POTUS Buchanan, James

◀ 14th President

16th President ▶​

James Buchanan
15th President of the United States of America​

Born: April 23, 1791

Birthplace: Cove Gap near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania

Father: James Buchanan Sr. 1761 – 1821

(Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery, Lemasters, Pennsylvania)​

Mother: Elizabeth Speer 1767 – 1833

(Buried: Spring Grove Cemetery, Lemasters, Pennsylvania)​

Wife: None

Signature:

Education:

1809: Graduated from Dickinson College​

Occupation before President:

Attorney in Lancaster, Pennsylvania​

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Served with Dragoons in Baltimore, Maryland War of 1812​

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1815 – 1816: Pennsylvania State Representative​

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1821 – 1831: U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania​

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1828: Campaigner for Andrew Jackson for President Campaign

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1829 – 1831: Congressional Chairman of Judiciary Committee​

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1832 – 1833: United States Minister to Russia​

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1834 – 1845: United States Senator from Pennsylvania​

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1835 – 1841: Senate Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee​

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1836: Supporter of Martin Van Buren for President​

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1840: Campaigner for Martin Van Buren's reelection Campaign​

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1844: Unsuccessful Candidate for Democratic Nomination​

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1845 – 1849: United States Secretary of State​

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1848: Unsuccessful Candidate for Democratic Nomination​

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1852: Unsuccessful Candidate for Democratic Nomination​

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1853 – 1856: United States Minister to Great Britain​

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1857 – 1861: 15th President of the United States of America​

Civil War Role:

1860 – 1861: Took Constitutional Stand on Secession​

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1861: Dispatched the Star of the War to reinforce Fort Sumter​

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1861: Warned the South that Secession was unconstitutional​

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1861: Received a grand reception in Lancaster, Pennsylvania​

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1861 – 1865: Supporter of Union, and Lincoln Administration​

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1865: Supporter of Reconstruction policy of Andrew Johnson​

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Author of Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the eve of Rebellion​

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Member of Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College​

Died: June 1, 1868

Place of Death: Wheatland Estate, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Cause of Death: Pneumonia and inflammation of heart lining

Age at time of Death: 77 years old

Burial Place: Woodward Hill Cemetery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Tomb of James Buchanan in Lancaster, PA, LOC, 1909. ​

 

[USS ALASKA]

TEAM OF CONFEDERATES: THE POLITICAL INEPTITUDE OF JAMES BUCHANAN
Rick Allen
MASTER'S DEGREE
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
2017

ABSTRACT
This thesis argues that Pennsylvanian James Buchanan's political principles were formed early by classical republicanism as practiced in southern colonies/states during the pre-Revolutionary era and the early republic. An early and devoted admirer of South Carolina political theorists William Lowndes and John Calhoun, Buchanan developed a desire for harmony above all else, encouraging him throughout his entire political career to foster southern appeasement. When selecting his Cabinet in 1856-1857, he chose only men who agreed with him on all important issues, disdaining the advice and counsel of those who did not. While considered a master politician prior to his term, his actions during a critical time in the nation's history served to hasten the boiling sectional conflict. He followed the desires of the South in Kansas Territory despite all opposition from Free-Soilers and his own duly appointed Governor. He initiated a war with Brigham Young in Utah Territory. He pursued territorial expansion in the Caribbean to satisfy his Southern constituency. After the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860, his Cabinet disintegrated and his Attorney General Jeremiah S. Black stepped forward to strengthen Buchanan's resolve in maintaining the sanctity of the federal Union above all else. This thesis provides two important historiographical contributions. Historians have mostly focused on Buchanan's "dough-face" actions without examining the roots of the belief system fostering them. As Lincoln and Buchanan were the only two American presidents to face a crisis in which states actually seceded from the Union, we must examine how one man succeeded while another one failed. While Doris Kerns Goodwin produced a much-acclaimed work on Lincoln's relationship with his cabinet in Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, historians have not contrasted his approach to leadership within his Cabinet with that of his predecessor (Buchanan).

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