"...All in all, he's a riddle must puzzle the devil." Today, Martin Van Buren is an obscure man, often little more than a footnote. In pre-Civil War America, however, it was impossible not to have an opinion of him. Van Buren was central to the creation of America's political parties, and to the largest crisis of his time, slavery. The above quote is from Davy Crockett, one of many Americans trying to understand the Red Fox of Kinderhook.