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James Buchanan (U.S. president)
James Buchanan (b. April 23, 1791, in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania) was the 15th President of the United States. He served from 1857 to 1861 and died on June 1, 1868, at the age of 77.
Buchanan was a member of the Democratic Party. His vice president was John C. Breckinridge.
Prior to serving as president, Buchanan served as ambassador to England under President Franklin Pierce (D), ambassador to Russia under President Andrew Jackson (D), U.S. secretary of state under President James Polk (D), and as a member of Congress from Pennsylvania. Before entering politics, he was a lawyer and served in the military during the War of 1812.
Biography
Timeline of life events
Below is an abbreviated outline of Buchanan's professional and political career:[1]
- 1791: Born in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania
- 1809: Graduated from Dickinson College
- 1812: Became a lawyer and served in the military during the War of 1812
- 1814: Elected to the Pennsylvania state House as a member of the Federalist Party
- 1821-1831: Represented a Pennsylvania district in the U.S. House as a Republican-Federalist
- 1824: Joined the Democratic Party after the election of Andrew Jackson as president
- 1832: Appointed as ambassador to Russia by President Andrew Jackson (D)
- 1835-1845: Represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat
- 1845: Appointed as U.S. secretary of state by President James Polk (D)
- 1852: Defeated by Franklin Pierce (D) in a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination
- 1853: Appointed as ambassador to England by President Franklin Pierce (D)
- 1856: Elected president of the United States
- 1860: Abraham Lincoln (R) was elected to replace Buchanan, who did not seek re-election
- 1868: Died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Before the presidency
Buchanan was born in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, in 1791 to James Sr. and Elizabeth Buchanan. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1809 and was admitted into the Pennsylvania bar in 1812. He joined the military during the War of 1812 and participated in the defense of the city of Baltimore, Maryland.
In 1814, Buchanan was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as a member of the Federalist Party. In 1820, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican-Federalist. He changed his party affiliation to Democratic following the dissolution of the Federalist Party. In 1832, President Andrew Jackson (D) appointed Buchanan to be the ambassador to Russia. He returned to the United States in 1834 and was elected to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate. He served in the Senate until 1845, when he was appointed to be the U.S. secretary of state by President James Polk (D). In 1852, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination, losing out to Franklin Pierce (D). Pierce was elected president and appointed Buchanan to be the ambassador to England in 1853.[1]
Buchanan was elected president in 1856, defeating John C. Frémont of the newly-formed Republican Party. He received 174 electoral votes to Frémont's 114. Former President Millard Fillmore ran as the candidate for the American Party and won eight electoral votes. Most of Buchanan's support was concentrated in the southern and mid-Atlantic states.[2]
Presidency
The major events that defined Buchanan's presidency were those that helped bring about the U.S. Civil War. These included the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Scott v. Sandford that African-American slaves were not U.S. citizens, abolitionist John Brown's attempted slave uprising in Harpers Ferry, and the continuation of pro-slavery vs. anti-slavery violence in the Kansas Territory that broke out in 1854. The country experienced an economic downturn during the Panic of 1857.[3]
Major legislation signed by Buchanan included the Morrill Tariff of 1861 and the Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860.[4][5]
Buchanan did not seek re-election in 1860. The Democratic Party split regionally, with Vice President John C. Breckinridge running as the Southern Democratic candidate and U.S. Sen. Stephen Douglas of Illinois running as the Northern Democratic candidate. Republican Abraham Lincoln and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell also ran. Lincoln, who ran on an anti-slavery platform, was elected with a majority of electoral votes but not a majority of the popular vote. His election led seven southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas) to secede from the Union and started the Civil War.[6]
Post-presidency
Buchanan retired to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, after leaving office in 1861. Before dying in 1868, he wrote a memoir that said Republicans and abolitionists were responsible for the Civil War.[1]
Personal
As of 2018, Buchanan was the only president in U.S. history to remain unmarried throughout his life. His niece, Harriet Lane, acted as his first lady.[1]
Elections
In 1856, Buchanan defeated John C. Frémont (R) in the general election for the United States presidency.
| U.S. presidential election, 1856 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic |  James Buchanan/John C. Breckinridge |
45.4% | 1,838,169 | 174 | |
| Republican | John C. Frémont/William L. Dayton | 33.1% | 1,341,264 | 114 | |
| American | Millard Fillmore/Andrew Jackson Donelson | 21.5% | 873,000 | 8 | |
| Total Votes | 4,052,433 | 296 | |||
| Election results via: 1856 official election results | |||||
State of the Union addresses
Every year in office, the president of the United States addresses Congress on the present state of affairs as well as the administration's goals for the coming year.[7] Following are transcripts from Buchanan's State of the Union addresses.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Biography, "James Buchanan Biography," accessed May 24, 2018
- ↑ 270toWin, "1856 Presidential Election," accessed May 24, 2018
- ↑ Presidential Power, "James Buchanan Timeline," accessed May 24, 2018
- ↑ Mises, "Lincoln's Tariff War," May 6, 2002
- ↑ Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum, "Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860," accessed May 24, 2018
- ↑ 270toWin, "1860 Presidential Election," accessed May 24, 2018
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," January 24, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Franklin Pierce (D) |
President of the United States 1857-1861 |
Succeeded by Abraham Lincoln (R) |
| |||||||
