Description:

Van Buren Martin 1782 - 1862 Ex-President Martin Van Buren signed check from civil war era, PSA/DNA slabbed and certified!
Signed and dated check, drawn from the Bank of Kinderhook, in New York to "James Stevenson", dated "Feb 1, 1861", and boldly signed by Martin Van Buren as "M Van Buren for the amount of "One Hundred and one and ninety six cents." 6" x 2.5". Edgewear to check, with smudging to the ink. Slabbed and certified by PSA/DNA.


An extremely scarce penned check signed Martin Van Buren only a year before his death.

Van Buren had returned to his estate, Lindenwalk in Kinderhook after he left the White House. During this period, Van Buren grew increasingly opposed to slavery, and his earlier views about its constitutional standing gave way over time to acceptance of anti-slavery positions including opposing slavery's expansion into newly organized western states

In the election of 1860 he supported Stephen A Douglas, the candidate of northern Democrats, and helped create a fusion in New York of Democratis electors pledged to both Douglas and Breckingridg but Abraham Lincoln carried New York and every northern state except New Jersey. Once the American Civil War began, Van Buren made public his support for the Union, and supported Lincolns efforts to prevent the southern states from seceding. In April, 1861 former President Pierce wrote to the other living former Presidents and asked them to consider meeting in order to use their stature and influence to propose a negotiated end to the war. Pierce asked Van Buren to use his role as the senior living ex-President to issue a formal call. Van Buren's reply suggested that Buchanan should be the one to call the meeting, since he was the former President who had served most recently, or that Pierce should issue the call himself if he strongly believed in the merit of his proposal. Neither Buchanan or Pierce was willing to make Pierce's proposal public, and nothing more resulted from it.

Van Buren's health began to fail later in 1861, and he was bedridden with pneumonia during the fall and winter of 1861 - 62. He did not recover, and died on July 24, 1862, at the age of 79.

A very scarce Van Buren check from the days just before the advent of the civil war.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

June 14, 2017 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 20% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000