Usually benefactors of the people are not so fortunate; their halo, if it comes at all, generally forms long after death.

He had less genius and possibly less self-reliance, but in other respects--in tact, in prudence, in self-control, in address--indeed, in everything that makes for party leadership, Van Buren easily held the mastery.

Many great men seem to have a suit of armour in the form of coldness, brusqueness, or rudeness, which they put on to meet the stranger, but which, when laid aside, reveals simple, charming, and often boyish manners.

It seemed a question whether he really measured up to the stature of a statesman.

Nevertheless, the judgment of posterity is easily on the side of Clinton's greatness.

He was not a dreamer; nor merely a statesman with imagination, grasping the idea in its bolder outlines; but, like a captain of industry, he combined the statesman and the practical man of affairs, turning great possibilities into greater…

It may be fairly said of him that his career made an era in the history of his State, and that in asserting the great principle of internal improvements he blazed the way that guided all future comers.

When everything in favour of Adams was carefully summed up and admitted, his ability as a writer, as a lawyer, as a diplomatist, and as a statesman, the people, fascinated by the distinguished traits of character and the splendour of the…

In point of talent he has a quick and ready apprehension, a good memory, and usually a sound judgment.

He writes with ease and speaks with fluency and elegance--never attempts an argument beyond his capacity, and, being a good judge of men's character, motives, and actions, he never fails to command admiration, respect, and esteem.

He seems often to neglect great matters for small ones, and I have often thought him a trifler; yet he is universally, by the common people, esteemed grave and great.

In principle he has redeeming qualities--more than enough to atone for his faults--is honest, honourable, and just, first and beyond comparison with other politicians of the day.

You will ask impatiently, 'Has he a heart?' Yes.

After his broken promise to Granger and his bargain with Van Buren, however, he ceased to be called "Honest John Crary.

But Van Buren's willingness to exchange the Senate, an arena in which he had ranked among the ablest statesmen of the Republic, for the governorship, was prompted by the force of circumstances and not by choice.

His speeches had not only stamped him as a genuine parliamentary debater, but had gained for him the reputation of being the congressional leader and chief organiser of the Jackson party.

That Weed rightly understood the situation is evidenced by his insistence that a candidate be nominated acceptable to the Anti-Masons.

For a time, this movement resembled the growth of abolitionism at a later day, people holding that a secret society, which sought to paralyse courts, by closing the mouths of witnesses and otherwise unnerving the arm of justice, threatened…

The moral question, too, appealed strongly to persons prominent in social, professional, and church life, who increased the excitement by renouncing masonic ties and signifying their conversion to the new gospel of anti-Masonry.

But the man who led the fight and became the centre from which all influences emanated was Thurlow Weed.

Though neither brilliant nor distinguished as a public speaker, he was a skilful advocate, easy and natural; with the help of a marvellous memory, and a calm, philosophic temperament, he ranked among the foremost lawyers of his day.

Like James Tallmadge, he was inordinately ambitious for public life, and his amiability admirably fitted him for it; but like Tallmadge, he was not always governed by principle so much as policy.

He possessed a judgment that seemed almost inspired, with such untiring industry and rare ability that for years the Democratic press of the country looked upon the Argus as its guiding star.

His sarcasms had needle-points, and his wit, sometimes a little gross, smarted like the sting of wasps.

Often his attacks were so severe and merciless that the distress of his opponents created sympathy for them.