Six Presidents and the Civil War...

James Buchanan was part of Polk's cabinet... to Polk's chagrin some say... He wanted to limit the war's aim but later wanted more of Mexico's territory ...

On Oregon, Buchanan picks the 49th Parallel, while Polk wanted a bigger slice of Canada. Polk relented...

In 1845 President James K. Polk tapped Buchanan as his secretary of state, although the decision had more to do with domestic politics than Buchanan’s foreign policy experience. Determined to lower the tariff, the Jacksonian president was eager to bolster his support in Pennsylvania, a state that favored protective duties for manufacturing and mining interests. The appointment caused friction with Vice-President Dallas, who was then locked in a struggle with Buchanan for control of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania.

The appointment was one that Polk himself would have reason to regret. The president relied heavily on his cabinet members, meeting with them twice a week. It is clear from Polk’s diary, a meticulous record of these proceedings, that the president soon came to distrust his secretary of state’s counsel, convinced that Buchanan was tailoring his advice so as not to compromise his chances for a presidential bid in the next election. At the outset of the conflict with Mexico, Buchanan opposed the president’s determination to make the acquisition of Mexican territory a war aim. In a cabinet meeting on May 13 1846, two days after the declaration of war, Buchanan suggested that the administration issue a formal statement forswearing any territory from Mexico. European powers, he reasoned—-specifically Great Britain and France--might join with Mexico if they believed the war was being waged to obtain California. The expansionist Polk refused to consider the proposal, insisting that the United States had a right to demand a territorial indemnity from Mexico to defray the costs of waging war. Eighteen months later, with U.S. troops having seized the capital of Mexico, some political leaders and pundits called for an expansionist program far greater than anything Polk had ever envisioned--the acquisition of "All Mexico." Polk noted with some irritation that as the movement to annex Mexico gained popularity in Democratic circles, Buchanan quickly abandoned his territorial concerns, and by war’s end could be found among the most zealous champions of American expansionism.

Polk expressed similar exasperation with Buchanan’s shifting views on the Oregon question. In contrast to the chief executive’s position that the United States had a legitimate claim to the entire Northwest territory, Buchanan supported a compromise settlement with Great Britain, which would divide the territory along the 49th parallel (a position supported by every president since Monroe). As the war of words between the two countries escalated throughout the spring and summer of 1845, Buchanan continued to press for a compromise settlement, although Polk remained firm in his "all or nothing approach" until the end of February 1846, when the administration learned that a British naval force was being assembled to send to Canada. Unwilling to confront Great Britain as a showdown with Mexico over the Texas question loomed, Polk agreed to refer the British compromise proposal to the Senate. Much to the president’s surprise-—and irritation--Buchanan now argued for a resolute stand on behalf of the "all Oregon" position, a move Polk suspected was designed to curry favor with western expansionists, a key political bloc should Buchanan become a candidate in 1848.

http://library.uta.edu/usmexicowar/item.php?bio_id=22

Here another take on Buchanan cabinet years... See where Buchanan now wanted more...

Both President Polk and Secretary Buchanan believed in Manifest Destiny and were strong proponents of U.S. westward
expansion.
Outgoing President Tyler successfully pushed for the Annexation of Texas by a congressional joint resolution just before leaving office, an effort supported by Buchanan. Annexation prompted the Mexican-American War and resulted in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty brought the United States significant territorial expansion, yet Buchanan opposed its outcome and believed that Baja and the northern provinces of Mexico should have been included.

https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/buchanan-james




 
Polk remained firm in his "all or nothing approach" until the end of February 1846, when the administration learned that a British naval force was being assembled to send to Canada. Unwilling to confront Great Britain as a showdown with Mexico over the Texas question loomed, Polk agreed to refer the British compromise proposal to the Senate. Much to the president’s surprise-—and irritation--Buchanan now argued for a resolute stand on behalf of the "all Oregon" position, a move Polk suspected was designed to curry favor with western expansionists, a key political bloc should Buchanan become a candidate in 1848.


"54 Forty or Fight!"
 
"54 Forty or Fight!"

Look what Polk gave up for Mexico territory... He did not want to fight two wars at once... Think if he could have pulled it off 54 or fight. I think if he would have had a second term. He may have had a war with the British,,,

5440map.jpg




300px-Oregoncountry.png



I can not find a reference to "54 or fight " on Wikipedia
 
I can not find a reference to "54 or fight " on Wikipedia

Wiki?? Bahh!!

A big issue of the day was Manifest Destiny or the belief that it was God's will that Americans would control the North American continent from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea. The Louisiana Purchase had just about doubled the size of the United States in 1803, and now the government was looking at Mexico-controlled Texas, the Oregon Territory, and California. Manifest Destiny received its name in a newspaper editorial in 1845, though the philosophy had been very much in motion A big issue of the day was Manifest Destiny or the belief that it was God's will that Americans would control the North American continent from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea. The Louisiana Purchase had just about doubled the size of the United States in 1803, and now the government was looking at Mexico-controlled Texas, the Oregon Territory, and California. Manifest Destiny received its name in a newspaper editorial in 1845, though the philosophy had been very much in motion throughout the 19th century.

The 1844 Democratic presidential candidate, James K. Polk, became a big promoter of Manifest Destiny as he ran on a platform of taking control over the entire Oregon Territory, as well as Texas and California.


He used the famous campaign slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!"—named after the line of latitude serving as the territory's northern boundary. Polk's plan was to claim the entire region and go to war over it with the British. The United States had fought them twice before in relatively recent memory.​

https://www.thoughtco.com/fifty-four-forty-or-fight-1435388
 

See, nothing on wiki... why?

He used the famous campaign slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!"—named after the line of latitude serving as the territory's northern boundary. Polk's plan was to claim the entire region and go to war over it with the British. The United States had fought them twice before in relatively recent memory.

If Polk had not promised one term, we may have had a war with the British in his second term if he had one....
 
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His increasingly abolitionist views and support for the Union led him to support Abraham Lincoln after the start of the American Civil War. Van Buren's health began to fail in 1861, and he died in July 1862 at age 79. He has been generally ranked as a below-average U.S. President.



Actually I believe that would be the general consensus on all those particular presidents.

To be fair, in peace time America of that era, Men of great intellect and ability, would have been suspect. 'A man on a white horse', was a very real fear at the time.
 
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