He had no wild ambition to be great, and cherished no thought of sitting in cabinets or controlling the policy of a great party; but his quiet, respectful manners and remarkable acuteness of mind attracted Van Buren.
This quote reflects the humble nature and intellectual appeal of a historical figure who attracted attention without seeking greatness.
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An enthusiast broods over the oppression of a people, until he fancies himself commissioned by heaven to liberate them.
As he lived, so he died, a strange, lonely, unhappy man, out of tune with the beautiful world in which he was permitted to exist upward of four score years.
Its attitude was strong, defiant, and its only purpose apparently was to create a public sentiment hostile to the extension of slavery.
If Clinton was the Hampden of the colonial period, Robert Yates could well be called its Pym.
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