Thirty Years' View, Volume 2

What it is

This is the second volume of Thirty Years' View, a history of the working of the American government from 1820 to 1850, written by Thomas Hart Benton. The book is based on congressional debates, the private papers of General Jackson, and Benton's speeches, together with his own view of men and affairs. It was published in New York by D. Appleton and Company.

The frontispiece is an engraving of the Senate in session, labeled "Mr. Benton on the Floor."

Why it matters

Benton was a senator for thirty years and wrote from close knowledge of the Senate. His account gives a firsthand view of the Jacksonian period, in which Van Buren was a leading figure. Readers can see how one senator who worked alongside these men described their conduct.

Look closer

• How does Benton's position as a senator shape the way he describes Van Buren and his colleagues?
• What does the title suggest the book chooses to include, and what might it leave out?
• Why might a senator write a history of his own working years decades after they ended?