This is the grave of Martin Van Buren. Born in 1782 in Kinderhook, New York, Maarten Van Buren (he changed the spelling early on) was born into the old Dutch settler of the Hudson Valley. His family was not particularly elite. His father was an...
martin van buren
Sarah Kliff links to a study that correctly notes the tendency of historians to give high rankings to presidents who kill a lot of Americans in wars during their tenure..
I've been reading Daniel Walker Howe's superb What Hath God Wrought. Among its many strong points, it's much-more clear-eyed about Andrew Jackson than Sean Wilentz's similar history, and I've been.