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This new biography of Van Buren—the first full-scale portrait in four decades—charts his ascent from a tavern in the Hudson Valley to the presidency, concluding with his late-career involvement in an antislavery movement. Offering vivid profiles of the day's leading figures (Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, John Quincy Adams, DeWitt Clinton, James K. Polk), James Bradley's book depicts the struggle for power in the tumultuous decades leading up to the Civil War.

President Martin Van Buren, a Jacksonian Democrat, did his best to project a strong executive image, like that of his predecessor. However, the Panic of 1837 crippled Van Buren’s economic plan. His effort to influence the courts in the Amistad case—involving a group of Africans who had staged a revolt from their Spanish captors on the high seas—only fueled his abolitionist opponents.

George Bancroft was an American historian, statesman, and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and international levels.

Before leaving office, Van Buren reminds Congress that he refrained from raising taxes, and kept the national debt in check. He makes no mention of the growing factionalism between pro-slavery and abolitionist groups, once again showing his concern for preserving the union.