution, and to ameliorate the condition of the peo 
 ple : could he, then, ought he, to be told, that they would 
 be disappointed in their expectations, when they found 
 that by the provisions of the constitution as amended, a 
 great portion of their fellow citizens were enfranchised, 
 and released, from fetters which they themselves had done 
 all in their power to loosen? He did not believe it. 
 Again, inquired Mr. Van Buren, who are we, that have 
 been chosen to perform this great, and he could not but 
 think, good work ? A great majority of us are practical 
 farmers ; all freeholders, and of no small amounts. Were 
 they their own worst enemies ? Could they be suspected 
 of a want of fidelity to the freehold interest? No! The 
 farmers had looked for such an event ; they earnestly de 
 sired it. Whatever ravages the possession of power 
 might have made in the breast of others, they at least had 
 shown that they could feel power without forgetting 
 ri^ht. If any thing, (said Mr. Van Buren,) could render 
 this invaluable class of men dearer and more estimable 
 than they were, it was this magnanimous sacrifice which 
 they had made on the altar of principle, by consenting to 
 admit those of their fellow citizens, who" though not so 
 highly favored as themselves by fortune, had still enough 
 to bind them to their country, to an equal participation in 
 the blessings of a free government. Thus, Mr. Van Bu 
 ren said he understood their wishes, and he would gov 
 ern himself accordingly ; having the consolation to know, 
 that if he should have misunderstood them, they would 
 have the power of rescuing themselves, from the effects 
 of such misapprehension, by rejecting the amendments, 
 which should be proposed for their adoption. 
 
 " But let us, said he, consider this subject in another 
 and different point of view; it was their duty, and he had 
 no doubt it was their wish, to satisfy all, so that their 
 proceedings might meet with the approbation of the whole 
 community; it was his desire to respect the wishes and 
 consult the interests of all ; he would not hamper the 
 rich nor tread upon the poor, but would respect each alike. 
 He would, he said, submit a few considerations to the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 men oi property, who think this provision necessary for 
 its security, and in doing so, he would speak of property 
 in general, dropping the important distinction made by 
 the amendment offered, between real and personal estate. 
 Admitting for the sake of argument, that the distinction 
 was just, and wise, and necessary, for the security of pro 
 perty, was the object effected by the present regulation? 
 He thought not; property was not now represented in the 
 Senate to the extent it was erroneously supposed to be. 
 To represent individual property, it would be necessary 
 that each individual should have a number of votes iu 
 some degree at least, in proportion to the amount of his 
 property ; this was the manner in which property was 
 represented, in various corporations and in monied insti 
 tutions. Suppose in any such institution one man had 
 one hundred shares, another one share, could you gravely 
 tell the man who held one hundred shares, that his pro 
 perty was represented in the direction, if their votes were 
 equal. To say that because a man worth millions, as is 
 the case of one in this committee, has one vote, and an 
 other citizen worth only two hundred aiid fifty dollars in 
 real estate, has one vote for Senators, that therefore their 
 property is equally represented in the Senate, is, to say 
 the least, speaking very incorrectly ; it is literally substi 
 tuting a shadow for a reality ; and though the case he liad 
 stated by the way of illustration, would not be a common 
 one, still the disparity which pervaded the whole com 
 munity, was sufficiently great to render his argument cor 
 rect. 
 
 " If to this it was answered, as it had been by the gen 
 tleman from Albany, (Mr. Van Vechten,) that the amount 
 was not material ; that the idea of their representing free 
 holders would be sufficient ; his reply was, that this pur 
 pose was already effected by the constitution as it stands. 
 It now provides that the Senators shall be freeholders > 
 and that part of the constitution it was not proposed to 
 alter. There was no objection to fixing the amount of 
 the freehold required in the elected, and to place it on a 
 respectable, but not extravagant footing. If, therefore, an 
 ideal representation of property was of any value, that 
 object was fully obtained without the amendment. But 
 the preservation of individual property, is not the great 
 object of having it represented in the Senate. 
 
 "When the people of this state shall have so far de 
 generated ; when the principles of order or of good gov 
 ernment which now characterize our people, and afford 
 15 
 
170 THE LIFE OK 
 
 security to uur institutions, shall have so far given way to 
 those of anarchy and violence, as to lead to an attack on 
 private property, or an agrarian law ; to which allusion 
 had been made by the gentleman from Albany, (Mr. Kent,) 
 or by an attempt to throw all the public burthens on any 
 particular class of men ; then all constitutional provisions 
 will be idle and unavailing, because they will have lost 
 all their force and influence. In answer to the apprehen 
 sion so frequently expressed, that unless this amendment 
 prevails, there is nothing to prevent all the taxes being 
 laid on the real estate, it is only necessary to state, that 
 there is no more in the constitution of the United States, 
 than there will be in ours, if the amendment fails, to pre 
 vent all the revenues of the Union from being raised by 
 direct taxation. And was such a fear ever entertained- 
 for the General Government ? How is it possible for gen 
 tlemen to suppose, that in a constitutional regulation, 
 under which all the states are enjoying the most ample 
 security for property, an individual state would be expos 
 ed to danger? * * * 
 
 " The representation, then, of property in the Senate y 
 under the existing constitution, was, he said, as it respec 
 ted individual estates, wholly delusive, and as it respected 
 the interest of property in the different sections of the state 
 so flagrantly unequal as to dstroy practical advantage to. 
 property from a representation of it, and not only so, but 
 made it infinitely worse than if property was not profes 
 sed to be represented at all. * * * 
 
 " And what, he inquired, had been its practical effects? 
 had they been such as to afford any additional security to 
 property ? had the members of the Senate, for years past, 
 been more respectable for talents or integrity ? had they 
 shown a greater regard for property,? had they been more 
 vigilant in guarding the public treasury than the assem 
 bly. 
 
 " The Senate, he said, was the only legislative body in 
 which he had ever had the honor of a seat ; and he had 
 been there from a very early age almost all his political 
 connexions had been with that body his earliest politi 
 cal recollections were associated with its proceedings, 
 and he had had, in some of its proceedings, as much cause 
 for individual gratification as could well, under the same 
 circumstances, fall to the lot of any man ; notwithstand 
 ing which, and also the strong partiality he had always 
 felt for that body, he could not say, that in the many 
 years he was there, the sentiment never occurred to him, 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 171 
 
 that such was the case. On the contrary, a regard to 
 truth constrained him to say, that every thing, which re 
 garded the imposition of public burdens, and the disposi 
 tion of public property, were more closely looked into, 
 and more severely scrutinized by the Assembly than the 
 Senate. The sense of immediate responsibility to the 
 people, produced more effect on the Assembly, that the 
 consideration, that they represented those, who were sup 
 posed principally to bear the burdens, did in the Senate ; 
 and such, he conscientiously believed, would always be 
 the case. He asked the members of the committee, 
 whether they believed, that there had been a moment for 
 the last forty years, when a proposition in the Assembly 
 to make an unjust distinction between real and personal 
 property, in the imposition of public burdens, would not 
 have been hooted out of that body, if any one had been 
 found mad enough to have dared its introduction ? Why, 
 then, he asked, alarm ourselves by fear for the future,, 
 which the experience of the past had demonstrated to be 
 erroneous? Why disregard the admonitions of experi 
 ence, to pursue the dubious path of speculation and the 
 ory ? 
 
 " He had no doubt but the honorable gentlemen who 
 had spoken in favor of the amendment, had suffered from 
 the fearful forebodings which they had expressed. That 
 ever to be revered band of patriots who made our consti 
 tution, entertained them also, and therefore they engraft 
 ed in it the clause which is now contended for. But a 
 full and perfect experience had proved the fallacy of their 
 speculation, and they were now called upon again to 
 adopt the exploded notion ; and on that ground, to dis 
 franchise, if not a majority, nearly a moiety, of our citi 
 zens. He said he was an unbeliever in the speculations 
 and mere theories on the subject of government, of the 
 best and the wisest men, when unsupported by, and es 
 pecially w r hcn opposed to, experience. He believed with 
 a sensible, and elegant, and modern writer, that consti 
 tutions are the work of time, not the invention of inge 
 nuity : and that to frame a complete system of govern 
 ment, depending on habits of reverence and experience, 
 was an attempt as absurd as to build a tree, or manufac 
 ture an opinion. 
 
 " All our observation, he said, united to justify this as 
 sertion when they looked at the proceedings of the con 
 vention which adopted the constitution of the United 
 States, they could not fail to be struck by the extrava- 
 
172 THE LIFE OF 
 
 gance, and, as experience had proved, the futility of the 
 fears and hopes that were entertained and expressed, from 
 the different provisions of that constitution, hy the mem- 
 hers. The venerable and enlightened Franklin, had no 
 hope if the President had the qualified negative, that it 
 would be possible to keep him honest; that the extensive 
 power of objecting to laws, would inevitably lead to the 
 bestowment of douceurs to prevent the exercise of the 
 power; and many, very many of the members, believed 
 that the General Government, formed as it was, would, 
 in a few years, prostrate the state governments. While, 
 on the other hand, the lamented Hamilton, Mr. Madison, 
 and others, distressed themselves with the apprehension, 
 that unless they could infuse more vigor into the consti 
 tution they were about to adopt, the work of their hands 
 could not be expected to survive its framers. Experi 
 ence, the only unerring touchstone, had proved the fallacy 
 of all those speculations, as it had also those of the fram 
 ers of our state constitution, in the particular now under 
 consideration ; and having her records before them, he 
 was for being governed by them. 
 
 " If. then, it was true that the present representation of 
 property in the Senate was ideal, and purely ideal, did 
 not, continued Mr. V. B. sound policy dictate an aban 
 donment of it, by the possessors of property ? He thought 
 it did ; he thought so because he held it to be at all times, 
 and under all circumstances, and for all interests, unwise 
 to struggle against the wishes of any portion of the peo 
 ple ( O subject yourselves to a wanton exposure to public 
 prejudice, to struggle for an object, which, if attained, was 
 of no avail. He^thought so, because the retaining of this 
 qualification in the present state of public opinion, would 
 have a tendency to excite jealousy in the minds of those 
 who had no freehold property, and because more mischief 
 was to be apprehended from that source than any other. 
 It was calculated to excite that prejudice because not re 
 quiring sufficient to effect the object in view, it, in the 
 language of Dr. Franklin, exhibited liberty in disgrace, 
 by bringing it in competition with accident and insignifi 
 cance. 
 
 " But, said Mr. V. B. we have been referred to the 
 opinions of General Hamilton, as expressed in his wri 
 tings in favor of the Constitution of the United States, as 
 supporting this amendment. He should not detain the 
 committee by adding any thing to what had been said of 
 his great worth, and splendid talents. He would omit it. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 173 
 
 because he could not add to the encomiums which had 
 been delivered on (his floor, on his life and character. 
 The tribute to departed worth has been justly paid by the 
 honorable gentlemen from Albany and Orange, (Messrs. 
 Spencer and Duer.) But there Avas nothing in the Fed 
 eralist to support the amendment. Without troubling 
 the committee by reading the number which had been 
 referred to, it would be sufficient for him to say, that it 
 could not be supposed, that the distinguished men who 
 had done a lasting benefit to their country ; and had earn 
 ed for themselves the highest honors, by the work in ques 
 tion, could have urged the propriety, of a property repre 
 sentation, in one branch of the Legislature, in favor of a 
 constitution, which contained no such provision. They 
 had not done so. 
 
 "We were, said Mr. V, B. next referred by the honora 
 ble mover of the amendment, to the opinion of Mr. Jeffer 
 son, as expressed-in his Notes on Virginia. In making 
 that reference, the honorable gentleman had done himself 
 credit; and had rendered but justice to the merits of the 
 distinguished individual, whose opinion he had sought to 
 enlist on his side. He had truly said, that now, when 
 the strong party feeling w r hich attended the public meas 
 ures in which Mr. Jefferson was an actor, had in some 
 degree subsided, most men united in the acknowledgment 
 of his deserts. That sentiment, however, it appeared, 
 was not general, since the gentleman from Columbia, 
 (Mr. E. Williams) distinctly avows, the retention of his 
 old prejudices. Whilst that gentleman was trumpet- 
 tongued, in denouncing the impropriety of indulgence, in 
 party feelings by others, he had given them the strongest 
 reason to believe, that his own were immortal ; that they 
 had not only survived the era of good feelings, through, 
 which we had passed, but were likely to continue. But 
 that notwithstanding, he still thought of Mr. Jefferson, as 
 he always had done, he would condescend to use him for 
 the occasion. Sir, said Mr. V. B. it is grating to one s 
 feelings, to hear a man, who has done his country the 
 greatest service, and who at this moment occupies more 
 space in the public mind, that any other private citizen in 
 the world, thus spoken of. But no more of this. 
 
 "Mr. Jefferson did complain, in 1781, of the constitu 
 tion of Virginia, because the two branches of their Legis 
 lature were not sufficiently dissimilar, but he did not 
 point out the mode in which he thought that object could 
 fre best effected. 
 
 15* 
 
174 THE LIFE OF 
 
 "In 1783, when, as he had before stated, a convention 
 was expected in Virginia, he prepared a form of govern 
 ment tj be submitted to the people, in which he provided 
 the same qualification for both branches, and showed 
 clearly, either that his opinion had undergone a change 
 on the subject, or that he supposed the object would be 
 effected by the difference of their term of service, and the 
 districts they represented. 
 
 " The next consideration which had been pressed upon 
 the committee by the honorable mover of the amendment, 
 was, the apprehension that the persons employed in the 
 manufactories which now were, or which, in the progress 
 of time, might be established amongst us, would be influ 
 enced by their employers. So far as it respected the ques 
 tion before the committee, said Mr. V. B. it was a suffi 
 cient answer to the argument, that if they were so influ 
 enced, they would be enlisted on the same side, which it 
 was the object of the amendment to promote, on the side 
 of property. If not if they were independent of the 
 influence of their employers, they would be safe deposi 
 tories of the right. For no man, surely, would contend 
 that they should be deprived of the right of voting on ac 
 count of their poverty, except so far as it might be sup 
 posed to impair their independence, and the consequent 
 purity of the exercise of that invaluable right. 
 
 " The honorable gentleman from Albany, (Mr. Spen 
 cer) had next directed their attention to the borough elec 
 tions in England, as evidence of the consequences which 
 might be expected from the non adoption of his amend 
 ment. Mr. V. B. said he could not, in his view of the 
 subject, on the most mature reflection, have selected an 
 argument better calculated to prove the amendment to be 
 unwise and improper, that this one, on which the gentle 
 man mainly relied for its support. What, sir, said he, 
 was the cause of the corruptions which confessedly pre 
 vail in that portion of the representation in the parlia 
 ment of Great Britain ? Was it the lowness of the qual 
 ifications of the electors, in conparison with the residue 
 of the country ? No. In many of the boroughs a free 
 hold qualification was required ; in most, that they should 
 be burgage holders ; and in all, that they should be free 
 men, paying scot and lot. Compare, said Mr. V. B, these 
 qualifications with those required in Westminster, and it 
 will be found that the lowest of the former are equal to 
 the latter. It would not be necessary for him to say, that 
 if the will of the people prevailed in any election in 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 175 
 
 England if patriotism and public spirit was sure to find 
 its appropriate reward any where in that country, it was 
 at the Westminster elections. The qualifications of the 
 electors, therefore, was not the cause, except it was in 
 some instances where the election was confined to a very 
 few, as for instance, to the Mayor and common Council of 
 a borough. But I will tell you, sir, said Mr. V. B. what 
 is the cause it is because the representation in question, 
 is a representation of things, and not of men it is because 
 that it is attached to territory, to a village or town, with- 
 put regard to the population ; as by the amendment under 
 consideration, it is attempted here to be attached to terri 
 tory, and to territory only. Suppose, for a moment, that 
 the principles on which the report of the select commit 
 tee is based, and which the amendment opposes, should 
 be applied to the representation in the parliament of 
 Great Britain that instead of her present representation, 
 it should he apportioned among all their subjects who 
 contribute to the public burthens ? Would you hear any 
 complaints in that country on the subject of their rotten 
 boroughs? No, sir; but on the contrary, that reform in 
 parliament would be at once obtained, for which the 
 friends of reform in that devoted country have so long 
 contended, and which they probably never will obtain, 
 except, (to use the language of the gentleman from Alba 
 ny) at the point of the bayonet. He could not, there 
 fore, but think that the illustration resorted to, by the hon 
 orable mover of the amendment, was most unfortunate 
 to his argument, nor ought he to withhold his thanks for 
 the suggestion. 
 
 " There were, continued Mr. V. B. many, very many 
 considerations, besides those he had noticed, which 
 could, with propriety and profit, be urged on this occasion, 
 to show the impropriety of the amendment. There were 
 several which it was his intention at first to urge. He had 
 designed too, to notice some of the remarks which fell 
 from the gentleman from Columbia, (Mr. Williams,) but 
 as he was not certain that what he should say, would 
 produce that state of feeling necessary on so interesting 
 a subject, he would omit it. The time which he had al 
 ready occupied the very flattering attention with which 
 the committee had listened to him, an attention demand 
 ing and receiving his utmost gratitnde, induced him to 
 forbear from trespassing further on their patience. The 
 great importance, therefore, of having various interests, 
 various talents, and men of various pursuits, in the Sen- 
 
176 THE LIFE OK 
 
 ate, to secure a due attention to, and a perfect under 
 standing of, the various concerns to which legislation 
 might be applied in this state, the origin of the freehold 
 requisition in England and here, together with the reasons 
 why that distinction, though proper at the time of the 
 adoption of our constitution, had almost entirely ceased 
 to he wise or just : and also the causes which must inevi 
 tably render it in a short time, in our country at least, very 
 unnecessary and ineffectual, together with topics like 
 those, he would leave to the very judicious remarks which 
 had already been made, and to such as might hereafter be 
 made by others. 
 
 " If he could possibly believe, added Mr. V. B. that 
 any portion of the calamitous consequences could result 
 from the rejection of the amendment, which had been so 
 feelingly portrayed by the honorable gentleman from 
 Albany, (Mr. Kent,) and for whom he would repeat the 
 acknowledgment of his respect and regard, he would be 
 the last man in society who would vote for it. But, be 
 lieving, as he conscientiously did, that those fears were 
 altogether unfounded ; hoping and expecting that trip 
 happiest results would follow from the abolition of the 
 freehold qualification, and hoping too, that caution and 
 circumspection would preside over the settlement of the 
 general right of suffrage, which was hereafter to be made, 
 and knowing, besides, that this state, in abolishing the 
 freehold qualifications, would but be uniting herself in 
 the march of principle, which had already prevailed in 
 every state of the Union; except two or three, including 
 the royal charter of Rhode-Island, he would cheerfully 
 record his vote against the amendments"* 
 
 The restriction proposed by Judge Spencer was 
 rejected. The qualifications required in the report 
 of the committee, besides temporary residence, 
 were, as has already been stated, paying taxes, or 
 doing military duty, or working on the highways. 
 Mr. Van Buren was in favor of adding to the lat 
 ter alternative, the further restriction of being a 
 house-holder. He expressed his fears that the ex- 
 
 * Debates in the New York Convention, p. 465. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 177 
 
 tension contemplated by some of the amendments 
 proposed, would not be sanctioned by the public 
 approbation, and would occasion the rejection of 
 the whole by the people. In this connection, Mr. 
 Van Buren remarked, on another occasion, " that 
 were the bare, naked question of universal suffrage 
 put to the committee" (of the whole) "he did not 
 believe there were twenty members who would 
 vote for it." He added ; " One word on the main 
 question before the committee. We had already 
 reached the verge of universal suffrage. There 
 was but one step beyond. And are gentlemen pre 
 pared to take that step ? We were cheapening 
 this invaluable right. He was disposed to go as 
 far as any man, in the extension of rational liberty ; 
 but he could not consent to undervalue this pre 
 cious privilege so far as to confer it, with an indis- 
 criminating hand, upon every one, black or white, 
 who would be kind enough to condescend to ac 
 cept it."* 
 
 At other times, he expressed his fears that some 
 of the amendments were intended to go " so far 
 as to have all the amendments rejected by the peo 
 ple ; that they were hazarding every thing by go 
 ing such lengths, and that the people would never 
 sanction it."f *His views, however, are more ful 
 ly and accurately expressed in the following re 
 marks, offered while the report was still under 
 consideration. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren said, that as the vote he should now 
 * Debates in New York Convention, p. 277. 
 lib. pp.375 281, 
 
178 THE LIFE OF 
 
 give on what was called the highway qualification, would 
 be different from what it had been on a former occasion, 
 he felt it a duty to make a brief explanation of the motives 
 which governed him. The qualifications reported by the 
 first committee, were of three kinds, viz : the payment of 
 a money tax, the performance of military duty, and work 
 ing on the highway. The two former had met with his 
 decided approbation; to the latter he wished to add the 
 additional qualification, that the elector should, if he paid 
 no tax, performed no militia duty, but offered his vote on 
 the sole ground that he had labored on the highways, also 
 be a house-holder ; and that was the only point in which 
 he had dissented, from the report of the committee. To 
 effect this object, he supported a motion made by a gen 
 tleman from Dutchess, to strike out the highway qualifi 
 cation, with a view of adding house-holder. That mo 
 tion, after full discussion, had prevailed by a majority of 
 twenty. But what was the consequence ? The very 
 next day, the same gentleman who thought the highway 
 tax too liberal a qualification, voted that every person of 
 twenty- one years of age, having a certain term of resi 
 dence, and excluding actual paupers, should be permitted 
 to vote for any officer in the government, from the highest 
 to the lowest far outvieing, in this particular, the other 
 states in the Union, and verging from the extreme of re 
 stricted, to that of universal suffrage. The Convention, 
 sensible of the very great stride which had been taken by 
 the last vote, the next morning referred the whole matter 
 to a select committee of thirteen, whose report was now 
 under consideration. The committee, though composed 
 of gentlemen, a large majority of whom had voted for the 
 proposition for universal suffrage, had now recommended 
 a middle course, viz. the payment of a money tax, or la 
 bor on the highway, excluding militia service, which had, 
 however, been very properly reinstated. The question 
 then recurred ; shall an attempt be again made to add 
 that of house-holder, to the highway qualification, and run 
 the hazard of the re-introduction ot the proposition of the 
 gentleman from Washington, abandoning all qualifica 
 tions, and throwing open the ballot boxes to every body 
 demolishing at one blow, the distinctive character or an 
 elector, the proudest and most invaluable attribute of 
 freemen ? 
 
 "Mn Van Buren said, he had, on the motion of the 
 gentlemen from Columbia, this day hinted at the numer 
 ous objections which he had to the proposition, which the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 179 
 
 other day passed the convention, in regard to the right of 
 suffrage: objections which he intended to make, had the 
 committee reported in favor of th.t vote; and by which, 
 when fully urged, he knew that he would be able to con 
 vince every member of this committee of the dangerous 
 alarming tendency of that precipitate and unexpected 
 prostration of all qualifications. At this moment, he 
 would only say, that among^ the many evils which would 
 flow from a wholly unrestricted suffrage, the following 
 would be the most injurious, viz: 
 
 " First, It would give to the city of New York about 
 twenty-five thousand votes; whilst", under the liberal ex 
 tension of the right on the choice of delegates to this Con- 
 rention, she had but about thirteen or fourteen thousand 
 That the character of the increased number of votes would 
 be such as would reader their elections rather a curse 
 than a blessing : vrhich would drive from the polls all so 
 ber minded people ; and such, he was happy to find, was 
 the united opinion, or nearly so, of the delegation from 
 that city. 
 
 " Secondly. It would not only be injurious to them, but 
 that injury would work an equally great one to the west 
 ern and northern parts of the state. It was the present 
 consolation of our hardy sons of the west, that, for their 
 toils and their sufferings in reducing the wilderness to cul 
 tivation, they were cheered by the conviction, not only 
 that they would be secure in the enjoyment of their dear 
 bought improvements, in consequence of their representa 
 tion in the Legislature, but that any increase of that re- 
 presention gave them a still greater influence there. That 
 as far as it respected this state, their march, and the march 
 of empire kept pace. This arose from the circumstance 
 of the representation in the state being founded on the 
 number of electors ; and because almost every man in a 
 new country was an elector, under the existing and con 
 templated qualifications ; whilst in the old counties, and 
 especially in cities, there were great numbers who would 
 not be embraced by them. So great was this effect, that 
 the city of New York alone would, under the vote of the 
 other day, have become entitled to additional voters, over 
 those who voted at the election of delegates, equal or 
 nearly so, to the whole number of votes of Ontario or Ge- 
 nesee. The direct consequence of which would be, that 
 the additional representation of fourteen members, which 
 are next year to be distiibuted among the counties, would 
 instead of going principally to the west, be surrendered to 
 the worst population of the old counties and cities. 
 
180 THE LIFE OF 
 
 "And thirdly. The door would have been entirely clo 
 sed against retreat, whatever miglu be our after conviction 
 ibunded on experience, as to the evil tendency of this ex 
 tended suffrage. 
 
 " The just equilibrium between the rights of those who 
 have, and those who have no interest in the government 
 could, when once thus surrendered, never be regained, ex 
 cept by the sword. But, according to the present report, 
 if experience should point out dangers, from the very ex 
 tensive qualifications we were about to establish, the Le 
 gislature might relieve against the evil, by curtailing the 
 objects of taxation. By the establishment of turnpikes, 
 the making of canals, and the general improvements 01 
 the country, the highway tax would naturally be lessened 
 and might, if the Legislature thought proper, be hereafter 
 confined to property, instead of imposing it, as they now 
 do, on adult male citizens. For one hundred years at least 
 this would afford a sufficient protection against the evils 
 which were apprehended. He would, therefore, notwith 
 standing his desire to have the qualification of house-hol 
 der added to the electors of the third description remain 
 unchanged, accept the report of the committee as it was, 
 with the addition of the military qualification, which he 
 thought ought to be adopted, for the sake of principle, if 
 for no other reason. 
 
 "He thought the committee, constituted as they were, 
 had done themselves great credit by their concessions to 
 the opinion of those from whom they differed, and he, for 
 one, returned them his sincere thanks. Under all circum 
 stances, he would be well satisfied with the right of suf 
 frage, as it will now be established, and would give it his 
 zealous support, as well in his capacity of delegate, as that 
 of citizen. 5 * 
 
 The provision was finally adopted as originally 
 reported by the committee, on this point. Mr. 
 Van Buren concurred in this course which exten 
 ded the privilege to all who paid any tax, or did 
 any military duty, or worked on the highways : 
 though as we have seen he would have preferred 
 an addition to the last qualification, requiring the 
 * Debates in New York Convention, p. 366- 
 
MARTIN VAN BU11EN. 
 
 candidate in case he possessed neither of the other 
 qualifications, to be a house-holder. He expressed 
 his strong wish to conform to what he believed to 
 be the opinion of the people, and his chief fears 
 seem to have been that the great departure from 
 the former freehold qualification, would hazard the 
 adoption of the whole amendment. 
 
 His own sentiments, together with those of the 
 people at large, however, appear to have under 
 gone some modification at a subsequent period, as 
 will be seen by the following extracts from a let 
 ter, written by him, in reply to certain questions 
 proposed by a committee of 
 Island. 
 
 possesson 
 red #nd fifty 
 , was ne 
 Lieuten- 
 
 " By the first constitution of New Y 
 of a freehold estate of the value of two 
 dollars over and above all debts charged tl 
 cessary to entitle a person to vote for Goverrf 
 ant Governor, and Senators. Members of 
 were chosen by persons paying taxes and possessing 
 freeholds of the clear value of fifty dollars, or renting ten 
 ements of the value of five dollars. 
 
 " The obvious injustice, and ascertained inutility of 
 this regulation, together with other causes led, in 1821, to 
 the call of a convention for the revision of our state con 
 stitution. Of that convention I had the honor to be a 
 member; and in the discharge of the duties imposed upon 
 me by that situation, I labored, and in conjunction with 
 a majority of the convention, labored successfully, to 
 abolish the freehold qualification. The principle which I 
 then advocated, and which was established by the amen 
 ded constitution, extended the right of voting for all elec 
 tive officers of the State Government to every citizen who 
 should contribute to the support of government, either by 
 the payment of taxes in money, or by labor on the high 
 ways, or by service, according to law, in the militia. The 
 results of experience and the progress of liberal opinion, 
 soon led to a further extension ; and by an amendment to 
 the constitution finally adopted in 1826, the right of suf- 
 16 
 
182 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Frage was given to every male citizen of full age, who 
 shall have been an inhabitant of the State for one year, 
 and of the county for six months preceding the election. 
 This provision, however, does not extend to persons of 
 color, who, by the constitution of 1821, are not allowed td 
 vote, unless they have been, for three years, citizens of the 
 state, and for one year before the election, seized and pos 
 sessed of a freehold of the clear Value of two hundred and 
 fifty dollars, and have been rated and paid a tax thereon. 
 " The government of New York has, for several years, 
 been administered under the liberal system established by 
 the new constitution, and the still more liberal amend 
 ment of 1826, in a manner which appears to have been 
 satisfactory to the people. It is possible that there may 
 be some who regret the extension of the right of suffrage, 
 and who would be gratified by the revival of the old 
 qualification; but I do not believe that such a feeling is 
 entertained by any considerable portion of our citizens. 
 I am very sure that any attempt to restrict the exercise of 
 the right, and more especially to restore the freehold 
 qualification, would be put down by an overwhelming 
 majority." 
 
 By the old constitution of New York, no distinc 
 tion was made with regard to color in the qualifica 
 tions of electors. In the Convention for its amend" 
 ment, a proposition to restrict the right of voting 
 to white citizens, was rejected by a vote of sixty- 
 three to fifty-nine. A long and eloquent debate 
 preceded this rejection : Mr. Van Buren did not 
 participate in the debate, but voted with the ma 
 jority. At a subsequent period in the business of 
 the Convention, when the qualifications of electors 
 were fixed, the blacks were excluded from the 
 right of voting, unless possessed of a freehold 
 estate, of the value of two hundred and fifty dol 
 lars, and were exempted from taxation to a cor 
 responding extent. This provision, which continues 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 183 
 
 to be a part of the constitution of New York, 
 received his assent in the following remarks. 
 
 " Mr. Van Buren said he had voted against a total and 
 unqualified exclusion, for he would not draw a revenue 
 from them, and yet deny to them the right of suffrage. 
 But this proviso met his approbation. They were ex 
 empted from taxation until they had qualified themselves 
 to vote. The right was not denied, to exclude any por 
 tion of the community who will not exercise the right of 
 suffrage in its purity. This held out inducements to in 
 dustry, and would receive his support."* 
 
 The state of New York exhibits a fair example 
 of the effects of the utmost latitude of suffrage. 
 With the largest city in the Union ; with a very 
 extensive territory ; with an increasing tide of for 
 eign immigrants ; with a strong infusion of party 
 excitements, she has adopted a rule of qualification 
 for the elective franchise, which rejects no man 
 who has resided one year in her territory, and six 
 months in any of her counties, 
 
 Her distinguished prosperity ; the nobleness of 
 her public works and institutions ; the excellence 
 of her laws and of her judicial tribunals ; the pre 
 vailing morality and good order of her citizens ; 
 the security afforded by her laws to all the rights 
 of the citizen, and her great political influence in 
 the Union, conspire to demonstrate the utter fallacy 
 of those fears which are entertained by many, of 
 the evils of universal suffrage, and form an unan 
 swerable refutation of all arguments for restrict 
 ing the political rights, or infringing the political 
 
 Debates in New York Convention, p. 376. 
 
184 THE LIFE OF 
 
 equality of the people. Give man the privileges 
 and rights which belong to the species, and he will 
 prove himself worthy of them. He will rise to 
 the dignity he may be left to sustain ; he will find 
 scope and exercise for those qualities of the head 
 and heart which belong, alike, to all humanity. 
 Degrade and oppress him, and he becomes a de 
 mon and brute. 
 
 Another matter of great importance, and which 
 occupied a large portion of the attention of the 
 Convention and called forth some of the ablest 
 speeches in that body, was the mode of electing 
 justices of the peace. The importance of this of 
 fice was strongly stated by Mr. Van Buren, on 
 one occasion, in the following words. He said 
 " the amount of business before the justices of the 
 peace, in this state, is five times as great as all the 
 business before the other courts. On this point, it 
 appeared to him, there was no room for diversity 
 of opinion : the truth of this statement could be 
 ascertained by a reference to their proceedings. 
 They were equally important as it respected crim* 
 inal justice." 
 
 The committee on the appointing power had re 
 ported in favor of the election of justices of the 
 peace, in every town, by the people. Mr. Van 
 Buren strenuously opposed this proposition, both 
 in the select committee of which he was chairman, 
 and in the Convention. His objection was, that 
 magistrates, thus elected, would be too much un* 
 der the influence of local, party feelings. He 
 proposed that the board of supervisors, in each 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 185 
 
 county, should nominate a suitable number of jus 
 tices of the peace, and also, the respective courts 
 of common pleas ; and that from these two lists 
 of nominations, the Governor should make the ap 
 pointment. As the views of Mr. Van Buren on 
 this subject have been somewhat misrepresented, 
 and as the matter, itself, is one of great import 
 ance in every state, the following explanations of 
 his opinions are subjoined. 
 Mr. Van Buren said : 
 
 " It was not to be disguised, that that part of the report 
 before the committee, relating 10 the appointment of jus 
 tices of the Peace, was by far the most important feature 
 in the report if that was settled, the remaining part of 
 it would be got along with very easily. Some had thought 
 these magistrates ought to be elected ; but he had at all 
 times been opposed to their election ; and if he did not 
 deceive himself, the force of remarks of gentlemen in fa 
 vor of their election, had excited doubts in the mind of 
 every man, as to the propriety of such a measure. He 
 concurred in the opinion which had been expressed as to 
 the impropriety of electing the higher officers of state, 
 because their duties were important ; and it was to be 
 feared that it would have a tendency to render their judg 
 ment subservient to their desire for a continuance in office. 
 This was the principal argument which had been used. 
 If there were other reasons he did not know what they 
 were. 
 
 " The amount of business before the Justices of the 
 Peace in this state, was five times as great, as all the 
 business before the other courts on this point, it appear 
 ed to him there was no room fora diversity of opinion 
 the truth of this statement could be ascertained by a re 
 ference to their proceedings. They were equally impor 
 tant as it respected criminal justice, 
 
 " As to the probable effect upon their independence, 
 there is no room for a comparison. The Judges of the 
 Supreme Court are elected for a long term of time ; should 
 the people become dissatisfied, even whole counties, these 
 officers might not feel the effects of their displeasure till 
 
 16* 
 
186 THE LIFE OP 
 
 after a longtime had elapsed ; but apply this to Justice;; 
 of the Peace, who administer justice in the immediate 
 presence of their constituents, and are exposed to the daily 
 scrutiny of those upon whom they are dependent; who 
 are cognizant of all they do; and have the power of pas 
 sing judgment on them. If they are not satisfied with 
 them, they must forfeit their offices. 
 
 "What could the single arm of a chief magistrate of 
 the state do towards suppressing a rebellion ? It must be 
 effected through the interposition of this inferior magis 
 tracy. He was willing to go as far as any man, in en 
 deavoring to curtail dangerous patronage in distinct bodies 
 of men ; but he would not go so far as to cut every cord 
 that binds together the people to the government."* 
 
 On another occasion he pursued the same sub 
 ject in the following remarks. 
 
 " Mr. Van Buren said he would briefly reply to some of 
 the observations which had fallen from the honorable gen 
 tleman from Columbia, (Judge Van Ness,) and would 
 also add a few words in answer to the suggestion of his 
 venerable friend from Queens, (Mr. King. 
 
 " The honorable gentleman from Columbia had exam 
 ined and discussed the matter with a degree of zeal and 
 ability proportionate to the very deep interest he naturally 
 took in it: in one respect, he said, he fully accorded with 
 him that in the formation of a constitution of govern 
 ment, they ought to divest themselves of the influence of 
 party. All agree in deprecating party spirit, and many 
 have admonished us, that we cannot be too scrupulously 
 cautious on this subject : he was well satisfied, that, if 
 we all practised upon our own precepts if we did, in fact, 
 smother all feelings of party, it could not be possible that 
 we should have so much difficulty in providing for the ap 
 pointment of justices of the peace. 
 
 " He could not suppress his apprehension that the irn- 
 diate effect on the political interests of the state, of which 
 his amendment was supposed susceptible, had called forth 
 much of the opposition it had to contend with. He did 
 not pretend to be more exempt from the influence of party 
 
 * Debates in the New York Convention, p. 321. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. i^ 
 
 feelings than others ; but he would not fail on all occa 
 sions, to act openly and above board, and assign the true 
 motives of his vote and conduct. 
 
 "The gentleman from Columbia had said, that as yet, 
 we had done nothing for the people that we had not 
 given them any greater share of influence in the selection 
 of their local officers, than they had before enjoyed. That 
 gentleman s solicitude for the privileges of the people is 
 commendable : but, said Mr. V. B. is the assertion true, 
 sir? If it was, it would be a matter worthy of serious 
 consideration. But, he continued, it is not correct- In 
 the first place, they had given to the people, the right of 
 choosing more than eight thousand militia officers: Was 
 this nothing? But we were told that the public care 
 nothing about this right! In this respect, too, the gentle 
 man was greatly in error. There was no subject oil 
 which men felt a more lively interest. Let a militia offi 
 cer be improperly superseded or supplanted, and they 
 would find lhat it was a matter of no small interest or 
 concern with the people. What has induced our respec 
 tive chief magistrates to travel out of the ordinary coursej 
 and indulge in the granting of brevet commissions, if 
 there was no solicitude in regard to military appoint 
 ments? There was, he said, great anxiety on this sub 
 ject. 
 
 " There are, said Mr. Van Buren, about 6600 civil offi 
 cers in this state. Of this number, by the report of the 
 select committee it was proposed to leave three thousand 
 six hundred, for which, in consequence of their liability 
 to frequent changes, no constitutional provision was made 
 by the committee, to be appointed in such a manner as 
 the legislature shall designate. Was this nothing? If 
 the people desire to have these officers elected, they will 
 send to the legislature, such men as will obey their wishes 
 in this respect; if they are not made elective, it will be 
 because the people do not wish it ; and they can, in this 
 way, bring home to themselves the choice of these three 
 thousand six hundred officers. 
 
 " With respect to the residue of the number, it was pro 
 posed to leave it with the supervisors of the counties, to 
 nominate as many candidates for each town as there were 
 magistrates to be appointed in them respectively : And 
 that the judges of the courts of common pleas should in 
 like manner nominate for each town ; if they agreed, the 
 officers on whom they so agreed, should be thus appoint 
 ed, and so far only as they disagreed, the lists should be 
 
188 THE LIFE OF 
 
 sent to the Governor ; from these lists it should be left to 
 the executive to select. The lists presented by the super 
 visors, would very generally be in accordance with the 
 sentiments of the people, and it must be supposed that 
 they would consult their wishes and views on the subject. 
 And is this, asked Mr. Van Buren, giving chaff to the 
 people ? 
 
 " We have, sir, continued he, challenged gentlemen to 
 show, why it would not be as fit, and proper to elect the 
 higher judicial officers, as magistrates for the towns ; no 
 answer had been given to this inquiry, because none 
 could be given. It must be perfectly obvious, that every 
 consideration that would be urged in favor of electing jus 
 tices of the peace, would apply in favor of having the 
 judges of the higher tribunals also elective; and that even 
 fewer objections exist to having those courts selected in 
 this way ; this had not been mentioned as a threat, that a 
 proposition of that nature would be made ; but as an argu 
 ment to show the impropriety of having any judicial offi 
 cers elected, in order to test the sincerity of some gentle 
 men s solicitude for the people. In this we are consistent 
 throughout: the inconsistency was on the part of those 
 who were for having the higher judicial officers appoint 
 ed, and the justices of the peace elected. 
 
 " We do not, sir, said Mr. V. B., deny the competency 
 of the people to make a proper choice ; this argument has 
 been unfairly and untruly stated. Those who oppose 
 the election of justices, do not do so because they have 
 any distrust of the people. The objection to having them 
 elected, did not flow from that consideration; but was 
 with respect to the officer elected. It was because the 
 magistrate would of necessity be acquainted with all, who 
 opposed and who supported him. This would more or 
 less bias his mind in favor of those, to whom he owed his 
 election. It would be giving the rich and powerful a 
 great advantage over the poor ; and even, if it did not, it 
 would excite jealousy and suspicion of unfairness on his 
 part ; which in its operation, would be nearly as prejudi 
 cial to the public peace, as if really injustice was done. 
 These were the reasons, which had led him, and others, 
 to doubt the propriety of having magistrates elected. 
 The gentleman from Columbia, however, has told us, that 
 there can be no danger from a want of independence, or 
 from the partiality of magistrates he says their conduct 
 will be watched, and they will not dare to act improperly. 
 Watched by whom? By those whom they intend to fa- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 189 
 
 vor, and who will he able, and willing to screen them 
 from harm, and support them against the efforts of injured 
 and oppressed poterty, to procure redress ! ! But the de 
 fendant may call a jury if he has not confidence in the 
 justice ; a mighty boon, truly ! Am I to tell the gentle 
 man from Columbia, how little advantages juty is to a, 
 party, if the court is against them? How, sir, is he to 
 get his facts, on which he relies before the juryj? Is not 
 the court the crucible through which they have* to pass, 
 before they get there? And does not daily experience 
 prove, that in civil causes, the court can in almost -every 
 case, regulate the verdict of the jury, by the exclusive 
 power they possess, to decide all questions of law ? Again, 
 we are told that where injustice is done by the magis 
 trate, the par.ty injured, may obtain redress by means ofs: 
 certiorari! This was a reason, he said, he had hardly 
 expected to have heard from that quarter ; the gentleman 
 from Columbia, well knew, that the remedy by certiorari, 
 would not reach oee in twenty cases where injustice had 
 been suffered. 
 
 " It is, said Mr. V. B., very desirable to restore peace and 
 quiet to the community ; he was willing to do all in his 
 f>ower to promote so worthy an object. But how was 
 this to be done? Will the election of justices by the peo 
 ple, have a greater tendency to remove strife, than the 
 project to have them selected in tfce manner proposed by 
 the amendment he had submitted ? He thought not. 
 
 " The gentleman from Columbia, says ihis nominat ioE 
 ijv the supervisors would create violence and strife in their 
 elections, when it is known that they were to present the 
 candidates to be appointed. But if .the election of those, 
 who.re merely to nominate, will create this violence and 
 strife, he could not perceive why there should be less diffi 
 culty, when the officers themselves, were to be directly 
 elected by the people. That they are important offices, 
 the gentleman has himself told us ; and he has also told 
 us that there election wiU call to the polls, all the farmers, 
 and men who have an interest in the due administration 
 ,of justice; and yet he would have us believe, that the 
 election of magistrates will produce no strife or anorv con 
 tests ; This, said Mr. V. B. I cannot comprehend ! It 
 was generally supposed that the degree of warmth and 
 strife at elections, was in proportion to the interests felt 
 by the electors in the result. 
 
 " He would add one word in reply to the remarks of the 
 fronora>>?e rernleman from Queens, He would have tbc 
 
190 THE LIFE OF 
 
 people select the candidates by ballot, and that the names 
 of those having the highest number of votes, as also of 
 those Avho had the next highest, should be presented to 
 the courts of common pleas, who should be authorised to 
 appoint the requisite number from among the names thus 
 presented. The consequence of this would be, that in 
 every town, there would be two sets of nominations of dif 
 ferent politics, and it would create a strong temptation for 
 the judges to decide purely on party grounds ; and so far, 
 therefore, from this being the means of allaying strife, it 
 would greatly increase it. But if the selection should be 
 made by the supervisors and the judges of the courts of 
 common pleas, it was morally certain, that in a vast ma 
 jority of cases, the same persons would be recommended 
 by both, because they would be of the same politics. We 
 may, said Mr. V. B., speak of the practical operation of this 
 measure, founded on what we all know will happen from 
 the partiality and attachment, which men of the same 
 political sentiments have for each other, without incurring 
 the censure of being influenced by party motives in bring 
 ing forward this proposition. It would operate sometimes 
 in favor of one party, and sometimes of another ; the great 
 object was to direct these party attachments to the selec 
 tions of good men, and to secure the independence of the 
 magistrates that the law may be administered without 
 partiality, or suspicion of partiality. Where the super 
 visors and judges were of the same politics, they would 
 be cautious to recommend none but men of fair characters, 
 and such as were competent ; and where they differed, 
 the Governor would select ; and in making this selection 
 he would not consider himself bound, on all occasions, to 
 take those who were of the same politics with himself j 
 hewould most likely be disposed to deal liberally with his 
 opponents. 
 
 " The gentleman from Queens, says we must cut asun 
 der all connexion between the executive and the local au 
 thorities. I am sir, said Mr. V. B., in the habit of receiv 
 ing his opinions with great respect and deference, but on 
 the present occasion he was constrained to differ with 
 him. Why, he asked, should this be done ? Is it for the 
 purpose of keeping out of his hands a patronage which 
 would add too much to his power ? It was not for the ben 
 efit of the chief magistrate that he would confer on him 
 this qualified power in the appointment of magistrates, but 
 for the advancement of the public good. Past experience 
 had proved, that power of this kind added nothing to the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 191 
 
 stability of the executive ; it gave him no strength, but, 
 on the contrary, was calculated to weaken him. We 
 have seen several examples in this state, where the pos 
 session of the power of appointment has destroyed its pos 
 sessors. It was the case in 1807, 1811, 1813, and again 
 upon a very recent occasion. If these officers could be 
 elected by the people, consistently with their necessary in 
 dependence, and the due administration of justice, he 
 would without hesitation, vote for it ; but he felt a strong 
 conviction that it was wrong in principle to elect judicial 
 officers, and he was very confident its practical operation 
 would be unfavorable to the public interest. 
 
 " Such being his sincere opinion, he could not unite with 
 his honorable friend from Queens, to separate the execu 
 tive entirely from the magistracy of the state, for the sole 
 purpose of destroying patronage and avoiding political in 
 fluence. That power would be put in the hands of the 
 executive, not for himself, but to secure to the majority of 
 the people that control and influence in every section of 
 the state to which they are justly entitled. The execu 
 tive is but their agent to carry their wishes into effect, and 
 this he does upon great responsibility. That supremacy 
 of the majority which it is proposed to surrender, is of vi 
 tal importance to them. It is the just reward of their for 
 titude, their patriotism and fidelity, in war and in peace. 
 It has been hardly earned and fairly won, and they ought 
 to enjoy it. My feelings, sir, do not lead me to such a 
 course. My constituents have not authorised me to make 
 such a surrender, and I have no idea of usurping it. 
 
 "Look at the General Government; All its officers are 
 appointed by the general appointing power; no incon 
 venience has grown out of this practice there, and we 
 have not heard that any one wished to have any change 
 in this part of the constitution of the United States. The 
 United States officers, might be well chosen in the differ 
 ent states; still it never has been supposed proper to do 
 50, for the sole purpose of stripping the executive of pow 
 er and influence. 
 
 " He was, he said, not only satisfied that it was proper 
 that there should be this connexion between the executive 
 and these local officers, but that the due administration of 
 justice, and the preservation of the public peace, required 
 it. He is charged with the execution of the laws ; he 
 must execute them through the agency of magistraies ; 
 and would not, he asked, this connexion promote this ob 
 ject ? He would call the attention of gentlemen to the 
 
192 THE LIFE OF 
 
 state of things which existed during the late war ; he 
 would not do so for the purpose of reviving any improper 
 feelings; but to illustrate and enforce the propriety of the 
 sentiments he had advanced. It would be recollected by 
 all, what difficulties and embarrassments had been occa 
 sioned by this want of connexion belween the executive 
 and magistracy of the state. The council of appointment 
 were at that time of different politics with the executive, 
 and all the officers of their appointment were opposed to 
 the war and its prosecution. The prejudice which those 
 collisions produced to the public service, and the unceas 
 ing and unavailing complaints of the executive, of a want 
 of eo-operation of the public officers, surely cannot so soon 
 be forgotten. 
 
 "I am, therefore, said Mr. V> B,, inasmuch as this pow 
 er must be vested somewhere, for giving the control to the 
 majority of the state. If, in consequence of the avowal 
 of this sentiment, I subject myself to the charge of intol 
 erance, I submit to it. My conscience acquits me of any 
 such motives. I feel that 1 may with safety appeal to my 
 political course for an ample refutation of such imputa 
 tions ; and 1 cannot but think that the number of my politi 
 cal adversaries, who would be constrained to exonerate 
 me, would not be inconsiderable. But, sir, these are mat 
 ters with which the committee have no concern ; they 
 will be no longer troubled with them the question must 
 be tested by other considerations."* 
 
 Mr. Van Buren s amendment was rejected 
 by a majority of two votes ; and, by the provi 
 sion finally adopted, the appointment was ves 
 ted solely in the board of supervisors and the 
 courts of common pleas ; which proposition, as it 
 approached very nearly to his own, received his 
 assent. 
 
 To present a complete view of the services of 
 Mr. Van Buren in the Convention, would make it 
 necessary to transcribe portions of almost every 
 page of its reports. On questions relating to the 
 
 *Debates in the New York Convention, p. 339. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 193 
 
 right of franchise, the distribution of the appointing 
 power, the executive veto, and similar cardinal 
 points, involving important general principles and 
 reaching to the fundamental rights of the people, 
 full extracts have been presented. The views of 
 Mr. Van Buren, on these important and general 
 topics, it has seemed necessary and proper fully to 
 represent. With respect to minor points, rela 
 ting not to principles but practice, reference must 
 be made to the volume itself. 
 
 It will have been seen by the extracts contained 
 in this volume, that Mr. Van Buren s leading sub 
 ject of consideration was the proper distribution of 
 the appointing power ; that he was in favor of a 
 Governor for two years, with a veto upon all laws 
 so far as to make their re-enactment by two-thirds 
 of both houses necessary to their passage against 
 his consent ; that he was opposed to a bill of rights, 
 as implying some higher authority than the peo 
 ple ; that he was strenuously opposed to a free 
 hold qualification for electors, and in favor of ex 
 tending the right of suffrage to the utmost limit 
 which the people seemed ready to approve ; that 
 he approved of excluding the blacks from voting 
 without a free-hold interest of two hundred and fif 
 ty dollars, to which extent they were also to be 
 free from taxation; that, while he avowed the 
 principle that the dominant party should always 
 possess and exercise the official patronage, yet he 
 maintained, due regard in its distribution should 
 constantly be had for the rights of the minority ; 
 and that he was in favor of placing in the hands of 
 17 
 
194 THE LIFE OF 
 
 the people, the direct exercise of every right which 
 would not lead to the corruption of public officers. 
 On all occasions, he avowed the great principle, 
 which has ever guided his public conduct, of ex 
 pressing so far as possible, the opinion of the peo 
 ple ; to the people, he always referred as the just 
 arbiters of all political measures and the only 
 source of legitimate authority, and in the intelli 
 gence, capacity, and honesty of the people, he al 
 ways exhibited the utmost confidence. 
 
 The approbation with which his course in the 
 convention, was received by the people of the state 
 affords another proof of his intuitive sense of pop 
 ular feelings and popular rights, and of that innate 
 sympathy between his own feelings and the com 
 mon feelings of his fellow men, which constitutes 
 the secret of his success in political life, and of the 
 affection and confidence reposed in him. 
 
 It has been charged upon Mr. Van Buren that he 
 is the blind tool of party ; that he appears to be 
 supported by popular opinion, because, by a com 
 bination of secret manoeuvres, he contrives to 
 mould and create that opinion ; that intrigue and 
 management are the only guides of his political 
 course, and that his success is the result of the ar 
 tifices of a well-drilled corps of subalterns who are 
 bound to his interests, by selfish motives, and gui 
 ded rather by motives of personal aggrandizement 
 than by a consideration of the public weal. 
 
 This charge has originated with men who have 
 no capacity, in their own natures, to appreciate the 
 true secret of his success ; men who have no spon- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 195 
 
 taneous sympathy with the mass of their fellow- 
 men, but contemplate them, wholly, from a wrong 
 position ; who regard the mass of mankind as cor 
 rupt and ignorant, and fit subjects of goverment in 
 stead of legitimate so vereigns. With these mista 
 ken views, no congeniality exists between their own 
 feelings and the feelings of humanity at large. 
 These politicians never meet popular expectation, 
 and consequently never succeed, except by acci 
 dent, or hypocrisy, or the temporary misleading of 
 popular judgment. Unable to appreciate the bond 
 of sympathy which unites the true democrat to 
 every member of the democratic family ; unwil 
 ling to be content, like him, to gather public senti 
 ment and make it their supreme rule of action, re 
 gardless of personal preferences or private aggran 
 dizement ; they are engaged in a perpetual strug 
 gle against the strong sense of the great mass of 
 their fellow-men, a struggle which, notwithstanding 
 all their artifice, finally prostrates all their schemes 
 of ambition. It is natural for them to ascribe the 
 superior success of the truly great man, to superi 
 or adroitness in the same contemptible and unnat 
 ural warfare in which they have sought success 
 themselves. Conscious of their own secret mo 
 tives to obtain influence and not apprehending 
 that integrity and penetration in the people which 
 leads to their own defeat, while it discriminates 
 and adopts the honest patriotism of others, they 
 constantly mistake the true causes of political suc 
 cess, and amid mortification and failure, come to 
 regard all public men as dishonest and all politics) 
 
I9(> THE LIFE OF 
 
 life as a scene of intrigue and corruption. The 
 observance of two plain rules would be of great 
 service to these men ; first, to be honest and pa 
 triotic themselves, and, second, to rely on the hon 
 esty, capacity and patriotism of the people. 
 
 The whole public course of Mr, Van Buren is a 
 refutation of the imputations which are cast upon 
 him from this quarter. He has never been seen to 
 sacrifice his views of the public weal to schemes 
 of self-aggrandizement, or to the violent dictates of 
 party spirit. An eminent illustration of the truth 
 of this assertion may be selected from his course 
 in the convention to amend the constitution. 
 
 The justices of the supreme court of the state of 
 New York, by the former constitution, were made 
 members of the Council of revision ; a provision 
 which connected them, closely, with party politics. 
 During the period which preceded the amend 
 ments of the constitution, the bench of the supreme 
 court was filled with men who had, all their lives 
 been active partizans and who mingled their party 
 principles and prejudices with the discharge of 
 their duties as members of the council of revision 
 and even as public administrators of justice. They 
 had opposed, thwarted, and reviled the measures of 
 the democracy, with unceasing violence ; and not 
 withstanding the high respect which their talents 
 and learning, in many instances, commanded, they 
 had incurred, by their partizan activity, the strong 
 est antipathy of the friends of popular rights. 
 
 It was the natural consequence of their perse 
 verance in such high-handed measures, that the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 197 
 
 tenure of their offices should be hazarded, when it 
 came into the hands of an assembly so strongly de 
 mocratic as the Convention to amend the consti 
 tution. The wrongs, which the leading republi 
 cans in the Convention had suffered, at the hands 
 of the supreme court, were fresh in their memories; 
 the evils which had flown from the party violence 
 of the court, were notorious, and it is not surpri 
 sing that an effort was made to introduce such a 
 modification of the constitution, as should remove 
 from power, the obnoxious individuals who had 
 thus perverted the high duties of their official sta 
 tion. It is easy, however, for the calm observer 
 to see that a measure having reference to the mere 
 removal of obnoxious public officers, hardly came 
 within the legitimate action of a Convention, assem 
 bled to amend the great charter of a people s rights, 
 and furnish a permanent rule of government for a 
 great state. 
 
 On this ground, Mr. Van Buren, rising above 
 temporary and personal considerations, and laying 
 aside the influence of party feelings and the recol 
 lection of private injuries and persecution, oppos 
 ed a re-organization of the judicial department, the 
 only effect of which, would have been, the displace 
 ment of the judges then in office. In his views of 
 duty on this occasion, he differed from his personal 
 friends, and from the most distinguished members 
 of that great party of which he was the acknowl 
 edged leader. His course, however, was so evi 
 dently the result of principle, and so obviously free 
 from personal considerations and selfish motives, 
 17* 
 
198 THE LIFE OB ! 
 
 that he lost no share of the respect and confidence 
 of his old and valued friends, who, at this painful 
 juncture, lost the benefit of his support. The fol 
 lowing extracts from his speech on this occasion, 
 will explain the disinterested motives by which he 
 was governed, and will show the injustice of laying 
 to his charge an adherence to party, to the sacri 
 fice of principle. 
 
 " Mr. Van Buren said, the true and only question pre 
 sented by the amendment offered by the president, was, 
 whether this committee were prepared to insert an arti 
 cle in the constitution, for the sole purpose of vacating the 
 offices of the present chancellor and judges of the supreme 
 court, to separate them from the other officers in the state, 
 and to apply to them a rule, which had not as yet been ap 
 plied in a single instance. Gentlemen might attempt to 
 disguise the matter as they would ; it was in vain to hope 
 that it could be understood by the people in any other 
 light. A moment s consideration must satisfy gentlemen, 
 that such was the case. If the Convention bad changed 
 the organization of the courts, there would be a propriety 
 in providing for the reappointment of the judges but this 
 they had not done. The court of chancery was placed by 
 the amendment on precisely the same footing as it now 
 stood in the constitution. How, then, could it be gravely 
 contended, that its introduction into the amendment was 
 for any other purpose than to get rid of the incumbent? 
 The only alteration made in the supreme court, (if that 
 could be called one,) was the authority given to the Le 
 gislature to reduce the number of judges. This, he said, 
 was a power they now possessed, by withholding salaries 
 from all above the number they desired. But assuming 
 that it was in fact an alteration, can the gentlemen from 
 Delaware and Saratoga, natter themselves with the hope 
 that this trifling alteration can possibly, with an intelligent 
 public, exempt the amendment they support from the im 
 putation of being a mere personal measure, having, and 
 being intended to have, a personal bearing, and no other ? 
 But to put this matter at rest, let the gentlemen give to 
 their proposition the shape of their argument. If, say 
 they, the Legislature should alter the number, then a re- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUUEN. 19(1 
 
 appointment will be proper; and to meet such a case, 
 they submit a proposition which requires a re-appoint- 
 nient at ail events. Let them say, in their amendment, 
 that (/"a change ot the number of the judges is ultimately 
 effected, then the offices of the present incumbents shall 
 be vacated. Then, and then only, will they be entitled to 
 the benefit of their argument. That, however, he knew 
 would not answer their views. But why reason upon this 
 subject? The gentlemen have, as in the select commit 
 tee, thrown off all disguise, and say these offices ought to 
 be vacated ; and it is their desire that the constitution 
 should be made to bend to that purpose. Mr. Van Buren 
 said he had stated that the amendment went to apply this 
 rule of vacating commissions, exclusively to our highest 
 judicial offices. This, he said was strictly true with re 
 gard to the attorney-general, secretary of state, surveyor- 
 general, and comptroller. Their offices had not been va 
 cated. The only provision which had been made was to 
 provide for appointments in case of vacancies. The same 
 might be said of the canal commissioners, and of every 
 other office in the state. * * 
 
 "The matter therefore being clear, that the only effect 
 of the amendment would be to turn out of office the pres 
 ent incumbents, he submitted to the convention whether 
 it would be either just or wise to do so. He submitted it 
 he said, particularly to that portion of the convention, 
 who would be held responsible for its doings, and who 
 would in a political point of view, be the chief sufferers 
 by a failure of the ratification of their proceedings by the 
 people. He warned them to reflect seriously on this most 
 interesting matter. He directed their attention to the 
 never ending feuds and bitter controversies which would 
 inevitably grow out of a loss of the amendments adopted 
 by the convention. He knew well, he said, how apt men 
 placed in their situation, heated by discussions, and 
 sometime pressed by indiscreet friends, were to suffer 
 their feelings to be excited, and to lead them into measures 
 which their sober judgments would condemn. It was 
 their duty to rise superior to all such feelings. He asked 
 them to reflect for a moment, and then answer him, 
 whether, when they left home, they had ever heard the 
 least intimation from their constituents, that instead of 
 amending the constitution upon general principles, they 
 were to descend to pulling down obnoxious officers through 
 the medium of the convention : and he asked them wheth 
 er they were not sensible of the great danger of surprising 
 
200 LIFE OF MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 the public at this advanced stage of the session, when, the 
 greatest uneasiness already prevailed, by a measure so un 
 expected. There was, he said, no necessity for, or pro 
 priety in, this measure. They had already thrown wide 
 open the doors of approach to unworthy incumbents. They 
 had altered the impeaching power; from two thirds to a 
 bare majority. They had provided also that the Chancel 
 lor and Judges should be removable by the vote of two 
 thirds of one branch, and a bare majority of the other. 
 The judicial officer who could not be reached in either of 
 those ways, ought not to be touched. There were there 
 fore no public reasons for the measure, and if not, then 
 why are we to adopt it? Certainly not from personal 
 feelings. If personal feelings could or ought to influence 
 us, against the individual who w r ould probably be most 
 affected by the adoption of this amendment, Mr. Van Bu- 
 ren supposed that he above all others, would be excused 
 for indulging them. He could with truth say, that he 
 had through his whole life been assailed from that quar 
 ter, with hostility, political, professional, and personal 
 hostility Avhich had been the most keen, active and un 
 yielding. But, sir, said he, am I on that account, to avail 
 myself of my situation as a representative of the people, 
 sent here to make a constitution for them and their pos 
 terity, and to indulge my individual resentments in the 
 prostration of my private and political adversary. He ho 
 ped it was unnecessary for him to say, that he should for 
 ever despise himself if he could be capable of such con 
 duct. He also hoped that that sentiment was not confin 
 ed to himself alone, and that the convention would not 
 ruin its character and credit, by proceeding to such ex 
 tremities."* 
 
 A similar magnanimity of spirit has controlled 
 the whole public life of Mr. Van Buren, of which 
 a memorable example occurred at a later period, 
 in reference to Mr. Clay s nomination as secretary 
 of state. It has never been reciprocated, how- 
 er, by his political opponents. 
 
 * Debates in the New York Convention, p. 525. 
 
CHAPTER X f . 
 
 Mu. VAN BUKEN S course in the Senate of Ike United 
 Slates. His views on the subject of Imprisonment 
 for Debt. 
 
 It will be our duty, now, to accompany Mr. 
 Van Buren to a more dignified and broader thea 
 tre of action. On the third day of December, 
 1821, he took his seat as Senator of the United 
 States, having been appointed by the Legislature, 
 of New York, the February preceding. He was, 
 at that time just entering upon the thirty-ninth 
 year of his age. 
 
 We have, thus far, followed him through a labo 
 rious course of political and professional duties, in 
 his native state, for more than twenty years. We 
 have seen him advancing in his professional career, 
 first to the capital of his county, and then of the 
 state, and finally, filling for several years, her 
 highest law office. We have seen the progress of 
 his political ascendency, first in his native village, 
 
202 THE LIFE OF 
 
 then in the county, and finally throughout this 
 same great state. We have seen him advance, 
 by industry and perseverance, in his professional 
 course to the pinnacle of his ambition, in despite of 
 manifold disadvantages and discouraging obstacles. 
 We have seen the same indefatigable exertion, the 
 same unwearied zeal, the same consistency and in 
 tegrity of character, winning the confidence of the 
 political party to which he adhered, until he had 
 gained a share in their affections and a claim on 
 their grateful respect, which rarely falls to the lot of 
 any man. 
 
 His progress had been natural, open and reason 
 able ; the consistent result of honesty, exertion 
 and talent. It is true his laborious and extended 
 legal practice had furnished him with resources of 
 learning, and readiness in argument, which, if view 
 ed only in their full display, at the moment of ma 
 turity, were fitted to excite admiration and surprize. 
 So also his long study of the human heart, his great 
 experience in political matters, and his pre-eminent 
 good sense had given him a power of interpreting 
 the popular will, and of uniting, harmonizing and 
 directing the feelings of those with whom he acted, 
 which few men ever attained to. 
 
 No wonder, therefore, that superficial observers, 
 looking only at the admirable results of his riper 
 experience, and neglecting the laborious discipline 
 by which he had attained them, ascribed his unri 
 valled political ascendency, and the firmness of his 
 hold upon the affections of the people, to some se 
 cret, magical influence, some mysterious and un- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREJV. 203 
 
 discoverable spell, entirely foreign to the true 
 cause. 
 
 This shallow prejudice was much strengthened 
 when Mr. Van Buren was seen to rise, at his first 
 entrance into the Legislature of the nation, to the 
 same commanding influence he had long maintain 
 ed in the councils of his native state. They who 
 ascribed his success at home, not to the laborious 
 exertion of superior talent during nearly a quarter 
 of a century, but to intrigue, artifice and corrup 
 tion, looked forward to his early confusion and 
 defeat in the United States Senate : an assembly 
 in which ability, only, can secure influence and re 
 spect. 
 
 But at this point also, as at every other in his 
 political career, his enemies were doomed to dis 
 appointment. His varied intellectual resources, 
 natural and acquired, began to command their ap 
 propriate respect, almost upon his first entrance 
 into the Senate ; and before the termination of the 
 first session of his service, he had established, in 
 that high body, which ever embraces some of the 
 most distinguished men in the nation, a reputation 
 surpassed by few of its oldest members. 
 
 To furnish a complete view of Mr. Van Buren s 
 services in the Senate of the United States, during 
 the seven years he was a member, would be to 
 transcribe a large portion of its proceedings. I 
 shall, therefore, classify as far as possible, the va 
 rious subjects upon which his opinions were ex 
 pressed, during his service in the Senate, and shall 
 endeavor, by extracting some portions of his 
 
204 THE LIFE OF 
 
 speeches and by a careful analysis of others, to 
 present an accurate view of his political sentiments 
 on each important question, and to exhibit, with 
 clearness, to the reader, the leading features of his 
 senatorial career. 
 
 On the 17th of December, he was elected a 
 member of the committee on finance, and also of 
 the committee on the judiciary. Shortly after 
 wards, he became chairman of the latter commit 
 tee, a position which he retained during his contin 
 uance in the Senate. His first remarks in the 
 Senate were on the claim of the Marquis De Mai- 
 son Rogue : a claim which involved the title to 
 about half a million acres of the public lands. 
 This claim was discussed on the 12th of February, 
 1822. Mr. Van Buren spoke nearly two hours, 
 but the discussion involved too few general princi 
 ples to justify an extract from his speech. On this 
 debate the National Intelligencer remarked : " the 
 debate was able, and, in the course of it, two of 
 the new members, Mr. Southard and Mr. Van 
 Buren, came forward with a display of much tal- 
 -ent and with considerable effect, though on oppo 
 site sides." During the same session he made re 
 marks, among other topics, on the apportionment 
 bill ; on the French land claims in Louisiana, and 
 the settlement of difficulties between the states ; 
 -and on paying salaries to public officers who were 
 indebted to the United States. 
 
 At an early period of his public service^ as a 
 member of the Senate of New York, he introduc 
 ed into that assembly, a bill to abolish imprison- 
 
MARTIN VAN BITREN. 205 
 
 ment for debt, except in cases of fraud, malicious 
 injury, or gross breach of trust. He strenuously 
 brought forward this proposition several years in 
 succession, and finally obtained for it the approba 
 tion of the Senate. It however failed in the House 
 of Representatives. The principle was eventually 
 incorporated into the jurisprudence of New York, 
 hut not until many years after Mr. Van Buren s 
 removal into the councils of the nation. 
 
 In compliance with his views entertained at this 
 Dearly period, so soon as he became a member of 
 the United States Senate, he co-operated, actively, 
 with Richard M. Johnson, in attempting to ingraft 
 the same great principle upon the jurisprudence of 
 the United States. 
 
 Accordingly, we find him as early as January? 
 1823, taking a deep interest in the bill proposed by 
 Col. Johnson, and offering sundry amendments 
 and modifications which were likely to do away 
 objections to the measure and improve its practical 
 operation. 
 
 On the 16th of March, 1824, two of these 
 amendments were discussed; one allowed the 
 debtor to be held to bail, on proof, by two witnesses 
 that he was about to leave the country ; the other 
 provided that upon charge of fraudulent conceal 
 ment of property, the fact was to be tried by a 
 jury, and if found to be true, execution was to is 
 sue against the body of the creditor. 
 
 In connection w r ith this subject he made a few 
 remarks, the substance of which, as imperfectly re- 
 18 
 
206 LIFE OF MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 ported, has already been laid before the public. 
 Having on a former occasion introduced an expli 
 cit declaration of his views on this subject, it will 
 not be necessary to repeat them at the present 
 time. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MB. VAN BUREN proposes to amend the constitution of the 
 United States so as to keep the choice of President 
 and Vice President from the House of Representa 
 tives. Extracts from his speech on that subject. 
 
 The reader s attention will next be directed to 
 Mr. Van Buren s views with regard to the mode 
 of electing the President and Vice President of 
 the United States. 
 
 In his action on this subject, he appears to have 
 set out with the conviction that there was the ut 
 most necessity of removing the election, if possi 
 ble, from the House of Representatives. By the 
 present system, when the election comes into the 
 house, the small states are on an equality with the 
 large ; and this is the source of their objection to 
 an amendment referring the ultimate choice to 
 electors. To meet the surrender of this right, on 
 the part of the small states, Mr. Van Buren pro 
 posed to divide the states into as many districts as 
 
208 THE L1FF OK 
 
 its number of electors ; each district to choose an 
 elector ; the electors to vote for President and 
 Vice President, and in case of no choice, upon be 
 ing again convened by the President, to vote for 
 one of the two highest candidates, and then in 
 case of no choice, the election to go to the House 
 of Representatives, as at present. 
 
 This proposition was, in substance, sustained by 
 Mr. Van Buren through three successive sessions 
 of Congress. As the subject is still in agitation 
 and is among the most important upon which pub 
 lic opinion is to be formed, an extract from Mr. 
 Van Buren s remarks at the time of introducing his 
 amendment will here be subjoined. 
 
 " Having said this much upon that branch of the subject, 
 Mr. Van Buren would proceed to state briefly another 
 point, in which the proposition he offered differed essen 
 tially from the others proposed, and in which difference 
 was involved a principle in the government, as important, 
 in his view, as any which had for some time been discus 
 sed on that floor. In doinsj so, it was a subject of gratifi 
 cation to him, that this principle had no reference to the 
 relative and conflicting interest of the states in the confed 
 eracy, but looked equally to the welfare and security of 
 all. To a correct understanding of the point, he wished 
 to present, it became necessary to take a brief view of the 
 principle upon, and the circumstances under which, our 
 present form of government was established. Under the 
 articles of confederation, the representation of each state 
 in the General Government was equal. The Union was 
 in all respects purely federal, a league of sovereign states 
 upon equal terms. To remedy certain defects, by sup 
 plying certain powers, the convention which framed the 
 present constitution was called. That convention, it is 
 now well known, was immediately divided into parties, 
 on the interesting question of the extent of power to be 
 given to the new governments ; whether it should be fed 
 eral or national , whether dependent upon or indrpen- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 dent of the state governments. It is equally well known 
 that that point, after having several times arrested the 
 proceedings of the convention, and threatened a dissolu 
 tion of the confederation, subsequently divided the people 
 of the states on the question of ratification. He might 
 add, that with the superadded question of what powers 
 have been given by the constitution to the federal gov 
 ernment, to the agitation which the feelings which sprung 
 up in the convention greatly contributed, it had continu 
 ed to divide the people of this country down to the pre 
 sent period. The party in the convention in favor of a 
 more energetic government, being unable to carry, or, if 
 able, unwilling to hazard the success of the plan with the 
 states, a middle course was agreed upon. That was, that 
 the government should be neither federal nor national, 
 but a mixture of both. That of the Legislative Depart 
 ment, one branch, the power of representation should be 
 wholly national, and the other, the Senate, wholly fede 
 ral. That in the choice of the Executive, both interests 
 should be regarded, and that the Judicial should be or 
 ganized bv the other two. But, to quiet effectually the 
 apprehensions of the advocates for the rights and interest 
 of the states, it was provided that the General Govern 
 ment should be made entirely dependent for its continu 
 ance, on the will and pleasure of the state governments. 
 Hence, it was decided that the house of Representatives 
 should be apportioned among the states, with reference 
 to their population, and chosen by ihe people ; and power 
 was given to Congress to regulate and secure their choice, 
 independent of, and beyond the control of the state go 
 vernments. That the Senate should be chosen exclu 
 sively by the State Legislatures, and that the choice of 
 electors of President and Vice President, although the 
 principle of their appointment was established by the con 
 stitution, should in all respects, except the time of their 
 appointment and of their meeting, be under the exclusive 
 control of the Legislatures of the several states. The 
 scheme of government thus formed, was submitted to the 
 people of the respective states, through their Legislatures, 
 for ratification. For a season its ratification was warmly 
 opposed in almost every state. Although the control over 
 the choice of but one branch, of one department of the 
 government, was vested in Congress, danger to the rights 
 of the states was everywhere apprehended, and the ques 
 tion of ratification of the constitution rendered extremely 
 doubtful. 
 
 18* 
 
210 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " To stern this torrent oi opposition, the most distin 
 guished commentators on the proposed plan (the authors 
 of the Federalist) placed strongly and truly before the 
 people of the stales, the fact of the dependence of the 
 General upon the state governments, and the constitutional 
 right of those governments, or even a majority of them, 
 if the power they had conferred should be abused, to dis 
 continue the new government by withholding its Senate 
 and Chief Magistrate. Among other things they said 
 the state governments may be regarded as constituent 
 and essential parts of the Federal Government, whilst the 
 latter is no wise essential to the operation or organization 
 of their power. Without the intervention of the State 
 Legislatures, the President of the United States can 
 not be elected at all. They must in all cases have a great 
 share in his appointment, and will perhaps, in most cases 
 themselves determine it. The Senate will be elected 
 absolutely and exclusively by the state Legislatures. 
 Even the House of Representatives, though drawn imme 
 diately from the people, will be chosen very much under 
 the influence of that class of men whose influence over 
 the people obtains for themselves an election into the state 
 Legislatures. Thus each of the principal branches of 
 the Federal Government will owe its virtue more or less 
 to the favor of the state governments and must conse 
 quently feel a dependence which will be much more like 
 ly to beget a disposition too obsequious than too over-? 
 bearing toward them. The ratification by a sufficient 
 number of the states was obtained. On reference, how 
 ever, to the proceedings of the state conventions, it will 
 be seen, that in several of the states, the control by Con 
 gress, over the choice of Representatives merely, was 
 strongly remonstrated against. That amendments were 
 proposed for its qualification, by the states of South Caro 
 lina, North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts, New 
 Hampshire, Rhode Island and New York. That most of 
 them resolved that it should be a standing instruction to 
 their delegates in Congress, to endeavor to effect that and 
 other amendments proposed. The proposition of the gen 
 tleman from New Jersey, to which Mr. Van Buren had aU 
 luded, would, if adopted, break an important link in the 
 chain of dependency of the general upon the state gov 
 ernments. It would surrender to the General Government 
 all control over the election of President and Vice Presi 
 dent, by placing the choice of electors on the same footing 
 with that of Representatives. It would at this time be 
 
^MARTIN VAN BUREN. 211 
 
 prematare to go into a minute examination of the provi 
 sions of the resolution alluded to, to show that such would 
 be its effects. Upon examination, it would be found that 
 such would be its construction. That it does in sub 
 stance what another proposition, upon their table, origi 
 nating in the other house, does in words. But even was 
 there doubt upon that subject, that doubt should be re 
 moved by an express provision, reserving to the states 
 their present control over the election, except as to what 
 is particularly provided for in the resolution now proposed. 
 If it is fit to take from the states their control over the 
 choice of electors of President and Vice President, and 
 o-ive it to the Federal Government, it would be equally 
 proper, under the popular idea of giving their election to 
 the people, to divide the states into districts for the choice 
 of Senators, as was proposed in the convention, and give 
 to Congress the control over their election also. If the 
 systembe once broken in upon in this respect, the other 
 measure will naturally follow, and we will then have 
 what was so much dreaded by those who have gone be 
 fore us, and what he feared "would be so much regretted 
 by those who come after a completely consolidated gov 
 ernment a government in which the state governments 
 would be no otherwise known or felt than as it became 
 necessary to control them. To all this, Mr. Van Buren 
 was opposed. He was so, because it was a matter not 
 necessary or fitly connected with the subject under con 
 sideration ; that being a question between the states them 
 selves, or to their relative interest a question which 
 might and ought to be settled, and leave their relation to 
 theFederal Government as it stands at present. The 
 other is a question between the states, collectively, and 
 Federal Government, affecting most materially the rela 
 tion they now bear to each other. But, even if it were pre 
 sented under different circumstances, he would oppose it. 
 Because, however ardent his attachment to the Federal 
 Government, and however anxious he mi^ht be to sustain 
 it, in the exercise of the powers given to it by the consti 
 tution and, in that respect, he would, he trusted, go as 
 far as any man ought to go he was unwilling to destroy 
 or even to release its dependence on the state govern 
 ments. At the time of the adoption of the federal consti 
 tution, it was a question of much speculation and discus 
 sion, which of the two governments would be most in 
 danger from the accumulation of influence by the opera 
 tion of the powers distributed by the constitution. That 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 discussion was founded on the assumption that they were, 
 in several respects, rival powers, and that such powers 
 would always be found in collision. The best lights 
 which could then be thrown upon the subject, were de 
 rived from the examples afforded by the fates of several 
 of the governments of the old world, which were deemed 
 to be, in some respects, similar to ours. But the govern 
 ments in question having operated upon, and been ad 
 ministered by, people whose habits, characters, tempers, 
 and conditions, were essentially different from ours; the 
 inferences to be derived from that source were, at best, 
 unsatisfactory. Mr. Van Buren thought that experience, 
 the only unerring criterion by which matters of this de 
 scription could be tested, had settled for us the general 
 point of the operation of the powers conferred by the con 
 stitution upon the relative strength and influence of the 
 respective governments. It was, in his judgment suscep 
 tible of entire demonstration, that the federal constitution 
 had worked a gradual, if not an undue, increase of the 
 strength and control of the General Government, and a 
 correspondent reduction of the influence, and consequent 
 ly, of the respectability of the state governments. The 
 evidence in support of this position was abundant, and, if 
 the matter should come under full discussion, could be 
 readily afforded. He thought, further, that existing causes, 
 which were every day gaining force, would, for the future 
 more rapidly increase that operation. He considered the 
 qualified dependence of the General upon the state govern 
 ments, as their strong arm of defence to protect them 
 against future abuses. Under that view of the subject, 
 he was opposed to so material a change of the present 
 condition of the respective governments, as would be pro 
 duced by the amendment to which he objected. He was 
 in favor of leaving matters in that respect, as they stood. 
 Under this impression Mr. Van Buren had prepared a 
 resolution which avoided the defect attaching to that of 
 the gentleman from New Jersey ; requiring the contem 
 plated division of the states into districts, to be co-exten 
 sive with the number of electors instead of Representa 
 tives, and, at the same time, secured the great object up 
 on which he had been commenting." 
 
 The proposition to amend met with but little fa 
 vor, in the house of Representatives, and on the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUIlKiV 
 
 Hth of May 1826, we find Mr. Van Buren reluc 
 tantly consenting to its postponement to another 
 session, but pledging himself to persist in sustain 
 ing it in tho following words : 
 
 "Mr. Van Buren said, he would if his life was spared, 
 unite his exertions with those of the Chairman, to press 
 the matter to a favorable conclusion early in the next ses 
 sion ; and notwithstanding that the question would have 
 to be decided by the same house of Representatives, he 
 would do so in full confidence, that their labors would be 
 crowned with complete success. He would briefly state 
 his reasons for that belief. He was satisfied that there 
 was no one point on which the people of the United 
 States were more perfectly united, than upon the proprie 
 ty, not to say, indispensible necessity, of taking the elec 
 tion of President from the house of Representatives. 
 The experieDce under the Constitution, as it stands, as 
 well formerly as recently, had produced that impression, 
 and he considered the vote of the house of Representa 
 tives as the strongest manifestation of its existence. In 
 that respect, it would be of value, but beyond that, it could 
 produce no results. Although it could, he thought, bo 
 satisfactorily shown, that the small states would, if noth 
 ing more was done, be better off than they are under the 
 constitution, as it stands, still all experience has shown 
 that they do not think so. There is no reason to believe 
 that they will ever consent to give up the power they 
 now have without an equivalent, without a resort to the 
 principle upon which the constitution was founded, that 
 of compromise. The equivalent with which they would 
 be satisfied, with which they ought to be satisfied, is the 
 breaking up of the consolidated strength of the large 
 states, by the establishment of the district system. It is 
 in vain, therefore, for gentlemen to be, or to affect to be, 
 in favor of taking the election from the house, unless they 
 are willing to do that also, without which the leading 
 object connot be effected ; without that, all is empty pro 
 fession. We must, for the purpose of the election, make 
 all the slates of the same size, which would be the effect 
 of the district system, and then, and then only, can we 
 give the election of President and Vice President to the 
 people, preserve the purity of the system, and in reality, 
 restore the balance ot power among the states to the foot- 
 
214 LIFE OF MARTIN VAN BURRN. 
 
 ing on which it stood at the adoption of the constitution. 
 Believing that the desire to take the election from the 
 house had sunk deep in the public mind, knowing the all 
 powerful agency which public sentiment fortunately had 
 in our .government, he had the strongest hopes that the 
 correct sentiment which now happily, existed upon this 
 one point would be able to carry the other with it. He 
 hoped, and believed, that the people of the United States 
 would, in the coming recess, in all constitutional forms, 
 express their opinion upon this subject. If they did so, 
 and if they really desire the election of their Chief Ma 
 gistrate, and were true to themselves another session 
 would not pass by, without an opportunity being furnish 
 ed to the states to express their opinion upon this most 
 interesting subject ; a subject with which, in his opinion, 
 the future welfare of the country, and the liberties of its 
 citizens, were more closely connected than any other 
 which had been agitated in Congress since the adoption 
 of the constitution." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN S proposed amendment of the Judiciary 
 system of the United States. His speech on the Ju 
 diciary system. 
 
 As chairman of the committee on the Judiciary, 
 that department received a large share of Mr. Van 
 Buren s attention and engrossed a large amount of 
 his labors. Various bilis were reported, at differ 
 ent times, of which the object was to extend the 
 benefit of the Circuit Courts to the western states. 
 Two great principles were chiefly contended for 
 in the Senate ; one went to establish District Courts 
 to the necessary extent, to exercise the functions 
 of the present Circuit Courts ; and to relieve the 
 judges of the Supreme Court from any other 
 duties than holding a revisory court in Washing 
 ton. The other plan proposed to add to the num 
 ber of judges of the Supreme Court, and require 
 them to travel on the several circuits, as at pre 
 sent. 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 The first bill reported by Mr. Van Buren as 
 Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, on the llth 
 of March 1824, was on the former principle. It 
 did not, however, meet favor in the Senate, and if 
 it ever had the approbation of Mr. Van Buren, he 
 afterwards became decidedly averse to a separa 
 tion of the Supreme Court from the Circuits. On 
 the 9th of January 1826, he reported, from the 
 judiciary committee, a bill which established three 
 new circuits and added three new judges to the 
 Supreme Court. His speech in explanation and 
 support of this bill, delivered in the Senate, on the 
 7th of April following, is one of the most elaborate 
 and eloquent to be found in the debates of that 
 body. In the outset of this truly great speech, he 
 states, with his usual distinctness and brevity, the 
 necessity of some alteration in the existing system * 
 This was embraced under three heads. 
 
 1st. The great accumulation of business in the 
 Supreme Court : 
 
 2d. The unfinished business in the Circuit com 
 posed of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee : 
 
 3d. The exclusion of six states, viz. Illinois, Mis 
 souri, Indiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisia 
 na, from the benefits of the Circuit Court. 
 
 These positions were illustrated by a most impos 
 ing array of facts, collected with great industry 
 and arranged in the most lucid and forcible order. 
 
 After thus exhibiting the evil to be remedied, 
 and commenting upon the intrinsic difficulties 
 which attended every alteration of the present sys 
 tem, he entered into a full examination of the va- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 217 
 
 rious remedies proposed. He strenuously object 
 ed to the schemes which involved a separation of 
 the Supreme Court from the Circuits ; as it would 
 withdraw them from the power of public opinion, 
 a power which he characterized " as the most 
 honest and best of all powers," and would render 
 the court an appendage of the national government, 
 in the highest degree dangerous to the states. The 
 attention of the reader is earnestly requested to 
 the following extracts from this speech ; they de 
 pict the enormous powers of the Supreme Court 
 and its constant tendency to amplify its jurisdic 
 tion, in the clearest colors ; at the same time, the 
 tone of remarks is free from asperity, and charac 
 terized by great respect for the important tribunal 
 whose functions were under examination. The 
 speaker s first object is to show the impolicy of 
 separating the Supreme Court from the Circuits. 
 
 "By the present Judiciary act it is provided, that the 
 laws of the several states, except where the constitution, 
 treaties, or statutes of the United States, shall otherwise 
 require or provide, shall be regarded as rules of decision 
 in trials at common law, in courts of the United States, 
 in cases where they apply. 
 
 " In many, if not most, of the controverted cases be 
 tween individuals, of which the Federal Courts derive 
 jurisdiction from the character of the parties, the titles 
 under which they claim, or from other sources, the local 
 or state law forms the rule of decision. An intimate 
 knowledge of that is, therefore, an indispensable qualifi 
 cation for a judge of the Supreme Court. The difficulty 
 of acquiring and retaining it is infinitely greater than 
 would, on first impression, be supposed. Of the twenty- 
 four states, there are not two whose laws, affecting the 
 rights of persons and property, are in all respects, the 
 same. Between many the differences are as great as is 
 usual between s-tates on different continents. Each ha? 
 19 
 
218 THE LIFE OF 
 
 an established system, wholly unconnected with its sister 
 states. The system is composed of portions of the En 
 glish common law, adopted with various modifications 
 and alterations, of more or less of the principle of the 
 English equity system, of the statutes of the states, and 
 the constructions which have, from time to time, been 
 put upon them by the state judicatories. It is true that 
 these are all to be found in books, but we well know how 
 little apt men are, when they can avoid it, to study sub 
 jects of this description, and men of experience in these 
 things know the extreme difficulty, not to say impractica 
 bility, of making one s self at all familiar with them in 
 any other way than by actual practice in the courts, either 
 in examining them for argument, or in deciding them 
 from day to day. 
 
 " There is another consideration belonging to this 
 branch of the subject, entitled to great weight. It is im 
 possible, with the best intention on the part of the execu 
 tive branch of the government, to avoid bad appointments. 
 Influence and favoritism sometimes prevail, and to a want 
 of correct information the government is always exposed. 
 Incompetent men, therefore, will sometimes be appoint 
 ed. If confined to the discharge of term duties only, the 
 country may be saddled with them during their whole 
 lives. They might assent or dissent at terms, and the 
 kindness of their brethren, and their respect for the 
 character of the court, would induce them to do as the 
 rest. But the case is greatly otherwise, if they are oblig 
 ed to preside at Circuits, to discharge their high duties in 
 the face of the people, unaided by their brethren of the 
 bench. There is a power in public opinion in this coun 
 try, " and I thank God for it ;" for it is the most honest 
 and best of all powers, which will not tolerate an incom 
 petent or unworthy man to hold in his weak or wicked 
 hands, the lives and fortunes of his fellow-citizens. 
 This power operates alike upon the government and the 
 incumhent. The former dare not disregard it, and the 
 latter can have no adequate wish that they should, when 
 he once knows the estimation in which he is held. This 
 public ordeal, therefore, is of great value ; in my opinion, 
 much more so than what has, with some propriety, been 
 called the scare-crow of the constitution, the power of 
 impeachment. 
 
 "But there is still another view of the subject, bearing, 
 with irresistible force, against the separation of the justi 
 ces of the Supreme Court, under any circumstances, from 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 the Circuit Courts, and against the adoption of any sys 
 tem, which, though it does not directly, may, ultimately, 
 lead to that result. * * * 
 
 "Hitherto, the justices of the Supreme Court have re 
 sided in the states, and with a single individual excep 
 tion, within their respective Circuits. Before the act of 
 1802, because the principal part of their business was 
 there ; since 1S02, because the law made it their duty. If 
 other provision is made for holding the Circuits, the whole 
 business of the justices of the Supreme Court would be 
 done here, and, sooner of later, they would, in the natu 
 ral course of things, all move to, and permanently reside 
 at the seat of Government. 
 
 " From that result, inferences, of a contrary character, 
 but uniting in deprecating its policy, are drawn. Some 
 think they see in it danger to the Court, others apprehend 
 danger from the Court. In my judgment both are right. 
 
 " It has been justly observed elsewhere, that there ex 
 ists not upon earth, and there never did exist, a judicial 
 tribunal clothed with power so various and so important, 
 as the Supreme Court. * * * 
 
 "Not only are the acts of the National Legislature sub 
 ject to its review, but it stands as the umpire between the 
 conflicting powers of the General and state Governments. 
 That wide field of debatable ground between those rival 
 powers is claimed to be subject to the exclusive and ab 
 solute dominion of the Supreme Court. The discharge 
 of this solemn duty has not been unfrequent, and certain 
 ly, not uninteresting. In virtue of this power, we have 
 seen it holding for naught the statutes of powerful states, 
 which had received the deliberate sanction, not only of 
 their Legislatures, but of their highest Judicatories, com 
 posed of men of venerable years, of unsullied purity, and 
 unrivalled talents, statutes, on the faith of whicn immense 
 estates had been invested, and the inheritance of the wid 
 ow and the orphan were suspended. You have seen 
 such statutes abrogated by the decision of this Court, and 
 those who had confided in the wisdom and power of the 
 state authorities, plunged in irremediable ruin. Decisions, 
 final in their effect, and ruinous in ;heir consequences. 
 I speak of the power of the Court, not the correctness or 
 incorrectness of its decisions. With that we have here 
 nothing to do. 
 
 " But this is not all. It net 9nly sits in final judgment 
 upon our acts, as the highest legislative body known to 
 the country ; it not only claims to be the absolute arbiter 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 between the federal and state governments, but it exer 
 cises the same great power between the respective stales 
 forming this great confederacy, and their own citizens. 
 By the constitution of the United States, the states are 
 prohibited from passing- any law impairing the obliga 
 tion of contracts? This brief provision has given to the 
 jurisdiction of the Supreme Court a tremendous sweep. 
 Before I proceed to delineate i s tendency and character, 
 I will take leave to remark upon some extraordinary cir 
 cumstances in relation to it. We all know the severe 
 scrutiny to which the constitution was exposed. Some 
 from their own knowledge, others from different sources. 
 We know with what jealousy, with what, watchfulness, 
 with what scrupulous care its minutest provisions were 
 examined, discussed, resisted, and supported, by those 
 who opposed, and ihose who advocated its ratification. 
 But, of this highly consequential provision, this provision 
 which carries so great a portion of all that is valuable in 
 state legislation to the feet of the federal judiciary, no 
 complaints were heard, no explanations asked, no re 
 monstrances made. If there were, they have escaped my 
 researches. It is most mysterious, if the constitution 
 was then understood, as it now is, that this was so. An 
 explanation of it has been given, how correct I know 
 not. 
 
 " The difficulties which existed between us and Great 
 Britain relative to the execution of the treaty of peace, 
 are known to all. Upon the avowed ground of retalia 
 tion for the refusal of England to comply with the stipu 
 lation on her part, laws Avere passed, between the years 
 1783 and 1788, by the states of Virginia, South Carolina, 
 Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Georgia, delaying execu 
 tion, liberating the body from imprisonment on the deliv 
 ery of property, and admitting execution to be discharg 
 ed in paper money. Although those laws were general in 
 their tenn.3, applicable as well to natives as to foreigners, 
 their chief operation was upon the British creditors, and 
 such was the leading design of their enactment. England 
 remonstrated against them as infractions of the stipula 
 tion in the treaty, that creditors, on either side, should 
 meet with no impediments to the recovery of the full 
 value, in sterling money, of all debts previously contract 
 ed, and attempted to justify the glaring violations of the 
 treaty, on her part, on that ground. An animated discus 
 sion took place between the federal government and 
 Great Britain, and between the former and the stafps iu 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 question, upon the subject of the laws referred to, their 
 character and effect. It was during this time that the 
 constitution was formed and ratified. It is supposed that 
 the difficulties, thus thrown in the way of adjustment 
 with England, through the acts of the state governments, 
 suggested the insertion in the constitution of the provision 
 in question, and that it was under a belief that its chief 
 application would be to the evil then felt, that so little 
 notice was taken of the subject. 
 
 "If it be true, that such was its object, and such its 
 supposed effect, it adds another arid a solemn proof to 
 that which all experience has testified, of the danger of 
 adopting general provisions for the redress of particular 
 and partial evils. But, whatever the motives that led to 
 its insertion, or the cause that induced so little observa 
 tion on its tendency, the fact of its extensive operation is 
 known and acknowledged. The prohibition is not con 
 fined to express contracts, but includes such as are impli 
 ed by law, from the nature of the transaction. Any one, 
 conversant with the usual range of state Legislation, will, 
 at once, see how small a portion of it is exempt, under 
 this provision, ftom the supervision of the seven judges 
 of the Supreme Court. The practice under it has been 
 in accordance with what should have been anticipated. 
 
 " There are few states in the Union, upon whose acts 
 the seal of condemnation has not, from time to time, been 
 placed by the Supreme Court. The sovereign authori 
 ties of Vermont, New Hampshire, New York7 New Jer 
 sey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 
 Missouri, Kentucky and" Ohio, have, in turn, been rebuked 
 and silenced, by the over-ruling authority of this Court. I 
 must not be misunderstood, sir, as complaining of the ex 
 ercise of this jurisdiction by the Supreme Court, or to pass 
 upon the correctness of their decisions. The authority 
 has been given to them, and this is not the place to ques 
 tion its exercise. But this I will say, that, if the question 
 of conferring it was now presented for the first time, I 
 should unhesitatingly say, that the people of the states 
 might with safety, be" left to their own Legislatures, and 
 the protection of their own courts. 
 
 " Add to the immense powers of which I have spoken, 
 those of expounding treaties, so far, at least, as they bear 
 upon individuals, citizens, or aliens, of deciding contro 
 versies between the states of the confederacy themselves, 
 and between the citizens of the different states, and the 
 justice of the remark will not be questioned, that there 
 19* 
 
222 THE LIFE OF 
 
 is no known judicial power so transcendently omnipotent 
 as that of the Supreme Court of the United States! 
 
 " Let us now, for a few moments, consider the influ 
 ence which this ought to have upon our legislation. It 
 would not be in accordance Avith the common course of 
 nature to expect that such mighty powers can long con 
 tinue to be exercised, without accumulating a weight of 
 prejudice that may, one day, become dangerous to an in 
 stitution which all admit to be of inestimable value. It is 
 true, as has elsewhere been said, with apparent triumph, 
 that the states, whose legislative acts have successively 
 fallen under the interdiction of the court, have excited 
 little or no sympathy on the part of their sister states, and 
 after struggling with the giant strength of the Court have 
 submitted to their fate. But, sir, it is feared that this 
 will not always be the case. Those who are most ardent 
 in their devotion to this branch of the government, know 
 ing the feelings produced by these decisions in the states 
 affected by them, sensible that those feelings are rather 
 smothered than abandoned, upon conviction of their injus 
 tice, fear that, by adding another and another state to the 
 ranks of those who think they have reason to complain, 
 an accumulation of prejudice may be produced, that will 
 threaten, if not endanger, the safety of the institution. 
 
 :c Seeing, and feeling, and fearing this, they, with wise 
 and patriotic foresight, wish to adopt every measure which 
 will retain and increase, as far as practicable, the general 
 confidence in the Court, and to avoid such as may, by 
 possibility, have a tendency to weaken it. No reflecting 
 man can doubt, that the residence of the judges of the 
 Supreme Court in the states, being subject in their per 
 sons, family, and estates, to the laws of the state, portions 
 of their families, as is frequently the case, members of 
 the state governments, and themselves only temporarily 
 absent, going in and out before the people of the states, and 
 commanding their confidence by the purity of their lives, 
 and the modesty of their demeanor, enforcing and ex 
 pounding their own decisions in the face of the different 
 classes of the community at the Circuits, and in free and 
 familiar intercourse with those who have such great in 
 fluence in giving a proper direction to public opinion on 
 legal subjects, must have an infinitely greater tendency 
 to enable the judges to sustain themselves in the honest 
 discharge of their high duties, than if they were cut off 
 from all connection with the states. Greater than if they 
 were settled in this metropolis, and to the great mass of 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 223 
 
 the people of the states unheard and unseen, but felt in 
 their power, through the remotest borders of the Union; 
 and how felt, sir? Not as is the case with the other bran 
 ches of the government, in extending favors, in munifi 
 cent grants and all the various measures of relief, no, 
 sir, always on one side, and not unfrequently on all sides, 
 their measures are regarded as harsh and vindictive. 
 Their business is to punish the guilty, to restrain the vi 
 cious, to curb power, and to correct its excess. Such acts 
 are necessary to the well being, to the very existence of 
 society, but are not those which have the strongest ten 
 dency to conciliate popular favor. It is to effect this ob 
 ject, in part, that the friends of the bill, as I cannot but 
 think wisely, so zealously resist every measure which will 
 or may separate the justices of the Supreme Court from 
 The Circuits, and bring them to this city. 
 
 : But this is not the only, or the most interesting view, 
 which may be taken of the subject. The political cha 
 racter of the Court, so far as it becomes its duty to pass 
 on the laws of the respective states, affecting personal 
 rights, has already been referred to. A few cursory ob 
 servations upon the character and tendency of its jurisdic 
 tion, so far as it relates to the powers of tne General and 
 state Governments, considered as independent, and in ma 
 ny respects, rival states, will conclude my remarks on 
 this branch of the subject. 
 
 " The unfortunate extent of the grounds of collision be 
 tween the respective governments, has already been re 
 ferred to. It was beyond the wit of man. in the constitu 
 tion of a government like ours, to have wholly avoided it, 
 and it can only be lessened by mutual forbearance and 
 explanatory amendments. He must be but a superficial 
 observer of events, who is not sensible that it is a subject 
 which is every attracting more of public attention and so 
 licitude. There are those, sir, and they are neither small 
 in number, nor light in character, who think that the uni 
 form tendency of the political decisions of the Supreme 
 Court has been to strengthen the arm of the General Gov 
 ernment, and to weaken those of the slates. Such men 
 think that danger to the state governments is to be appre 
 hended from permanently fixing the Judges of the Su 
 preme Court at the seat of the federal government. They 
 fear, (to use an expression, which, though not literally ap 
 plicable here, still so well conveys the idea) that it 
 would be establishing a power behind the throne stron 
 ger than the throne itself. Thus thinking, they com- 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 menced, as far back as the now vindicated, but for 
 merly much abused, act of 1802, to confine the justi 
 ces of the Supreme Court to their respective Circuits, 
 and that course has been persevered in to the present 
 day. They think the inevitable tendency of a change 
 would be for the worse, that, if the Judges come here 
 under the eye of the government, prominent parties as 
 they always must be to all collisions between the re 
 spective governments, they could not fail to embark 
 more strongly in the feelings of men in power here, 
 than they now do. 
 
 " Sir, this has become a subject on which it is difficult 
 for one to speak without unpleasantly encountering the 
 strong opinions entertained on different sides of the ques 
 tion. On the one hand, expressions of distrust and dis 
 satisfaction are heard, of a character so strongly marked, 
 as to defeat their object and recoil upon their authors. On 
 the other, a sentiment, I had almost said, of idolatry for 
 the Supreme Court, has grown up, which claims for its 
 members an almost entire exemption from the fallibility 
 of our nature, and arraigns with unsparing bitterness the 
 motives of all who have the temerity to look with[inquisi- 
 tiveeyes into this consecrated sanctuary of the law. So 
 powerful has this sentiment become, such strong hold 
 has it taken upon the press of this country, that it re 
 quires not a little share of firmness in a public man, how 
 ever imperious may be his duty, to express sentiments 
 that conflict with it. It is nevertheless correct, sir, that 
 in this, as in almost every other case, the truth is to be 
 found in a just medium of the subject. To so much of 
 the high-wrought eulogies, (which the fashion of the times 
 has recently produced in such great abundance) as allows 
 to the distinguished men who now hold in their hands 
 that portion of the administration of public affairs, talents 
 of the highest order and spotless integrity, I cheerfully 
 add the very humble testimony of my unqualified assent. 
 That the uncommon man who now presides over the 
 Court, and who I hope may long continue to do so, is, in 
 all human probability, the ablest Judge now sitting upon 
 any judicial bench in the world, I sincerely believe. But 
 to the sentiment, which claims for the Judges so great a 
 share of exemption from the feelings that govern the con 
 duct of other men, and for the Court the character of be 
 ing the safest depository of political power, I do not 
 subscribe. I have been brought up in an opposite faith 
 and all my experience has confirmed me in its correct- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 ness. In my legislation upon this subject, I will act in 
 conformity to those opinions. I believe the Judges of the 
 Supreme Court, (great and good men as I cheerfully con 
 cede them to be,) are subject to the same infirmities, 
 influenced by the same passions, and operated upon by 
 the same causes that good and great men are in other sit 
 uations. I believe they have as much of the esprit du 
 corps as other men, those who act otherwise, form an 
 -erroneous estimate of human nature: and if they act 
 upon that estimate, will, soon or late, become sensible of 
 their delusion. 
 
 " I conscientiously believe, that, to bring the Judges of 
 the Supreme Court to the seat of the General Govern 
 ment, and making them, as it were, a part of the admin 
 istration, for such, it is to be feared, would soon be its 
 effect, would bode no good to the state governments. With 
 feelings for the General Government, as I humbly hope, 
 purely catholic, I firmly believe, and my daily experience 
 confirms that conviction, that much, very much of the 
 present prosperity of the country and its institutions, de 
 pends upon the successful action of the state governments 
 and that the preservation of their rightful powers is the 
 sine qua non of our future welfare. I will not, therefore, 
 give my assent to any measure which may still further 
 disqualify the states to sustain themselves in those 
 collisions of power which are unavoidable, and in which 
 the situation of the parties is already so unequal. I 
 believe a different disposition of the Judges of the Su 
 preme Court from that provided by this bill, would have 
 such effect, and I ana, therefore, most decidedly opposed 
 to it. Sir, it would be strange if the tendencies of this 
 high tribunal were not such as I have supposed ; unless 
 indeed, they were more or less than men. It is not only 
 made by this government, and sustained by this govern 
 ment, its members not only owe to it ail they have and 
 are to be, but they are the only portion of it that is perma 
 nent, that is beyond the reach of any power known to the 
 constitution. The billows of faction may run mountains 
 high, and yet not reach them. The indignant voice of an 
 abused people may, at stated periods, sweep by the board 
 every other portion of the men in power, may take from 
 them the little brief authority under which they have 
 strutted their busy hour upon the stage, and cause them 
 to be seen no more, but the Supreme Court alone, can 
 never be palsied by the will of its constituents. And, 
 sir, all things considered, it is best that it is so." 
 
226 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The above remarks of Mr. Van Buren are de 
 serving of the most serious attention of the Amer 
 ican people : for, in the view of the present wri 
 ter, the powers, attempted to be exercised by the 
 supreme court, within the last few years, are cause 
 of the most serious alarm. A majority of that 
 court appears to have acted, steadily, on the anti 
 quated maxim, " boni est judicis amplificare ju- 
 risdictionem" and the whole tenor of their de 
 cisions, for more than a quarter of a century, 
 has been to strengthen and extend their own pow 
 ers, and to bring the several state governments, 
 in subjection to the federal government. They 
 have recognized the alarming doctrine of implied 
 powers in the constitution, flowing from a latitudi- 
 narian construction of that instrument: they 
 have abrogated state laws, and lent their influ 
 ence to sustain the constitutionality of a national 
 bank ; they have, on a recent occasion, placed 
 themselves in array againt the authority of a state 
 on questions relating to the local administration of 
 criminal justice in that state, and their friends have 
 claimed for them the right of dictating to the co 
 ordinate, executive department of the government, 
 its duties and responsibilities, when a compliance 
 with that dictation would have involved the coun 
 try in civil war. 
 
 The firmness of the present venerable chief 
 magistrate has rescued the country, in a great 
 degree from the evil consequences of these dan 
 gerous principles ; but it is certainly true that 
 the great body of the American people have been 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 227 
 
 led, by the high handed doctrines of the court, 
 to favor such a modification of that department 
 of the government, as shall bring it within the 
 power of public opinion, and check its encroach 
 ments upon the rights of the states and of the 
 other departments of the government of the Uni 
 ted States. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Speech of Air. Van Bur en on the establishment of a uni 
 form system of Bankruptcy. Brief remarks on the 
 public lands. Extracts from his speech on the coloni 
 al trade. 
 
 IN the winter of 1827, the attention of Congress 
 was much occupied with a bill to establish a uni 
 form system of bankruptcy. The term bankrupt, 
 in England, is confined to persons engaged in com 
 mercial operations, and the English bankrupt laws 
 apply only to that class. By the ninety-third sec 
 tion of the bill proposed in the Senate, the provi 
 sions of the act were to extend to all classes, as 
 well as to merchants. Mr. Van Buren, on sever 
 al occasions, took an active part in discussing the 
 general bill ; his sentiments on the general ques 
 tion, and on the particular section above mention 
 ed, are contained in the following brief extract 
 from a speech delivered on the 23d of January, 
 1827. 
 
 On a motion to strike out the ninety third section: 
 20 
 
230 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " Mr. Van Buren said, that, as the decision of the im 
 mediate question before the Senate would control his 
 course on the final passage of the bill, he felt himself con 
 strained to slate the principles which would govern him 
 in the vote he was about to. give. He might not, he said, 
 be as sanguine in his expeccations of the benefits to be 
 anticipated from the establishment of a uniform system 
 of bankruptcy, as some of his colleagues of the commit 
 tee ; but he was not less anxious than they that such a 
 measure should receive the sanction of Congress at the 
 present session. He was aware of the serious and impos 
 ing objections that had heretofore been made to the sys 
 tem, and that would always be made, whenever its esta 
 blishment was attempted. He was sensible of the argu 
 ment that was to be derived from the unfortunate result of 
 the only experiment that had been made upon the subject 
 by the Federal Government. He was, notwithstanding, 
 willing to repeat it. He felt so disposed, not only because 
 lie was satisfied that a great proportion of his immediate 
 constituents desired it, but because he believed their 
 claim upon Congress for the exercise of its constitutional 
 powers in this respect, could be sustained on the ground 
 of policy as well as justice. 
 
 "But, said he, when I say I am in favor of a bankrupt 
 system, I mean to be understood as speaking of a bankrupt 
 system in the language of the constitution, and such as 
 was in contemplation by the framers of that instrument. 
 All the other provisions of the bill, he said, were of that 
 character, and had met his approbation in the committee. 
 The 93d section was not, and had never received his sanc 
 tion. It was an insolvent, and not a bankrupt law. It 
 was such a bill as Congress had no right to pass. He 
 said, he was aware of the ingenuity which had been, and 
 might again be used, to confound the bankrupt and insol 
 vent systems an ingenuity which had before, and might 
 again embarrass the question as to the relative powers of 
 the federal and state Governments. He was conscious 
 of the difficulty, (difficulty arising from the decisions of 
 the Courts, and the frequency and contrariety of legisla 
 tion in England) that existed in laying down a clear and 
 unexceptionable rule of discrimination between bankrupt 
 and insolvent laws. For the present, at least, he should 
 not attempt it. He would content himself with the gen 
 eral declarations that, for nearly three hundred years, 
 the two systems had been kept distinct in England: That 
 they differed in their origin, object, and provisions, and 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 231 
 
 had always, there and here, been executed by different 
 tribunals : That at the time of the adoption of the Con 
 stitution, they were known and distinguished, both in 
 England and in this country, as distinct systems the one 
 having for its object to aflbrd a summary and speedy re 
 medy for creditors against fraudulent or failing traders ; 
 ihe other affording relief to insolvent debtors of all denomi 
 nations. The constitution of the United States, he said, 
 had clothed the national Legislature with power to es 
 tablish the former, and had left the right to pass, .and the 
 -duty of establishing the latter upon the state governments. 
 The 93d section of this bill, he said, was, upon any defi 
 nition that might be given of the different terms, an insol 
 vent law. If it passed, that is, if Congress had the con 
 stitutional power to pass it, the states had no right to pass 
 any law upon the subject of insolvency ; not even to au 
 thorize the discJharge of debtors imprisoned, upon a process 
 issuing out of their own courts, otherwise than as it might 
 suit the pleasure or convenience of Congress to permit. 
 There was, he said, no middle ground. If the partition 
 wall between bankruptcy and insolvency was once bro 
 ken down, all state legislation was subjected -to the abso 
 lute and arbitrary supervision of Congress. He did not 
 -believe that such was the design of the framers-of the con 
 stitution. He did not believe that such was the constitu 
 tion. He, therefore, objected to the constitutional power 
 of Congress to pass the section referred ta He had be 
 fore said, that he rose to explain, not to discuss, and he 
 would not depart from the course he had marked out for 
 himself. He would, therefore only add, that in his judg 
 ment, the provision contained in the 93d section, was not 
 within the reasons which induced the frarners of the con 
 stitution to vest this power of establishing uniform laws 
 on the subject of bankruptcies, in Congress. That it was 
 a power which never ought to be, or to have been, vested 
 in Congress. That it could only be well and successful 
 ly executed by the states, where those who made the con 
 stitution had left it. That its exercise would operate 
 most injuriously upon the system which governed the 
 Union and the states separately. Those mischiefs would, 
 among other things, consist in an injurious extension of 
 the patronage of the federal government, and an insup- 
 Dortable enlargement of the range of its judicial power. 
 It was not his purpose to specify. He would only say, 
 that, if this section passed, it would be perfectly idle to 
 ihink of the sufficiency of one or two, or ten or twenty 
 
232 THE LIFE OF 
 
 commissioners to execute the law in many, if not most, 
 of the states. But a still more exceptionable consequence 
 would be, the extension of the jurisdiction of the federal 
 courts, and the indispensable necessity of an immediate 
 and great increase of their number. The obvious charac 
 ter of this consequence superseded the necessity of detail. 
 The portion of litigation in the different states, arising 
 out of their insolvent laws, was familiar to all, and that 
 would of necessity, be either immediately or ultimately 
 drawn into the federal courts. He was certain that, if 
 the bill passed as it stood, the measure would not stand 
 as long as its predecessor. It was, he thought, improba 
 ble, that the stales could stand quietly by and see them 
 selves thus shorn of so great and salutary a portion of 
 their powers. The decision of the supreme Court of the 
 United States would doubtless, be referred to; of that, 
 he would, for the present, only say, that that high tribu 
 nal had not as yet covered the whole ground. He was 
 aware of what, at the moment he was speaking, was go 
 ing on below. But he would not, for an instant, antici 
 pate farther limitations upon the rights of the states upon 
 this subject. As yet, they had not been restricted by the 
 supreme Court from passing prospective insolvent laws. 
 Such was the ninety-third section. Such the states and 
 the states only, had a right to pass. If Congress acted 
 upon the subject, their act, if acquiesced in, would include 
 a surrender of all state power upon the subject. If it was 
 put to him to decide between being a party in such sur 
 render, or the loss of the bankrupt bill, he could not, as 
 he viewed the subject, without being false to his trust, 
 hesitate in preferring the latter." 
 
 In regard to the disposal of the public lands, a 
 topic of great interest and great difficulty, the fol 
 lowing remarks of Mr. Van Buren were made, on 
 a motion to ask for information, in the Senate, May 
 18th, 1826, 
 
 " Mr Van Buren said, the subject of the public lands 
 was becoming daily more and more interesting, and would 
 occupy much time in legislation. It extended the patron 
 age oi the government over the states in which they were 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. -333 
 
 situated, to a great extent ; it subjected them to an un 
 wise and unprofitable dependence on the federal govern 
 ment. * * * No man could render the country a 
 greater service, than he who should devise some plan by 
 which the United States might be relieved from the own 
 ership of this property, by some equitable mode. He_would 
 vote for a proposition to rest the lands in the states in 
 which they stood, on some just and equitable terms, as 
 related to the other states in the confederacy. He hoped, 
 that after having full information on the subject, they 
 would be able to effect that great object. He believed 
 that if those lands were disposed of at once to the several 
 states, it would be satisfactory to all." 
 
 In the winter of 1827, arose the great discus 
 sion in the Senate, with reference to the intercourse 
 with the British West India Colonies. At a sub 
 sequent period, the instructions furnished by Mr. 
 Van Buren, as Secretary of state, to our minister 
 in England, with reference to the adjustment of 
 this question, were made the ground of his rejec 
 tion by the Senate, when himself nominated as 
 minister to the same foreign court. No act of the 
 American Senate ever aroused the feelings of the 
 American people to a greater extent ; no event of 
 Mr. Van Buren s political life ever had a more im 
 mediate influence upon his success. It will not, 
 therefore, be improper to present his views of this 
 question, at this early period, when his own subse 
 quent connection with the consequences could not 
 have been foreseen. The subjoined extracts from 
 his speech, delivered in the Senate on the 24th of 
 February 1827, present a clear view of the facts in 
 the case, and are replete with the most judicious, 
 statesmanlike and patriotic sentiments. They 
 evince how fully Mr. Van Buren was, then, master 
 20* 
 
234 THE LIFE OF 
 
 of the whole subject, and how little he was disposed 
 to sacrifice national interests, or permit foreign gov 
 ernments to take advantage of domestic differences 
 of opinion. 
 
 " Mr. Van Buren said, it was, until yesterday, my in 
 tention, Mr. President, to abstain from all participation in 
 the discussion of the bill now under consideration. The 
 able examination which it has already received, and the 
 advanced period of the session at which it has been brought 
 forward, alike dictate the propriety of this course. But 
 as neither the bill reported by the committee, nor the 
 amendment proposed as a substitute, by the Senator from 
 Maryland, [Mr. Smith] appears to my judgment entirely 
 satisfactory, I cannot do justice to the vote which I intend 
 to give, without a brief examination of this important 
 subject. The commercial gentlemen who have favored 
 the Senate with their views, have sufficiently examined 
 the details, and explained the value of the trade with the 
 British Colonial possessions. To their remarks on this 
 point, nothing need be said. It is conceded on all sides, 
 that the trade is of great value to our country, and de-. 
 mands every effort for its restoration and protection. 
 Much time has been occupied in criminating and vindi 
 cating the conduct of the different branches of the govern 
 ment, in reference to this subject. Of this, it is not my 
 intention to complain. In a government like ours, where 
 the highest office is but a trust, and every public functiona 
 ry is held responsible for the manner in which this trust 
 has been fulfilled, the closest scrutiny of public measures 
 is at all times necessary. But although not disposed to 
 censure, I will not imitate the example of some of those 
 who have preceded me in the debate ; and it will be my 
 effort to avoid all reference to the conduct of individuals, 
 except so far as may be necessary to explain the course of 
 events, and to exculpate this body from unmerited impu 
 tations. 
 
 " The subject of the colonial trade, involving in itself 
 many opposing interests, has been rendered still more 
 complicated by the various legislative measures, orders, 
 and proclamations, which have, from time to time, been 
 adopted by the respective governments. To revive these 
 acts, and trace, from the extensive diplomatic correspon 
 dence between the two governments, the rise, history, and 
 present state, of the existing differences, is no easy task. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 235 
 
 This, however, I will attempt to do, in the plainest man 
 ner, and fewest words. I avail myself of the present mo 
 ment to do so, for the purpose of affording to the worthy 
 chairman of the committee on commerce, an opportunity 
 to correct, in his closing remarks, any errors into which I 
 may have fallen. For, while it is my object to present an 
 impartial view of the subject, uninfluenced by any other 
 motive than a regard for the interest and honor of our 
 country, it would be the source of unmingled regret, if, 
 mistaking error for truth, it shall be my misfortune to do 
 injustice to others. To foster the infant navigation of the 
 United States, and countervail the regulations of other 
 commercial nations, laws were passed, at an early period 
 of the government, imposing a duty of ninety-four cents 
 per ton on foreign ships and vessels, and ten per centum 
 on the amount of duty on the merchandise, therein im 
 ported, which should arrive in the United States ; from 
 which duties the American vessels and cargoes were 
 exempted.* 
 
 By the act of Congress of March 1815, a new and more 
 liberal policy was commenced. The discriminating du 
 ties on foreign ships and vessels were conditionally re 
 pealed : and a tender was made to all other nations to ex 
 tend to their vessels the privileges enjoyed by their own, 
 on the condition that the same concessions should be 
 made in favor of the vessels of the United States. The 
 principle of this act was adopted in the commercial con 
 vention with Great Britain, of July 3, 1815, but was limi 
 ted, in its application, to the trade between the United 
 States and the British possessions in Europe. It was at 
 that time proposed by the government of the United States 
 to extend the principle to the trade between the United 
 States and the British American colonies. But Great 
 Britain, claiming the right of pursuing a policy, in relation 
 to their colonies, different from that by which the trade 
 between her European possessions and other nations was 
 governed, declined the overture. With regard to this 
 trade, therefore, each party preserved their original rights. 
 By the operation of this convention, and the ordinary nav 
 igation laws of Great Britain, the United States were in 
 effect excluded from all participation in the British West 
 India trade ; and British vessels became the sole carriers 
 of the productions of the American soil, to colonies, to 
 whose prosperity, if not existence, these productions were 
 
 * Hence called discriminating duties. 
 
236 THE LIFE OF 
 
 indispensable. A condition so unequal, demanded the in 
 terposition of our government. 
 
 " Successive, but fruitless appeals were made to the in 
 terests of Great Britain : and the most favorable terms 
 which could be obtained, so late as March 1817, was a 
 proposition to extend to the United Slates the Free Port 
 Act, allowing the importation of certain enumerated arti 
 cles, into certain enumerated ports, in vessels of one deck; 
 to authorize a restricted admission of our vessels into 
 Bermudas and Turks Island ; and to connect with these 
 an article regulating the intercourse between the United 
 States and the British territories adjoining them. After 
 mature deliberation, this proposition was declined by our 
 government. Negotiation having failed in procuring any 
 favorable relaxation of the colonial system of Great Brit 
 ain, Congress deemed it necessary to enforce, by counter 
 vailing legislative enactments, a just participation in the 
 trade ; and in 1818 an act was passed, by which the ports 
 of the United States were clossed against British ves 
 sels coming from colonial ports, which, by the ordinary 
 laws of navigation, were closed against vessels of the Uni 
 ted States. A non-intercourse in British vessels was 
 thus established with the closed ports. Soon after the 
 passing of this act. an opportunity again occurred of pre 
 senting this subject to the attention of the British govern 
 ment, in the negotiation for the renewal of the commercial 
 convention of 1815. But, although propositions were ex 
 changed by the respective governments, the terms still of 
 fered by Great Gritain were such as our government did 
 not deem it proper to accept ; and in May 1820, an act was 
 passed, supplementary to the Navigation Act of 1818, clo 
 sing the ports of the United States against British ves 
 sels coming from any British colonial ports in the West 
 Indies, Lower Canada, &c. and interdicting the landing 
 of the productions of the United States, exported in Brit 
 ish vessels, in the prohibited places, as well as the intro 
 duction into the United States of the goods, wares, and 
 merchandise, of these colonies, except wholly of the growth 
 or produce of the colony whence laden and whence direct 
 ly imported. To prevent or mitigate the effect of these 
 measures upon the trade and prosperity of the colonies, 
 partial relaxations of her colonial system were at times 
 permitted by Great Britain. But these temporary relax 
 ations were not of a character to justify the abandonment 
 of the ground which we had taken. To evince, howev 
 er, our willingness to terminate a system of exclusion and 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 237 
 
 prohibition, which could only be injurious to both parties, 
 Congress, by act of 6th May 1822, authorized the Presi 
 dent, on being satisfied that the British West India Isl 
 ands or colonies were open to the vessels of the Uni 
 ted States, to open the ports of the United States to the 
 vessels of Great Britain, under such reciprocal rules and 
 restrictions as the President might make and publish. 
 The act of Parliament, of 24 th June, 1822, followed. By 
 this act, Great Britain opened the colonial ports, therein 
 designated, to the admission of certain enumerated arti 
 cles, direct from the producing country ; and authorized 
 the exportation of any article of the growth, produce, or 
 manufacture of the British dominions, or any article !e 
 gaily imported into the said ports, (arms and naval stores 
 excepted,) on the condition that they should, in foreign 
 ships, be exportable only direct to the country to which 
 the vessel belonged. The 15th section empowers the 
 King to prohibit trade and intercourse with any country, 
 or island, in America, or the West Indies, if it should ap 
 pear that the privileges granted by the act to foreign ships 
 and vessels, were not allowed to British vessels. The an 
 ticipated contingency having arrived, which required the 
 exercise of the power with which the President had been 
 entrusted by the act of Congress, of 1822, he issued his 
 proclamation in August, 1822, declaring the ports of the 
 United States to be open to British vessels, under such 
 rules and restrictions as were deemed reciprocal. The 
 discriminating duties between American and foreign ves 
 sels, were not rescinded by the proclamation. Of this, the 
 British government complained, alleging that similar priv 
 ileges were not conferred, by the proclamation, on Brit-" 
 ish vessels, as had been conferred on American vessels, 
 by the act of Parliament. On the other hand, it was con 
 tended by our government, that the privileges granted to 
 British vessels were more favorable than those conferred 
 on American vessels engaged in the same trade, on the as 
 sumption that our discriminating duties were to be con 
 tinued. This question gave rise to an extended corres 
 pondence between the appropriate public functionaries of 
 the two governments. It is not necessary, nor is it my in 
 tention, to examine minutely the grounds of these opposite 
 opinions. * * * 
 
 " Such, in substance, were the points of collision be 
 tween the two governments, upon the British act of June, 
 1822. Subsequent changes have rendered a critical ex 
 amination of the justice of the respective pretensions un- 
 
238 THE LIFE OF 
 
 necessary. The correspondence which ensued produced 
 no decisive result. Although Great Britain still alleged 
 the inequality of the privileges enjoyed by British ves 
 sels in American ports, the power to prohibit intercourse 
 with the West India Islands, in pursuance of the act of 
 Parliament of June 1822, remained, for some time, unex- 
 ercised. On the 1st of March 1823, Congress passed an 
 act suspending the non-intercourse acts of 1818 and 1820, 
 and opening our ports to British vessels engaged in the 
 colonial trade, on certain specified conditions. One of 
 the conditions was, that, if the President should receive 
 satisfactory evidence that no higher or other duties were 
 imposed, in the British colonial ports, upon American 
 vessels, or cargoes, than upon British vessels, and upon 
 their cargoes, imported from elsewhere into the same, to 
 discontinue our discriminating or alien duties in favor of 
 British vessels. This act was in accordance with the 
 ground maintained by our government in their correspon 
 dence with Great Britain since the year 1817. It adopts 
 the principle that the reciprocity of burdens and exemp 
 tions should extend to the cargo as well as to the vessel ; 
 and claims for our produce, imported into the British col 
 onies, the privileges allowed to the produce of the mother 
 country, or its colonies. This claim was resisted by Great 
 Britain, as wholly inadmissible ; and, in the same year, 
 an order in Council was enforced, imposing countervail 
 ing duties on American vessels, arriving at her colonial 
 possessions of precisely equal amount to those imposed in 
 our ports, upon British vessels arriving from the colonies. 
 In 1824, there at length appeared some ground to antici 
 pate the speedy termination of the conflicting views. Ne 
 gotiations were commenced, propositions of the respec 
 tive governments were interchanged and the claims of both 
 were supported with ability and zeal. But, although the 
 differences were reduced to a single point, the negotiation, 
 terminated without effecting the desired adjustment. Being 
 limited by his instructions, the American Minister insisted 
 that theproductionsjof the United States imported into the 
 colonies, should not be subjected to a higher duty or im 
 post than those arriving from any other place. The 
 British government were willing to place them on the 
 footing of the most favored nation; but inflexibly main 
 tained their uniformly asserted right to encourage, by dis 
 criminating imposts, the growth and importation of their 
 own productions. 
 "It is not necessary to recapitulate the reason? which 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 were urged by the respective parties, and with which ev 
 ery Senator must be familiar. But it is important to keep 
 in mind, that the failure of the negotiation arose from our 
 government having at that time, adhered to terms, which 
 it has since abandoned. In the instructions from the De 
 partment of State, to our Minister in London, (Mr. Gal- 
 latin.) dated June 19, 1826, we find the following : You 
 will observe, that the instructions now given respecting the 
 colonial trade, amount to an authority, on the part of this 
 government, to you, to agree in substance to the modifica 
 tion of Mr. Rush s proposal, which was required [in 1824} 
 by the British Plenipotentiaries. In July 1824, the Brit 
 ish tender was made : nearly two years elapse; and, in 
 1S26, this tender is accepted ! Nearly two years consu 
 med in the consideration of that which ought not to have 
 required as many months. Well might it have been sup 
 posed that this proffer was rejected : for surely the annals 
 of no country can exhibit so lingering an acceptance. But 
 this acceptance, coming thus slow, unfortunately came 
 too late. Before its arrival, the policy or the inclination 
 of the British goverment had changed ; and, instead of a 
 cordial reception, our Minister was informed that nego 
 tiation was now unnecessary ; and that the only terms of 
 intercourse were prescribed by the acts of Parliament. In 
 this, as well as in concerns of less magnitude, it may be 
 seen that whatever is determined to be done, should be 
 done at once; that deliberation, if it supply the place of 
 action, is not less fatal than precipitation ; and that, to 
 hesitate in the acceptance of a proffered and desired bene 
 fit, and permit occasions to pass away, which can never 
 be recalled, partake of the character of weakness, and de 
 tract from the reputation of any man, whether in the cab 
 inet or in the field. Sir, it is well known to our govern 
 ment, that, in 1825, acts were passed by the British Gov 
 ernment, opening her ports to foreign vessels, coming 
 from any foreign country, upon equal terms with her own; 
 on the condition that the country engaging in such a trade, 
 and having colonies, should allow British vessels to trade 
 with its colonies, on similar terms ; and that a country, 
 having no colonial possessions, should, to entitle itself to 
 the privileges of these acts, place the trade between the 
 British colonies and such country, on the terms of the 
 most favored nation. The King was at the same time 
 authorised to close the British colonial ports against the 
 vessels of any power which should refuse or omit to avail 
 itself of the proffered conditions. Not only were these- 
 
240 THE LIFE OF 
 
 acts in the possession of the Executive ; they were pre 
 sented to your committee, and laid upon our tables. And 
 yet, what was the course pursued by that Department of 
 our Government, to which these concerns were specially 
 confided? Were legislative measures recommended ei 
 ther to suspend or remove the existing restrictions, or to 
 meet, in any way the legislative measures of Great Brit 
 ain ? Not at all. We find the administration, on the 
 contrary, still hesitating, still delaying, and still placing 
 their dependence on renewed negotiation. In their view, 
 legislation was improper ; and one entire session of Con 
 gress thus passed away, and nothing was either done or at 
 tempted under their recommendation. An effort, it is true 
 was made by a member of this body. But the bill intro 
 duced by the Senator from Maryland, and which, had it 
 passed, would at least have manifested a conciliatory spir 
 it, and, in all probability, have led to an honorable ad 
 justment of the pending controversy, was permitted to fail. 
 The cause of its failure, it will hereafter be my object to 
 disclose. Interesting as that may be, the consequences 
 attending it are of more importance to our country. Ap 
 prised of our refusal to modify the existing restrictions up 
 on the trade, or reciprocate the provisions of the acts of 
 Parliament, the British Government, by an Order in Coun 
 cil of July 1826, closed the ports of the West Indies against 
 the vessels of the United States ; and since last Decem 
 ber, the subjects of Great Britain have enjoyed the exclu 
 sive monopoly of this advantageous intercourse. To this 
 has been added the intimation, that no measure will be 
 taken to remove the interdict, while the act of Congress of 
 1823 shall remain in force. * * * 
 
 "Such, sir, is the history and present condition of the 
 existing controversy with Great Britain, which requires, 
 it is said, the enactment of the bill under consideration. 
 The following are some of the deductions which seem to 
 follow, irresistibly, from the view which has been taken, 
 viz : 1st. That, had it not been for the principle assumed in 
 the act of Congress of 1823, which claims for our trade 
 the same immunities as are allowed to the trade between 
 the colonies and the mother country, an honorable and 
 equitable adjustment might have been effected under the 
 British act of June 1822, opening the colonial ports to 
 American vessels. 2dly. That the principle of the act of 
 Congress, of 1823, to which I have already referred, and 
 which, until recently, was alleged to be an insuperable 
 obstacle to the acceptance of the British proposal, has 
 
MARTIN VAN" BUREN. 241 
 
 now been for malty abandoned by our Government. 
 3dly. That, in 1824, the same terms were offered by the 
 British Government, which, in 1826, Mr. Gallatin was 
 instructed to accept. 4thly. That the British acts of 
 June and July 1825, opened the colonial ports to our trade, 
 on the terms proposed by the committee in their reported 
 bill, as the condition for the revival of the trade, and of 
 the equity of which there can, therefore, be no difference 
 of opinion: and, 5thly, that, if these terms had been re 
 ciprocated by the passage of the bill, which was presented 
 to the Senate by the Senator from Maryland, at the last 
 session, we should be now participating in the advantages 
 of this intercourse, * * * 
 
 "Mr. President: In the review which I have taken of 
 the origin and history of our commercial difference with 
 great Britain, I have endeavored to direct your attention 
 to the acts as well as to the omissions of our government. 
 It remains to consider what is proper to be done, to reme 
 dy the one and supply the other. 
 
 " In the prosecution of this inquiry, it is not necessary, 
 I am sure, to urge upon this Senate, the adoption of those 
 measures only which are demanded by the honor and in 
 terests of our country, and the exclusion from our coun 
 cils of every consideration less worthy of our regard. 
 The humiliating spectacle of a foreign and adverse gov 
 ernment, speculating upon the advantages which it may 
 derive from our dissensions, will, I fervently trust, never 
 again be the reproach of the American people. In a 
 government like ours, founded upon freedom in thought 
 and action, imposing no unnecessary restraints, and call 
 ing into exercise the highest energies of the mind, occa 
 sional differences of opinion are not only to be expected, 
 but to be desired. They rouse the sluggish to exertion, 
 give increased energy to the most active intellect, excite 
 a salutary vigilance over our public functionaries, and 
 prevent that apathy which has proved the ruin of repub 
 lics. Like the electric spark, they dispel from the politi 
 cal atmosphere the latent causes of disease and death. 
 But these conflicting opinions should be confined to sub 
 jects which concern ourselves. In the collisions which 
 may arise between the United States and a foreign pow 
 er, it is our duty to present an unbroken front; domestic 
 differences, if they tend to give encouragement to unjust 
 pretensions, should be extinguished or deferred ; and the 
 cause of our government must be considered as the cause 
 of our country. 
 
 21 
 
242 THE LIFE OF 
 
 " The bill reported by the committee, directs, that after 
 the 30th of September next, our ports shall be closed 
 against any vessel coming by sc a from the enumerated 
 British ports : but provides that the act shall not take 
 effect, if, before that period, the President shall receive 
 satisfactory information that the enumerated British ports 
 are open to the admission of our vessels upon certain spe 
 cified terms, being in substance, the same proposed by 
 the British acts of June and July 1825. The substitute, 
 proposed as an amendment by the Senator from Maryland, 
 removes the discriminating duties, after the 31st of De 
 cember, and suspends the acts of 1823, 1820, and 1818, 
 until the same period, except so much thereof as imposes 
 discriminating duties on the tonage of foreign vessels 
 and their cargoes. The bill, as reported, prescribes the 
 consequences which would attend the failure on the part 
 of the British Government to comply, in the time limited, 
 with the terms proposed. The amendment leaves the 
 consequences to the operation of the acts referred to, by 
 which our ports will be closed whenever the President 
 shall by proclamation, announce, after the 31st of Decem 
 ber next, that the British ports are closed against vessels 
 of the United States, in the presumption that, at that 
 time, Congress, being in session, will adopt such further 
 measures as the existing state of things may require. 
 The merits of the bill reported are supposed, by its advo 
 cates, to consist in the greater energy of its provisions ; 
 those of the amendment, in being equally efficient, and 
 more conciliatory in its form. Without material altera 
 tion, I shall not be satisfied with either : but, as a basis to 
 act on, I prefer the amendment. The bill assumes to be 
 what it is not. If the honor and interest of the country 
 required the adoption of a measure of retaliation, corres 
 ponding with that to which it is to be opposed, the bill 
 should direct that the ports of the United States should 
 be closed against British vessels engaged in this trade. 
 But, if, from what has been done or omitted, this step is 
 not thought to be expedient, (a question which I am not 
 now disposed to press,) the measure which we may adopt 
 should be as conciliatory as is consistent with self-respect. 
 The amendment proposes to do now, what it was expedi 
 ent to have done at the last session. It proposes to re 
 move the ground of collision by abolishing the alien and 
 discriminating duties. But, in consequences of the change 
 produced by the British interdict, the operation of the 
 amendment is deferred to a day sufficiently distant to ena- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 243 
 
 ble the British Government to revoke its Order in Coun 
 cil, and meet the terms of the amendment by reciprocal 
 provisions. With two modifications, the amendment shall 
 receive my support. I object to the time when it is to go 
 into operation, and I prefer that it should carry on its face 
 the terms on which alone the intercourse can be revived. 
 Should the Senate concur in the amendment, by which 
 the act will take effect, before the next session of Con 
 gress, I shall propose a section to that effect. The amend 
 ment, as now offered, will present no inducement to 
 Great Britain for the removal of her interdict, until a dis 
 tant day. This objection, however, may, in part, be ob 
 viated by a provision, authorizing the President, by pro 
 clamation, to remove the discriminating duties at any in 
 termediate time. But my objection to the day arises from 
 a higher consideration. Our acts should be firm ; and, 
 however mild and conciliatory, should exhibit neither 
 fickleness nor irresolution. If, retracing our steps, we 
 abandon the principle which alone prevented an amicable 
 adjustment in 1824, the act announcing the fact should 
 also proclaim our unalterable determination, should our 
 views not be met in a conciliatory spirit, to accept of no 
 thing less than that which justice demands. We have 
 to contend with an adversary deeply versed in the arts of 
 diplomacy, and every way competent to discern the inten 
 tions of those whose interests may come in competition 
 with their own. By deferring the operation of the act 
 until Congress again meet, you will awaken some doubt 
 of your ultimate intention, and perhaps a hope may 
 arise that you are not now prepared to renounce a trade, 
 in which you are not permitted to participate on equitable 
 terms. With such an alternative before us, there is no 
 one in this Senate I trust there is no one in this nation 
 who would hesitate one moment in his choice. In giv 
 ing utterance to this universal sentiment, let your act be 
 explicit, and your determination final. Leave nothing to 
 be accomplished by a future Congress, and, in the act 
 which you may pass, present to the British Government 
 you ultimatum, in the terms which she has herself pro 
 posed. In this, there will neither be menace nor an of 
 fensive display. It is precisely the course which she pur 
 sued, when the situation of parties was reversed. If it 
 be the intention of Great Britain to place this trade upon 
 the footing of just reciprocity, she will not be moved from 
 her purpose by mere questions of form. But if, influen 
 ced by any change in her views or policy, she is resolved 
 
244 LIFE OF MARTIN VAN BUR EN. 
 
 to reject our liberal propositions, no phraseology, however 
 courteous, will produce a different determination. Be 
 this determination what it may, we shall have performed 
 our duty, and may rely upon the support of the American 
 people." 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Opposition of Mr. Van Buren to the Panama Mission, 
 Extract from one of his speeches on that question. 
 
 IN March 1826, the great question of sending 
 ministers to the Congress at Panama came up for 
 discussion, and drew forth the ablest efforts of the 
 ablest members of the Senate. The administra 
 tion of Mr. John Quincy Adams had hitherto ex 
 perienced no regular opposition from the North ; 
 the leading republicans in that section, were will 
 ing to judge it by its merits, and the first alarming 
 indication of a disposition to depart from the car 
 dinal principles of the constitution, was, in the 
 nomination of ministers to represent the United 
 States in the Congress of South American pleni 
 potentiaries at Panama. 
 
 In December 1824, Bolivar, as commander in 
 chief of the republic of Peru, invited the govern 
 ments of Colombia, Mexico, Chili and Buenos 
 Ayres, to unite with his own government, in a Con- 
 21* 
 
24G THE LIFE OF 
 
 gress of plenipotentiaries at Panama ; and the 
 proposal was acceded to by these states with the 
 exception of Buenos Ayres. The time of meet 
 ing proposed, was the fall of 1825, and the min 
 isters of Colombia and Mexico, residing at Wash 
 ington, in the spring preceding, intimated a wish 
 that the United States should send delegates to 
 the same Congress. In compliance with this in 
 vitation, Mr. Adams on the 25th of December, 
 nominated Messrs. Richard C. Anderson, John 
 Sargeant and Wm. B. Rochester, as delegates to 
 the Congress at Panama. When the nomination 
 was presented to the Senate, that body took into 
 consideration, not only the suitableness of the 
 nomination, but the expediency of the embassy, 
 and on the 16th of January, following, the com 
 mittee of foreign relations reported that it was in 
 expedient to send ministers to Panama. The de 
 bate was carried on, with closed doors, until Feb 
 ruary, 15th 1826^ when on motion of Mr. Van 
 Buren, it was resolved that in the discusion of the 
 question, the Senate ought to act with open doors, 
 unless the publication of documents referred to in 
 the debate, would prejudice the pending negotia 
 tions ; and the President was requested to inform 
 the Senate whether such was the fact, and if so, 
 what documents ought not to be published. The 
 substance of the President s answer was, that the 
 communications by him to the Senate, were made 
 in confidence, and the motion of Mr. Van Buren 
 failed. 
 
 On the 14th of March, Mr. Van Buren sub- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 247 
 
 mitted several other resolutions, the substance of 
 which was, that the constitution of the United 
 States did not authorize the nomination, by the 
 President, of ministers to an assembly like that 
 proposed at Panama ; and that, waiving the con 
 stitutional objection, the proposed embassy was 
 inexpedient. These resolutions were rejected by 
 the Senate and the nominations were severally 
 confirmed. It is well known that owing to the 
 death of Mr. Anderson, and other causes, the de 
 puted delegates never actually met in the Panama 
 Congress. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren met this measure of the admin 
 istration, at every step, with his most vigorous op 
 position. During its discussion, he entered mi 
 nutely into the history of the South American 
 states, their actual condition and future prospects ; 
 he discussed the probable results of the proposed 
 Congress ; he reviewed the negotiations connect 
 ed with it and the communications of the Execu 
 tive regarding it ; he examined, much at length, 
 the policy of our own government with respect 
 to alliances with foreign nations, and discussed, 
 with singular felicity of argument and illustration, 
 the principles which should control our intercourse 
 with foreign powers ; he showed in what instances, 
 hitherto, those principles had been violated, and 
 the fatal consequences which flowed from every 
 violation ; he embraced, in short, a diplomatic his 
 tory of the United States, and threw the full light 
 of history, experience and argument upon the 
 question then pending. From one of his speeches 
 
248 THE LIFE OF 
 
 on this important subject, the following extracts 
 are taken. They are fraught with rich political 
 information, and characterized by those profound 
 political views which appear in all his discussions 
 of important matters. It would be difficult to 
 find, within the same narrow compass, more po 
 litical truth, richer historical facts, or more just 
 views of the true nature and policy of our govern 
 ment. 
 
 " I will now, Mr. President, call the attention of the 
 Senate to another view of this subject, to a question of 
 the gravest character, and most deeply affecting the dear 
 est interest of the country a question growing out of 
 considerations which have heretofore occupied the best 
 minds, and interested the purest hearts our country Jias 
 produced : - WOULD IT BE WISE IN us TO CHANGE OUR 
 
 ESTABLISHED POLICY UPON THE SUBJECT OF POLITICAL CON 
 NECTIONS WITH FOREIGN STATES? The President has 
 said, that, to form alliances, is not among the motives 
 of our attendance at the Congress. But what description 
 of alliance does he mean ? They are of various kinds, 
 and of different extent. We are, at that Congress, to 
 stipulate in some form, (and I care not in what,) that 
 we will resist any attempt at colonization, by the Powers 
 of Europe, in this hemisphere, (or within our own bor 
 ders if you please,) and that in the event of any interfer 
 ence on their part, in the struggle between Spain and the 
 Spanish American states, we will make common cause 
 with the latter in resisting it. To this end we have been 
 invited, and upon these points we have promised that our 
 ministers shall have full powers. We must do this, or 
 the whole affair becomes empty pageantry ; which, though 
 it may be the offspring of personal ambition, will assur 
 edly terminate in national disgrace. Call it an alliance, 
 or whatever name you please, it is a political connection, 
 at war with the established policy of our government. 
 And is this a light matter? Sir, when it is proposed to 
 subvert a fundamental principle in our foreign policy, in 
 the support of which we stand ALONE among all the na 
 tions of the earth which, commencing with our govern 
 ment, is endeared to the people, and upon whose deep 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 349 
 
 foundations has been erected the magnificent superstruc 
 ture of unequalled national prosperity it surely becomes 
 those entrusted with the management of affairs, to pause, 
 and weigh, with scrupulous exactness, the importance of 
 the step. 
 
 "In the discussion of this subject, I shall first consider 
 the genera] principle : then the grounds of the distinction 
 attempted to be made between its application to the 
 Spanish American states, and to those of Europe. At 
 this moment the United States, (thanks to the wisdom of 
 their early counsels !) are unfettered. No government 
 has a right to demand our aid or interference in any of 
 the changes in the condition of the world come what 
 may, we are now unembarrased in our choice. Until 
 lately, I had flattered myself that the acknowledged obli 
 gation on the part of our government to maintain that 
 condition, was as firmly fixed as its republican character. 
 I had the best reason to think so, because I knew it to be 
 a principle in our political policy, which had for its sup 
 port all that is instructive in experience, all that is vener 
 able in authority. That authority is no less than the part 
 ing admonitions of the Father of his Country. The 
 earnest, eloquent, and impressive appeals upon this sub 
 ject, contained in his Farewell Address, are yet, and will, 
 I trust, long remain, fresh in our recollections ; nor were 
 the sentiments he thus avowed mere speculative opinions, 
 founded upon an abstract consideration of the subject. 
 No ! they were sentiments matured by reflection, and con 
 firmed by actual experience, of the practical results which 
 had arisen from a connection of the character he so ar 
 dently and so justly deprecated. A reference to the his 
 tory of that period will illustrate the fact, and is replete 
 with instruction. During the war of our Revolution, we 
 entered into an alliance with France, the essential and 
 direct end of which was, to maintain effectually the liber 
 ty, sovereignty, and independence, of the United States, 
 absolute and unlimited, as well in matters of government 
 as of commerce. By the treaty of alliance, we, in con 
 sideration of the guarantee by France of the freedom and 
 independence of the United States, undertook, on our 
 part, to guarantee to France the possessions she then had 
 in America. The revolution in France involved that 
 country in war with the principal powers of Europe. 
 Her American possessions were brought in danger; and, 
 among other things, claimed under the treaty of alliance, 
 she called upon us for the fulfilment of our guarantee, 
 
250 THE LIFE OF 
 
 At no period of our history has our government been pla 
 ced in a more humiliating and embarrassing situation. 
 The signal benefits we had received from France were 
 known to the world, and fully appreciated by our citizens. 
 Upon the terms of the compa ct there could be no dispute. 
 The consideration upon which we had entered into it, 
 was of the most sacred character. But the danger of 
 compliance was imminent, and prevailed over every other 
 consideration. Reposing itself upon the great principle 
 of self-preservation & principle, extending itself as well 
 to nations as individuals our government refused to com 
 ply with its engagement ; and General Washington issu 
 ed his celebrated proclamation of neutrality. The grounds 
 relied upon to justify the step were, that our alliance was 
 a defensive one only ; that the war, on the part of France, 
 was an offensive war, in which we were not obliged, by 
 the law of nations, to take part ; that the contest was, 
 moreover, so unequal, and our means so inadequate, that, 
 upon the principle of self-preservation, we were justified 
 in refusing to take part with our ally. It was not expect 
 ed that France would acquiesce in the validity of the 
 grounds thus taken. She did not. The loud, solemn 
 protests of her Ministers are remembered ; as also, the 
 measures resorted to for the purpose of obtaining, indi 
 rectly, some of the advantages claimed from the alliance ; 
 such as fitting out vessels of war in our ports, and en 
 listing our citizens in her service. England remonstrated, 
 made strong imputations of partiality against our govern 
 mentimputations founded on suspicions growing out of 
 the known connexion between us and France and re 
 stored to similar means to annoy her enemies and commit 
 our neutrality. General Washington found it impossible 
 to satisfy either party of the strict impartiality that gov 
 erned our conduct. The result was war, in fact, with 
 France, and many of the evils of war with England. 
 She enforced against our commerce new and unjustifiable 
 principles of public law on the subject of blockades and 
 articles contraband of war. The sagacious mind of 
 Washington, and the great men who enjoyed his confi 
 dence, traced the multiplied embarrassments of the coun 
 try at that trying period, to the treaty of alliance with 
 France. * * 
 
 "At the extra session of Congress, in May 1797, his 
 successor, in his message to that body, thus expressed him 
 self: 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 351 
 
 Extract from Hie Message of President Adams to Con 
 gress in 1798. 
 
 " Although it is very true, that we ought not to involve 
 ourselves in the political system of Europe, but to keep 
 ourselves distinct and separate from it, if we can ; yet, to 
 effect this separation, early, punctual, and continued in 
 formation of the current chain of events, and of the 
 political projects in contemplation, is no less necessary 
 than if we were directly concerned in them. It is neces 
 sary, in order to the discovery of ihe efforts made to draw 
 us into the vortex, in season to make preparations against 
 them. However we may consider ourselves, the mari 
 time and commercial powers of the world will consider 
 the United States of America, as forming a weight in 
 that balance of power in Europe, which never can be 
 forgotten or neglected. It would not only be against our 
 interest, but it would be doing wrong to one half of Eu 
 rope at least, if we should voluntarily throw ourselves into 
 either scale. It is a natural policy, for a nation that 
 studies to be neutral, to consult with other nations engag 
 ed in the same studies and pursuits. At the same time 
 that measures ought to be pursued with this view, our 
 treaties with Prussia and Sweden, one of which is ex 
 pired, and the other near expiring, might be renewed. 
 
 "This communication was followed by the nomination 
 of a minister, (the present President of the United 
 States.) to Berlin, to carry into effect the avowed object 
 of the mission. This early departure from the principles, 
 and disregard of the precepts of Washington, was met 
 by the united and most vigorous opposition of the republi 
 cans of that day. An attempt was first made in the Sen 
 ate to defeat the mission, on the ground of its inexpedi 
 ency. That failing, the appropriation was resisted in the 
 House of Representatives, in a debate that lasted for 
 several weeks. It was the direct cause of the first great 
 collision, between the republicans of that day, and the 
 then President. A singular and extraordinary similarity 
 will be found between the question then agitated, and the 
 one now under discussion. It was then contended that 
 the United States ought to consult with other nations en 
 gaged in the same studies and pursuits, and that meas 
 ures ought to be pursued with that view. Those meas 
 ures were understood to be the formation of political con 
 nections, (beyond the ordinary commercial treaties,) in 
 order to secure co-operation in support of their common 
 interest ; and further, that it belonged to the President to 
 
252 THE LIFE OP 
 
 decide on the question of the propriety of a mission for 
 that purpose, and that the Senate were only to pass on 
 the fitness of the persons nominated. What is now con 
 tended for, and what the policy we resist ? That, having 
 a common interest with the Spanish American states, we 
 ought to meet with them in Congress in the language 
 of the Secretary of State, speaking in the name of the 
 President, for the purpose of settling several important 
 questions of public law, and arranging other matters of 
 deep interest to the American Continent. What those 
 matters are, and how they are to be arranged, has, I hope, 
 been fully developed ; and further, that this measure is 
 deemed to be within the constitutional competency of the 
 Executive ; that we are only consulted to obtain our 
 opinion on its expediency, and because it is necessary 
 to come to us for an appropriation, without which, the 
 measure cannot be carried into effect. Yes, sir, the first 
 blow that was struck in that great contest, which subse 
 quently convulsed the country, and the first voice that 
 was raised to arrest the current of events then setting in, 
 were on points, to all substantial purposes, identical with 
 the present. Is it not a startling, if not an ominous cir 
 cumstance, that, so soon, under the present administra 
 tion, we should have presented to us, in such bold relief, 
 doctrines and principles, which, in the first, year of that to 
 which I have referred, laid the foundation of the most bit 
 ter and unrelenting feuds ? Does the analogy stop here ? 
 The men who then opposed the mission to Berlin Avere 
 denounced as oppositionists ; as a faction who sought the 
 gratification of their personal views, at the expense of the 
 public good ; they were lampooned, and villified by all 
 the presses supporting and supported by the government, 
 and a host of malicious parasites generalled by its patron 
 age. Their weight of character, the purity of their lives, 
 the consistency of their principles, and their force of rea 
 soning, were alike unavailing. It was sufficient that they 
 dared to think for themselves ; to prefer what they regard 
 ed as the interests of their constituents to the wishes of 
 the Executive ; to refuse a ready acquiescence in what 
 was given them to do ; and every puny w^hipster in the land 
 felt himself at liberty, without in the least understanding 
 the question involved, to misrepresent their acts, and im 
 pugn their motives. Respect for this body, and a just 
 contempt for the venal efforts of venal men, restrains me 
 from pushing the parallel farther. Covering themselves 
 with the mantle of Washington, the republicans of 98 
 
MARTIN VAxN BUREN. 253 
 
 labored manfully to strangle, at its birth, this political 
 hydra, this first attempt, since the establishment of the 
 government, to subject our political affairs to the terms 
 and conditions of apolitical connection, with any foreign 
 nation. 
 
 " Their labors shared the fate which in all probability, 
 awaits the exertions of those who, at this day, maintain 
 their doctrines. They were outmustered at roll-call. 
 They failed, mark it, by a majority of four. The force 
 of executive patronage, aided by a venal press was too 
 strong for them. But of what avail was success to their 
 adversaries ? A few more such victories, and their ruin 
 was complete. The one party succeeded in the House, 
 but the other out of it. The seed then sown took root. 
 The doctrines of the dominant party, inherently unsound, 
 stood rebuked before the power and eloquence of their 
 adversaries, and speedily received the condemnation of the 
 people; whilst the opposing principle, the principle for 
 which we now contend, was rescued from the attack that 
 was made upon it, and once more registered among the 
 special canons of the American policy. Its advocates 
 lived to see it placed upon a fooling which they had every 
 reason to believe would last, at least, the short period of 
 their existence. But how uncertain are all things ! Let 
 no man boast of to-morrow, for he knoweth not what a 
 day may bring forth. The events of the last month form 
 a striking commentary upon the text. It is now twenty- 
 eight years since this transaction took place, and there 
 are yet two persons on this floor who acted and voted to 
 gether upon that great question. It has been to me a mat 
 ter of much interest to witness their course at this day. 
 Of the one I cannot speak, but hope for the best. The 
 sentiments of the other (Mr. Macon.) are on record. He 
 is yet the same unwavering republican that he was in 98. 
 The principle now involved is the same as then. When 
 that is ascertained, he exhibits neither trembling nor hesi 
 tation. With a mind vigorous, though mellowed by ex 
 perience, firmly relying on the republic, he follows the 
 maxims of his early years. The circumstances under 
 which I speak restrains me. But this much I will say: 
 The man who has occupied a seat here and in the other 
 House, during every administration of the government, 
 from the second year of its institution to the present day, 
 and who has been wise enough to estimate, at their value, 
 the miserable illusions of Executive favor, and who pre 
 fers the approbation of his own conscience to the mere- 
 22 
 
254 THE LIFE OP 
 
 tricious smile of power ; who can look back upon a life 
 thus spent, with an entire consciousness that he never, in 
 a single instance, postponed the interests of his constitu 
 ents to promote his own ; deserves to be regarded as a 
 monument of fidelity and consistency, alike honorable to 
 his state, and beneficial to his country. But to return to 
 the circumstances of that eventful period : The ball of po 
 litical revolution, which was set in motion by the debate 
 on the Berlin mission, was pressed rapidly forward by 
 successive measures of equally exceptionable character, 
 until finally it effected the total overthrow of the party then 
 in power, and the elevation of Mr. Jefferson to the Presi 
 dential chair. The creed of this great Father of our po 
 litical church, was, Peace, commerce, and honest friend 
 ship, with all nations ; entangling alliances with none : 
 In strict conformity to the principle of Washington, ad 
 vising an extension of our commercial relations, but as 
 little political connection as possible. So far as we have 
 already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with 
 perfect good faith ; but here let us stop / During the 
 whole of Mr. Jefferson s administration, the whole of Mr. 
 Madison s, and the first four years of Mr. Monroe s, (with 
 a single attempted exception,) the principles avowed by 
 the two great founders of the republic were respected, 
 and the result was good. The exception to which I al 
 lude was this : Influenced by that deep solicitude for the 
 welfare of our Western brethren, which always has, and 
 I trust always will, influence the councils of the country, 
 the government was, in 1803, induced to offer, through 
 Mr. Pinckney, our Minister at Madrid, to guaranty to 
 the King of Spain, and his successors, his dominions be 
 yond the Mississippi, if he would sell to the United 
 States his possession between that and the river Mobile. 
 The desire to obtain the cession, it is well known, grew 
 out of the dispute relative to the navigation of the Mis 
 sissippi, and the questions connected therewith. In the 
 discussion with our government, in 1818, relative to the 
 cession of the Floridas ? Spain brought forward that offer 
 in 1803, claiming that it proposed a guarantee of her terri 
 tory as far as the Isthmus of Panama, and desiring to 
 make it a condition of the cession. The change of cir 
 cumstances since produced in Spanish America/ ^iad 
 taught her the immense value of the guarantee. Our 
 Minister at Madrid, (Mr. Erving,) denied that such an 
 offer had ever been made. Mr. Pinckney s letter was 
 produced. A controversy succeeded as to its construction, 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 355 
 
 which resulted in an explicit declaration that, under no 
 circumstances, would the United States make the guaran 
 tee in question. The altered state of things had shown 
 that a stipulation, from which no harm was apprehended 
 in 1800, could not, in 1818, be listened to for a moment. 
 By sheer good fortune we escaped from this entangling 
 connection. What, sir would have been the probable 
 consequences, if Spain had accepted the guarantee which 
 was claimed to have been offered ? Instead of being the 
 great patron of the Spanish American cause, we might, at 
 this moment, have been engaged in a war, either with 
 Mexico, for attempting to fulfil, or with Spain, for viola 
 ting our guarantee; and yet, with all the lights of experi 
 ence before our eyes, it is desired to hurry us into similar 
 compacts, the consequences of which we cannot foresee, 
 but which we well know may, by the course of events, 
 compel us either to violate our plighted faith, or act 
 against what may hereafter appear to be our best inter 
 ests. 
 
 " Our next attempt to form a foreign connection, other 
 than a commercial, was the negotiation of treaties of con 
 cert and co-operation with England and the Republic of 
 Colombia, on the subject of the Slave Trade. A brief 
 sketch of the course and consequences of that ill-judged 
 measure, will not be without instruction upon the subject 
 before us. From 1794 to 1808, when the constitutional 
 inhibition upon Congress in relation to the slave trade ex 
 pired, a system of wise, and as far as the power of the 
 government extended, efficient legislation, was adopted 
 for the suppression of that detestable traffic. From the 
 latter period to the year 1819, our legislation assumed a 
 wider range, and still more efficient character, until, final 
 ly, the offence was denounced as piracy, the punishment 
 due to that crime prescribed, and the Executive clothed 
 with power and means fully adequate to the execution of 
 the law and the suppression of the trade ; so far at least 
 as our citizens were concerned. The measures then 
 adopted, effected the purpose for which they were design 
 ed. They did more. They extorted from England, who, 
 next to the United States, has recently been foremost in 
 the adoption of means to this end, the unqualified admis 
 sion, not only that the United States had been the first, 
 but also the most successful, laborers in the cause of hu 
 manity. 
 
 " Thus matters stood at the period which I have men 
 tioned, Our government unfortunately not content with 
 
256 THE LIFE OF 
 
 well, must seek for better, and the negotiations of which I 
 speak were opened. So too with our affairs with the 
 Spanish American states ; they stand well ; we have done 
 all they expected of us, and more than they had a right to 
 ask. What we have done has reflected credit upon us, 
 and has been serviceable to them. Not content with this 
 we are hurrying on in the usual course ; partial success is 
 leading us to injurious excess. But to return : the Presi 
 dent negotiated a treaty with England, yielding, under 
 certain modifications, the right of search, and authorizing 
 a foreign power to enforce our own laws upon our own 
 citizens. I need not state to this body the fate of that ill 
 advised project The treaty was defeated by a vote of 
 the Senate. A similar one with the republic of Colom 
 bia shared the same fate ; and although the vote against 
 the English treaty was small, so rapidly did the sentiment 
 of opposition to the principle increase, that the rejection 
 of the latter treaty, at a subsequent session, was nearly 
 unanimous. Who is there now on this floor, that would 
 give his vote in favor of a similar measure ? But it seems 
 that the light of experience has been shed in vain upon 
 this obstinate propensity to figure in the diplomacy neces 
 sarily growing out of foreign connection. The results of 
 the particular measures now referred to, were, as we all 
 remember, contention at home, and dissatisfaction abroad; 
 a correspondence, with England, of not the most friendly 
 character, in which long explanations were made neces 
 sary, of the character of our Government, to satisfy other 
 powers that the President was not responsible for the act 
 of the Senate. Explanations were made with great abili 
 ty by the then Secretary of State, and subsequently en 
 forced with equal ability by the present Secretary. The 
 matter was understood here, and perhaps by the govern 
 ments to whom those explanations were made ; but, to a 
 great part of the world, it appeared that the zeal of the 
 United States for the suppression of the slave trade, had 
 abated. The high character we had acquired for our early 
 and unceasing labors in that great cause, was not indeed 
 destroyed; for that could not be easily effected; but our 
 motives were exposed to misconstruction, and are now 
 misrepresented by those who do not understand the struc 
 ture of our government. Such, sir, was the consequence 
 of this third attempt to surrender the control of our con 
 duct, in the support of our rights, or the discharge of our 
 duties, to foreign associations ; such the penalty of disre 
 garding the warning voice of Washington never aban- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 257 
 
 don our own to stand on foreign ground. Such are 
 among the least evils that have, sooner or later, in a great 
 er or less degree, been the consequence of political con 
 nections between different nations, at all times, and in all 
 places. Permit me to refer the Senate to a transaction of 
 the same character between other states. In 1815, the 
 Plenipotentiaries from the five great European Powers, 
 viz : England, France, Russia, Prussia, and Austria, con 
 vened at Vienna, declared to the Avorld that they would 
 unite their means for the effectual suppression of the slave 
 trade. The settlement of those means was deferred to a 
 future period. At the conference of the Plenipotentiaries 
 of the same powers, in 1818, at Aix la Chapelle, an at 
 tempt was made to agree upon the means necessary to 
 effect their declared object. Then occurred, what always 
 will occur, except in cases of great emergency like the 
 recent coalitions among the powers of Europe against that 
 of Napoleon, when the very existence of several of the al 
 lied powers was involved the difficulty of agreeing upon 
 the terms of co-operation among nations having different 
 interests, feelings, prejudices, and views. England pro 
 posed the extension of the right of search, as the only 
 means adapted to the end. Negotiation was commenced 
 and continued, until, finally, the measure proposed by 
 England was refused, or evaded, by all the powers, and 
 the conference dissolved, leaving the celebrated declara 
 tion made at Vienna, unexecuted, and producing naught 
 but mutual distrust and dissatisfaction ; Thus showing 
 how easy it is for nations to unite in the avowal of a gen 
 eral principle how difficult to agree upon the means of 
 enforcing it. So will it be with us and our South Ameri 
 can friends and neighbors. There may be little difficulty 
 in uniting in avowing as a principle, that these continents 
 are no longer fit subjects for European colonization, or to 
 protest ascainst the interference of Europe in the affairs of 
 Spanish "America. But the moment we proceed to stipu 
 late as to the means of enforcing it, difficulties will occur 
 that in all human probability, will impair the friendly re 
 lations now existing between us. They will occur first in 
 the negotiation, and, if these are surmounted, certainly in 
 the application of the principles established, when the 
 time for their application unhappily occurs. 
 
 " But I cannot consent to trespass longer upon the time 
 of the Senate in pushing the discussion of this point fur 
 ther, although various considerations, operating against the 
 measure, press upon my mind. If it were proposed to form 
 22* 
 
258 THE LIFE OF 
 
 a connection with any European power, such as now de 
 signed with the Spanish American states, it is hoped and 
 believed, that the measure would not meet with one ap 
 proving voice shall I say on this floor? No, not in the 
 country. But it has been supposed that the United States 
 ought to pursue a different policy with respect to the 
 states in this hemisphere. It is true, Mr. Monroe, in his 
 message, makes a distinction of this character, although 
 he by no means carries it to the extent proposed. If he 
 did, all that the distinction could derive from that cir 
 cumstance, would be, the weight of his opinion, always 
 considerable, but never decisive. The question still re 
 curs, is the distinction founded in principle and policy ? 
 If it be, it must arise from one of two reasons ; either the 
 character of the governments of the Spanish American 
 states, or their local situation ; or, perhaps, from both. 
 The United States have hailed the emancipation of those 
 states with satisfaction ; they have our best wishes for the 
 perpetuity of their freedom. So far as we could go to aid 
 them in the establishment of their independence, without 
 endangering the peace, or embarrassing the relation of 
 our country, we have gone. More than that ought not to 
 be asked. Nor has it. Sensible of the embarrassments 
 which their invitation might produce, they declined to 
 proffer it until advised that we desired to receive it. Next 
 to being right, it is important to governments, as well as 
 individuals, to be consistent. Has the character of these 
 governments been the principle upon which we have 
 hitherto acted in relation to those states? It has not. 
 Mexico and Brazil were the last to shake off their depen 
 dence on foreign authority. They were among the first 
 whose independence we acknowledged. Mexico was, at 
 the period of its acknowledgement, under the dominion of 
 the Emperor Iturbide, and Brazil of its Emperor, Don 
 Pedro. As a special compliment to the Emperor of Mex 
 ico, we sent, or rather intended to send, to his Court, one 
 of the most distinguished men of the nation, (General 
 Jackson.) At the court of the Emperor Don Pedro, we 
 have our Minister; whilst in the republic of Peru the 
 power Avith which the first of the treaties, in virtue of 
 which the Congress of Panama is to be held, was con 
 cluded we have not yet been represented. Do our prin 
 ciples admit that we should adopt the measures proposed 
 with such reference, and upon such grounds ? What are 
 those principles? That man is capable of self govern 
 ment; that the people of every country should be left to 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 259 
 
 the free selection of such form of government as they think 
 best adapted to their situation, and to change it as their 
 interests, in their own judgments, may seem to require. 
 Wherein consists our objection to the Holy Alliance ? 
 Because they confederate to maintain governments simi 
 lar to their own, by force of arms, instead of the force of 
 reason, and the will of the governed. If we, too, confed 
 erate to sustain, by the same means, governments similar 
 to our own, wherein consists the difference, except the 
 superiority of our cause ? What is their avowed motive ? 
 Self-preservation, and the peace of Europe. What 
 would be ours ? Self-preservation^ and the peace of 
 America. I wish to be understood. I detest, as much 
 as any man, the principles of the Holy Alliance. I yield 
 to no man iu my anxious wishes for the success of the 
 Spanish American states. I will go as far as I think any 
 American citizen ought to go, to secure to them the bles 
 sings of free government. I commend the solicitude 
 which has been manifested by our government upon this 
 subject, and have, of course, no desire to discourage it. 
 But I am against all alliances, against all armed confed 
 eracies, or confederacies of any sort. I care not how spe 
 cious, or how disguised ; come in what shape they may, I 
 oppose them. The states in question have the power and 
 the means, if united and true to their principles, to resist 
 any force that Europe can send against them. It is only 
 by being recreant to the principles upon which their rev 
 olution is founded ; by suffering foreign influence to dis 
 tract and divide them ; that their independence can be en 
 dangered. But, happen what may, our course should be 
 left to our choice, whenever occasion for acting shall oc 
 cur. If, in the course of events, designs shall be manifes 
 ted, or steps taken in this hemisphere by any foreign pow 
 er which so far affect our interest or our honor, as to make 
 it necessary that we should arm in their defence, it will 
 be done : there is no room to doubt it. 
 
 " The decision of that question may safely be left to 
 those who come after us. That love of country, and of 
 freedom, which now animates our public councils, is not 
 confined to us, or likely to become extinct. We require 
 neither alliance nor agreement to compel us to perform 
 whatever our duty enjoins. Our national characte r is our 
 best, and should be our only pledge. Meanwhile, let us 
 bestow upon our neighbors," the young republics of the 
 South, the moral aid of a good example. To make that 
 
260 LIFE OF MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 example more salutary, let it exhibit our moderation in 
 success, our firmness in adversity, our devotion to our 
 country and its institutions, and, above all, that sine qua 
 non to the existence of our republican government our 
 fidelity to a written Constitution" 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MK. VAN BUREN S opinions on the constitutionality and 
 expediency of appropriations of money by the Gener 
 al Government for Internal Improvements. 
 
 On the 22d of January 1824, Mr. Van Buren 
 called the attention of the Senate to the alarming 
 assumption of power, by the General Government, 
 in regard to internal improvements; and after 
 stating the differences of opinion which had arisen 
 between the Executive and Congress, on several 
 occasions, and the conflicting sentiments of differ 
 ent sections of the Union, he proposed sundry 
 amendments to the constitution, going to limit and 
 define the exercise of this power and secure the 
 state sovereignties from encroachments. 
 
 On the 19th of December 1825, he again brought 
 forward the same subject, and offered two resolu 
 tions, one of which declared " that Congress does 
 not possess the power to make roads and canals 
 within the respective states ;" and the other pro- 
 
262 THE LIFE OF 
 
 posed a select committee to prepare an amend 
 ment to the constitution, " prescribing and defining 
 the power Congress shall have over the subject 
 of internal improvements, and subjecting the same 
 to such restrictions as shall effectually protect the 
 sovereignty of the respective states, and secure to 
 them a just distribution of the benefits resulting 
 from all appropriations made for that purpose." 
 
 He urged the adoption of these resolutions, the 
 object of which was to refer the whole matter to 
 the states, on the ground that the power of Con 
 gress to legislate upon the subject had been a con 
 stant source of unpleasant controversy ; that the 
 different departments of the government had nev 
 er been of one opinion upon the subject; that its 
 friends entertained different views of its source in 
 the constitution, and of its extent and attributes, 
 and that the opposition to its exercise would never 
 be abandoned. He said an appeal to the states 
 had been suggested by Mr. Jefferson, in 1808, and 
 further recommended by Mr. Madison and Mr. 
 Monroe. 
 
 The progressive encroachments of the federal 
 Government upon the rights of the states in this 
 particular, were viewed with unceasing anxiety by 
 the republican party throughout the country. Mr. 
 Jefferson in a letter to Mr. Gooch about this peri 
 od, expressed the most melancholy forebodings. 
 "That, at some future day," said he, "which I 
 hoped to be very distant, the free principles of our 
 government might change with the change of cir 
 cumstances, was to be expected. But I certainly 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 263 
 
 did not expect that they would not over-live the 
 generation which established them." After indul 
 ging in other similar remarks, and pleading his great 
 age as an excuse for not entering upon their de 
 fence, he subjoins : " I will however say one word 
 on the subject. The South Carolina resolutions, 
 Van Buren s motion, and above all Bailey s propo 
 sitions, show that other states are coming forward 
 on the subject : and better for any one to take the 
 lead than Virginia, where opposition is considered 
 as common place, and a mere matter of form and 
 habit."* 
 
 At every point, these encroachments w r ere re 
 sisted by Mr. Van Buren. On the 21st of April, 
 during the same session of Congress, he opposed 
 the appropriation for the Louisville canal, and said : 
 " the aid of this government can only be afforded 
 to these objects of improvement, in three ways ; by 
 making a road or canal and assuming jurisdiction ; 
 by making a road or canal without assuming juris 
 diction, leaving it to the states ; or by making an 
 appropriation without doing either. In his opin 
 ion, the General Government had no right to do 
 either, and at some future time he should offer his 
 reasons in support of this opinion." 
 
 So on the 15th of the following May, on the 
 proposal to subscribe to the Dismal Swamp canal, 
 Mr. Van Buren said : 
 
 " He would not vote for the bill for he did not believe 
 that this government possessed the constitutional power 
 to make these canals, or to grant money to make them. 
 
 * Jefferson s Works. Vol. IV. p. 424. 
 
264 THE LIFE OK 
 
 * * If he believed in the power of the government to 
 arrant money for this purpose, the present mode would be 
 the last one he should think of adopting. If there was 
 any grant of monev, at all, for this purpose, it should 1 
 direct Where aid was granted in the mode now propos 
 ed, abuses would creep in, and in nine cases out of ten, 
 deception would be practised. In the state of New York, 
 Mr Van Buren said, they had had full experience ot this, 
 in the application for charters for banks; plausible pre 
 tences were set up that the state would be thereby bene- 
 fitted till these practices became so numerous, that in t 
 end, public opinion was decidedly against them and the 
 last Legislature, to their honor, had refused all apphca- 
 ions of this description. * * As to the question (of 
 constitutionality) being settled, he should protest against 
 the admission of such a dcctrine; and he should resist to 
 all intents and purposes, the idea that the acts ot this 
 Congress were to bind him and his constituents hereaf- 
 
 ter 
 
 In the debate on Mr. Foot s resolution, to au 
 thorize the Vice President to call to order for 
 words spoken in the Senate, Mr. Van Buren se 
 verely reprehended the loose doctrines of the then 
 existing administration in regard to internal im 
 provements, and in a note alludes to his own course 
 in the Senate on that interesting question. It is as 
 follows : 
 
 "Mr. Van Buren is by no means certain that in this re 
 spect, he himself, has been altogether without fault. At the 
 very first session after he came into the Senate, the knowl 
 edge of "the perpetual drain that the Cumberland road was 
 destined to prove upon the public Treasury, unless some 
 means were taken to prevent it, and a sincere desire to 
 go Tall times, as fa/ as he could consistently with the 
 Constitution, to aid in the improvement, and promote the 
 prosperity of the Western country, had induced 
 without fall examination, to vote for a provision, i author 
 izing the collection of toll on this road. The affair of the 
 Cumberland road, in respect to its reference to the consti 
 tutional powers of this government is a matter entirely sui 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 peneris. It was authorized during the administration of 
 Mr. Jefferson and grew out of the disposition of the terri 
 tory of the United States through which it passed. He 
 has never heard an explanation of the subject, (although 
 it has been a matter of constant reference,) that has been, 
 satisfactory to his mind. All that he can say is, that if 
 the question were again presented to him, he would vote 
 against it ; and that his regret for having done otherwise, 
 would be greater, had not Mr. Monroe, much to his credit, 
 put his veto upon the bill : and were it not the only vote 
 in the course of a seven year s service, which the most fas 
 tidious critic can torture into an inconsistency with the 
 principles which Mr. Van Buren professed to maintain, 
 and in the justice of which he is every day more and 
 more confirmed. " 
 
 The course of General Jackson s administration 
 has done much to throw light upon this subject, es 
 pecially his famous veto upon the Maysville Road 
 bill. Mr. Van Buren was then a member of the 
 cabinet, and to use his own language, "gave to the 
 measure of which that document was an exposi 
 tion, his active, zealous, and anxious support." 
 
 A condensed view of his sentiments upon the 
 whole subject, is contained in the following extract 
 from a letter written by him, when a candidate for 
 the Vice Presidency, to a committee appointed by 
 a public meeting, at Shocco Springs, North Caro 
 lina. It is dated in October 1832. 
 
 " Internal improvements are so diversified in their na 
 ture, and the public agency of the Federal Government 
 in their construction, so variable in its character and de 
 gree, as to render it not a little difficult, to lay down any 
 precise rule that will embrace the whole subject. The 
 broadest and best defined division, is that which distin 
 guishes between the direct construction of works of in 
 ternal improvement by the General Government, and pe 
 cuniary assistance given by it to such as are undertaken 
 23 
 
266 THE LIF& CJF 
 
 by others. In the former, are included the right to make" 
 and establish roads and canals within the states, and the; 
 assumption of as much jurisdiction over the territory they 
 may occupy, as is necessary to their preservation and use f ? 
 the latter is restricted to simple grants of money, in aid 
 of such works, when made under state authority. 
 
 "The Federal Government does not, in my opinion, 
 possess the power first specified ; nor can it. derive it from 
 the assent of the state in which such works were to be 
 constructed. The money power, as it is called, is not so- 
 free from difficulty. Various rules have, from time to 
 time, been suggested by those who properly appreciate the 
 importance of precision and certainty in the operations 
 of ihe Federal power. But they have been so frequently 
 infringed upon by the apparently unavoidable action of 
 the government, that a final and satisfactory settlement 
 of the question has been prevented. The wide difference 
 between a definition of the power in question upon paper, 
 and its practical application to the operation of govern 
 ment, has been sensibly felt by all who have been en 
 trusted with the management of public affairs. The 
 whole subject was reviewed in the President s Maysville^ 
 message. Sincerely believing that the best interests of 
 the whole country, the quiet, not to say the stability of 
 the Union, and the preservation of that moral farce which, 
 perhaps, as much as any other, holds it together, imperi 
 ously required that the destructive course of legislation 
 upon that subject, then prevalent, should in some proper 
 and constitutional way, be averted, I throughout, gave to 
 the measure of which that document was an exposition, 
 my active, zealous, and anxious support. 
 
 "The opinions declared by the President in the Mays- 
 ville, and his succeeding annual messages, as I under 
 stand them, are as follows. 1st. That Congress does not 
 possess the power to make or establish a road or canal 
 within a state, with a right of jurisdiction to the extent I 
 have stated ; and that, if it is the wish of the people that 
 the construction of such works should be undertaken by 
 the Federal Government, a previous amendment of the 
 constitution, conferring that power, and defining and re 
 stricting its exercise, with reference to the sovereignty of 
 the state, is indispensable. 2d. An intimation of his be 
 lief that the right to make appropriations in aid of such 
 internal improvements of a national character, has been 
 so generally acted upon, and so long acquiesced in by the 
 ede ral and state governments, and the constituents of 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 267 
 
 each, as to justify its exercise, but that it is nevertheless, 
 highly expedient that even such appropriations should, 
 with the exception of such as relate to light houses, bea 
 cons, buoys, public piers, and other improvements in the 
 harbors and navigable rivers of the United States, for 
 the security and facility of our foreign commerce, be de 
 ferred, at least until the national debt is paid. 3d. That 
 if it is the wish of the people that the agency of the Fed 
 eral Government should be restricted to the appropriation 
 of money, and extended in that form in aid of such un 
 dertakings, when carried on by state authority, then the 
 occasion, the manner, and the extent of the appropria 
 tion, should be made the subject of constitutional regula 
 tion. 
 
 " In these views I concurred, and I likewise participa 
 ted in the difficulties which were encountered and ex 
 pressed by the President, in adopting the principle which 
 concedes to the Federal Government the right to make 
 appropriations in aid of works which might be regarded 
 as of a national character ; difficulties which arose as 
 well from the danger of considering mere usage the 
 foundation of the right, as from the extreme uncertainly 
 of the best rule that had ever been adopted, or that coulcl 
 in the absence of a positive constitutional provision, be 
 established. The reasons on which these objections 
 were founded, are so fully stated in the document refer 
 red to, and have been so extensively promulgated, that k 
 is unnecessary for me to repeat them here. Subsequent 
 reflection and experience have confirmed my apprehen 
 sions of the injurious consequences which would flow 
 from the resumption of appropriations for internal im 
 provements, with no better rule for the government of 
 Congress than that of which I have spoken : and I do 
 not hesitate to express it as my opinion, that the general 
 and true interests of the country would be best consulted 
 by withholding them, with the exception which I have al 
 ready referred to, until some constitutional regulation up 
 on the subject has been made. 
 
 " In this avowal, I am certainly not influenced by feel 
 ings of indifference, much less of hostility to internal im 
 provements. As such, they can have no enemies. I have 
 never omitted to give thm all the proper aid in my pow 
 er ; for which by the way, 1 claim no particular merit, as I 
 do not believe there is an honest and sane man in the 
 country, who does not wish to see them prosper but 
 construction, and the manner in which, and the 
 
268 LIFE OP MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 means by which they are to be effected, are quite different 
 questions. Rather than again expose our legislation to 
 all the corrupting influences of those scrambles and com 
 binations in Congress, which have been heretofore wit 
 nessed, and the other affairs of the country, to the injuri 
 ous effects unavoidably resulting from them, it would, in 
 my opinion, be infinitely preferable to leave works of the 
 character spoken of, and not embraced in the exception 
 which has been pointed out, for the present, to the sup 
 ports upon which they have reposed with so much suc 
 cess for the last two years, viz : state efforts and private 
 enterprise. If the great body of the people become con 
 vinced that the progress of these works should be accel 
 erated by the federal arm, they will not refuse to come to 
 some proper constitutional arrangement upon the subject. 
 The supposition that an equitable rule, which pays a 
 proper respect to the interest and condition of the differ 
 ent states, could fail to receive, ultimately the constitu 
 tional sanction, would be doing injustice to the intelli 
 gence of the country. By such a settlement of the ques 
 tion, our political system, in addition to the other advan 
 tages derived from it, would, in relation to this subject at 
 least, be relieved from those dangerous shocks, which 
 spring from diversities of opinion upon constitutional 
 points of deep interests and in the mean time, the re 
 sources of the country would be best husbanded by being 
 left in the hands of those by whose labor they are pro 
 duced." 
 
 These extracts it will be noticed, go farther 
 than the Veto Message upon the M aysville Road, 
 and assume the ground afterwards adopted by the 
 President, that even for purposes which might be 
 deemed of a national character, no appropriations 
 ought to be made without a previous amendment 
 of the constitution. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Sentiments of Mr. Van Buren with regard to protec 
 tive duties. Votes for the Tariff" bill in 1824, and in 
 1828, by instructions from his constituents. Extract 
 from his letter to the committee at Shocco Springs. 
 
 It has been stated on the highest authority, that 
 " Mr. Van Buren s personal feelings have been at 
 all times adverse to the high tariff policy."* 
 
 His constituents, however, were generally in fa 
 vor of protective duties, and his course in the Sen 
 ate of the United States was strictly in compli 
 ance with their sentiments. Accordingly, we find 
 him yielding a silent vote in favor of the tariff of 
 1824, and that of 1828. In the latter instance, he 
 was guided by the express instructions of the Le 
 gislature of New York. 
 
 At a public meeting, held in Albany, on the 10th 
 of July 1827, to consider the expediency of co 
 operating in the Harrisburgh convention, Mr. Van 
 
 * Mr. Butler s letter to Mr. Garland, March 1835. 
 23* 
 
270 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Buren delivered a speech of considerable length 
 and great ingenuity. A large part of it was an 
 examination of the tariff bill which passed the 
 House of Representatives in 1827, but was laid on 
 the table in the Senate. 
 
 In the course of this speech, however, Mr. Van 
 Buren intimates his serious fears, that the friends 
 of protective duties were urging their measures 
 with too much eagerness. He also cautions the 
 manufacturers against uniting their fortunes with 
 any political adventurer, and predicted, with great 
 accuracy, the overthrow of the great American 
 system, as it was called. The speech was printed 
 and extensively circulated, and contributed in no 
 small degree to the formation of juster views with 
 respect to the protective system. 
 
 The views of Mr. Van Buren, on the tariff, were 
 embraced in his reply to the Shocco Springs com 
 mittee, in 1832. The folio wing passages are taken 
 from that reply. 
 
 "Although my official acts in relation to the protective 
 system might well be regarded as rendering the avowal 
 unnecessary, I think it, nevertheless, proper to say, that I 
 believe the establishment of commercial regulations, with 
 a view to the encouragement of domestic products, to be 
 within the constitutional power of Congress. Whilst 
 however, I entertain this opinion, it has never been my 
 wish to see the power in question exercised with an op 
 pressive inequality upon any portion of our citizens, or 
 for the advantage of one section of the Union at the ex 
 pense of another ; on the contrary, I have at all times be 
 lieved it to be the sacred duty of those who are intrusted 
 witk the administration of the Federal Government, to 
 direct its operations in the manner best calculated to dis 
 tribute as equally as possible, its burdens and blessings 
 among the several states and the people. My views upon 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 271 
 
 this subject were, several years ago, spread before the 
 people of this state, and have since been widely diffused 
 through the medium of the public press. My object at 
 that time was to invite the attention of my immediate 
 constituents to a dispassionate consideration of the sub 
 ject in its various bearings ; being well assured that such 
 an investigation would bring them to a standard, which, 
 from its moderation and justice, would furnish the best 
 guarantee for the true interests of all. If, as has been 
 supposed, those views have contributed in any degree to 
 produce a state of feeling so much to be desired, I have 
 reason to be gratified with the result. 
 
 " The approaching, and if the policy of the present Ex 
 ecutive is allowed to prevail, the certain and speedy ex 
 tinguishment of the national debt, has presented an op 
 portunity for the more equitable adjustment of the tariff, 
 which has been already embraced by the adoption of a con 
 ciliatory measure, the spirit of which will, I doubt not, 
 continue to be cherished by all who are not desirous of 
 advancing their private interests at the sacrifice of those 
 of the public, and who place a just value upon the peace 
 and harmony of the Union. 
 
 " The protective system, and its proper adjustment, be 
 came a subject of frequent and necessary consideration, 
 whilst I formed a part of the cabinet ; and the manner 
 in which the President proposed to carry into effect the 
 policy in relation to imports, recommended in his previous 
 messages, has since been avowed, with that frankness 
 which belongs to his character. To this end he recom 
 mended a modification of the tariff, which should pro 
 duce a reduction of the revenue to the wants of the gov 
 ernment, and an adjustment of the duty upon imports, 
 with a view to equal justice in relation to all our national 
 interest, and to the counteraction of foreign policy, so far 
 as it may be injurious to those interests. 
 
 " In these sentiments I fully concur ; and I have been 
 thus explicit in the statement of them, that there may be 
 no room for misapprehension as to my own views upon 
 the subject. A sincere and faithful application of these 
 principles to our legislation, unwarped by private interests 
 or political design, a restriction of the wants of the gov 
 ernment to a simple and economical administration of its 
 affairs the only administration which is consistent with 
 the purity and stability of the republican system ; a pref 
 erence in encouragement, given to such manufactures as 
 are essential to the national defence, and its extension to 
 
272 THE LIFE OF 
 
 others in proportion as they are adapted to our country, 
 and of which the raw material is produced by ourselves, 
 with a proper respect for the rule which demands that all 
 taxes should be imposed in proportion to the ability and 
 condition of the contributors, would, I am convinced, give 
 ultimate satisfaction to a vast majority of the people of 
 the United States, and tend to arrest that spirit of dis 
 content, which is now unhappily prevalent, and which 
 threatens such extensive injury to the institutions of 
 our country. 
 
 It will only be necessary to subjoin the fol 
 lowing extracts from the letter of Mr. Benton to 
 General Davis, to complete the view of Mr. 
 Van Buren s sentiments as regards the tariff . 
 
 " He, (Mr. Van Buren,) was the first eminent member 
 of Congress, north of the Potomac, to open the war, at 
 the right point, upon the tariff of 1828, then undergoing the 
 process of incubation through the instrumentality of a con 
 vention to sit at Harrisburg. His speech at Albany, in 
 July 1827, openly characterized that measure as a politi 
 cal manoeuvre to influence the impending presidential 
 election ; and the graphic expression, a measure procee 
 ding more from the CLOSET of the POLITICIAN than from 
 the WORKSHOP of the MANUFACTURER, so opportunely and 
 felicitously used in that speech, soon became the opinion of 
 the public, and subsequently received the impress of veri 
 fication from the abandonment, and the manner of aban 
 doning, of the whole fabric of the "high tariff policy. 
 Failing to carry any body into the Presidential chair, its 
 doom pronounced by the election of Jackson and Van 
 Buren, it was abandoned, as it had been created, upon 
 political calculation ; and expired under a. fiat emanating, 
 not from the workshop of the manufacturer, but from the 
 closet of the politician. ~True, that Mr. Van Buren voted 
 for the tariff of 1828, notwithstanding his speech of 1827; 
 but, equally true, that he voted under instructions from his 
 state Legislature, and in obedience to the great democrat 
 ic principle (demos, the people, krateo, to govern) which 
 has always formed a distinguishing feature, and a divi 
 ding land-mark, between the two great political par 
 ties which, under whatsoever name, have always ex 
 isted, and still exist, in our country. Sitting in the 
 
MARTIN VAN BURN. 373 
 
 chair next to him at the time of that vote, voting as 
 he did, and upon the same principle ; interchanging opin 
 ions without reserve, or disguise, it comes within the per 
 ception of my own senses to know, that he felt great re 
 pugnance to the provisions of the tariff act of 28, and vo 
 ted for it, as I did, in obedience to a principle which we 
 both hold sacred." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN S support of a strict construction of the 
 constitution, with extracts from his speech on the poic- 
 er of the Vice President to call to order, for words 
 spoken in debate^ in the Senate. 
 
 No one subject has more widely separated the 
 antagonist political parties in the United States, 
 than the different principles of construction, applied 
 by each, to the Federal Constitution. Tt has been 
 the constant effort of the democratic party, to con 
 fine the powers of the Federal Government to the 
 exact and express limits, fixed by the letter of the 
 constitution. The party opposed to them, have 
 been equally persevering in their efforts to extend 
 the Federal jurisdiction, by resulting, constructive, 
 and implied powers, not warranted by the text of 
 the constitution, or contemplated by its framers, 
 but flowing, as it is claimed, from certain general 
 clauses, of which the purport is not specific and def 
 inite. The most striking examples of the exercise 
 
276 THE LIFF OF 
 
 of incidental or implied powers, are the incorpora 
 tion of a bank of the United States, and the ex 
 penditure of the public funds for internal improve 
 ments. No express authority is given, in the con 
 stitution, for either of these measures. But Con 
 gress are authorized to receive and disburse the 
 public revenue, and are authorized to make the 
 laws " necessary and proper" for this end ; and it 
 has been held that a bank is necessary and proper, 
 and hence, that the power to create one, may be 
 derived from a liberal construction of the specified 
 powers. The constitution does not expressly au 
 thorize the expenditure of the public money for in 
 ternal improvements ; but it is said to be implied in 
 the power to establish post-offices and post-roads, 
 or in the power to regulate commerce, or in the 
 clause which speaks of providing for the general 
 welfare. Upon such slight grounds, has been erec 
 ted, a magnificent system, embracing the most im 
 portant interests of the country, and involving the 
 exercise of more important functions, by the Gen 
 eral Government, than any which have been ex 
 pressly granted in the constitution. 
 
 In the first place, the power which is given to 
 the General Government of imposing duties on im 
 ported articles, has been carried to such an extent, 
 under the pretence of fostering domestic industry, 
 as to fill the treasury with surplus funds, beyond 
 the current expenses of the government. In the 
 second place, as part of the same system, these 
 funds have been intended to carry on magnificent 
 roads and canals, in certain parts of the Union, the 
 control of which was to be in the Federal govern- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 377 
 
 ment, and would have involved an immense exec 
 utive patronage. Connected with these schemes, 
 was a vast national bank, professedly established 
 for national purposes, but principally owned by in 
 dividuals, with branches in every part of the Un 
 ion beyond the control of the state governments, 
 and capable of exercising an unlimited influence 
 over the pecuniary interests of the whole commu 
 nity. 
 
 Thus was built up, what was called the " Great 
 American System ;" a system devised to promote 
 the ambitious views of individuals, based wholly, 
 as we have seen, upon distorted constructions of 
 the constitution, and sustained, for a time, by ap 
 peals to local or partial interests. This vast 
 scheme was fitted to expand the powers of the. 
 Federal government enormously beyond its con 
 stitutional limits ; so that it must, eventually, have 
 swallowed up, as in a vortex, all the interests of 
 the confederated states. The legislative depart 
 ment of the government, alloyed by local inter 
 ests, or party prejudice, or individual schemes of 
 aggrandizement, was temporarily led into its sup 
 port ; the judiciary department co-operated, with 
 the full weight of its character and influence, to 
 fasten this gigantic " system" upon the nation. 
 The Executive had the shelter of long precedent 
 and the force of previous example, to draw it into 
 acquiescence ;* but it yielded not. The com- 
 
 *The writer alludes, (with pain,) to the assent of General 
 Washington and Mr. Madison, severally, to the charter of the 
 United States Bank ; and Mr. Jefferson s acquiescence in the 
 project of the Cumberland road, 
 24 
 
278 THE LIFE OF 
 
 manding intellect of General Jackson saw the 
 alarming danger ; his more than Roman firmness 
 encountered it ; the constitution was rescued and 
 the country saved. The magnificent schemes of 
 national roads and canals, already contemplating 
 expenditures to the amount of nearly one hundred 
 millions of dollars, vanished at his touch ; the ex 
 travagant system of impost duties, which had 
 brought the country to the eve of a civil war, was 
 reduced, by his energy, to its proper medium ; 
 and finally, the national Bank, the most formidable 
 engine ever invented to corrupt the principles and 
 undermine the liberties of a republic, sunk beneath 
 the repeated applications of his eloquent denuncia 
 tions and official power. The great battle has 
 been fought between the friends of the constitution 
 and the partizans of aristocratic corruption. The 
 country now reposes in safety. While our pre 
 sent venerable chief magistrate sits at the helm of 
 state, neither secret corruption nor the formidable 
 threats of coalescing factions, can endanger popu 
 lar rights or invade the constitution. But into 
 whose hands, -after his withdrawal, are these sacred 
 interests to be committed ? What are the senti 
 ments of him who may possibly succeed to this re 
 sponsible trust? Will he abide by the letter and 
 spirit of the constitution, or will he be led astray, 
 by the fraudulent inventions of modern times, and 
 leave the charter of our freedom to the perversions 
 of selfish partizans ? An answer to these questions, 
 so far as Mr. Van Buren is concerned, may be 
 found in the following extracts. They are from a. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 279 
 
 speech which he delivered in the Senate of the 
 United States, in the winter of 1828, on a motion 
 to invest the Vice President with power to call to 
 order for words spoken in debate ; a power which 
 the advocates of a loose construction pretended to 
 derive by implication from the nature of the office. 
 
 In the outset of his remarks, Mr. Van Buren ex 
 pressed his indifference as to the fate of the par 
 ticular proposition before the Senate ; it was the 
 source from whence the power of calling to order 
 had been claimed for the Vice President, which 
 had excited his anxiety. In claiming that power 
 by implication he said, " principles had been ad 
 vanced and earnestly supported, against which he 
 felt it to be his duty, at least to protest. Nay 
 more ; such was his repugnance to the doctrines 
 he had heard, so deep was his conviction of the 
 error in which they were founded, that he could 
 not, without being disloyal to the most sacred of 
 his official duties, refrain from resisting them." 
 
 He then went into a careful examination of the 
 true nature and limits of the power of the Vice 
 President, and proceeded to remark on the gene 
 ral doctrine of implied and constructive powers, 
 as follows : 
 
 " In every point of view, said Mr. Van Buren, in which 
 this subject had presented itself to his mind, it had pro 
 duced but one sentiment, and that was unqualified opposi 
 tion to the prerogative claimed for the chair. Although 
 this claim of power is now, for the first time made, the 
 principle in which it originates is as old as the govern 
 ment itself. I look upon it, sir, as the legitimate offspring 
 of a school of politics, which has, in times past, Rgitated 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 and greatly disturbed this country ; of a school, the lead 
 ing principle of which may be traced to that great source 
 of the political contentions which have pervaded every 
 country where the rights of man were in any degree re- 
 specled. I allude, sir, to that collision which seems to be 
 inseparable from the nature of man, between the rights of 
 ihefew and the many, to those never-ceasing conflicts 
 between the advocates of the enlargement and concentra 
 tion of power on the one hand, and ^limitation andd/.s - 
 tribution on the other ; conflicts which, in England, crea 
 ted the distinction between Whigs and Tories; the latter 
 striving by all the means within their reach to increase 
 ihe influence and dominion of the throne, at the expense 
 of the common people ; and the former to counteract the 
 exertions of their adversaries, by abridging that dominion 
 and influence for the advancement of the rights and the 
 consequent amelioration of the condition of the people. 
 
 " Collisions of opinion and of action of a character simi* 
 lar in principle have existed, although under different de 
 nominations, with different limits, and for different end?* 
 in most countries, and in an eminent degree in this. In 
 deed the history of the struggles, the contests, the alter 
 nating victories and defeats of these two restless and rival 
 principles, is the history of all republican governmen-ts, 
 in fact, of all institutions formed for the protection of the 
 liberty of conscience and opinion, and the freedom of the 
 citizen. No where can its operation be more distinctly 
 traced than in our own early history. They were the 
 primitive elements, and animating causes of those whig 
 and tory parties, which, from the first Congress of 1765, 
 down to the glorious peace of 1783, on the one hand la 
 bored unceasingly to consolidate all legislative authority 
 over these provinces in the single British parliament, and 
 to place all patronage, power, and influence, in the hands 
 of the executive and judicial representatives of the Crown; 
 nnd on the other hand, as boldly and perseveringly, but 
 happily more successfully, vindicated by reason, elo 
 quence, and finally by arms, the rights of the several 
 American states, and the just powers of the immediate 
 representatives of the people. The establishment of our 
 independence put an end to these conflicts, in the form 
 in which they had before been sustained ; but what its 
 effect was upon the spirit that produced them, could be 
 better judged from an attentive consideration of our sub 
 sequent history. Attempts, said Mr. Van Buren, have 
 frequently been made in later days, and recently by the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 highest authority in the government, to trace the origin 
 of the two great political parties which have divided the 
 country, from the adoption of the constitution to the pres 
 ent day. They have, for motives too obvious to require 
 explanation, been attributed to causes which had either 
 hecome obsolete, or been compromised by mutual conces 
 sion such as the early difficulties growing out of our re 
 lations with Great Britain and France, the expediency of 
 a navy, or similar questions. There was one considera 
 tion, he said, that could not fail to arrest the attention of 
 the most superficial observer. It was this. If these party 
 divisions have sprung from no other cause than the tem 
 porary circumstances to which they have been attributed, 
 why have they so long survived the causes that produced 
 them? That they still exist, and exist in full vigor in a 
 great portion of the Union, it would be an insult to our 
 observation and understanding to deny. The explanation 
 of the mystery was to be found, and to be found only, in 
 the falsity of the ascription. They arose from other and 
 very different causes. They are, in truth, said he, mainly 
 to be ascribed to the struggle between the two opposing 
 principles that have been in active operation in this coun 
 try from the closing scenes of the revolutionary war to the 
 present day the one seeking to absorb, as far as practica 
 ble, all power from its legitimate sources, and to condense 
 it in a single head ; the other, an antagonist principle, la 
 boring as assiduously to resist the encroachments, and 
 limit the extent of our executive authority. The former 
 has grown out of a deep and settled distrust of the peo 
 ple and of the states. It consequently regards as gain, 
 every thing that can be drawn into the vortex of federal 
 power, and as making that power still more safe in pro 
 portion as it is withdrawn from the popular departments 
 of the federal government to those that are further remo 
 ved from the control of public sentiment. The antago 
 nist principle has its origin in a jealousy of power, justi 
 fied by all human experience. It is founded on the as 
 sumption, that the disposition of man to abuse delegated 
 authority is inherent and incorrigible ; it therefore seeks 
 its only security in the limitation and distribution of those 
 trusts which the very existence of government requires to 
 be reposed somewhere. Hence, the aversion of its sup 
 porters to grant more power than is indispensably neces 
 sary for the objects of society ; and their desire, as an addi 
 tional safeguard, to place that which is conferred in as 
 many hands as is consistent with efficiency. The former 
 24* 
 
282 THE LIFE OF 
 
 is essentially the monarchical, and the latter the demo- 
 cratical spirit, of society. He wished not to be misun 
 derstood. He used these terms, as more expressive of his 
 meaning, than any that occurred to him. He had no idea 
 that all, or even the great body of those who either now, 
 or in times past, had been subject to the influence of the 
 first principle, were in favor of the establishment of a 
 monarchy in this country, any more than he believed that 
 those who had shown their preference for democratical 
 principles were in favorof the establishment of an absolute 
 democracy neither side had views thus extensive. The 
 forms of both were repudiated, while their respective spir 
 its were, to no considerable extent, retained. The earlier 
 battles upon this cardinal point were fought upon the ques 
 tion of the degree of energy ; or in other words ; power 
 that ought to be given to the Federal Government, at the 
 expense of the states and the people. They commenced 
 in the convention of 1787, and soon spread through the 
 great body of the people, upon the question of ratification. 
 The proceedings of that convention were for a long time 
 secret, but are now before the public. In them, when ta 
 ken in connection with later events, we read the grounds 
 of our subsequent political dissensions, in language so 
 plain, that none but those who are wilfully blind can be 
 deceived. There were, of course, different degrees, as to 
 individuals; but the leading division in the convention 
 was between those who, distrustful of the states, sought 
 to abridge their powers, that those of the new government 
 might, thereby, be enlarged, and those who, on their part 
 distrustful, perhaps jealous of the government about to be 
 created, and possessing full confidence in those of the 
 states, were as strenuous to retain all powers not indis 
 pensably necessary to enable the Federal Government to 
 discharge the specified and limited duties to be imposed 
 upon it. The contest was animated, and, as it is well 
 known, more than once threatened a dissolution of the 
 convention, without agreeing upon any thing. Necessity, 
 however, ultimately compelled a compromise. The terms 
 were arranged as well as practicable. The then friends 
 of state rights, (the true federalists, but, who, by a singu 
 lar misnomer, were immediately after called an ti-federal- 
 ists, whilst those who had throughout opposed the feder 
 al principle, assumed the then more popular name of fed 
 eralists,) succeeded, or thought they succeeded, in saving 
 much of what they had so earnestly contended for. The 
 advocates of what was in the language of the day called 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 283 
 
 a strong General Government, certainly failed in obtain 
 ing by express grant, or necessary implication, much of 
 what they had so long and so ably struggled to acquire 
 for the new government. The question of ratification 
 came on, and was full of difficulty. The abuses to which 
 some of the more general provisions of the constitution 
 might be exposed, were pointed out by its opponents. 
 The concealed powers of the constitution, which are at 
 this day put forth with so much confidence, were dis 
 claimed and condemned by those who advocated the rati 
 fication. No candid and well-informed man, will for a 
 moment pretend that, if the powers now claimed for this 
 government had been avowed at the time, or even had not 
 been expressly disclaimed, there would have been the 
 slightest chance for the adoption of the constitution, by 
 the requisite number of the old thirteen states. 
 
 But it was ratified, said Mr. V. B., and from the mo 
 ment of its adoption to the present day, the spirit he had 
 described, had been at work to obtain by construction 
 what was not included or intended to be included in the 
 grant. It was far from his intention to urge this as a re 
 proach against the actors in those scenes. He was per 
 suaded that the motives of many, if not of all, were pure, 
 and even patriotic. They believed that the state Gov 
 ernments were not safe depositories of power; that the 
 states would be able to control, and would injuriously 
 control the Federal Government, unless it had more pow 
 er than the convention of 1787 was willing to grant. 
 They thought, and one of them Avith that ingenuousness 
 of feeling which distinguished his noble nature, avowed 
 officially, that the true question was, not what the framers 
 of the constitution intended, or what those by whom it 
 was ratified understood, but what was the correct con 
 struction of the terms in which it was expressed. This 
 great man knew well that the power then claimed for the 
 government, could be sustained on no other grounds, and 
 he was always above disguise. 
 
 I am not, said Mr. V. B. condemning their motives, 
 but controverting their opinions. The test that was then 
 applied to the constitution, has been adjudged erroneous 
 and unjust, by the judges in the last resort the people 
 themselves. The belief, (no doubt honestly entertained 
 by many,) that its application was necessary to the suc 
 cess of the scheme and to the welfare of the country, was 
 founded in impressions as to the character of the state 
 governments, which experience has demonstrated to havp 
 
284 THE LIFE OF 
 
 been unfounded. Many of the most distinguished of 
 those who then entertained those opinions, have since 
 abandoned them, convinced by the results of that experi 
 ment which has since been made. Fifty years experi 
 ence of the operation of the state governments, has made 
 assurance doubly sure, that they richly deserve the con 
 fidence which the people have ever been inclined to be 
 stow on them. Under the broad shield of state laws, 
 private rights have been protected, while public prosperity 
 was promoted. In the darkest hours of Avar, when the 
 General Government was disheartened and enfeebled by 
 debt and disaster, its unnerved arm was strengthened, 
 and the national honor rescued, by the authority, the pat 
 riotism, and the credit of the states. In peace they have 
 not only fulfilled wisely and justly all the great purposes 
 of self-government, but several of them have established 
 noble systems of public instruction, or have accomplished, 
 or are now accomplishing, great works of internal im 
 provement, as far surpassing in magnitude and utility 
 any similar works of the General Government, as they 
 do in wisdom of plan, and economy, and judgment in 
 execution. A general surrender of such opinions, is, 
 therefore, at this time, a tribute justly due to the re 
 deemed and established character of the state govern 
 ments. But they are not surrendered on the contrary, 
 they have become more and more extravagant, until those 
 under whose protection they now are, claim for this gov 
 ernment powers which were in express terms repudiated 
 and denounced by the founders of this very school. 
 
 Mr. V. B. said, he would not feel himself at liberty to 
 detain the Senate by following the track of the govern 
 ment in its whole extent, and through all its sinuosities, 
 to establish his positions, but he could not avoid doing so 
 in part. The subject was one of deep interest, of which 
 it behooved the American people to be fully informed, 
 but which it was to be feared is more frequently spoken 
 of than understood. The mass of our citizens are so 
 much engrossed in the affairs of their state governments, 
 that this great matter is in no inconsiderable degree neg 
 lected. 
 
 "During the administration of General Washington, 
 no acts of a strong character took place, save the incor 
 poration of the bank of the United States, that great 
 pioneer of constitutional encroachments, together with 
 the principles avowed in relation to the treaty-making 
 power. The attachment of General Washington to the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 constitution, his consciousness of the difficulty which had 
 attended its establishment, and the natural moderation 
 of his character, coming in aid of the firm countenance 
 maintained by the anti-federalists of that day, kept the 
 spirit of encroachment and construction within bounds, 
 that, compared with its present character, were reasona 
 ble. But in the administration succeeding that of Gen 
 eral Washington, continuing through the years of 1797, 
 98, 99, it displayed itself in its true and most odious 
 character. Its fruits were so bitter, and are so well re- 
 merrrbered, that any thing like a minute description of 
 them would be an act of supererogation. It was then 
 that the monarchical and aristocratical character of the 
 spirit he had described, was displayed in unceasing efforts 
 to wrest from the states the powers that justly belonged 
 to them, to exercise such as had never been conferred, 
 and to concentrate, as far as practicable, all authority in 
 the hands of the President. 
 
 " Among the usurpations of the day, the alien and se 
 dition laws stand in bold relief, not only as furnishing land 
 marks of the extent to which the presumption and arro 
 gance of power dared to go, but also on account of their 
 agency in driving from public confidence those by whom 
 they were adopted. The inclination to draw the powers 
 of the government to one common focus, has been other 
 wise exemplified in various ways, and at different periods 
 of our history. Time would only allow a brief notice of 
 one or two of them. 
 
 " The doctrine announced in the discussions on the 
 British treaty, that the House of Representatives were 
 bound to make all appropriations necessary to carry into 
 effect the stipulations of a treaty made by the President 
 and Senate, was a striking exemplification of this truth. 
 The extent to which this doctrine increases the executive 
 po\ver, (in its most enlarged sense,) over the funds of the* 
 nation, cannot fail to strike the mind at the first blush. 
 He did not wish to be understood as saying, or insinua 
 ting, that all who advocated that opinion, were influenced 
 by the spirit of which he had spoken. He did not believe- 
 that such was the case. On the contrary, he was welf 
 satisfied that there were those, on that occasion, as wel* 
 as on that of the incorporation of the Bank of the United 
 States, (and especially him who was at the head of af 
 fairs,) who were sincere friends to the state governments, 
 but were led away by the pressure of the times, and gave 
 their assent to measures which, under more auspicious-; 
 
THE LIFE OF 
 
 circumstances, they could not have approved. The prin 
 ciple then avowed was resisted by the republicans of that 
 day, on the simple but intelligible grounds, that, so lar 
 as the treaty stipulation could be carried into eJfect with 
 out the aid of the House of Representatives, its interfer 
 ence would be unauthorized, because, by the constitution, 
 the treaty-making power had been conferred on a differ 
 ent department of the government; but that, whenever 
 the action of the House of Representatives, the more im 
 mediate agents of the people, was necessary, it must be 
 free to give or withhold its assent, according to its best 
 judgment, and upon its own responsibility ; that the con 
 stitution neither declared nor intended, that, in cases 
 which might be of the greatest magnitude, it should be a 
 mere machine to be worked by the other departments of 
 the government. The same disposition to limit the pow 
 ers of the popular branch, was forcibly illustrated in the 
 discussions on the foreign intercourse biW in 1793. 
 It was upon that occasion contended, and successfully 
 too, that the House of Representatives, had no discretion 
 upon the question of appropriation for the expenses of 
 such intercourse with foreign nations as the President 
 saw fit to establish that they would be justly obnoxious 
 to the imputation of gross delinquency, if they hesitated 
 to make provision for the salaries of such foreign minis 
 ters as the President, with the assent of the Senate, 
 should appoint. What would be the feelings of real and 
 unchanged republicans, in relation to such doctrines, at 
 this day? Associated with them was the bold avowal, 
 that it belonged to the President alone to decide upon the 
 propriety of the mission, and that all the constitutional 
 agency which the Senate could of right have, was to 
 pass on the fitness of the individuals selected as minis 
 ters. It was pretensions like these, said Mr. Van Buren, 
 aided by unceasing indications, both in the internal and 
 external movements of the Government, that produced a 
 deep and settled conviction in the public mind, that a de 
 sign had been conceived to change the government from 
 its simple and republican form, to one, if not monarchi 
 cal, at least too energetic for the temper of the American 
 people a conviction which beyond all doubt, produced 
 the civil revolution of 1800, and for which no oblivious 
 antidote has been yet discovered by those who were its 
 victims. By that great event, the public sentiment was 
 improved, our public councils purified, the spirit of en 
 croachment severely rebuked, and, it was then hoped, ex- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 287 
 
 tinguished forever. During Mr. Jefferson s administra 
 tion, and with a single exception, that of Mr. Madison, 
 the government was administered upon the principles 
 which the framers of the constitution avowed, and which 
 their constituents had ratified, and the people once and 
 again confirmed. The charier of the bank of the United 
 States, was, after a hard struggle, suffered to expire; and 
 the conceded and well-understood powers of the govern 
 ment were found amply sufficient to enable it to perform 
 the great functions lor which it was instituted. During 
 a great portion of the time the country was blessed with 
 a degree of prosperity and happiness without a parallel in 
 the world. At the close of Mr. Madison s administra 
 tion, a new bank was incorporated, and received his re 
 luctant assent. It would be shutting our eyes to the truth 
 to deny, or to attempt to conceal the fact, that that assent, 
 coming from the quarter that it did, has had a most pow 
 erful and far from salutary influence on the subsequent 
 course of the government. Its author had himself, on a 
 former occasion, demonstrated the want of power in the 
 Federal Government to incorporate a bank, and his assent 
 was now placed on the express ground that the recogni 
 tion of the authority of the government in relation to the 
 old bank, by the state governments and the courts, as well 
 as the people, had precluded the question of constitu 
 tionality. Thus the power in question must stand as a 
 successful interpolation upon the text of the constitution. 
 This great precursor was again followed by other at 
 tempts, but of a restricted and qualified character, to ex 
 tend the same principle to other topics of legislation. 
 They were, however, promptly defeated by Mr. Madison, 
 who, upon all points, save the "bank of the United States, 
 preserved inviolate the, great principles upon which the 
 revolution of 1800 was founded, and of which his own 
 report upon the alien and sedition law r s was the exposi 
 tion. For his departure, in that particular, (if a depar 
 ture it was.) his reasons have been seen. It is not, at this 
 time, my official duty to pass upon their sufficiency ; and 
 I am wholly unwilling to volunteer a denunciation of 
 any opinion, deliberately formed, and upon high responsi 
 bility, by one of the most, if not the most, accomplished 
 statesmen that our country has produced. However indi 
 viduals might differ as to the correctness of his conclu 
 sion, all mankind must acquiesce in the purity of the mo 
 tives which led to its adoption. The political condition 
 of the country, at the close of the late war, in reference 
 
288 THE LIFE OF 
 
 to old party distinctions, speculation as to the future and 
 the aspirations of individual ambition, accompanied, in 
 many cases, by a sincere desire to promote the public 
 good, produced occasional attempts during the adminis 
 tration that followed, to revive in a form less exceptiona 
 ble, the doctrine which had already been so emphatically 
 condemned by the people. They were, however, in a 
 great degree, restrained, and kept down by the resistance 
 of the remnant of the faithful, and the qualified opposi 
 tion of Mr. Monroe. 
 
 "But if these attempts, said Mr. V. B. to revive the 
 condemned heresies of former times, were not of them 
 selves successful, they served the purpose of giving coun 
 tenance to pretensions on the part of men now in power, 
 which out-Herod Herod. The opening scenes of the 
 present administration, have not only been the subjects, 
 of intense interest in their day, but will mark an interest 
 ing era in our future history. They will stand as a bea 
 con to succeeding administrations., warning them of the 
 point beyond which the people will never tolerate en 
 croachment upon the great charter of their liberties. The 
 present Executive, in his exposition of the constitutional 
 powers of this government has gone far beyond the utmost 
 latitude of construction heretofore claimed, as if to give 
 point to his extravagant pretensions to demonstrate that 
 the result of the last election was not only the restoration 
 of the men of 1798, but of the principles of that day, we 
 have seen a great portion of the obnoxious doctrine then 
 contended for again broadly advanced in the assumption, 
 that it was within the constitutional competency of the 
 Executive to have sent ministers to the Congress of Pana 
 ma, without the assent of the Senate; and, sir, to give a 
 high finish to the picture, it is now strenuously contended 
 from a quarter in amity with the Executive, that the con 
 trol of the rights and privileges of the Senators, on this 
 floor, and their constituents, in a most essential particular, 
 is a power inherent in the office of the Vice President of 
 the United States. I have, sir, been brought up in oppo 
 sition to that school of politics from which such princi 
 ples are legitimate emanations. From my first acquain 
 tance with public affairs to the present day, I have regar 
 ded it as a sacred duty to resist them ; and I consider my 
 self, on this occasion, as in the discharge of that duty. 
 The grave matters of which I have spoken, with much 
 more of what I might have spoken as daily passing before 
 our eyes, are, as has been before observed, identical in 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN, 
 
 principle with those which were so emphatically adjudg 
 ed against by the people, in 1300. They are presented 
 in a different and far more dangerous form ; but they are 
 nevertheless, the same, The spirit of encroachment has, 
 it is true, become more wary, but it is not a bit more hon 
 est. Heretofore the system was coercion; now it is se 
 duction. Heretofore unconstitutional powers were exerci 
 sed to force submission, now they are assumed to pur 
 chase golden opinions from the people with their own 
 means. It is a great mistake, sir, to attribute the radical 
 change in government, effected contemporaneously with 
 the election of Mr. Jefferson, either to excess of taxation, 
 or practical oppression under the alien and sedition laws. 
 Those, doubtless, produced great and just excitement j 
 but it did not belong to their nature to produce such last 
 ing consequences. Acts of individual oppression had 
 been committed before, and have, in different degrees, 
 been committed since. But, after having caused more or 
 less of public excitement at the time, they have passed 
 away with the occasion that produced them. Such is hu 
 man nature now such has it been in all ages of the 
 world. The acts I have alluded to, highly exceptionable 
 as they undoubtedly were, could never Tiave produced an 
 unyielding exclusion from the confidence of a majority 
 of the people, for more than a quarter of a century, of 
 large, masses of men distinguished for talent and private 
 worth. No, sir, said he, the cause of that great and glo 
 rious struggle lies deeper much deeper. It proceeded, 
 not from the consequences of those acts, but from an op 
 position to the principle upon which they are founded 
 that principle was an alarming extension of the con 
 structive powers of this government it arose, as he had 
 before said, from a settled conviction in the rninds of the 
 people, that a deliberate plan had been formed by the men 
 then in power, to change the government, from its true 
 republican form, to one, if not monarchical, at least too 
 much inclined to that direction. It was the apprehen 
 sion that they were about to be despoiled of the promised 
 fruits of the revolution, that aroused and called into vigo 
 rous action that same great spirit by which the revolu 
 tion itself was accomplished. It is to that cause only 
 that results unknown to the politics of any other country, 
 are to be attributed. The cause was at least adequate, if 
 all the consequences have not been permanent. And 
 what is the true character of the times upon which, in the 
 25 
 
290 THE LIFE OF 
 
 course of events, and the providence of God, we have 
 fallen? Most unpropitious, truly. 
 
 " If the views in relation to the powers of this govern 
 ment, avowed by the present Executive, and which lie at 
 the foundation of the present administration, are the true 
 doctrines of the constitution, then was the great political 
 revolution of 1800 founded in gross error, if not palpa 
 ble fraud upon the people? Disguise the matter as you 
 will, said he, to this complexion must we come at last. 
 It was most manifest,- he said, that whatever effect the 
 events of 1797-8-9 and 1800 had had upon the federal men 
 of that day, their consequences upon the principles that 
 then prevailed, have not been as eifectual as was hoped, 
 and for a season believed* 
 
 We have scotched the snake, not killed it ; 
 She ll close and be herself again. 
 
 "Buthe trusted the prediction would not be verified 
 She ll not close again. The people will prevent it. He 
 must indeed be a miserable judge of public sentiment, 
 who cannot see in its daily indications that the same spirit 
 which once before rescued the constitution from the 
 hands of its enemies, is at this moment fully roused. The 
 excesses of the last three years have produced in this 
 country changes of public opinion wholly without prece 
 dent. The time, he trusted, was not far distant, when 
 the interpolations which had been attempted upon the 
 constitution, with the wretched sophisms by which they 
 were supported, will be subjects of severe reprehension ; 
 nay, of derision, with the people, and when a great por 
 tion of the talents ihat have been employed in weaving 
 the net, will need all its own ingenuity to escape its 
 meshes. He hoped he had not been understood as 
 supposing that all who had heretofore been ranked among 
 the supporters of the high-toned doctrines he had con 
 demned, must of consequence occupy the same station 
 now. By no means. He would be ashamed of himself 
 to be found the author of sentiments so contracted and 
 illiberal. He knew too well, that although, to a certain ex 
 tent, names are things, they are not always the unerring 
 evidence of the things they signify. The full experi 
 ment^ in peace and in war, which we have now had of 
 the respective operations and efficiency of the Federal and 
 state governments, ought to satisfy every dispassionate 
 inquirer after truth, of the fallacy of opinions once so 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 extensively entertained. Those who thought so ought 
 to abandon them, and all who are wise enough to be hon 
 est, will do so. It is of itself immaterial by what politi 
 cal appellation men have heretofore been called. The 
 great question is, what are honestly their present senti 
 ments upon those great points which have, from the be 
 ginning, divided the American people, and would, he 
 feared, continue to do so to the end ? 
 
 " Mr. Van Buren said that, contrary to his first impres 
 sion, he would vote in favor of the whole amendment 
 proposed by the Senator from Connecticut. He would do 
 so because it would be the most effectual manner in which 
 he could assist in putting down what, with all respect for 
 the opinions of his fellow Senators, he could not but re 
 gard as a monstrous construction of the constitution. 
 The amendment proposed an appeal from the decision of 
 the Vice President to the Senate. If he believed that the 
 Vice President possessed the power in question by virtue 
 of his office, he could not vote for so great an encroach 
 ment upon his constitutional rights as to subject their ex 
 ercise to a supervision not provided for by the constitu 
 tion. If, therefore, the amendments were adopted, he 
 hoped we should hear no more of an inherent right^ 
 which you, sir, have, much to your credit, refused to usurp, 
 and which we, as I cannot but think, to our discredit, are 
 attempting to force upon you, nolens volens." 
 
CHAPTER XIX, 
 
 Pernicious effects of the system of incorporated Bank 
 ing companies in the United States. Opposition of 
 Mr. Van Bur en to the extension of this system in the 
 state of New York. His opposition to the bank of the 
 United States. 
 
 
 
 It is the striking remark of a statesman of much 
 experience in public affairs, who, amid dignified 
 retirement, in the evening of his days, has devoted 
 a penetrating mind to the most elaborate political 
 research, " that associated wealth is the dynasty of 
 modern states."* 
 
 The apothegm is true of Europe, where bankers 
 are already the real monarchs, and a poor noble 
 man or a poor king is as impotent as any other 
 poor man. But in this country it has its most 
 
 * The Hon. Samuel C. Allen, of Mass, whose disinterested ef 
 forts to defend the rights of those who live by their own labor, 
 have brought upon him the most outrageous abuse, from those who 
 ^ive by the labor of their fellow-men. 
 
 25* 
 
294 THE LIFE OF 
 
 striking application. The written charter of our 
 national liberties guards against a dynasty of he 
 reditary rank or of legitimate descent. It has not 
 proved a safeguard against a dynasty of associated 
 wealth. The aristocratic principle, which is in 
 herent in the nature of man and has exhibited its 
 activity in all ages, by monopolizing the blessings 
 of life, has been cut off from most of its accustom 
 ed means of manifestation, by the founders of our 
 government. The spirit of tyranny cannot exhibit 
 itself in this country by monopolizing legislation, 
 or titles, or rank. Orders of nobility, primogeni- 
 tal rights, inherited rank, and birth right privileges, 
 of every kind, have been exterminated by the bra 
 very and wisdom of our patriotic ancestors. But 
 one channel remains for the spirit of aristocracy to 
 pour its entire flood into ; it is the monopoly of 
 wealth. One weak point exists in the fortress of 
 our freedom ; it is that which may be assailed by 
 the engine of combined wealth. One order of no 
 bility is not guarded against ; an order untitled, it is 
 true, but possessing attributes more radically inju 
 rious to popular rights than all the empty insignia 
 of foreign aristocracy. It is based, not upon the 
 respect which is naturally paid to the descendant 
 from a long line of illustrious ancestors, but upon 
 the influence of that sordid principle in men, which, 
 the greatest of all reformers in religion and politics, 
 characterized as, " the root of all evil." Wealth is 
 the grand engine of self exaltation and of popular 
 oppression in this country. Such is the nature of 
 our institutions that the love of domination, inhe- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 295 
 
 rent in the human breast, has here, no other outlet. 
 Of all inventions which have been put in opera 
 tion, in this country, to promote the inordinate ac 
 cumulation of wealth, the most exceptionable are 
 incorporated companies ; and the worst of all in 
 corporated companies are banks. It is a cardinal 
 principle of political economy that labor is the on 
 ly means of creating wealth. Labor draws wealth 
 from land and from other natural sources. Its 
 operations are greatly aided by capital, in various 
 shapes, and in some branches, a certain amount of 
 floating capital, that is, money and credit, is almost 
 indispensable. The laborer seldom possesses this 
 capital ; he is willing to give a portion of the pro 
 ceeds of his labor, for the use of it ; and the owner 
 of the capital is thus enabled to enjoy a portion of 
 the fruits of the poor man s labor. Such must 
 ever be the course of things where any inequalities 
 of wealth exist ; and inequalities of wealth must 
 exist while inequalities of natural talents, of virtue 
 and intelligence, pervade a community. But it is 
 the policy of political systems which aim to se 
 cure the happiness of all, in equal degrees, to di 
 minish these inequalities, as far as possible, by pre 
 venting the individual aggregation of capital, and 
 securing to labor its entire fruits. Banks and 
 monied incorporations strongly counteract this po 
 licy. They combine the floating capital in great 
 masses, and enable its owners tfy co-operation, to 
 prescribe conditions for its dispensation to borrow 
 ers, which are oppressive and burdensome. They 
 impede the natural tendency of capital to equali- 
 
296 THE LIFE OF 
 
 zation and distribution. They create no wealth ; 
 their only functions are to accumulate capital and 
 direct its operations. Their special privileges and 
 extensive combinations of selfish interests, enable 
 them to do this, in such a way, as to extort from 
 industry an undue portion of its results. The very 
 object of an incorporate charter is to give its 
 possessors artificial powers and special privileges, 
 not enjoyed by others, or an exemption from lia 
 bilities to which others are subjected. Rich men, 
 thus combining their fortunes to a certain extent, 
 to control the loaning of capital, and, unlike ordi 
 nary partners in business, exempt, from personal 
 liability, are enabled to oppress the individual la 
 borer who, in solitary poverty, eats his bread " in 
 the sweat of his face." 
 
 All such combinations of wealth against labor, 
 of accumulation against productive industry, of 
 the rich against the poor, ought to be regarded with 
 disapprobation, by a government which professes 
 to dispense its benefits, equally, to all. 
 
 The federal constitution gives to the General 
 Government the exclusive right to coin money. 
 This would seem to vest in that government, a 
 control over the circulating medium of the nation. 
 But in point of fact, a paper currency has been al 
 most universally substituted for the constitutional 
 coin of the government. The privilege of manu 
 facturing this circulating medium has been confer 
 red, by the state Legislatures, upon a multitude of 
 incorporated banks ; and they have substituted, in 
 stead of money, their own credit. Their notes are 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 297 
 
 called money, and are made to perform its func 
 tions ; and the prerogative of the Federal Govern 
 ment has, thus, in fact, been usurped by these cor 
 porate bodies. It may reasonably be doubted 
 whether the whole system, from beginning to end, 
 is not an infraction of the constitution. It is, at 
 least, an evasion of its plain provisions, pernicious 
 in its influence upon industry and morals, and 
 meriting the firm resistance of all true lovers of 
 equal rights. 
 
 At the head of the vast system of machinery in 
 this country, for the undue aggregation of wealth, 
 stands, or rather stood, the bank of the United 
 States. Resisted in its embryo state, by Jefferson, 
 struck down for a time by the casting vote of Vice 
 President Clinton, it has finally received its death 
 blow from the hand of our present illustrious chief 
 magistrate. 
 
 The sentiments of Mr. Van Buren, on a matter 
 of so great importance, deserve a careful examin 
 ation, and a view of them will be given here. 
 
 In the first place, it may be stated, that he has 
 wholly abstained from becoming the owner of any 
 bank stock, or taking any interest in any company 
 incorporated by the Legislature of New York, 
 since the period of his first entrance into the Sen 
 ate of that state, in 1812. 
 
 In the next place, he has been a firm opponent 
 throughout his whole public hTe, of the extension 
 of the banking system in the state of New York 
 and of a bank of the United States. 
 
 His public opposition may be traced back to 
 
298 THE LIFE OF 
 
 1811. In February of that year, the venerable 
 George Clinton, the Nestor of the New York de 
 mocracy, by his casting vote, as President of the 
 Senate, defeated the renewal of the charter ot the 
 bank of the United States. Mr. Van Buren ar 
 dently and vigorously sustained this bold act of pa 
 triotism. 
 
 When the project of replacing this bank by the 
 bank of America in New York, was brought for 
 ward, Mr. Van Buren took the most decided .stand 
 against it. He was active in originating a conven 
 tion of the democracy of his county to oppose it, 
 and delivered an elaborate and powerful speech 
 against the proposed measure. 
 
 In the spring of 1812, Governor Tompkins pro 
 rogued the Legislature, to prevent the passage of 
 the charter of the bank ; and Mr. Van Buren 
 yielded this energetic, but necessary, exercise of 
 power, his firmest support. 
 
 The opposition of Daniel D. Tompkins to banks 
 in general, is well known ; an opposition in which 
 the elder and younger Clinton co-operated. Mr. 
 Van Buren, during his whole political course in the 
 state of New York, was found in the same oppo 
 sition. No public man has ever been more op 
 posed to the extension of the banking system. The 
 journals of the New Y ork Senate evince, that dur 
 ing the many years he was a member of that body, 
 he was constant and zealous in his opposition to the 
 increase of banks. After he ceased to be a mem 
 ber of that body, he viewed every measure calcu 
 lated to check the extension of banks, with strong 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 399 
 
 approbation ; and in May, 1827, in the Senate of 
 the United States, he alluded to the applications for 
 bank charters in the state of New York, and said, 
 " the Legislature, to its honor, at the last, session, 
 had refused all applications of this description." 
 
 The question of re-chartering the bank of the 
 United States did not arise during his service in 
 the United States Senate. But the doctrine of a 
 strict construction of the constitution, which he 
 maintained on all occasions, was levelled in a great 
 measure, against the bank of the United States ; 
 and in his speech on the powers of the Vice Presi 
 dent, in 1828, he characterizes the incorporation of 
 that bank as the " great pioneer of constitutional 
 encroachments." 
 
 This solemn declaration against the constitution 
 ality of the bank was made, it will be noticed, be 
 fore the election of General Jackson to the Presi 
 dency, and two years before his message in 1830, 
 first calling the attention of Congress to the 
 newal of the charter. 
 
 Having thus shown Mr. Van Buren s steady op 
 position to the banking system, in general, and the 
 bank of the United States in particular, from his 
 first entrance upon political life to the last session 
 of his service in the Senate of the United States, it 
 may be proper to bring down this part of our sub 
 ject to the present time, though we shall be obliged, 
 thereby, to anticipate some portion of the regular 
 narrative. 
 
 In the summer of 1832, when Mr. Van Buren 
 was a candidate for the office of Vice President, a 
 
300 THE LIFE OF 
 
 letter was addressed to him, by a committee of a 
 public meeting in North Carolina, requesting an 
 expression of his sentiments on various topics of 
 public interest. His reply to this letter is dated 
 October 4th, 1832. So far as it relates to the pro 
 tective system and internal improvements, it has al 
 ready been laid before the reader, under those re 
 spective heads. The part which relates to the bank 
 of the United States is as follows : 
 
 " I am unreservedly opposed to a renewal of the charter 
 of the United States bank, and, approve of the refusal of 
 the President to sign the bill passed for that purpose, as 
 well on account of the unconstitutionally, as the impoli 
 cy, of its provisions." 
 
 In the winter of 1834, the country was suffering 
 from the oppressions of the bank of the United 
 States, which followed the removal of the deposites. 
 The firmness with which Mr. Van Buren sustain 
 ed every measure for the suppression of the bank, 
 drew upon him and his political friends, every 
 species of suspicion and abuse. Among other 
 things it was suggested, that a transference of the 
 bank from Philadelphia to New York was the end, 
 really, in contemplation. The insinuation was in 
 dignantly repelled by Mr. Wright of the Senate, in 
 behalf of the democracy of New York : and the 
 hearty concurrence of Mr. Van Buren in this refu 
 tation of a calumny, was fully known to all. 
 
 When the panic arising partly from the scarcity 
 of money, but more from the inflammatory har- 
 rangues of certain members of the Senate, was at 
 
MARTIN VAN 8UREN. 301 
 
 its greatest height, and the situation of the com 
 mercial community, had become truly alarming, 
 Mr. Van Buren received a letter from a per 
 sonal and political friend, advising him of a 
 proposed application for a new bank, to be fixed 
 in the city of New York, and free from many of 
 the objections to the existing bank. In his re 
 ply, among other similar sentiments, is the fol 
 lowing : 
 
 " As it has been thought proper to advise me, in ad 
 vance of the contemplated movement, I should be want 
 ing in candor, and I think in duty also, if I left you for a 
 moment uninformed of my sentiments upon this subject. 
 The application of which you speak, could serve no other 
 purpose than to aid the existing bank in the efforts it is 
 making to obtain an extension of its charter, and to ex 
 pose the motives of the opponents of the bank who unite 
 in it, to the imputation (doubtless in the present case an 
 unjust one) of having been influenced in their opposition 
 by selfish motives. Of this, I have not the slightest 
 doubt. And without having communicated with the 
 members, or laying claim to information that is not open 
 toall attentive observers, I cannot hesitate in believin^ 
 that it would be impossible to obtain a dozen votes in fa 
 vor of such a proposition, in both branches of the National 
 Legislature. At all events, I think it proper, to say to 
 you, that it could not receive either countenance or sup 
 port from me. I could not act otherwise, without a de 
 parture from principles which I sincerely entertain, which 
 have been avowed to the people before my election, and 
 which I feel it to be a sacred duty to maintain invio 
 late." 
 
 The Hon, Thomas II. Benton, United States 
 Senator from Missouri, in a letter to General Da 
 vis of Mississippi, dated December 16th, 1834, 
 bears testimony to the sentiments of Mr. Van 
 26 
 
302 THE LIKE OF 
 
 Buren, at that time. Mr. Benton s efforts to re 
 store to the country a constitutional currency have 
 given him a proud distinction ; the country yet ex 
 pects much from his exertions. On a point, with 
 regard to which his own views are so clear and his 
 solicitude so great, his testimony is of peculiar 
 value, and his means of obtaining accurate infor 
 mation are complete. Alluding to Mr. Van Buren., 
 he says : 
 
 "I have known that gentleman long and intimately. 
 We entered the Senate of the United States together, 
 thirteen years ago, sat, six years, in seats next to each 
 other, were always personally friendly, generally acted 
 together on leading subjects and always interchanged 
 communications and reciprocated confidence. 
 He, (Mr. Van Buren) is a real hard money man ; opposed 
 to the paper system; in favor of a national currency of 
 gold ; in favor of an adequate silver currency for common 
 use; against a small note currency, and in favor of COH- 
 fining bank notes to their appropriate sphere and original 
 function, that of large notes for large transactions and 
 mercantile operations," 
 
 In the next place it will be proper to subjoin the 
 authorized statement of a gentleman who posses 
 ses the confidence of Mr. Van Buren in an eminent 
 degree, and whose testimony is beyond impeach 
 ment. Mr. Butler, in his published letter to Mr, 
 Garland, in March 1835, says of Mr. Van Buren s 
 views on this point : 
 
 " To close the door to cavil, I state ; 1st. That he 
 holds that Congress does not possess the power to estab 
 lish a national bank in any of the states of the Union, nor 
 to establish, in such states, the branch of any bank, located 
 in the district of Columbia; and 2ndly. That he is, there- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 3 Q3 
 
 fore, decidedly- opposed to the establishment of a national 
 bank in any of the states, and is also opposed to the estab 
 lishment of any such bank in the District of Columbia, as 
 unnecessary and inexpedient, and as liable to a great pro 
 portion of the abuses which have, in his opinion, been 
 practiced by the existing bank." 
 
 Since the publication of the first edition of this 
 volume, the following letter has been addressed by 
 Mr. Van Burcn to certain gentlemen in Cincinnati, 
 in reply to an invitation to attend a celebration in 
 that city. It will be seen that it contains a most 
 explicit avowal of his hostility to a Bank of the 
 United States, and is equally decided in repre 
 hending the " improvidence of state legislation" by 
 which infringements are, almost daily, made upon 
 popular rights by the granting of bank charters and 
 other special incorporations. Many professedly re 
 publican legislatures have, certainly, departed in 
 this respect, from the simplicity and purity of the 
 ancient democratic faith ; and it is highly gratifying 
 to find that the sentiments of Mr. Van Burcn are 
 closely coincident with those of Jefferson and Jack 
 son on these cardinal points, 
 
 " WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 1S36. 
 
 Gentlemen : I have the honor to acknowledge the re 
 ceipt of your letter, inviting me in behalf of the friends of 
 free principles in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, to attend 
 their proposed celebration of the deliverance of our coun 
 try from the thraldom of the Bank of the United States, 
 and asking from me, in case it should not be convenient 
 for me to attend, a sentiment appropriate to the occa 
 sion. 
 
 "There have been, in my opinion, few incidents in our 
 political history more worthy of notice, by means of a pub- 
 ic celebration, than the one you are about thus to distin- 
 
304 THE LIFE OF 
 
 guish. The sussessful resistance to the Herculean effort? 
 brought to bear upon the bank question, was a result most 
 honorable to those by whose immediate agency it was ef 
 fected, and certainly not less so to a virtuous and patriot 
 ic people by whom their faithful representatives were 
 cheered and sustained. 
 
 " However plausible the speculation, or successful the 
 concealments of the day, the design of the bank to extort 
 a renewal of its charter from the apprehensions and dis 
 tresses of the country, has been rendered too clear by 
 time to be any longer contested. To speak of the mighty 
 means which this aristocratic institution called to its 
 aid in the great strugle through which we have passed, 
 would be to suppose, what is scarcely possible, that the 
 dark traces of that gloomy period can ever be obliterated 
 from the public remembrance. But the bank mistook the 
 character of that people whose stubborn necks it proposed 
 to bend to its selfish interests and sinister design. It was 
 rebuked and diseomfittcd but by no means discouraged. 
 The people triumphed in that open contest, but before 
 time had been allowed for seasonable celebrations of that 
 triumph even since your festival has been appointed, and 
 before the day has arrived for the expression of your joy 
 the same power, fighting under the same panoply, but 
 changing altogether the character of its approach, has 
 again entered the field and gained a victory over the popu 
 lar will, which it doubtless considers brilliant and resist 
 less. But how changed the mode of warfare in this last 
 effort! Instead of commercial distress, public and private 
 embarrassment, and all the concomitants of an uncontrola- 
 ble panic in the public mind, plenty and even profusion 
 pervaded the city of the bank, while its noiseless approach 
 to the legislative power was characterised by a despatch 
 altogether unprecedented in so important a matter in the 
 history of legislation. Before even the movement is 
 known in the remote quarters of the Union, the public 
 mind is astounded by the acquisition of a charter from the 
 government of a single state, the apprehended grant of 
 which by Congress had filled the minds of a vast majority 
 of the American people with dismay ; and for the attain 
 ment of which from that body all the powers of earth had 
 been invoked in vain. 
 
 "You will do right not to suffer this event, untoward as it 
 is, to deter you from rejoicing at the victory which the 
 whole people have won. Leaving the partial success of 
 the Bank and its consequences to the consideration and 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 305 
 
 disposition of a virtuous and justly offended public, it is a 
 matter of the highest congratulation that the advances of 
 this presumptuous institution upon the Federal Govern 
 ment, at least, have been successfully arrested. In that 
 quarter our victory is, to all appearances, complete ; but 
 whether or not it is to be permanent, must depend, in a 
 great degree upon the states. Nothing short of the mad 
 ness of Slate Legislation ean prevent its being so. It 
 was in the inexcusable improvidence of state legislation 
 that the present bank found its origin, and it is to the 
 same source doubtless that it looks for a resuscitation. 
 Time will soon determine whether the well disposed 
 men of the present day are wiser than were their 
 predecessors ; or whether the lights of a most severe 
 experience h?.ve been shed v.pon this subject to no good 
 purpose, 
 
 " As far as your growing and patriotic state is concern 
 ed, the prospect is cheering indeed. From the bottom of 
 my heart do I congratulate you upon the noble stand 
 which Ohio appears to have taken, at this critical mo 
 ment, upon the subject of banks. Her course is de 
 serving of all commendation, and may well be looked to 
 by her older sisters in the confederacy, not only with ad 
 miration but wkh profit. Who can have forgotten the in 
 tense anxiety and warmly cherished hope with which 
 Mr. Jefferson looked to his favorite West, to his hardy 
 yeomanry of the new states, for the preservation of the 
 simplicity and purity of our republican institutions against 
 the seductive influences, and artificial distinctions of so 
 ciety, to which the Atlantic states were peculiarly exposed? 
 Who can forget the deep tone of regret with which he 
 contemplated a disappointment ? May we not safely look 
 upon the noble example which the largest, and certainly 
 not the least patriotic of the new states is now offering to 
 her confederates, as the sure promise of a new and brigh 
 ter day than that foreboded by this great and good man 1 
 May we not further hope that those who by their position, 
 by their pursuits, and by their every interest, have the- 
 greatest stake in the greatest cause of equal rights, will al 
 so make it the object of their highest ambition to be among 
 the foremost to uphold the constitution in the letter and 
 spirit of that sacred instrument ; and to preserve in its en 
 tire purity the simple but happy system of government, 
 under which we have hitherto so securely lived and so 
 greatly flourished ? 
 
 " To have been first selected by your state as a candi- 
 26* 
 
306 THE LIFE OF 
 
 date for the Presidency, I shall ever regard as one of the 
 most gratifying incidents of my public life; yet I cannot 
 adequately express to you how much this distinction, so 
 well calculated in itself to command my unceasing grati 
 tude, is enhanced in my estimation by the conviction that 
 Ohio will maintain this high stand upon this all impor 
 tant subject. 
 
 " Nothing would give me more unfeigned pleasure than 
 to assist in person in your commendable effort to rivet up 
 on the public mind the vast importance of the great event 
 you commemorate, were it in my power to do so : but I 
 regret that it is not in my power. 
 
 " In complying with your request to furnish a senti 
 ment for the occasion, my mind is necessarily turned to 
 him, who, during the stormy period to which your atten 
 tion is directed, was emphatically the helmsman of the 
 ship, without whose quick eye and strong arm, she must 
 have yielded to the tempest. I know well that where so 
 many did their duty firmly and fearlessly, this is saying a 
 great deal for the services of any one man, and yet I am 
 fully convinced I do no more than simple justice. Such 
 Was the opinion formed from my own observation, with 
 the best possible means of coming to a correct conclusion. 
 Such I believe to be the undisputed opinion of his contem 
 poraries, such must be the judgment of posterity. 1 there 
 fore, give you, gentlemen: 
 
 " Andrew Jackson No one has done more than he, to 
 advance the great principle of self-government, ex 
 pounded by Jefferson, and established on the battle field 
 by Washington." 
 
 I have the honor to be, gentlemen, 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 To MOSES DAWSON, Chairman. 
 
 From these facts and statements, it appears to 
 the present writer, that whatever may be thought 
 of Mr. Van Buren s opinions on other topics, he 
 will appear to be decidedly " committed" on the 
 subject of a bank of the United States. 
 
 It may be proper, here, to remark that Mr. Van 
 Buren was re-elected to the Senate of the United 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 307 
 
 States on the 6th of February 1827, by a vote, 
 of twenty-three to eight in the Senate, and of 
 eighty-two to thirty-one in the House of Repre 
 sentatives ; uniting in both houses, the entire demo 
 cratic votes. 
 
CHAPTER XX, 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN S support of the bill providing for the 
 surviving officers of the Revolution. Summary view 
 of his sentiments on various political questions. His 
 constant observance of the icill of the people. Right 
 and capacity of the people to direct the administration 
 of the government. 
 
 In presenting a view of Mr. Van Buren s ser 
 vices as Senator of the United States, the support 
 he rendered to the bill for relieving the surviving 
 officers of the revolutionary army ought not to be 
 omitted, though the discussion so far as he engaged 
 in it, presented few abstract political questions. 
 Great as should be the caution, in a republican 
 government, in dispensing pensions or pecuniary 
 provisions for any class of men, no public act of 
 Congress ever drew forth, from the American peo 
 ple, a more unanimous, heartfelt and warm ap 
 proval, than that by which a retributive provision 
 was made for the patriots of the revolution. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren joined in the debate on this in- 
 
310 THE LIFE OF 
 
 teresting topic, at different times, and lent to the 
 proposed measure the aid of his best exertions and 
 utmost influence. A speech which he delivered 
 in the Senate, on the 28th of January 1828, is 
 among the most elaborate in point of argument, 
 rich in historical illustration, and forcible in thought, 
 and language, to be found in the whole range of 
 parliamentary eloquence. 
 
 It is a matter of sincere regret, that the plan of 
 the present work is such as necessarily to exclude 
 this eloquent tribute to the memory of a past gen 
 eration, and appeal to the justice of the present. 
 
 Other subjects of considerable temporary in 
 terest, received the attention of Mr. Van Buren, 
 during his continuance in the United States Sen 
 ate. The suppression of piracy, the Yazoo claims, 
 the Florida wreckers, the Creek treaty, and in 
 deed most of the leading topics which were dis 
 cussed on the floor of the Senate chamber called 
 forth his opinions, and often were the occasions of 
 long and able speeches. These topics, however, 
 not involving any cardinal political principles, are 
 not particularly introduced in the present abbrevi 
 ated summary. From the extracts already em 
 bodied in these pages, the reader may form some 
 adequate estimate of his indefatigable exertions in 
 the Senate, and a just and complete view, it is be 
 lieved, of his sentiments, on most of the leading 
 political questions which agitate the community. 
 Few public men have been more explicit and dis 
 tinct, than Mr. Van Buren, in the avowal of their 
 principles on all political questions ; if these prjn- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 ciples have failed to meet the notice of any one, if 
 must have been through great inattention to public 
 affairs. His opinions have been openly avowed ; 
 they arc on record before the public, and are here 
 brought together, from sources which are open to 
 all. It was truly said by himself, in his speech at 
 a public meeting in Albany, in 1827, that in the 
 " course of his public career ? he had unavoidably 
 been connected w r ith political subjects, neither free 
 from excitement, nor inconsiderable in point of re 
 sponsibility." From the exposition here given, 
 the candid reader may judge whether he has ever 
 shrunk from that responsibility, or been turned by 
 that excitement, from an independent and ingenu 
 ous course. It has been the aim of the present 
 writer to adduce every thing which might tend to= 
 the clear exposition of his political sentiments ; 
 nothing has been, intentionally omitted, glossed 
 over, or unfairly represented. Mr. Van Buren s 
 real opinions, as expressed by himself, whether 
 right or wrong, just or unjust, have been fairly 
 laid before the public in the foregoing pages. He. 
 w r ould be singularly fortunate and happily exempt 
 from the ordinary lot of humanity, if, in the course 
 of a long political career, he had never expressed 
 sentiments, or advocated principles, which at a sub 
 sequent period and with a maturer judgment, he 
 might wish to modify or recall. Doubtless, Mr. 
 Van Buren s views of truth, like those of other 
 men, have grown clearer with more mature re 
 flection and riper years. If any progress of this 
 kind be apparent, or any discrepancies, at different 
 
THE LIFE OP 
 
 periods, appear, the means of detecting them are 
 now, fully, before his political opponents, from 
 whom no mercy or indulgence will ever be asked 
 by his friends in his behalf. The writer will, at 
 least, be much mistaken, if the oft reiterated charge 
 of withholding his sentiments from public view, 
 does not meet with a perfect refutation in the fore 
 going pages. Misrepresentation will no longer 
 have to contend with a shadow ; the substance 
 appears, in too broad a light, to be unnoticed by 
 the most imperfect and distorted vision. The po 
 litical opinions of Mr. Van Buren, herewith com 
 mitted to the public, are sufficient, at any rate, to 
 occupy, for a considerable time, the ingenuity of 
 his political opponents in their refutation. 
 
 It will be seen that he has been, from his ear 
 liest political life, opposed to the extension of the 
 banking system, in all its shapes, and especially to 
 a national bank in any form ; that he has labored 
 in his native state, to extend the right of suffrage 
 to its utmost limits ; that he has, with equal assi 
 duity, struggled for the abolition of imprisonment 
 for debt ; that he has urged with perseverance, 
 though not, alas, with success, such an amendment 
 of the constitution as would give the choice of 
 President to the people, and withdraw it altogeth 
 er, from the House of Representatives ; that he 
 has opposed, with his utmost ability, those lax con 
 structions of the constitution which have led to 
 lavish expenditures for internal improvements and 
 have tended to the enlargement of the powers of 
 the General Government so as to endanger the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 sovereignties of the states ; that he has been averse 
 to a high tariff, though obe^IenTto" the will of his 
 constituents, notwithstanding his personal judg 
 ment, on a point involving, in his opinion, no vio 
 lation of the constitution ; that on the great ques 
 tions of disposing of the public lands ; of protect 
 ing Commerce, and of providing a tardy, but just 
 compensation for the heroes of the revolution, he 
 has avowed the most patriotic and liberal senti 
 ments ; that he has been the unwavering champion 
 of national honor and the protection of the rights 
 of American citizens, in his extraordinary zeal to 
 sustain the late war, to suppress piracy and to se 
 cure the colonial trade ; that in all the responsible 
 and exciting conditions of a long and laborious 
 political career, he has risen above considerations 
 of personal interest and private resentment, and 
 been guided by the most enlightened political 
 principles and the purest devotion to the public 
 weal. 
 
 No wonder, therefore, that he has, in an extra 
 ordinary degree, secured the approbation and won 
 the confidence of the great body of the people. 
 No wonder that he has, in his own distinguished 
 success, demonstrated the truth of a sentiment he 
 once expressed, that " while he had seen those 
 who played a part, though they played it ever so 
 well, after a brief season, exposed to the chilling 
 indifference, if not positive contempt, of a gener 
 ous but just community, he had never yet seen un- 
 
 27 
 
314 THE LIFE OF 
 
 pretending, but honest zeal and practical efforts to 
 be useful, go without their ultimate reward."* 
 
 Mr. Van Buren has, himself, on many occasions, 
 announced the great rule of his public life. He 
 said, in connection with the foregoing remark ; 
 " It had been the business of his life to make him 
 self acquainted with that public sentiment, which, 
 though sometimes misled by excitement, was al 
 ways honest, and in the end always right." 
 
 This entire deference to the popular voice, the 
 first example of which, in a Chief Magistrate, was 
 afforded by Jefferson, and the last by Jackson, is, 
 no doubt, regarded by a certain class of politicians 
 as the most exceptionable feature in the public life 
 of Mr. Van Buren. But to what safer tribunal 
 can resort be had ? 
 
 Is wealth to form the qualification for judging of 
 public affairs ? This will hardly be contended for. 
 Are such matters to be submitted to the determi 
 nation of those who are called great men ? Men 
 of striking genius are often deficient in sound 
 judgment. Should the learned control public opin 
 ion 1 Learning is not wisdom, and the most culti 
 vated minds, in all ages, have been too prone to 
 cringe before tyrants. Shall orthodoxy in religion 
 and correct morals be appealed to ? Then who 
 shall fix the standard of truth? Besides, these ex 
 cellencies do not, necessarily, imply the highest in 
 tellectual capacity. Where then shall we resort 
 but to public sentiment ? What other criterion 
 
 * Speech at the capitol in Albany, July, 1827. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 315 
 
 can be set up, than the majority of the people ? 
 None ; perverted as that judgment may sometimes 
 be, by prejudice and want of information, it is, with 
 all its errors, the safest and surest standard of po 
 litical truth. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN supports Mr. Crawford for the Presi 
 dency, in 1824. Opposes the administration of Mr. 
 Adams. Sustains General Jackson for the Presiden 
 cy, in 1828. Is elected Governor of the state of New 
 York, and resigns his seat in the Senate. Introduces 
 the " safety fund system." 
 
 In February 1824, Mr. Crawford was nomina 
 ted as a candidate for the Presidency, by a con 
 gressional caucus in Washington. Mr. Van Bu- 
 ren co-operated in this nomination and subsequent 
 ly gave it his most vigorous support. Mr. Craw 
 ford had been a distinguished member of the cabi 
 net for nearly ten years. In the congressional 
 caucus to nominate a candidate for President, in 
 1816, he received nearly the same number of 
 votes as were give for Mr. Monroe, and stood, 
 certainly, next to that gentleman, in the public es 
 timation. The admirers of the policy of Mr. Jef 
 ferson looked to Mr. Crawford, as a candidate, who, 
 27* 
 
318 THE LIFE OF 
 
 if elected, would bring back the government to 
 those principles. In the state of New York* 
 which was violently agitated as to the manner in 
 which electors should be appointed, ]\f r. Crawford 
 received but five electoral votes, out of thirty-six. 
 In the electoral college, ninety-nine votes were giv 
 en for GeneralJackson, eighty-four for Mr. Adams, 
 forty-one for Mr. Crawford, and thirty-seven for 
 Mr. Clay. In the House of Representatives, 
 whither the election was thus carried, by the coa 
 lition of the friends of Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay, 
 the former received the votes of thirteen states, 
 General Jackson, of seven, and Mr. Crawford, of 
 four. The ill health of Mr. Crawford, at this cri 
 sis, much impaired his chance of success. In the 
 ultimate decision of the choice between Mr. Adams 
 and General Jackson, Mr. Van Buren took no de 
 cided part. 
 
 It was obvious from the vote in the electoral 
 college, that at the time of the election of Mr. 
 Adams, General Jackson was prefered by a ma 
 jority of the people. This preference was much 
 strengthened by an increasing knowledge of his 
 character and principles, as well as by the anti-de 
 mocratic policy adopted by his rival. Mr. Van 
 Buren, as we have seen, felt himself obliged to 
 take the lead in vigorously opposing many of the 
 measures of the administration of Mr. Adams. 
 He was equally zealous and equally active in sus 
 taining General Jackson for the Presidency, in 
 1828. Indeed, he warmly espoused the cause of 
 General Jackson soon after the election of Mr. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 319 
 
 Adams by the House of Representatives, in Feb 
 ruary 1825. The contest involved the same prin 
 ciples as were the subject of controversy at the 
 election of Mr. Jefferson, in 1801. It was the 
 struggle of the democratic principle against the 
 united strength of various aristocratic factions. In 
 the election of General Jackson, Mr. Van Buren 
 plainly foresaw that he should witness the triumph 
 of those principles for which he had struggled from 
 his earliest years>- In his defeat, he foresaw with 
 equal clearness, the ratification of alarming en 
 croachments upon the constitution and the con 
 firmed perversion of the administration of the gov 
 ernment from its true principles. In a contest in 
 volving such vital interests, he naturally put forth 
 his most zealous and persevering efforts. 
 
 The happy result of this great struggle is known 
 to all. It was such as to gratify the most ardent 
 wishes of the patriot, and to afford new proof of 
 the patriotism of the people. It was a triumph 
 which, in the words of Mr. Van Buren, " while it 
 infused fresh vigor into our political system and 
 added new beauties to the republican character, 
 once more refuted the odious imputation, that re 
 publics are ungrateful." 
 
 By the death of Governor Clinton, in February 
 1828, a vacancy occurred in the chief magistracy 
 of the state of New York. The republicans of 
 that state immediately fixed their hopes upon Mr. 
 Van Buren for that office, and yielding to their 
 pressing solicitations, he consented to become a 
 candidate. The election occurred in November, 
 
320 THE LIFE OF 
 
 at the same time with the choice of electors of 
 President and Vice President. Smith Thompson, 
 one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the 
 United States, was the leading candidate of the 
 opposition, and Solomon Southwick was support 
 ed by the antimasons. Mr. Van Buren succeeded 
 by a plurality of thirty thousand votes over the 
 highest opposing candidate.* 
 
 Mr. Van Buren, having resigned his seat in the 
 Senate of the United States, entered upon the du 
 ties of his office as Governor, on the 1st of Janu 
 ary, 1829. 
 
 His message to the Legislature, transmitted on 
 the 6th of January, is a document which displays 
 the usual patriotism and ability of its author, and 
 is replete with the most valuable information and 
 the soundest political truth. 
 
 After alluding, in the happiest manner, to the 
 distinguished abilities of his predecessor, he pro 
 ceeds to lay before the Legislature the general 
 state of the various public funds, especially those 
 of the canal ; he throws out several suggestions 
 with regard to internal improvements, but recom 
 mends caution in the adoption of new schemes. 
 He says the most important business of the session 
 was the question of renewing the charters of the 
 several banks in the state ; thirty-one charters 
 would expire in the course of four years, with a 
 capital of fifteen millions of dollars, and debts 
 
 * The votes were, for Mr. Van Buren, 136,794 ; for Thomp 
 son, 106,444 ; and for Southwick 33,315. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 321 
 
 amounting to thirty millions. He alludes to the 
 difference between their situation, at that time, 
 and the laying of the foundation of the banking 
 system anew ; and says, in view of the extent of 
 these institutions and their close connection with 
 the affairs of the community, that " to dispense with 
 banks, altogether, is an idea which seems to have 
 no advocate ; to make ourselves dependent on 
 those established by federal authority, deserves 
 none." He says that experience is against banks 
 owned wholly by the state, and that to make stock 
 holders liable, in their private capacity, throws 
 the stock into the hands of irresponsible persons ; 
 he reprobates the practice of " bonusses" for bank 
 charters, and says, that compared with the com 
 munity, the stockholders are few, and hence that 
 all legislative measures should refer exclusively to 
 the safety and stability of the institutions. He 
 finally concludes that the present solvent banks 
 cannot be so suddenly closed, without a violent 
 disturbance of the interests of the public ; and al 
 ludes to " a sensible and apparently well-consider 
 ed plan" which had heen submitted to him, and 
 which proposed "to make all the banks responsi 
 ble, for any loss the public may sustain, by the fail 
 ure of any one or more of them." He then pre 
 sents a brief epitome of the " safety fund system," 
 and concludes this part of his message with the re 
 mark, that " the interest which attaches itself to the 
 representative character, can never be greater, than 
 when the fulfilment of the trust committed to the 
 Representative, may bring him in conflict with 
 
322 LIFE OF MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 the claims of the great monicd interests of the 
 country." 
 
 On the 26th of January, 1829, Mr. Van Buren 
 in a brief message, introduced to the favorable no 
 tice of the Legislature, the celebrated " safety fund 
 system." This plan originated with the Hon. 
 Joshua Forman, and was by him, laid before Mr. 
 Van Buren. It was somewhat modified by the 
 suggestion of the latter, and finally adopted by the 
 Legislature. Mr. Van Buren s connection with 
 the transaction cannot be more accurately charac 
 terized, than in the following extract from the let 
 ter heretofore alluded to, of the Hon. Thomas II. 
 Benton, to General Davis, of Mississippi. 
 
 " Upon his (Mr. Van Buren s) elevation to the chief 
 magistracy of the state, finding the system of banks so in 
 corporated with the business and interests of the people, 
 as to render its abolishment impossible, he turned his at 
 tention to its improvement, and to the establishment of 
 such guards against fraudulent, or even unfortunate bank 
 ruptcy, as would under all circumstances, protect the hol 
 ders of notes against loss. The safety fund system was 
 the result of views of this kind ; and if its complete suc 
 cess hitherto, (for no bank has failed under it,) and the 
 continued support and confidence of the representatives of 
 two millions of people, are not sufficient to attest its effi 
 cacy, there is one consideration at least, which should 
 operate so far in its favor as to save it from the sneers of 
 those who cannot tell what the safety fund system is; 
 and that is, the perfect ease and composure with which 
 the whole of these banks rode out the storm of Senatorial 
 and United States Bank assault, panic, and pressure, up 
 on them last^ winter. This consideration should save Mr. 
 Van Buren from the censure of some people, if it cannot 
 attract their applause. And as for the politics of the safe 
 ty fund banks, it has been recently, and authentically 
 shown that a vast majority of them are under the control of 
 his most determined and active political opponents. 
 
CHAPTER XXIT. 
 
 MR. VAN BUR EN is appointed Secretary of State of the 
 United States. Situation of uur foreign relations, 
 especially with Great Britain. Mr. Van Bur en s 
 successful administration of the Department of for 
 eign Affairs. Resigns the office of Secretary of State. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren remained, but a short time, in 
 the Chief Magistracy of the state of New York. 
 On the 12th of March 1829, he resigned the of 
 fice of Governor, in consequence of his appointment 
 as Secretary of State of the United States. Of 
 this appointment, General Jackson said, in his let 
 ter to the republican members of the Legislature of 
 New York, in February 1832: "In calling him 
 (Mr. Van Buren,)to the Department of State, from 
 the exalted station he then occupied, by the suf 
 frages of the people of his native state, I was not 
 influenced more by his acknowledged talents and 
 public services, than by the general wish and ex 
 pectation of the republican party throughout the 
 union." 
 
324 THE LIFE OF 
 
 Short, as was his continuance in the office of 
 Governor of New York, he left the impress of his 
 genius upon her institutions. This was true, espe 
 cially, in regard to those protective restrictions up 
 on the system of banking which have, since, so 
 completely secured the community from losses of 
 that kind. The splendid talents of his immediate 
 predecessor in that office, had given to it a dignity 
 and eclat, which no successor of ordinary resour 
 ces could have sustained. But the genius and at 
 tainments of Mr. Van Buren suffered no dispar 
 agement in such palpable comparison with his il 
 lustrious predecessor. His executive career, though 
 short, was brilliant and successful. Upon his with 
 drawal from the office, both branches of the Le 
 gislature, though each contained opposite partisans 
 in politics, unanimously passed resolutions expres 
 sing the " highest respect for his virtues and talents," 
 and " their earnest wish that he might enjoy a full 
 measure of happiness and prosperity, in the new 
 sphere of public duty to w r hich he \vas about to be 
 removed." 
 
 The republican members of the Legislature were 
 still more emphatic in their expressions of affec 
 tionate and respectful attachment. On the eve of 
 his departure, they presented to him a communi 
 cation, in which they strongly stated " their attach 
 ment to his person, their respect for his character, 
 and their regret at the separation which was about 
 to take place," and tendered to him their thanks, 
 " for the numerous and important services which 
 he had rendered to the State, particularly in sus- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 325 
 
 taining those political principles which they believ 
 ed to be most intimately blended with its highest 
 and dearest interests." 
 
 Mr. Van Buren was nominated, as Secretary 
 of state, on the 5th of March, 1829 ; and entered 
 upon the duties of the office in the early part of 
 April. From this time forth he has been in stations 
 so conspicuous, and his public conduct has been 
 the subject of so severe a scrutiny, that it will be 
 unnecessary to dwell upon its details with great 
 minuteness. 
 
 The sphere in which he was now called to move, 
 was new and responsible ; but his long service in 
 the Senate of the United States, and his careful 
 observation of political affairs from the earliest 
 period of his life, fitted him at once, to assume its 
 duties. In the sequel, it appeared that his sound 
 judgment, his political information, his calm tem 
 perament and indefatigable diligence, enabled him 
 to conduct, on the most successful principles, the 
 whole range of our relations with foreign govern 
 ments, and thus, by his new station at the seat of 
 government, to add to a reputation which had al 
 ready risen above detraction and envy. 
 
 Our foreign relations at the time he came into 
 office, were in a most embarrassed condition. The 
 diplomacy of the former administration had failed 
 in most of its objects. Negotiations with many of 
 the powers of Europe had been lingering and lan 
 guishing, for many years ; and the most just and 
 obvious claims of our citizens for indemnifications, 
 had been rejected or postponed. The preceding 
 28 
 
326 THE LIFE OF 
 
 administration had, indeed, unsuccessfully urged 
 our claims upon France ; they had attempted, but 
 without success, to open the Black sea to our com 
 merce ; they had failed to form a treaty with Mex 
 ico ; they had been equally unsuccessful in ob 
 taining from Colombia, such a reduction of their 
 duties, as would place our trade upon the same 
 footing with that of Great Britain. A convention 
 had, it is true, been nearly brought to a close with 
 Denmark and with Brazil ; but the claims of our 
 citizens upon Sweden had been left to the enter 
 prise of the agent of the claimants, and to the dis 
 cretion of the Charge d Affaires, who had received 
 no instruction on the subject. But the most dis 
 graceful failure in diplomacy, had attended the 
 negotiations with Great Britain, in regard to the 
 colonial trade. 
 
 The British Government, as is usual with gov 
 ernments that have colonies, retained the absolute 
 control of all trade with the British West Indies. 
 She had always refused to negotiate with any for 
 eign power in regard to that trade. 
 
 In the convention of 1815, by express stipula 
 tion, the commercial provisions in the treaty did 
 not extend to the British possessions in the West 
 Indies ; and the British government adhered to 
 their ancient policy of regulating this trade by Or 
 ders in Council. American produce was admit 
 ted, but under restrictions which greatly impaired 
 the benefit of the trade. In July 18^4, Mr. Rush, 
 our minister in England, was charged with the 
 duty of attempting some negotiation, favorable to 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 337 
 
 our interests on this point : but the attempt was 
 unsuccessful. On the 5th of July 1825, the Brit 
 ish Parliament passed an act tendering to foreign 
 powers the most liberal terms of reciprocal inter 
 course with her colonies. Certain corresponding 
 acts were required to be done on our part, to sig 
 nify an acceptance of these propositions. Either 
 from a want of information with respect to foreign 
 affairs, or from inattention ; or from the hope of 
 extorting by diplomatic skill, still more favorable 
 conditions, our government, Mr. Adams being Pre 
 sident and Mr. Cla^feecretary of State, neglected 
 to accept the advantages proposed by Great Brit 
 ain. In consequence of this omission, the British 
 government, having waited for our compliance more 
 than a year, in July 1826, by an Order in Council, 
 revoked the terms proposed, and interdicted all 
 trade with their colonies after the following De 
 cember. The bad management of our govern 
 ment was then seen in its full extent. Not long 
 afterwards, the documents connected with the 
 transaction were called for and published, and the 
 public voice was loud in reprobation of the ad 
 ministration. Early in the year 1826, Mr. Galla- 
 tin was sent out with excuses for neglecting to 
 comply with the proposition of the British govern 
 ment ; and in 1827, he was instructed to intercede 
 for the same terms which were freely offered in 
 1825. The attempt failed. Mr. Barbour succeed 
 ed him, and was directed to sue, again, for the 
 same privileges. But his mission was also vain, 
 and it became apparent, that the British govern- 
 
328 THE LIFE OF 
 
 ment were determined to hold no further negotia 
 tion with the administration of Mr. Adams, in re 
 lation to this matter. 
 
 The subject was brought, very fully, before the 
 American people, and it pressed heavily upon Mr. 
 Adams and his cabinet. No explanations which it 
 was in their power to offer, could conceal from 
 the community, the fact, that this valuable branch 
 of trade had been lost by a pitiable course of in 
 discreet diplomacy. 
 
 Upon the accession of General Jackson to the 
 presidency, and of Mr. Van juren to the Depart 
 ment of State, the character of our intercourse 
 with foreign nations was entirely changed. In 
 stead of a wretched system of duplicity and 
 double-dealing, derived from the corruptions of 
 foreign courts, there was substituted plain and man 
 ly dealing. Nothing was attempted by indirect 
 means or insincere professions ; but the plain com 
 mon sense of foreign allies was appealed to, in a 
 tone of dignity, firmness and candor, which show 
 ed at once, that our government was conscious of 
 its rights, and neither disposed to transcend or fall 
 short of their exact limits. Our foreign negotia 
 tions revived ; friendly relations were renewed 
 with various countries ; and, under the guidance 
 of our single-minded and upright President, Mr. 
 Van Buren was enabled to turn his rare abilities 
 to the greatest public benefit. 
 
 Our claims on France were now, after a period 
 of nearly thirty years, first recognized and put in 
 the course of adjustment; a treaty was formed 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 829 
 
 with Mexico ; the Black sea was opened to our 
 commerce ; and Colombia remitted the discrimi 
 nating duties which had been a source of contro 
 versy. The conventions with Brazil and Den 
 mark for seizures, were matured, and the Swed 
 ish claims safely brought home to the claimants. 
 
 But the most splendid results were derived from 
 the negotiation with Great Britain. In July 1829, 
 Mr. McLane was despatched, as minister to Eng 
 land, bearing instructions from the hand of Mr. 
 Van Buren, who had then hardly entered upon the 
 duties of his office. The clearness and strength, 
 with which, under these instructions, he brought 
 forth the claims of the government, resulted in 
 complete success. The British government at 
 once, appreciated the force of the considerations 
 addressed to them, and recognized the spirit of 
 firmness and candor, which so much distinguished 
 the new administration from its predecessor. The 
 success of the mission was complete ; an arrange 
 ment was formed which met the approbation of 
 our government, and restored to our citizens those 
 rights, which, through the indiscretion of Mr. 
 Adams and Mr. Clay, had been for a time sus 
 pended. 
 
 During Mr. Van Buren s continuance in the 
 State Department, and indeed, within the few first 
 months of his service, some of the most impor 
 tant of our foreign embassies were despatched un 
 der his direction. Among these may be mention 
 ed, the mission of Mr. McLane to England, of Mr. 
 Rives to France, of Mr. Preble to the Netherlands, 
 28* 
 
330 THE LIFE OF 
 
 and ministers to Spain and Columbia. In short, 
 the supervision of a master-spirit appeared in 
 every branch of our foreign relations ; and a series 
 of diplomatic successes were effected, unrivalled 
 in their number and importance in any other equal 
 period of time, since the formation of our govern 
 ment. It was universally conceded, that more 
 distinguished ability had never been displayed in 
 the Department of State, since the period when it 
 was under the direction of Jefferson. 
 
 But the other departments of the government 
 did not proceed with equal success. Difficulties 
 arose in the cabinet, and party spirit assailed Mr. 
 Van Buren, in particular, with its utmost violence. 
 He was obviously ascending, with rapid strides, to 
 the highest pinnacle of political distinction ; and 
 all the artifices of envy and political rivalry, were 
 put in requisition to impede his progress. The 
 differences of opinion between members of the 
 cabinet, which he had exerted his utmost efforts to 
 allay and remove, were falsely ascribed to his 
 agency. In the end, it appeared that his judg 
 ment, courtesy, and great knowledge of the hu 
 man heart, were not sufficient, any longer, to post 
 pone a rupture. His last effort was, by a magnan 
 imous self-sacrifice, to attempt the removal of dif 
 ficulties which were to be ascribed to the jealousy of 
 rival candidates for public favor; and on the llth 
 day of April, 1831, he communicated to the Presi 
 dent, his determination to withdraw from the office 
 of Secretary of State, though he continued to dis 
 charge its duties until the following month of June. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 331 
 
 For this act of self-denying patriotism, he re 
 ceived the most virulent and illiberal abuse from 
 his political enemies. Unable to appreciate the 
 pure and patriotic motives which could lead the 
 possessor of so advantageous a situation, to surren 
 der the influence and prospects which belong to it, 
 they searched for plausible causes, and failing to 
 find them, resorted to the vilest fabrications. This 
 charge may appear severe, but it is made in the 
 words of truth, nor has any thing been detected or 
 disclosed, from that time to the present, to throw 
 the slightest cloud over the high-minded and disin 
 terested conduct of Mr. Van Buren. When the 
 perversions of party feeling and the mists of per 
 sonal prejudice shall have been removed, this illus 
 trious act of self-devotion to the best interests of 
 his country, will be conspicuous amid the manifold 
 merits of a public life, throughout distinguished for 
 magnanimity and virtue. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN is nominated minister to the Court of 
 St. James. The rejection of his nomination by the 
 Senate. Extract from his instructions to Mr. Mc- 
 Lane. Correspondence of the republican members of 
 the Legislature of New York, with the President, on 
 the rejection of Mr. Van Bur en. 
 
 The unimpaired confidence of General Jackson, 
 in the abilities and integrity of Mr. Van Buren, was 
 manifested, immediately upon his witdrawal from 
 the Department of State, by pressing upon his ac 
 ceptance the mission to the court of St. James. 
 Mr. McLane had already, by his own request re 
 ceived leave to return home, the leading object of 
 his mission having been accomplished. In urging 
 the acceptance of this appointment, the President 
 had in view the adjustment of a matter of the great 
 est public interest. The delicate questions respect 
 ing blockades, the impressment of seamen, and the 
 right of search, which occasioned the late war 
 
334 THE LIFE OF 
 
 with Great Britain, were not adjusted by the trea 
 ty of Ghent. The time appeared favorable for 
 calling the attention of Great Britain to these top 
 ics ; and the President was anxious to depute upon 
 this difficult negotiation, a diplomatic agent of such 
 dignity of character at home, and eminence abroad, 
 as would evince the deep importance he attached 
 to the objects of the mission. Mr. Van Buren s great 
 experience in political affairs, his intimate knowl 
 edge of all our foreign relations, his sagacity, firm 
 ness, and self-possession ; his high sense of nation 
 al honor, and his well-tried patriotism, combined 
 to designate him as the most proper person to man 
 age these important interests. 
 
 Contrary to the earnest advice of his personal 
 and political friends, who were anxious to retain 
 him in the country, at that crisis, Mr. Van Buren 
 yielded to the importunity of the President, and 
 embarked for England. He arrived there, in Sep 
 tember 1831 ; and was received, with distinguish 
 ed favor, by the court of St. James. 
 
 Whether success would have crowned the ef 
 forts of Mr. Van Buren, it is impossible to say ; as 
 in the midst of a negotiation, commenced under 
 favorable auspices, he was recalled by the most 
 reckless and unexampled act of political proscrip 
 tion, to be found in history. His nomination was 
 submitted to the Senate, on th3 7th of January 
 1832 ; and on the 26th of the same month, reject 
 ed, by the casting vote of the Vice President. 
 
 It is almost superfluous to review the grounds of 
 this most reprehensible and factious act, since it has 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 335 
 
 received the emphatic condemnation of the Amer 
 ican people. 
 
 Three rival candidates for the Presidency, then 
 held seats in the Senate. When General Jack 
 son was nominated, by the Legislature of Tennes 
 see, for that high office, and had determined to 
 yield to the wishes of his friends in becoming a 
 candidate, he immediately resigned his seat in the 
 Senate of the United States, to avoid any imputa 
 tion of exerting his official influence in his own be 
 half. Not so the famous triumvirate who proscri 
 bed a rival, in Mr. Van Buren. Representing the 
 conflicting interests of the north, the south, and the 
 west ; opposed to each other on many of the car 
 dinal principles of the government ; violent antago 
 nists in personal and political matters ; they agreed 
 and co-operated, only, in the single act, of attempt 
 ing to crush a dreaded rival. His rapid progress 
 in the favor of the public alarmed them : and it 
 was their malignant, but vain hope, by a single act 
 of violence, to hurl him from his lofty station and 
 plunge him into obscurity. 
 
 The pretence for this high handed measure, so 
 dishonorable to its participators, so injurious to the 
 public interests, and so unjust to the individual con 
 cerned, was the tenor of his instructions to Mr. 
 McLane, with regard to the West India trade. 
 The state of that negotiation, at the time when Mr. 
 Van Buren was appointed Secretary of State, hes 
 been briefly set forth in the foregoing chapter. 
 The vacillating, time serving, and indiscreet policy 
 of the former administration, had resulted im an 
 
336 THE LIFE OB" 
 
 entire loss of this important branch of trade, and 
 had so disgusted the British government, that they 
 had refused even to entertain further negotiation. 
 The policy of that administration had been loudly 
 condemned by the American people ; and those 
 who were responsible for it, were hurled from pow 
 er, by the public voice. Mr, Van Bui en, in enter 
 ing upon the charge of our foreign relations, set 
 about endeavoring to regain this important branch 
 of commerce, Abandoning the management and 
 duplicity which had hitherto characterized our for 
 eign intercourse on this point, he met the question 
 with the plainness of one who was conscious he 
 was on the right ground, and the firmness of one 
 who was determined to maintain it. He uttered 
 the voice of the American people, in avowing his 
 disapprobation of the course before pursued ; and 
 frankly assured our ally, that the administration of 
 which he was a member, would not be guided by 
 a policy so contracted and illiberal. 
 
 His instructions on this point, which were the 
 ostensible reasons for rejecting his nomination, are 
 in the following words : 
 
 " Such is the present state of our commercial relations 
 with the British colonies ; and such the steps by which 
 we have arived at it. In reviewing the events which 
 have preceded, and more or less contributed to, a result so 
 much to be regretted, there will be found three grounds 
 upon which we are most assailable ; 1st, in our too long 
 and too tenaciously resisting the right of Great Britain to 
 impose protecting duties in her colonies ;" 2nd, &c. 
 
 " The opportunities which you have derived from a 
 participation in our public councils, as well as other sour 
 ces of information, will enable you to speak with conli- 
 dedce, (as far as you may deem it proper and useful sc to 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 337 
 
 do,) of ihe respective parts taken by those to whom the 
 administration of this government is now committed, in 
 relation to the course heretofore pursued upon the subject 
 of the colonial trade. Their views upon that point have 
 been submitted to the people of the United States ; and 
 the councils to which your conduct is now directed are the 
 result of the judgment expressed by the only earthly tribu 
 nal to which the latp administration was amenable for its 
 acts. It should be sufficient that the claims set up by 
 them, and which caused the interruption of the trade in 
 question, have been explicitly abandoned by those who 
 first asserted them, and are not revived by their succes 
 sors. If Great Britain deems it adverse to her interests to 
 allow us to participate in ihe trade with her colonies, and 
 finds nothing in the extension of it to others to induce 
 her to apply the same rule to us, she will, we hope, be 
 sensible of the propriety of placing her refusal on those 
 grounds. To set up the acts of the late administration as 
 the cause of forfeiture of privileges which would other 
 wise be extended to the people of the United States, 
 would, under existing circumstances, be unjust in itself, 
 and could not fail to excite their deepest sensibility. The 
 tone of feeling which a course so unwise and untenable is 
 calculated to produce, would doubtless be aggravated by 
 the consciousness that Great Britain has, by order in coun 
 cil, opened her colonial ports to Russia and France, not 
 withstanding a similar omission on their part to accept 
 the terms offered by the act of July, 1835. You cannot 
 press this view of the subject too earnestly upon the con 
 sideration of the British Ministry. It has bearings and 
 relations that reach beyond the immediate question under 
 discussion. 
 
 "I will add nothing as to the impropriety of suffering 
 any feelings, that find their origin in the past pretensions 
 of this government, to have an adverse influence upon the 
 present conduct of Great Britain." 
 
 It is unnecessary to examine these instructions 
 in detail ; they may be left, without comment, to 
 the judgment of the plainest understanding. They 
 are marked by atone of blunt common sense and 
 patriotism, which cannot be perverted or miscon- 
 29 
 
338 THE LIFE OF 
 
 structed. There is not the slightest trace of a 
 cringing or unpatriotic sentiment, to be found in 
 them. The true ground of the odium, entertained 
 against them and their author, was, that they had 
 been successful. The former administration had 
 disgracefully failed in the negotiation ; Mr. Van 
 Buren had conducted it with complete success. It 
 was desirable, in the eyes of his factious opponents, 
 to cloud the brilliancy of this success, and to sully, 
 if possible, the splendor of his well earned fame. 
 It was desirable, if possible, not only to plunge 
 him into mortifying retirement, but to aim a blow 
 at the feelings and policy of the President; to dis 
 grace his previous successful negotiations, and 
 check the expected consummation of those he was 
 then so much intent on bringing to a conclusion, 
 In the latter object they succeeded. They post 
 poned the adjustment of important rights, at a 
 moment peculiarly favorable for obtaining their 
 acknowledgement ; they were not equally success 
 ful in crushing their rival, but their violent act re 
 coiled upon themselves. . 
 
 The palpable injustice of rejecting Mr. Van Bu 
 ren is rendered more conspicuous, by the fact that 
 these very instructions had previously been laid be 
 fore the Senate, and had excited no remark ; that 
 the minister who was nominated and acted under 
 them, had been approved and confirmed by the 
 same Senate ; that the treaty which was formed by 
 that minister, under these very directions, had also 
 received the sanction of the Senate, and that, so 
 far from reprehending the foreign functionary for 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 339 
 
 acting in compliance with these directions, he had 
 upon his return from England, been confirmed in 
 his nomination to the office of Secretary of the 
 Treasury. 
 
 Why were not objections raised to these instruc 
 tions at an early period ? Why was the minister 
 approved who acted under them ? Why was the 
 treaty accepted which was formed in conformity 
 to them ? These questions cannot be answered 
 without clearly disclosing the fact, that neither pa-- 
 triotism, nor a sense of duty, nor a tender regard 
 for the public weal, were the true causes of Mr. 
 Van Buren s rejection. It is too clearly apparent 
 that political hate and the base design to traduce 
 an absent rival, were the real grounds of the harsh 
 and unprecedented rejection of the nominee. 
 
 In this light it was viewed by the great body of 
 the American people. A murmur of indignation 
 arose from every quarter of the Union; public 
 meetings were held, resolutions adopted, and de 
 nunciations leveled against this high handed prosti 
 tution of the Senatorial prerogative, to the pur 
 poses of political hatred and personal ambition. 
 
 The republican members of the Legislature of 
 New York addressed a letter to the President, ex 
 pressing in the strongest language, their indignation 
 at the proscriptive act of the Senate, and their high 
 respect for the public and private character of Mr. 
 Van Buren. The following extracts from the re 
 ply of the President, present a complete vindica 
 tion of his character, in regard to this matter, from 
 the lips of one, who, during a long life, has never 
 
340 THE LIFF OF 
 
 been known to sacrifice the principles of truth to 
 the strongest personal interests or attachments. 
 
 "I owe it to the late Secretary of State, to myself, and 
 to the American people, on this occasion to state, that as 
 far as is known to me, he had no participation whatever 
 in the occurrences relative to myself and the second offi 
 cer of the government, or in the dissolution of the late 
 cabinet ; and that there is no ground for imputing to him 
 the having advised those removals from office which, in 
 the discharge of my constitutional functions, it was deem 
 ed proper to make. During his continuance in the cabi 
 net, his exertions were directed to produce harmony among 
 its members ; and he uniformly endeavored to sustain his 
 colleagues. His final resignation was a sacrifice of offi 
 cial station to what he deemed the best interests of the 
 country. 
 
 " Mr. McLane, our then minister at London, having 
 previously asked permission to return, it was my own 
 anxious desire to commit the important points remaining 
 open in our relations with Great Britain, to a successor 
 in whose peculiar fitness and capacity I had equal confi 
 dence ; and to my selection, Mr. VanBuren yielded a re 
 luctant assent. In urging upon him that sacrifice, I did 
 not doubt that I was doing the best for the country , and 
 acting in coincidence with the public wish ; and it cer 
 tainly could not have been anticipated that, in the manner 
 of successfully conducting and terminating an important 
 and complex negotiation which had previously received 
 the sanction of both houses of Congress, there would have 
 been found motives for embarrassing the executive action 
 and for interrupting an important foreign negotiation. 
 
 " I can never be led to doubt, that, in the instructions 
 under which that negotiation relative to the trade with 
 the British West Indies was conducted and successfully 
 concluded, the people of the United States will find noth 
 ing either derogatory to the national dignity and honor, 
 or improper for such an occasion, 
 
 " Those parts of the instructions which have been used 
 to justify the rejection of Mr. Van Buren s nomination by 
 the Senate of the United States, proceeded from my own 
 suggestion ; were the result of my own deliberate inves 
 tigation and reflection ; and now, as when they were dic 
 tated, appear to me to be entirely proper and consonant 
 to my public duty. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 341 
 
 a I feel, gentlemen, that I am incapable of tarnishing 
 the pride or dignity of that country whose glory, both in 
 the field and in the civil administration, it has been my 
 object to elevate ; and 1 feel assured that the exalted atti 
 tude which the American people maintain abroad, and 
 the prosperity with which they are blessed at home, fully 
 attest that their honor and happiness have been unsullied 
 in my hands." 
 
 The rejection of Mr. Van Buren was the first, in 
 a long series of factious measures, which have un 
 fortunately found support in the Senate of the 
 United States, and which terminated in the uncon 
 stitutional denunciation of the President himself. 
 These acts, into which one important department 
 of the government has been hurried, by a coalition 
 whose only bond of union, and apparently whose 
 only rule of action, is hatred to the President and 
 Mr. Van Buren, have shaken the confidence of the 
 community in that provision of our constitution, 
 which renders any portion of the public servants 
 so long independent of the will of their masters, 
 the people. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Nomination of Mr. Van Buren to the Vice Presidency 
 of the United States. His election to that office. Hit 
 sentiments on the interference of the General Govern 
 ment and of the free states, with the question of 
 slavery. 
 
 When some one, in the presence of Fouche, de 
 nounced the execution of the Duke D Enghein as a 
 guilty act of Napoleon : " Nay sir," said that arch 
 politician, " it was worse, it was a gross political 
 blunder !" Both censures apply to the rejection of 
 Mr. Van Buren by the Senate of the United States. 
 It was a most unjust and unwarrantable act, and a 
 gross political blunder. It received at the hands 
 of the American people, the rebuke which its 
 enormity merited. 
 
 On the 22d of May, 1832, Mr. Van Buren was 
 nominated as a candidate for the Vice Presidency 
 by a convention of the democracy of the Union 
 
344 THE LIFE OF 
 
 assembled at Baltimore, and at the same time with 
 the re-nomination of General Jackson to the Pres 
 idency. The nomination was received with accla 
 mation by the republican party, throughout the Un 
 ion. In the election which succeeded, the candi 
 dates were successful. Of two hundred and eighty- 
 six electoral votes, General Jackson received two 
 hundred and nineteen, and Mr. Van Buren one 
 hundred and eighty-nine. Thirty electoral votes 
 in Pennsylvania, which were given for General 
 Jackson as President, were given for William Wil- 
 kins as Vice President. 
 
 History rarely presents so splendid an example 
 of retributive justice, as appears in the election of 
 Mr. Van Buren to the Vice Presidency. Him 
 whom the Senate had adjudged unfit to represent 
 the nation in a foreign court, the sovereign people 
 honored with the second office in the government. 
 Mr. Van Buren was indeed re-called ; not however 
 to obscurity and disgrace, as his enemies had hop 
 ed, but to the affectionate hearts of his country 
 men, to be raised, by them, to the lofty station oc 
 cupied by him whose especial vengeance had been 
 wreaked upon his rival ; to preside over that very 
 body who had sought, in his absence to tarnish his 
 honor. How complete the triumph ! How just 
 the retribution ! It realized the ideal standard of 
 poetic justice. It rebuked a faction, and reward 
 ed, according to his deserts, a patriot ! 
 
 Mr. Van Buren was inaugurated, as Vice Presi 
 dent, on the 4th of March, 1833. The first exer 
 cise of his duties as presiding officer of the Senate, 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 345 
 
 was at the session of Congress near the close of 
 that year. 
 
 In that capacity, he has had the good fortune 
 to escape the censure of all parties. Since his 
 election to the Vice Presidency, his opinions have 
 been publicly declared on two subjects of consid 
 erable interest. One of these was the question of 
 chartering a national bank in New York with such 
 restrictions in its charter as to remove objections 
 which are made to the present bank. His decid 
 ed disapprobation of this measure was expressed 
 in his letter to a friend already embodied in the 
 present work. 
 
 The other subject is the right of interference 
 with the existence of slavery, by the General 
 Government, or by the people of the non -slave 
 holding states. The following documents exhibit 
 the sentiments of Mr. Van Buren on this question. 
 The first is a letter addressed by him, to Mr. Sam 
 uel Gwin of Mississippi, and subsequently publish 
 ed in the Richmond Enquirer. 
 
 WASHINGTON, July ] 1, 1834. 
 
 " DEAR SIR : I owe you an apology for not having soon 
 er acknowledged the receipt of your obliging letter of 
 26th May. My opinions on the subject of the power of 
 Congress over slave property in the Southern States, are 
 so well understood by my friends, that I arn surprized that 
 an attempt to impose upon the public respecting them 
 should be hazarded. 
 
 " The subject is, in my judgment, exclusively under 
 the control of the state governments ; and I am not ap 
 prised, nor do I believe that a contrary opinion, to an ex 
 tent deserving consideration, is entertained in any part of 
 the United States. The charge, therefore, to which you 
 have had the goodness to call my attention, that I amiu 
 
346 THE LIFE OF 
 
 favor of an interference by Congress, in manumitting your 
 slave property, is destitute of foundation: so far from it, 
 I do not see on what authority the General Government 
 could interfere, without a change of the constitution, 
 even at the instance of either or of all the slave holding 
 States. 
 
 With great respect, and regard, 
 
 1 am, dear sir, very truly, yours, 
 
 M. VAN BUREN. 
 To SAMUEL GWIN, ESQ, Clinton, Mississippi." 
 
 The following letter relating to the same sub 
 ject was addressed to a gentleman in Augusta, 
 Georgia, at a moment when the people of the 
 slave holding states were in a high degree excited 
 at the prodeedings of anti-slavery associations at 
 the North. 
 
 " OWASCO, Sept. 10, 1835. 
 
 "Mv DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 22d ult. met me at 
 this place, on my return from the Falls, and I lose no time 
 in replying to that part of it which relates to the continu 
 ed attempts to prejudice my friends, as well as myself, in 
 the estimation of the South in respect to the slave ques 
 tion. 
 
 " It is deeply to be regretted that there should be found, 
 on the part of any, inducements sufficiently strong to in 
 crease an excitement, already so alarming, by a resort to 
 imputations, in the truth of which no ingenuous mind 
 can place the slightest confidence. The allegations 
 which attribute to me views and opinions that are so just 
 ly obnoxious to the slave-holding states, are made in the 
 face of the most explicit declarations on my part, denying 
 all authority on the part of the Federal Government to 
 interfere in the matter against the propriety of agitating 
 the question in the District of Columbia, and in the ab 
 sence of a single fact, giving the least countenance to the 
 unfounded imputations. I should poorly requite the can 
 dor with which I have hitherto been treated by the great 
 mass of my fellow-citizens at the south, were I to allow 
 myself to apprehend that those who would otherwise be 
 disposed to give me their confidence, could, under such 
 
MARTIN VAN BURN. 347 
 
 circumstances, suffer me to be prejudiced in their opinion, 
 by the unsupported assertions of my enemies, however 
 reckless or vehemently persisted in. Were these fabrica 
 tions, therefore, designed to affect me only, I should not 
 hesitate to leave the matter as it stands to the spontane 
 ous action of my countrymen. But when it is intended 
 to reach, in this way, those who honor me with their 
 friendship, I do not feel myself at liberty to withhold any 
 correction that may, by possibility, be useful to them. 
 With this view I send you the enclosed proceedings of 
 the citizens of Albany upon the subject, and authorize 
 you to say, that I concur fully in the sentiments they 
 advance. 1 was absent from the city at the time the 
 meeting was held, but took an early occasion to advise its 
 call, and to encourage the attempt to make it, what it has 
 been, a meeting of the people, without reference to their 
 sentiments on any other subject than that which was dis 
 cussed before it. Connected with its proceedings are to 
 be found the names of our principal state officers, execu 
 tive and judicial, including the Governor of our state, 
 with an array of private citizens which for personal 
 worth and weight of character, has never, to my knowl 
 edge, been excelled at any previous meeting. 
 
 u It would be presumption in me to add any assurances 
 of my own, as to the sincerity with which the sentiments 
 they express are entertained, or of their disposition to 
 make them effectual upon the important subject to which 
 they relate. 
 
 " May we not, then, hope that the proofs of an affec 
 tionate and just spirit towards the rights and interests of 
 the South, which have been brought out by this hitherto 
 threatening excitement, will have the effect, in future, to 
 remove all unfounded impressions, and to put an end to 
 every feeling and prejudice inconsistent with the princi 
 ples upon which the Union was founded ? 
 
 Earnestly cherishing this pleasing anticipation, 
 
 I am, dear sir, very truly, your friend and ob t serv t, 
 
 M. VAN BUREN." 
 
 The leading resolutions adopted by the meeting 
 alluded to in the above letter, are condensed in the 
 following reply of Mr. Van Buren to certain gen 
 tlemen in North Carolina. The correspondence 
 
348 THE LIFE OF 
 
 has transpired since the publication of the first 
 edition of this volume. 
 
 His Excellency MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 "DEAR SIR: A portion of your fellow-citizens in this 
 section, feeling a deep anxiety as to your views on a topic 
 which most vitally affects our immediate welfare and 
 happiness, have thought proper to propose to you, the fol 
 lowing interrogatory, to which we wish an explicit an 
 swer. 
 
 "Do you, or do you not believe that Congress has the 
 constitutional power, to interfere with, or abolish, slavery 
 in the District of Columbia? 
 
 " The conspicuous situation in which you are placed, 
 and the importance of a thorough knowledge of your 
 views on this interesting topic, will, we hope, be sufficient 
 apology for the liberty we have taken. 
 
 (Signed,) JUNIUS AMIS, 
 
 ISAAC HALL, 
 JOHN WALL, 
 C. YELLOWBY, 
 SAML. B. SPIRRILL, 
 JAS. W. PUIZINN. 
 JACKSON, February 23, 1836." 
 
 MR. VAN BUREN S REPLY. 
 
 u WASHINGTON, March 6, 1836. 
 
 " GENTLEMEN : I have the honor to acknowledge the re 
 ceipt of your letter apprizing me of the deep anxiety which 
 is felt by a portion of your fellow-citizens, as to my views 
 upon a topic vitally affecting their immediate welfare and 
 happiness, and of the importance of their being possessed 
 of a thorough knowledge of them; and asking me to say, 
 whether I do or do not believe that Congress has the con 
 stitutional power to interfere with, or abolish slavery in 
 the District of Columbia? 
 
 "I am not only willing, but desirous, gentlemen, that 
 you should have the most thorough knowledge of my 
 views and feelings upon the delicate and interesting sub 
 ject with which your question is connected ; and I shall 
 endeavor to acquaint you with them in the fullest manner 
 in my power. 
 
 "Not having, heretofore, had the honor of being in po 
 litical communication with you, 1 am not advised whether 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 3491 
 
 the sentiments relating to it, which have been avowed by 
 myself and by my authority, within the last two years, 
 have come to your knowledge. I deem it, therefore, prop 
 er, to furnish you with the substance of them, before I 
 reply to your more specific inquiry. The avowals to which 
 I refer, were 
 
 "1st. An opinion that Congress has no right to inter 
 fere in any manner, or to any extent, with the subject of 
 slavery in the States; 
 
 "2d. Against the propriety of their doing so in the 
 District of Columbia; and 
 
 "3d. The statement of my full concurrence in the sen 
 timents expressed by the citizens of Albany, in public 
 meeting, the most important of which are as follows, viz : 
 That the constitution of the United States carries with 
 it an adjustment of all questions involved in the deliber 
 ations which led to its adoption, and that the compromise 
 of interests in which it was founded, is binding in honor 
 and good faith, independently of the force of agreement, 
 on all who live under its protection and participate in the 
 benefits of which it is the source : That the relation of 
 master and slave is a matter exclusively belonging to the 
 people of each State, within its own boundary, and that 
 any attempt by the Government or people of any other 
 State, or by the General Government, to interfere with or 
 disturb it, would violate the spirit of that compromise 
 which lies at the basis of the federal compact : That 
 we can only hope to maintain the Union of the States 
 by abstaining from all interference withthe laws, domes 
 tic policy, and peculiar interests cf every other State: 
 That all such interference which tends to alienate one 
 portion of our countrymen from the rest, deserves to be 
 frowned upon with indignation by all who cherish the 
 principles of our revolutionarv fathers, and who desire to 
 preserve the constitution by tne exercise of that spirit of 
 amity which animated its framers : That they depre 
 cated the conduct of those who are attempting to coerce- 
 their brethren in other States into the abolition of slavery, 
 by appeals to the fears of the master and to the passions 
 of the slave ; and that they could not but consider them 
 as disturbers of the public peace, and would, by all con 
 stitutional means, exert their influence to arrest the pro 
 gress of such measures : That whilst they would 
 maintain inviolate the liberty of speech and the freedom 
 of the press, they considered discussions, which, from 
 their nature, tend to inflame the public mind and put ia 
 30 
 
350 THE LIFE OF 
 
 jeopardy the lives and property of their fellow-citizens, 
 at war with every rule of moral duty, and every sugges 
 tion of humanity, and would he constrained, moreover, to 
 regard those, who, with a full knowledge of their perni 
 cious tendency, persist in carrying them on, as disloyal to 
 the Union: That the people of the south would do 
 great injustice if they allow themselves to believe, that 
 the few who are interfering with the question of slavery, 
 are acting in accordance with the sentiments of the north 
 upon the subject; and finally, that they made these 
 declarations to their southern brethren in the same spirit 
 of amity which bound together their fathers and ours, 
 during a long and eventful struggle for independence ; 
 and that they did, in full remembrance of that common 
 association, plight to them their faith to maintain in prac 
 tice, as far as lies in their power, what they had thus sol 
 emnly declared. 
 
 " These views, thus expressed and sanctioned by myself, 
 appear to me to cover the whole ground, save the abstract 
 question to which you have been pleased to call my at 
 tention, and I cheerfully embrace the opportunity you have 
 felt it your duty to afford me, to explain myself fully on 
 that also. As anxious as you can possibly be, to arrest 
 all agitation upon this disturbing subject, I have consider 
 ed the question you have propounded tome, with a sincere 
 desire to arrive at the conclusion, that the subject, in re 
 spect to the District of Columbia, can be safely placed on 
 the same ground on which it stands in regard to the 
 States, viz : the want of constitutional power in Con 
 gress to interfere in the matter. 1 owe it, however, to 
 candor, to say to you, that I have not been able to satisfy 
 myself that the grant to Congress, in the constitution, of 
 the power of exclusive legislation in all cases whatso 
 ever over the Federal District, does not confer on that 
 body the same authority over the subject that would 
 otherwise have been possessed by the States of Mary 
 land and Virginia; or that Congress might not, in virtue 
 thereof, take such steps upon the subject in this District, 
 as those States might themselves take within their own 
 limits, and consistently with their rights of sovereignty. 
 
 " Thus viewing the matter, I would not, from the lights 
 now before me, feel myself safe in pronouncing that Con 
 gress does not possess the power of interfering with or 
 abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia. But,, 
 whilst such are my present impressions upon the abstract 
 question of the legal power of Congress impressions 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 351 
 
 which I shall at all times be not only ready, but disposed, 
 to surrender upon conviction of error I do not hesitate to 
 give it to you as my deliberate and well-considered opin 
 ion, that there are objections to the exercise of this pow 
 er, against the wishes of the slave-holding States, as im 
 perative in their nature and obligations, in regulating 
 the conduct of public men, as the most palpable want of 
 constitutional power would be. 
 
 "You have alluded in your letter to the conspicuous, 
 situation in which 1 have been placed before the public, 
 and 1 take it for granted, that it is to that circumstance, 
 rather than to any other, that I am to ascribe the solici 
 tude felt by yourselves and your fellow-citizens in respect 
 to my views on this subject. I recognise, to the fullest 
 extent, the propriety of this desire on your part: and al 
 though there is nothing in your letter making the avowal 
 necessary, I prefer that not only you, but all the people of 
 the United States shall now understand, that if the de 
 sire of that portion of them which is favorable to my ele 
 vation to the Chief Magistracy, should be gratified, I must 
 go into the Presidential Chair the inflexible and uncom 
 promising opponent of any attempt on the part of Con 
 gress to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, 
 against the wishes of the slave-holding States ; and also 
 with the determination equally decided, to resist the 
 
 qually decu 
 the subject ii 
 
 slightest interference with the subject in the States where 
 it exists. In saying this, I tender neither to them nor to 
 you, any pledges, but declare only settled opinions and 
 convictions of duty. Those who doubt that they will be 
 carried into full and fair effect, are under no obligations 
 to trust me. An opportunity is afforded them to exercise 
 their free choice in the matter, and they may be assured, 
 that there is no one less likely to complain of its exercise 
 than myself. 
 
 " The peculiar importance of the subject, and a desire 
 (which you will allow me to feel) that my views of it 
 should be correctly understood, make it proper that I 
 should explain the grounds of the opinions above ex 
 pressed. They are founded, amongst others, on the fol 
 lowing considerations, viz: 
 
 " 1st. I believe, that if it had been foreseen, at the 
 time of the adoption of the constitution, that the seat of 
 the Federal Government would be fixed in a slave-hold 
 ing region, and that the subject of slavery would be there 
 agitated to the prejudice of those holding this species of 
 property, the right to do so, would, with the assent of the 
 
352 THE LIFE OF 
 
 non-slave-holding States, have been made an exception 
 to the unrestricted legislative power given to Congress 
 over the District to be ceded. 
 
 U 2dly. I cannot but regard the agitation of this subject 
 in the District of Columbia, as a surprise upon the people 
 of Maryland and Virginia, being very confident that if 
 the state of things which now exists, had been at all ap 
 prehended by those States, the cession of the District 
 would not have been made except upon the express con 
 dition that Congress should exercise no such power: and 
 that with such a condition the cession would, in the then 
 state of public opinion, have been readily accepted. 
 
 " 3dly. I do therefore believe, that the abolition of slav 
 ery in the District of Columbia, against the wishes of the 
 slave-holding States (assuming that Congress has the 
 power to effect it) would violate the spirit of that com 
 promise of interests which lies at the basis of our social 
 compact; and I am thoroughly convinced, that it could 
 not be so done, without imminent peril, if not certain de 
 struction, to the Union of the States. Viewing the mat 
 ter in this light, it is my clear and settled opinion, that the 
 Federal Government ought to abstain from doing so, and 
 that it is the sacred duty of those whom the people of the 
 United States entrust with the control of its action, so to 
 use the constitutional power with which they are invest 
 ed, as to prevent it. 
 
 "I think it due to the occasion, and only a simple act 
 of justice to my fellow-citizens of the north, of all polit 
 ical parties, to add the expression of my full belief, that 
 the opinions above expressed accord in substance with 
 those entertained by a larger majority of the people of the 
 non-slave-holding States, than has ever before existed in 
 those States on a public question of equal magnitude. 
 It is also due to them to say, that their sentiments on this 
 subject spring out of considerations of too high a charac 
 ter, and look to consequences of too solemn an import, to 
 be shaken by slight causes. With only a generous confi 
 dence on the part of the South in their brethren of the 
 North, and a firm determination on the part of each, to 
 visit with their severest displeasure any attempt to connect 
 the subject with party politics, those sentimems cannot 
 be overthrown. All future attempts on the part of the 
 abolitionists to do so, will then only serve to accumulate 
 and concentrate public odium on themselves. That there 
 are persons at the North who are far from concurring in 
 the prevailing sentiment I have described, is certainly 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 353 
 
 true ; but their numbers, when compared with the rest of 
 the community, are very inconsiderable ; and if the con 
 dition of things be not greatly aggravated by imprudence, 
 many of them, I have no doubt, will ultimately adopt 
 sounder views of the subject ; and the efforts of those 
 who may persist in the work of agitation, may be over 
 come by reason, or rendered inoperative by constitutional 
 remedies. 
 
 To one class of those who have hitherto petitioned 
 Congress for the abolition of slavery in the District of 
 Columbia, I cannot forbear to refer. I allude to the Soci 
 ety of Friends, or the people usually denominated Qua 
 kers. The uniformity of their course upon this subject, 
 the temperate manner in which it has been manifested, 
 and the marked excellence of their conduct and charac 
 ter, appear to have conciliated respect for their motives, 
 even from those who differ with them in opinion. As far 
 as my observation has enabled me to judge, it is due to 
 them to say, that as there has been no indicationof any 
 change of opinion upon their part during the present ex 
 citement, so has there been no evidence of a disposition 
 to lend themselves to the undue agitations of the public 
 mind, attempted by others. There is certainly no class 
 of people in this country, who have a deeper interest in 
 the preservation of the Union and of the happy system of 
 government which it upholds, than they ; and it has now 
 become very apparent to all reflecting and observing 
 minds, that the question of slavery in the District of Co 
 lumbia cannot be pressed to the result they desire, with 
 safety to those paramount objects. Do not these consid 
 erations justify the hope, that from them, at least, we may 
 reasonably expect, for the future, a mode of dealing with the 
 subject, which, whilst it does no injustice to their princi 
 ples, shall repress, instead of increasing agitation, and not 
 endanger the great interests to which I have referred ? To 
 doubt it would be to distrust the influence which indus 
 try, morality, intelligence, and republican habits quali 
 ties w T hich all admit them to possess in a high degree, are 
 calculated, in great emergencies, to exert upon the con 
 duct of their possessors. And for the like reason, it may 
 certainly be expected that well disposed persons of other 
 religious denominations, who, without a full consideration 
 of the difficulties which surround this subject, and of the 
 dangerous consequences to which the efforts of the abo 
 litionists so evidently tend, have lent to those efforts the 
 influence of their names and character, will be careful 
 30* 
 
354 THE LIFE OF 
 
 hereafter to avoid the repetition of an error so unfortunate 
 and mischievous. 
 
 " In every view of the subject, therefore, it does appear 
 to me, that, although there certainly is, in the present con 
 dition of the country in relation to it, sufficient to excite 
 the most serious attention, there is nothing in the state of 
 public opinion in the United States to justify that panic 
 in the public mind, which invariably disqualifies those 
 who partake of it, from dealing wisely or successfully 
 with the circumstances by which it is produced. From 
 abroad we have, I think, some right to expect less inter 
 ference than heretofore. We shall, I am confident, for 
 some time at least, have no more foreign agents to en 
 lighten us on the subject. Recent results here, and the 
 discussions with which they have been attended, cannot 
 fail to attract the attention of the reading and reflecting 
 portion of the foreign public. By these means they will 
 be made to understand our real condition in this respect, 
 and they will know that the unchangeable law of that 
 condition is, that the slave question must be left to the 
 control of the slave-holding States themeslves, without 
 molestation or interference from*any quarter ; that foreign 
 interference of every description can only be injurious to 
 the slave, without benefit to any interest, and will not 
 be endured by any section of our country ; and that any 
 interference, coming from even the non slave-holding 
 portions of our own territory, is calculated to endanger 
 the perpetuity, and if sanctioned by the General Govern 
 ment, would inevitably occasion the dissolution of our 
 happy Union. Seeing the subject in this, its true aspect, 
 and conscious as they must be, that the downfall of this 
 republic would be the severest blow that the cause of lib 
 erty and self-government could receive, and from which 
 its recovery would be hopeless, the wise and the good 
 amongst them those who are really guided by the prin 
 ciples of justice and humanity will pause and acknowl 
 edge that they have misapprehended the true bearings of 
 this question. Instead of accusing our countrymen, who 
 hold property in slaves, with disregarding the general prin 
 ciples of liberty and the dictates of a pure religion, they 
 will recognize, in this class of our citizens, as sincere 
 friends to the happiness of mankind as any others, and 
 will become sensible that this species of property, the re 
 sult of causes over which they had no control, is an in 
 heritance which they only know how to dispose of. In 
 stead of charging the people of the non-slave-holding 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 355 
 
 States, as has often been done, with hypocrisy in pro 
 fessing an ardent love of freedom, they will find that the 
 free citizens of the North are only acting upon the princi 
 ples of fidelity, to their most solemn engagements, thai if 
 they were to attempt the accomplishment of what is de 
 sired of them by those who regard slavery as inconsistent 
 with the equal rights on which our institutions are found 
 ed, they will involve themselves in the odium, either of 
 seeking to evade a compact which was the means and the 
 pledge of our national existence, or of availing themselves 
 of their present power and unexampled prosperity, to dis 
 solve a connection with their southern brethren, formed 
 at a period of mutual adversity, for a cause which was 
 then not only known to exist but the continuance of which 
 was expressly recognized in the bond of their union. 
 
 "I have thus gentlemen, been compelled to extend my 
 remarks, considerably further than I intended, when I 
 commenced to answer your inquiry. As, however, the 
 subject was delicate and important, I feel that I have not 
 trespassed farther upon your time in its examination than 
 was proper to enable you to comprehend the views I en 
 tertained of it, or than was respectful to the considera 
 tions which justified your call for those views. And I 
 feel assured, whatever may be the difference of opinion, 
 if any, which exists between myself and any other por 
 tions of my fellow-citizens, that the issue of this matter 
 as of all preceding questions which have agitated the pub 
 lic mind, and have been thought to be pregnant with dan 
 ger, will, in their hands, be such as to strengthen the 
 bonds of their union, and to increase those fraternal and 
 patriotic affections, which our past national history has so 
 often and so honorably illustrated. 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 M. VAN BUREN. 
 MESSRS. JUNIUS AMIS, 
 
 ISAAC HALL, 
 
 JOHN WALL, 
 
 C. YELLO\VBY, 
 
 SAMUEL B. SPIRRILL, and 
 
 JAMES W. PUIZINN. JACKSCN, N. C. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The nomination of Air. Van Bur en to the office of Presi 
 dent of the United States by a national convention. 
 His letter accepting the nomination. 
 
 The Chief Magistrate of a great nation should 
 combine in his character, a rare assemblage of 
 high, intellectual and moral qualities. He should 
 be endowed with a philosophic strength of mind, 
 capable of reaching beyond formal rules, to fun 
 damental principles ; he should possess quickness 
 of apprehension, so as to adapt his measures to 
 unexpected circumstances and to the progress of 
 public opinion ; he should be equally removed, in 
 his feelings, from a blind attachment to antiquated 
 forms, and from a spirit of useless innovation ; he 
 should be blessed with a coolness and comprehen 
 siveness of judgment, which, embracing the present 
 the past, and the future, should rise, in the most 
 sudden emergencies, above temporary expedients 
 and estimate the remote consequences of an ac> 
 
358 THE LIFE OF 
 
 tion ; and he should unite to these qualities, that 
 happy combination of discretion with energy, which 
 enables its possessor to defend with firmness, and 
 to concede with dignity. 
 
 This rare assemblage of high mental endow 
 ments, the friends of Mr. Van Buren believe him, 
 in an eminent degree, to possess, and their atten 
 tion has long been directed to him, as a suitable 
 successor to the venerable patriot who now fills the 
 Presidential Chair, The public sentiment has 
 been expressed, to this purport, in various sections 
 of the country, by the public press and by the pro 
 ceedings of various public bodies. Indeed, it has 
 been obvious to the most cursory observer, that the 
 republican party, throughout the Union, have, for a 
 considerable period of time, been fixing their hopes 
 upon Mr. Van Buren, as best qualified to perpetu 
 ate those sound principles of policy which have 
 guided the present administration. 
 
 To obtain a clear expression of the popular will, 
 a national convention of delegates from the repub 
 licans in each state, was early agreed upon. This 
 convention assembled in Baltimore, on the 20th 
 day of May, 1835. More than six hundred dele 
 gates were in attendance, and twenty-two states 
 with two territories, were represented. 
 
 Upon the first ballot, Mr. Van Buren received 
 the unanimous vote of the whole assembly for the 
 office of President. Richard M. Johnson was sub 
 sequently nominated for the office of Vice Presi 
 dent. The letter of a committee of the convention 
 announcing this nomination to Mr. Van Buren, and 
 bis reply thereto are subjoined : 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN, 350 
 
 " MAY 23, 1835. 
 
 " SIR: A convention of republican delegates from va 
 rious parts of ihe Union, for the purpose of selecting suit 
 able candidates for the offices of President ad Vice Pres 
 ident, assembled in Baltimore on the 20th instant, and 
 unanimously agreed to present to their country, your 
 name for that of President of the United States. We 
 have been requested to communicate to you this nomina 
 tion, and ask your acceptance of the same. We take 
 pleasure in performing, this duty, and respectfully solicit 
 an answer at such time as may suit your convenience to 
 give one. 
 
 " With sentiments of high esteem, and respect we have 
 the honor to be. your obedient servants, 
 
 A. STEVENSON, President. 
 JAS. FENNER, 
 EDWARD CONDICT, 
 UPTON S. HEATH, 
 R. STRANGE, 
 J. B. NEVITT, 
 FRANKLIN CANNON, 
 Vice Presidents of the National Convention, 
 To MARTIN VAN BUREN, Esq. of New York." 
 
 " WASHINGTON, May 29th, 1835. 
 
 "GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to acknowledge the re 
 ceipt of your letter of the 23d instant. The nomination 
 you have been deputed to announce to me, presents the on 
 ly contingency, upon the occurrence of which, I could 
 consent to become a candidate for the high office of Presi 
 dent of the United States. When my name was first as 
 sociated with the question of General Jackson s succes 
 sor, more through the ill will of opponents than the par 
 tiality of friends, I determined to wait for the develop 
 ment of the views of the republicans of the Union, and to- 
 pursue that course only which their unbiased judgment 
 should finally recommend. I deemed that course to be 
 due to the administration, of which I was a member to 
 the best interests of the country and to the indivisibility 
 of a political party, by the original organization of which 
 the overthrow of republican principles in the United 
 States was prevented, and upon the ascendancy of which 
 we can alone depend for their preservation. To the of 
 fers of support which were at that period occasionally 
 made to me from different quarters of the Union, I res 
 pectfully replied, that the public good, in my opinion, re- 
 
360 THE LIFE OF 
 
 quired the services of General Jackson for a second term 
 that the agitation of the question of his successor, at 
 that early period, must of necessity embarrass the admin 
 istration and that it was my desire that my name should 
 not be connected with tht subject. From that lime to 
 the present, I have neither solicited the aid nor sought the 
 support of any man in reference to the high office for which 
 I have been nominated ; unless my replies to interroga 
 tories from my fellow citizens upon public questions, and 
 my sincere endeavors to make myself worthy of the re 
 spect and confidence of the American people, are liable to 
 that construction. For the truth of this declaration, I can 
 safely appeal to the hundreds of honorable men who com 
 posed the recent convention to the numerous editors and 
 politicians throughout the Union, who have distinguish 
 ed me by their preference, and to rny private correspon 
 dents and intimate friends, not excepting the considerable 
 number of persons, once my friends and associates, whom 
 the fluctuations of political life have converted into oppo 
 nents. In none of these classes, or in any other of our 
 community, is there a man who can truly say, that I have 
 solicited his political support, or that I have entered or 
 sought to enter with him into any arrangement, to bring 
 about the nomination which I have now received, or to 
 secure my elevation to the Chief Magistracy of my 
 country. 
 
 The liberal men of all parties, I trust, and you and 
 those you represent, I am sure, will pardon me for hav 
 ing thus spoken of my own conduct in reference to a point 
 upon which I have been the silent object of attack, as 
 causeless as it has been violent and unremitted; especial 
 ly, as I alone can answer for it in relation to all my coun 
 trymen, although thousands may be ready to answer in 
 relation to themselves. 
 
 Under these circumstances, the democracy of the na 
 tion, in convention assembled, having, as you inform me, 
 with a degree of unanimity that I cannot too highly ap 
 preciate, pronounced me worthy of so great a trust, I can 
 not hesitate in making their wishes the rule of my con 
 duct. I do, therefore, with a deep, and I hope abiding 
 sense of the honor conferred upon me by their preference, 
 accept the nomination which has been tendered to me by 
 the convention. 
 
 I am not aware that there is any point of interest in the 
 general policy of the Federal Government, in respect to 
 which, my opinions have not been made known by my of- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 ficial acts by my own public avowals, and by the author 
 ized explanations of my friends. If there be any such, 
 however, you may rest assured of my ready disposition to 
 comply, on all suitable occasions, with the wishes of my 
 fellow citizens in this regard. I content myself, on this 
 occasion, with saying, that I consider myself the honored 
 instrument, selected by the friends of the present admin 
 istration, to carry out its principles and policy; and that, 
 as well from inclination as from duty, 1 shall, if honored 
 with the choice of the American people, endeavor to tread 
 generally in the footsteps of President Jackson happy, if 
 I shall be able to perfect the work which he has so glori 
 ously begun. 
 
 It cannot be denied, that there is no country in the 
 world, whose inhabitants are so well secured in their civil 
 and religious rights, and enjoy so large a share of prosper 
 ity and happiness, as the people of the United States. 
 For this, they are indebted less to salubrity of climate and 
 fertility of soil, than to our excellent system of govern 
 ment ; by which, more than any other, every man is pro 
 tected in the application of his powers and faculties to his 
 own benefit. That dissatisfaction should, nevertheless, 
 occasionally arise, even under the best administration of 
 a system capable of producing such happy results, is not 
 to Se wondered at. Until the wit of man shall be able to 
 devise some plan of Representative Government, by 
 which all who think themselves qualified may be, at the 
 same time, admitted to a participation in the administra 
 tion of its affairs, we must not expect to be relieved from 
 the spirit of complaint, or even surprised to find it most 
 vehement at a period of the greatest prosperity. But be 
 tween partisan complaints as to the management of our 
 government, or even diversities of opinion in relation to 
 the wisdom of supposed improvements in the details of its 
 construction, and a desire to undermine and overthrow it, 
 there is an immeasurable difference. Whilst the one can 
 at worst, but produce partial and temporary obstructions 
 in the public service, success in the other would inevita 
 bly plunge our country, from its present lofty eminence, 
 into an abyss of anarcfiy and ruin. 
 
 We hold an immense stake for the weal or wo of man 
 kind, to the importance of which we should not be insen 
 sible. The intense interest manifested abroad in every 
 movement here, that threatens the stability of our system, 
 shows the deep conviction which pervades the world, 
 that upon its fate depends the cause of Republican Gov- 
 31 
 
362 LIFE OF MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 ernment. The advocates of monarchical systems have not 
 been slow in perceiving danger to such institutions in the 
 permanency of our Constitution, nor backward in seizing 
 upon every passing event by which their predictions ot its 
 speedy destruction could be in any degree justified. Thus 
 far, they have been disappointed in their anticipations, 
 and the circumstances by which they were encouraged, 
 however alarming at the time, have in the end only ten 
 ded to show forth the depth of that devotion to the Union, 
 which is yet, thank God ! the master passion of the 
 American bosom. 
 
 Thoroughly convinced that the overthrow of our pres 
 ent constitution and the consequent destruction of the 
 confederacy which it binds together, would be the great 
 est sacrifice of human happiness and hopes that has ever 
 been made at the shrine of personal ambition, I do not 
 hesitate to promise you, that every effort in my power, 
 whether in public or private life, shall be made for their 
 preservation. The father of his country, foreseeing this 
 danger, warned us to cherish the Union as the palladium 
 of our safety, and the great exemplar of our poliiical faith, 
 Thomas Jefferson, has taught us, that to preserve that 
 common sympathy between the slates, out of which the 
 Union sprang, and which constitutes its surest foundation, 
 we should exercise the powers which of right belong to 
 the General Government, in a spirit of moderation and 
 brotherly love, and religiously abstain from the assump 
 tion of such as have not been delegated by the Constitu 
 tion. 
 
 Accept, gentlemen, my thanks, for the kind manner in 
 which you have performed the duty assigned to you, and 
 believe me to be, very sincerely, your friend and obedient 
 servant, M. VAN BUREN. 
 
 To ANDREW STEVENSON, Esq. President, and 
 
 JAMES FENNER, 
 
 EDWARD CONDICT, 
 
 UPTON S. HEATH, 
 
 ROBERT STRANGE, 
 
 J. B. NEVITT, and 
 
 FRANKLIN CANNON. Esqrs. 
 Vice Presidents of the late National Convention." 
 
CHAPTER XXVI, 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 In the foregoing pages, the writer has attempted 
 to present an accurate and full view of the per 
 sonal history of Mr. Van Buren, and a clear ex 
 position of his political opinions. The firm belief 
 of the writer in the most ultra democratic doctrines, 
 and his partiality towards the subject of this narra 
 tive as the champion of those doctrines, he has not 
 any where affected to conceal. No doubt this 
 strong bias of his mind has led him to take views 
 of certain public events, widely different from those 
 which are entertained by persons of an opposite 
 political faith. He has, however, strenuously en 
 deavored not to distort, conceal or misrepresent, 
 facts. The incidents of Mr. Van Buren s life have 
 been fairly stated, and his opinions fully displayed. 
 Every reader is at liberty to connect with them 
 such sentiments of approval or reprobation as they 
 may seem to require. 
 
 " Hanc veniam damus, pelimusque vicissim." 
 
364 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The narrative has exhibited the son of a humble 
 farmer, rising through the several grades of pro 
 fessional and political promotion, to the second 
 office in the government. The friends of Mr. 
 Van Buren ascribe this remarkable elevation to 
 superior ability and virtue ; his enemies charge it 
 to intrigue and accident. It appears, however, to 
 be universally admitted, that he is endowed with 
 extrordinary abilities of some kind. This conces 
 sion has, at length, been extorted from the most 
 unw.lling lips. During many of the earliest years 
 of his public life, he was denied, not only honesty, 
 but ability. In regard to the latter endowment, 
 the mouth of calumny has been effectually stop 
 ped. Mr. Van Buren, in the course of his long 
 political career, has always shown himself fully 
 equal to the various stations he has held, and the 
 severe responsibilities which have been devolved 
 upon him. At each successive step in his advance 
 ment, his enemies have predicted his failure, but 
 the result has covered themselves with confusion. 
 He has never failed to meet the highest expecta 
 tions of his friends and has not unfrequently sur 
 passed them. His ability, therefore, to adminis 
 ter any office in the government, both in respect of 
 natural parts and acquired knowledge, is no longer 
 a matter of doubt. His past success amounts to 
 demonstration on this point. 
 
 With regard to his integrity and patriotism, and 
 the accordance of his political principles with the 
 true interests of the country, a similar unanimity 
 of opinion cannot, in the present generation, be 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 365 
 
 expected. The great body of the people, how 
 ever, appear to entertain perfect confidence in 
 these qualities of his mind and character. Still it 
 is the theory of not a few, that the people are un 
 able to judge rightly on these points, and that their 
 singular attachment to Mr. Van Buren, as well as 
 to President Jackson, is the result of blind preju 
 dice, excited by appeals to their worst passions. 
 
 It is probably useless to remonstrate with men 
 who entertain such views ; nature has so made 
 them that they are not open to conviction from ar 
 guments which satisfy the great body of their fel 
 low men. Still, it may not be amiss to advert to 
 one or two facts, strongly tending to show that 
 their belief in the credulity of the people is ill foun 
 ded and unjust. 
 
 If the great mass of the community are led by 
 sophistry and the artful representations of ingenious 
 men, how happens it that their opinions are form; 
 ed to their present standard ? It may be safely 
 stated that two thirds of the public presses in this 
 country, are opposed to the principles of the pre 
 sent administration. The periodical reviews and 
 literary journals lean against the democratic cause 
 without a single exception. Public seminaries of 
 instruction, the learned professions and a vast pre 
 ponderance of the literary and oratorical talent of 
 the country, are under the same bias. English 
 literature so extensively circulated among us is 
 pervaded by the same principles. Wealth, fashion 
 and inherited distinction are, to a great extent, ar 
 rayed against the democratic cause. How then does 
 31* 
 
366 THE LIFE OF 
 
 it happen that the people are guided by opposite 
 sentiments ? If they may be imposed upon by plau 
 sible demagogues, or cajoled by flattery, or alarm 
 ed by exaggeration, or blindly led by example, 
 why has the unceasing application of all these 
 means, by the horror-stricken enemies of popular 
 misrule, hitherto failed to produce its natural ef 
 fect? 
 
 The true answer to this question is, that the 
 great mass of the American people are not so 
 meanly endowed and so unhappily constituted. 
 There is an honest love of truth, a blunt native 
 judgment, a piercing sagacity, in the great mass of 
 the people, which cannot be widely led astray 
 from the principles of truth, patriotism and virtue. 
 The demagogue can never meet the approbation 
 of these sentiments. Intrigue and hollow-hearted 
 patriotism wither before them. They are attrac 
 ted, instinctively, by the capable and honest public 
 servant ; they recoil from the political gambler. 
 
 One would think that the experience of the past 
 would have taught designing politicians, that the 
 combined influence of unbounded wealth and a 
 partizan press can never turn public sentiment, 
 for any considerable period, from the channel of 
 truth. 
 
 The democratic usage, of selecting those men for 
 office who will faithfully express the will of the 
 people, leads to that coincidence of sentiment, 
 between republicans and their public agents, 
 which is characterized by their opponents as ser 
 vility. It is illustrated in the example of General 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 367 
 
 Jackson. The leading measures of his administra 
 tion have been ardently approved by the democra 
 cy. This results, it is said, from blind attachment to 
 a leader, without the capacity to form a just judg 
 ment of his public measures. The democratic par 
 ty, it is alledged, are so organized and drilled by 
 the artful partizans of the President, as to follow 
 him, whither soever he may lead. 
 
 But the true cause of the surprising harmony 
 which exists between the President and the peo 
 ple, is either not understood by the anti-democratic 
 party or is misrepresented. The truth is, that the 
 President has been sustained in his measures, be 
 cause they have all been based upon a careful 
 observation, and thorough knowledge, of the popu 
 lar will. The President has had the sagacity to 
 observe the sentiments of the great body of the 
 people and the integrity and firmness to carry them 
 into effect. He has collected and embodied the 
 wishes of the people ; he has felt himself, constant 
 ly, to be their agent and minister ; and if he has 
 seemed to lead public opinion, it has been because 
 he is endued with a penetration which has ena 
 bled him to foresee its current, and by throwing 
 himself at its head, to bring its full force to sus 
 tain him. Guided by the fundamental principle, 
 that the will of the majority should in all cases, 
 control, he has never attempted to defeat that will. 
 He has earnestly endeavored to ascertain the 
 wishes of his constituents, and having ascertained 
 them, he has labored, with astonishing firmness, 
 vigor and capacity, to carry them into effect. This 
 
368 THE LIFE OF 
 
 is the source of that attachment which binds the 
 heart of every true republican to the great political 
 father of the democracy. Many a plain farmer or 
 mechanic, reflecting amid his solitary labors, on the 
 " Great American System," the Bank, and other 
 deeply contrived measures of general policy, and 
 gradually forming his own mind into a clear view 
 of their bearing upon the interests of the country, 
 has been astonished to find a veto message or proc 
 lamation, from the chief magistrate of the nation, 
 suddenly lighting up his mind, unlocking as it were 
 his own secret thoughts, coinciding with his own 
 internal convictions, but displaying them with such 
 clearness and strength as to leave him no longer 
 in doubt. He sees that the President has reasoned 
 as he is reasoning, but with greater rapidity and 
 vigor ; he feels that the breast of the President 
 beats in unison with his own ; that he is truly one 
 of the people, identical in his wishes and feelings 
 with the plain farmer at the plough. It is impos 
 sible for him not to repose confidence in such a 
 man and fasten affection upon him. Jt is evident 
 that the same sympathetic cord, which binds the 
 hearts of true republicans to each other through 
 out the Union, unites them all to their firm and 
 faithful friend at the head of the government. 
 
 The foregoing narrative has exhibited the politi 
 cal view T s and public life of Mr. Van Buren ; and 
 from thence, it may be possible to conjecture, 
 whether he will succeed to that place in the confi 
 dence of the people, which is occupied by the pre 
 sent Chief Magistrate of the nation. It onh re- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 309 
 
 mains for the writer to add, that the private char 
 acter of Mr. Van Buren is above all censure or 
 suspicion. In the relations of father and son, of 
 husband, brother, and friend, he has always dis 
 played those excellencies of character and feeling 
 which adorn human nature. His delicate kindness 
 to the partner of his bosom, while her life was 
 spared, his filial devotion to his parents, his gener 
 ous affection for the whole circle of his relatives, 
 are attractive traits in his character, on which, did 
 propriety permit, the writer would gladly dwell. 
 Extending our view to the larger circle of his per 
 sonal friends, rarely has any man won a stronger 
 hold upon the confidence and affection of those 
 with whom he has been connected. The purity 
 of his motives, his integrity of character, and the 
 steadiness of his attachments, have always re 
 tained for him, the warm affection of many, even 
 among the ranks of his political opponents. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren has ever been an exemplary 
 and strict observer of those moral rules which are 
 essential to the well-being and decorum of society. 
 He has never sought to display the strength of his 
 mind by daring infractions of wholesome institutions 
 which are, by some, regarded as a rule of conduct 
 only for ordinary understandings. Notwithstand 
 ing his long connection with the most exciting po 
 litical questions and conflicts, he has avoided those 
 personal rencontres, into which political leaders are 
 too often, almost by necessity, drawn. Not the 
 slightest stain rests upon the purity of his moral 
 character ; it has been so bright and unsullied, that 
 calumny has seldom ventured to assail it. 
 
370 THE LIFE OF 
 
 The ease and frankness of his manners, his feli 
 citous powers of conversation, and the general 
 amiablencss of his feelings, render him the orna 
 ment of the social circle. Uniting in his character 
 firmness and forbearance ; habitual self-respect 
 and a delicate regard for the feelings of others; 
 neither the perplexities of legal practice, nor the 
 cares of public life, nor the annoyances of party 
 strife, have ever been able to disturb the serenity 
 of his temper, or to derange for a moment the equa 
 nimity of his deportment. He has with equal pro 
 priety, mingled in the free intercourse of private 
 life and sustained the dignity of official station. 
 Amid the most violent party conflicts, he has re 
 tained the personal respect of those opponents, who 
 have personally known him, and not unfrequently 
 their confidence and friendship.* 
 
 As a politician, his course, though decided and 
 unyielding, has always been liberal, open and hon 
 est. No instance of bad faith, no example of double 
 dealing, no act of duplicity or disingenuousness has 
 
 * Mr. Van Bin-en has ever been a kind friend, and generous pa- 
 tron of humble merit. Our whole country may be said to have 
 felt the benefit of his discriminating liberality, in the case of the 
 Hon. Benjamin F. Butler, the present Attorney General of the 
 United States. Mr. Butler was, almost wholly, indebted to Mr. 
 Van Buren for encouragement, to commence his professional stu 
 dies, and for support and instruction in completing them. The 
 genius and industry, which have distinguished the brilliant career 
 of that gentleman at the bar, and which have raised him, in the 
 prime of life, to his present eminence, together with the moral ex 
 cellence and integrity, for which he is not less conspicuous, present 
 a gratifying example of successful merit, as well as of Mr. Van 
 Buren s liberality, and his extraordinary discriminatio i in be- 
 
 stowins: it. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 371 
 
 ever been fastened upon his political character. His 
 friends challenge the severest scrutiny on this point, 
 and invite the most unscrupulous exposure. He 
 has himself done so, in his acceptance of the Bal 
 timore nomination. Surely, amid vigilant enemies 
 and treacherous friends, the means of proof must 
 exist, if there be any instance of intrigue or secret 
 management in his public life. The public will 
 not be satisfied with vague, general charges ; proof 
 must be given of specific acts. By such proof alone 
 can his enemies gain the public ear ; it has been 
 too often temporarily deluded by empty and false 
 accusation. Without such proof, the common sense 
 of mankind will be slow to believe that his regular 
 and steady progress towards the highest honors of 
 the government, through a long course of public 
 service, is ascribable to the low artifices of duplici 
 ty and cunning. Such a supposition, implies too 
 harsh an imputation upon the penetration and vir 
 tue of the nation to be for a moment admitted. His 
 success as a political leader, will, rather, continue 
 to be ascribed to the superiority of his genius, the 
 extent of his attainments, the intrinsic excellence of 
 his character, and his admirable knowledge of men. 
 His clear perception of truth, his predominating 
 good sense, the honesty of his own motives, and his 
 sagacity in detecting the motives of others, have 
 indeed endowed him with a rare talent of harmoni 
 zing, concentrating, and directing the varied feel 
 ings and exertions of the members of a great par 
 ty. It is a talent which characterizes true great 
 ness, and is as far removed from the intrigue and 
 cunning of low politicians, as is the lofty ambition 
 
372 LIFE OF MARTIN VAN BUREN , 
 
 of the patriot from the mean self-exaltation of the 
 demagogue. 
 
 In personal appearance, Mr. Van Buren is about 
 the middle size ; his form is erect and slender, but 
 is said to be capable of great endurance. His fea 
 tures are animated and expressive, especially the 
 eye, which is indicative of quick apprehension and 
 close observation ; his forehead exhibits, in its depth 
 and expansion, the marks of great intellectual pow 
 er. The physiognomist would accord to him pen 
 etration, quickness of apprehension, and benevo 
 lence of disposition. The phrenologist would add, 
 unusual reflective faculties, firmness, and caution.* 
 
 If the advancement of Mr. Van Buren be desti 
 ned to terminate at the present point, he will leave 
 behind him a reputation which rarely falls to the 
 lot of any man. To have risen from the humble 
 walks of life, in times of peace, by his own unaided 
 exertions, to the second office in the gift of a great 
 nation, will be fame enough to satisfy reasonable 
 ambition. " The past, at least, is secure." He 
 has already raised a monument of his genius and 
 exertions, which will defy the corroding tooth of 
 time. He has enrolled his name among the most 
 illustrious statesmen of the age and nation. He 
 has illustrated, in his own example, the happy na 
 ture of our institutions, which afford so free a field 
 for the expansion of talent, however humble its 
 origin, and which insure to integrity arid persever 
 ance, a just and generous reward. 
 
 * The portrait engraved for this volume, by an artist of well 
 known eminence, is from a picture of Inman, painted for the cor- 
 doration of the city of New York. 
 
NOTE. A slight inaccuracy was observed in the former 
 part of Chapter VII. too late for correction in the text. The 
 articles signed Amicus Juris Consultus related, chiefly, to " a bill 
 for the encouragement of privateering associations;" a war 
 measure, of the same energetic stamp with the Classification Bill. 
 The latter, though drawn up and sustained by Mr. Van Buren, 
 was defended against the objections which originated in the 
 Council of Revision, by the articles signed" Juris Consultus." 
 
The following are some of the notices of thejirst edition 
 
 of Holland s Life of Van Buren. 
 From the Washington Globe, Feb. 17^, 1836* 
 
 " THIS acceptable volume, we did not receive, until af 
 ter the commencement of this session of Congress; and 
 since then, pressure of business has prevented our notice 
 of it. This we the less regret, as it has been very gener 
 ally and favorably introduced to the public by the Demo 
 cratic papers of the country. 
 
 It is a neat duodecimo volume, of 364 pages, into which 
 the author an accomplished scholar and civilian has 
 compressed much interesting political history, together 
 with notices of the principal events in the life of Mr. Van 
 Buren. It is written in a vigorous, manly style, with 
 great candor, and free from the spirit of a partizan ; and 
 rather with a view, as the author observes, to display the 
 spirit and principles of the Republican party in this coun 
 try, and to exhibit, by the history of an individual, the na 
 ture of the relation which that party sustains to its public 
 men, than to contribute to the political elevation of 
 
 anv man. 
 
 ri 
 
 The early and professional life of Mr. Van Buren is 
 first given, and then his progress from an obscure attorney 
 in a small town, in the State of New York, to his present 
 elevated situation. 
 
 Through the whole of his brilliant career, the reader 
 cannot fail to observe the greatest industry and persever 
 ance, with constant devotion to the cause of the people 
 and to the great principles of Democracy. 
 
 We wish the work an extensive circulation, and re- 
 ccxrnmend it, in strong terms, to all those who wish to learn 
 the truth respecting the political course and opinions of 
 Mr. Van Buren. This, they_wijl be enabled to do, by the* 
 copious^extracts from the speeches_and.wj^tiQg of this 
 distinguished stafesman. "In addition to particulars rela 
 ting to Mr. Van Buren, the work abounds with the most 
 sound and radically JJemocratic doctrines, well worthy 
 the attention of the reader. We hope, hereafter to find 
 room for further notice of the volume and extracts from 
 it ; particularly from the third chapter, On the origin of 
 the two great political parties in this country and al 
 so from the nineteenth chapter; On the pernicious ef 
 fects of incorporated Banking companies in the United 
 States; both of which, are worthy of frequent perusa^ 
 and perpetual remembrance," 
 
HOLLAND S LIFE OF 
 
 From the Albany Argus. 
 
 " WE have been remiss in saying of this work, that it 
 fulfils the highest expectations of those who are familiar 
 with the life and opinions of the eminent subject of the 
 memoir. It traces the personal character of Mr. Van Bu- 
 ren, with candor and accuracy ; and, taken in connection 
 with the copious extracts from his speeches and public 
 writings, is by far the best, if not the only connected ex 
 position of his political opinions. To the high qualities 
 of impartial truth and justice, it adds the charm of a pure, 
 vigorous and manly style. It is full, without being min 
 ute ; and clever, without parade or pretension. 
 
 The author is obviously of the old republican school. 
 Ultra indeed, in some respects; but sound, clear, and true 
 to the principles of tbe Democracy. Except in the wri 
 tings of Mr. Jefferson, and in the speech of Mr. Van Bu- 
 ren on the power of the Vice President to call to order, 
 we dp not recollect 1o have read, any where, a clearer ex 
 position of the origin of parties, or to have seen the dis 
 tinction taken with greater fidelity, between the princi 
 ples and governing views which, however obscured by 
 circumstances or concealed by design, so radically divide 
 the Democracy and Aristocracy of this country. Upon 
 this subject, we have ventured to copy several" passages 
 from the work, as illustrative of the author s manner, and 
 of his own and Mr. Van Buren s political opinions. 
 
 To those who love to trace the career of an eminent 
 citizen, from humble beginnings, surrounded by obstacles, 
 and menaced by a powerful and proscribing hostility, 
 through all the gradations of personal and public exertion, 
 rapid and upward, to a position before the American peo 
 ple of enviable honor and just renown, this work will 
 come with more than ordinary attractions. The remark 
 is not Jess applicable to those who do not fail to see in the 
 life and character of the Vice President an illustration of 
 the theory of our form of government ; of the moral and 
 political beauty of its practical results; and of the certain 
 ty with which a republican and intelligent people, sustain, 
 cherish and elevate those whom they delight to honor ; 
 for their tried worth and capacity, their unsullied integri 
 ty, and their fidelity to the great principles of civil liberty. 
 
 This work is for sale at the several bookstores, and we 
 could wish that it might be read, not only by the political 
 friends of Mr. Van Buren, but, with candor, by those, who, 
 although not violent partizans, have been found heretofore 
 among his opponents." 
 
VAN BUREN. 
 
 From the Boston Morning Post. 
 
 " HOLLAND S LIFE OF VAN BUREN. A valuable work 
 which should and will have an extensive sale, particular 
 ly among the members of the Democratic party. It is 
 written in a vigorous and pleasing style, and is a fair and 
 candid history of one of the most enterprising, talented 
 and successful statesmen of the present day. The biog 
 rapher begins with the humble attorney of Kinderhook, 
 and follows him, in his rapid and brilliant career, to the 
 Vice Presidency of the United States. * * * This work 
 also contains a critical examination of the historical ori 
 gin of the two great political parties, in which the dis 
 tinctive features of each are clearly defined, and which 
 must prove useful to every attentive reader. * * * 
 
 " In conclusion, we most sincerely commend this vol 
 ume to the perusal of j?very individual searcher after the 
 truth in relation to Mr. Van Buren. * * * No man stands 
 less in need of eulogy than he does. All his friends ask, 
 is, that he may be judged of fairly and impartially ; con 
 fident that his career, thus far, will bear the most rigid 
 test, and come out from the most rigid ordeal, more daz 
 zling and resplendent than ever." 
 
 From the Utica Observer. 
 
 " THIS is no catch-penny production ; it is the work of 
 a man of talents and education ; and possesses superior 
 claims to public favor and patronage. From it, all may 
 learn the past history of one, who, at this time, occupies a 
 most important position before the people; and whose 
 life has been a series of successful and honorable efforts, 
 to advance their true interests and to win for himself their 
 approbation and esteem, ^Those who are desirous to ob 
 tain correct knowledge of Mr. Van Buren, to become ac 
 quainted with his opinions upon all the great questions 
 which have divided public sentiment, may satisfy their cu 
 riosity by consulting the work; and if we are not great 
 ly mistaken, no individual will rise from its perusal, 
 without an enhanced good will toward the Vice Presi 
 dent,^ he be his friend, and if his opponent, without feel 
 ing a deep conviction of the injustice of the charges which 
 have so often been made against him. * * 
 
 The book contains an admirable likeness of Mr. Van 
 Buren. We advise his friends to buy it, because they 
 can read it with pride, approbation and profit ; we advise 
 his opponents to buy it, because if it do not produce their 
 
 A* 
 
HOLLAND S LIFE OF 
 
 conversion, it will most inevitably greatly soften the pre 
 judices which misrepresentation has caused them to en 
 tertain against him ; and furthermore, because, no one 
 should be ignorant of the true character of so distinguish 
 ed a statesman of our own country one so soon in all 
 probability destined to fill the first office in the nation." 
 
 From the Baltimore Republican. 
 THE Baltimore republican of Dec. 7th, 1835, contained 
 an able and elaborate analysis of the volume, which ex 
 tended through several columns. We make the follow 
 ing brief extracts. 
 
 * * "We rejoice at this publication of the Life of 
 Martin Van Buren. All may now learn the past history 
 of one who stands in the most enviable position before a 
 people who can well appreciate long tried and unyielding 
 devotion to their true interests, and who, whatever may be 
 the opinions and hopes of some, are not to be deceived by 
 vague charges, or led astray by idle and malicious accu 
 sations." 
 
 (After an elaborate examination of Mr. Van Buren s 
 opinions on all leading political questions, the Reviewer 
 proceeds : ) 
 
 " We have confined our notice of Mr. Holland s work 
 to what we conceive to be the cardinal doctrines of the 
 Democratic party ; for the special purpose of laying before 
 our readers such evidence as party violence cannot gain 
 say, to show, that on all these points, Mr. Van Buren has 
 frankly, explicitly and repeatedly expressed his opinion. 
 * * We have drawn our extracts from a mass of similar 
 evidence, as fully as the limits of a newspaper article 
 would permit. But to read them in all their force, and in 
 connection with much interesting matter in relation to 
 other coincident principles of our government, the book it 
 self must be referred to. * * We must now bring our no 
 tice to a conclusion, only regretting that we have been for 
 ced to confine ourselves to a mere intimation of the valua 
 ble matter contained in this excellent volume, so well 
 adapted to the wants of the politician, to the illustration 
 of the principles of our institutions and to the spirit of the 
 age. * * Mr. Holland has shown an admirable talent as 
 an author. As a writer, his language is pure, clear and 
 forcible. His taste is sound and healthful, and republi 
 can, in its manliness and simplicity. As a literary work, 
 
VAN BUREN. 
 
 this volume may be referred to by all; as a political one, 
 our friends should read it with pride; and our opponents, 
 without hoping for their conversion, may peruse it too, 
 and at least learn silence. The work is beautifully print 
 ed and ornamented with an admirable portrait. It is the 
 best likeness we have seen of Mr. Van Buren." 
 
 From the Hampden Whig, Springfield, Mass. 
 " WE have derived very great pleasure from perusing 
 the life of Martin Van Buren by William M. Holland of 
 Hartford. It is an authentic narrative, wrought from ma 
 terials most of which are before the public, written in 
 a chaste and beautiful style and breathing the true spirit 
 of sound, uncompromising Democracy. 
 
 We are gratified at this production on many accounts. 
 It is a token of the progress of Democracy. The work 
 comes not from an individual who can be charged with 
 ignorance or with sinister purposes. The author is dis 
 tinguished alike for his acquisitions as a scholar, and his 
 virtues as a private man. Our colleges are generally es 
 teemed adverse to Democracy. This work emanates from 
 a highly valued professor, whose talents and fidelity have 
 eminently contributed to the elevation of the institution 
 to which he is attached. * * Again we are highly grati 
 fied with this volume from the manner in which it repre 
 sents the public character of our distinguished fellow-citi 
 zen, who is a candidate before the people for the highest 
 office in their gift. There is nothing of fulsome flattery; 
 nothing of labored panegyric ; nothing of idolatrous man- 
 worship. The writer simply gives a narrative of Mr. Van 
 Buren s career. The great questions which have been 
 agitated during Mr. Van Buren s political life are ex- 
 pTained ; and his opinions on them all are given in his 
 own language, in extracts from his published speeches. 
 Nothing is omitted. The record goes back to his first en 
 trance into public life and continues to the present time. 
 And mark the result. Consistency is, in a republic, the 
 first virtue ; and in Mr. Van Buren s career there has been 
 such noble consistency, that there is not the least collis 
 ion of opinion, not the slightest clashing of arguments, 
 but on the contrary his various speeches constitute a har 
 monious whole ; one uniform testimony to the same great 
 truths; and his opinions, as they have from time to time 
 been expressed, form a text of Democracy." 
 
HOLLAND S LIFE OF 
 
 From the Nashville Union. 
 
 "THIS book ought to be generally circulated and carefuf- 
 ly read, by the American people." 
 
 From the Buffalo Republican. 
 
 " WHEN we look into this work, we are astonished that 
 the enemies of Mr. Van Buren, should ever associate his 
 name with the charge of being a non-committal politi 
 cian." 
 
 From the Pennsylvania!!. 
 
 11 A work entitled the Life and Political Opinions of 
 Martin Van Buren, by William M. Holland, has just been 
 published by Belknap and Hamersley of Hartford. It is 
 precisely the work which has, for sometime been desired 
 by the people of the United States, giving a clear and 
 connected narrative of the course of this distinguished 
 Statesman, from early life down to the present time, and 
 laying his public conduct open to their notice and judg 
 ment. The author has devoted himself to the task with 
 great industry ; and has performed it so well, and in a 
 style so agreeable, that the reader is borne onward, with 
 intense interest, in tracing Mr. Van Buren s rapid pro 
 gress, from a student of law to his present attitude, as the 
 favorite candidate of the people for the highest -honors 
 which they can bestow. Setting aside political consider 
 ations, it is a work fraught with the most useful lessons 
 to the youth of our country ; narrating as it does the tri 
 umphs of untiring industry and perseverance in raising 
 the subject of it, from poverty and obscurity, to the loftiest 
 position which an American can reach. 
 
 The volume is very neatly got up, and is embellished 
 with one of the best portraits of Mr. Van Buren that we 
 have ever seen." 
 
 From the Free Press and Boston Advocate, (Anti-ma 
 sonic.} 
 
 " WE are obliged to the publishers, Belknap and Ham 
 ersley, for this neat and exceedingly well written volume. 
 * * * Mr. Holland is as sound a Democrat, as he is an 
 accomplished scholar. He has sketched the life of Mr. 
 Van Buren with evident partiality fqr the man ; but it is 
 also a partiality evidently lounged upojajm attachment to 
 
VAN BUREN. 
 
 the principles he embodies, as the head of the Democratic 
 party, and not upon mere personal devotion. It is im 
 possible for any honest man, opposed to Mr. Van Buren, 
 to read this well written book, without feeling his preju 
 dices yielding every moment to respect for the man. We 
 ask, where are the evidences of all the cunning and in 
 trigue and duplicity which have been so regularly as 
 cribed, by his opponents, to this eminent citizen? If the 
 author has concealed them here, where can others point 
 them out? We have heard much on this subject, but 
 have seen little proof. Wherein is Mr. Van Buren less 
 frank in his opinions, than an equally eminent citizen, 
 whom we would always name with respect, Daniel 
 Webster? * * 
 
 We ask candid men to lay aside their party spectacles 
 for a moment, and read Mr. Holland s truly republican 
 book ? They will find it difficult to escape from the con 
 viction, that nearly all the clamor against Mr. Van Buren 
 is sheer, political prejudice and party rancor. * * Read 
 Mr. Holland s book, and throw aside political bigotry, 
 you can respect the man without being obliged to vote for 
 him." 
 
 From the Bridgeport (Ccmn.)* Farmer. 
 
 " So far as we have read, the style of the author is easy, 
 philosophical and persuasive. The beauty of the compo 
 sition, however, is the least recommendation of the" work. 
 The sound political maxims and the forcible illustrations 
 of important truths, interspersed with the narration of 
 facts relating to him, of whom the history is written, add 
 surpassingly to the value of the work. 
 
 This book is one which should be read by every man, 
 and especially by those who are entering on the active 
 duties of life. A better example can hardly be set before 
 them. * * We commend the work to the attention of all 
 both friend and foe to Mr. Van Buren." 
 
 From the Worcester Republican. 
 
 "WE have read a portion of this able and interesting 
 work. It has the appearance of having been prepared 
 with care and discrimination, and is just the work which 
 the public need at the present time, when so much is said 
 about the distinguished individual whose life and opinions 
 this work presents to the public. Let every one who has 
 ever doubted th/it Martin Van Buren is a straight-forward, 
 
HOLLAND S LIFE OF 
 
 consistent and upright Statesman, read this work and he 
 will find it contains the documents and facts which will 
 dissipate all doubts, and show the firm, decided and con 
 sistent course which has been pursued by Mr. Van Buren 
 from his earliest entrance into political life." * * * * 
 
 From the Hartford Patriot and Democrat. 
 
 " THE author, (of this biography,) is well calculated to 
 produce such a work. He has sought the most authentic 
 sources of information and has given a faithful and im 
 partial history of the Vice President s political life and 
 opinions. * * * The views of the author are radically 
 Democratic. He vindicates the right and capacity of the 
 common people, (as they are called,) to govern them 
 selves, and asserts that their will is the only standard of 
 truth in politics. * * * * 
 
 Many of the fundamental principles of government 
 are discussed in various parts of the work ; and the De 
 mocratic view of our public policy is strongly vindicated. 
 The work is replete with historical facts, and such a book 
 as should be read by every young American ; in short, a 
 text book of Democracy. 
 
 The work is written in a vigorous, yet easy and pleas 
 ing style, and with a candor and firmness characteristic 
 of the author. * * Every Democrat should possess him 
 self of this volume." 
 
 From the New York Times. 
 
 " THE enemies of Martin Van Buren have alleged that 
 his political course has been dark, crooked and perplexed I 
 and that, however he may have distinguished himself as a 
 successful politician, the solid qualities of a statesman 
 form no part of his character. * * * The book before us 
 gives a full and perfect refutation of all these charges. It 
 proves from facts, drawn from authentic political history, 
 from records that cannot lie, that the distinguished indi 
 vidual whose life and political opinions it describes, has 
 made his name a part of the principal political events 
 which have transpired since he first commenced a public 
 career. The book is not written in a spirit ofpartizan- 
 ship, nor has it been the design of the author merely to 
 contribute to the political elevation of any man. He has, 
 sought to display the spirit and principles of the republi 
 can party in this country, by the history of an individual, 
 intimately connected with the party, and now its candi- 
 
VAN BUREN. 
 
 date for the highest honor the people can bestow. * * * 
 In a word, the whole political career of Mr. Van Buren is 
 here clearly developed ; and the enemies of that distin 
 guished man may, here, tind a refutation of all the charges 
 which have been brought against him. * * It is written m 
 the spirit of candor and fairness, in a clear and succinct 
 style? 
 
 From the same. 
 
 " IT is not often that we agree with the Star, in mat 
 ters connected with politics or public men. That paper 
 desires that the Life of Mr. Van Buren, just published, 
 shall be read by every man in the land. So say we. Buy 
 it read it, and then make up your minds whether the 
 man, whose character it describes, is justly liable to the 
 censure heaped on him by the whig presses. The style 
 and o-eneraltone of the book are unexceptionable. Ihe 
 Star approves of the former, and justly speaks of the au 
 thor as a man of taste and talent." 
 
 From the Columbian (New Haven,) Register. 
 " So far as we have been able to examine this work, it 
 appears to be a valuable exposition of the principal inci 
 dents in the life of this distinguished statesman ; written 
 in a vigorous and perspicuous style. It reads like the 
 production of a philosophical and discriminating mind, and 
 of a devoted republican. * * * 
 
 This work should be in the hands of every Democrat 
 in the country. Every young man, no matter what his 
 politics, would derive instruction from the perusal of it. 
 The author has treated the subject with the utmost im 
 partiality ; and the history of this distinguished statesman 
 is fully and fairly given. Aside from this, it is valuable 
 as a text book, and the reader cannot fail of gaining from 
 it a clear and concise history of Democracy and Feder 
 alism ; the two great parties which now agitate the 
 country." 
 
 From the New Yorker a miscellaneous and literary 
 
 paper, neutral in politics. 
 
 WE find on our table, a fair seeming duodecimo of 
 364 pao-es, claiming a perusal and a place in our notices 
 of new publications. The cursory examination which 
 we have been enabled to bestow upon it, has impressed 
 
HOLLAND S LIFE OF VAN BUREN. 
 
 us with a high opinion of the talents and tact, as well as 
 ardent zeal of its author. We speak of the work as that 
 of an avowed and unhesitating admirer and partizan ; for 
 such it professedly is; and such alone, or its direct oppo 
 site, can be expected in this crisis of the fortunes of the 
 distinguished subject of the memoir. * * Viewing the 
 work, therefore, in the only light in which we are permit 
 ted to regard it, we pronounce the Vice President highly 
 fortunate in having such a biographer ; and the party 
 whose interests it is destined to subserve, under weighty 
 obligations to his gifted pen. Mr. Van Buren s career, 
 from infancy to ripened manhood from poverty to afflu 
 ence from obscurity to his present towering elevation 
 is depicted, not only with the warm coloring of a eulogist, 
 but the skill of a master. * * * We have spoken of this 
 memoir as the production of a partizan of Mr. Van Buren ; 
 and as such, commending itself to the especial, if not ex 
 clusive favor of those of like sentiments. Justice to the 
 author impels us to add, that it is disfigured by nothing of 
 the violence, and little of the asperity of party rancor. 
 The writer, indeed, speaks of those who have been op 
 posed to the subject of his memoir, as the aristocracy, 
 enemies of the people s rights, distrusters of their capaci 
 ty for self-government, &c. as a matter of course. But 
 the whole is conducted with general good temper; and 
 the language is uniformly that of a scholar and gentle 
 man." 
 
 The following is from Walshes National Gazette; an 
 opposition paper. 
 
 " Party History is probably as familiar to us as most 
 other public writers ; but with regard to what is called 
 Mr. Van Buren s non-committal system, we are better ac 
 quainted with the charge than the proof. The extracts 
 which are skilfully introduced into Professor Holland s 
 volume, convey unequivocal opinions on nearly all the 
 rife public questions. There is less of real frankness in 
 the two responses of General Harrrison to the Anti- 
 masons than in Mr. Van Buren s epistles." 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, 
 or on the date to which renewed. Renewals only: 
 
 Tel. No. 642-3405 
 
 Renewals may be made 4 days prior to date due. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 12 PM 6 1 
 
 JAN 2ji;82 
 
 MftV 
 
 R 
 
 AUG 3 1997 
 
 R 
 
 LD 21- 
 
 LD21A-50m-2, 71 
 (P2001slO)476 A-32 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of Californis 
 
 Berkeley 
 

 YP 37432 
 
 U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES 
 
 BD03Q170bS 
 
 
 
 3