A Return to His Native Town: Martin Van Buren's Life at Lindenwald, 1839-1862

This study enhances our understanding of this place in the political and cultural history of the mid nineteenth century. Put simply, Van Buren played a critical role in the emergence of the post 1840 anti-slavery controversy that culminated in the coming of the Civil War. And Lindenwald also witnessed during these years the emergence of changes in labor and gender relations affecting the nation generally. As the authors of the report write, “new scholarship on farming in the mid-Hudson Valley, on domestic architecture and landscape, on labor and gender, reveal Lindenwald to be a complex place that witnessed political and personal dramas both large and small.”

Leonard L. Richards is the author of seven books, including "Shays Rebellion: The American Revolution s Final Battle" and, most recently, "The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War". He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.