Happy Birthday James Buchanan
On April 23, 1791 (222 years ago today) James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States, was born in a log cabin in Cove Gap in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. He is the only president from Pennsylvania and the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor. Many speculate, from his close friendship with his "room-mate" Senator Rufus King of Alabama, that he may have been the first gay president, but there is too little evidence to reach a conclusion about this.
Buchanan represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the Senate. He served as Minister (or what we would call Ambassador) to Russia under President Andrew Jackson. He was also Secretary of State under President James K. Polk. After he turned down an offer for an appointment to the Supreme Court, President Franklin Pierce appointed him minister to the Court of St. James' in London, where he managed to keep his head down while the whole Kansas-Nebraska controversy was going on.
Buchanan was nominated as the Democratic Party's candidate for President in the 1856 election. Throughout most of Franklin Pierce's term he was stationed in London and therefore was not caught up in the crossfire of sectional politics that dominated the country. Buchanan was viewed by many as a compromise between the two sides of the slavery question. His subsequent election victory took place in a three-man race with John C. Frémont (the first Republican Party nominee for President) and Millard Fillmore (running for the "Know-Nothing" Party). As President, Buchanan was often called a "doughface", (a Northerner with Southern sympathies). He battled with Stephen A. Douglas for the control of the Democratic Party. Buchanan's efforts to maintain peace between the North and the South alienated both sides, and the Southern states declared their secession in the early stages of what would become the Civil War. Buchanan's view of record was that secession was illegal, but that going to war to stop it was also illegal. Buchanan, first and foremost an attorney, was noted for his mantra, "I acknowledge no master but the law."
When Buchanan left office, popular opinion had turned against him, and the Democratic Party had split in two. Buchanan had once believed that his presidency that would rank in history with that of George Washington. However, his inability to impose peace on sharply divided partisans on the brink of the Civil War has led to his consistent ranking by historians as one of the worst Presidents. Historians in both 2006 and 2009 voted his failure to deal with secession the worst presidential mistake ever made.
Buchanan spent most of his remaining years defending himself from public blame for the Civil War, which was even referred to by some as "Buchanan's War." He was publicly vilified by some and the Senate proposed a resolution of condemnation against him. (It failed). Newspapers accused him of colluding with the Confederacy. His former cabinet members, five of whom had been given jobs in the Lincoln administration, refused to defend Buchanan publicly.
Buchanan began defending himself in October, 1862, in an exchange of letters between himself and Winfield Scott that was published in the National Intelligencer newspaper. He published his memoir in 1866 entitled Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of Rebellion (reviewed here).
Buchanan caught a cold in May 1868, which quickly worsened due to his advanced age. He died on June 1, 1868, from respiratory failure at the age of 77 at his home at Wheatland and was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster.
In keeping with this month's theme, James Buchanan is played by actor James Handy in the movie Deterrence, and by Peter Carlisle in the TV miniseries Edward the King.
Buchanan represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the Senate. He served as Minister (or what we would call Ambassador) to Russia under President Andrew Jackson. He was also Secretary of State under President James K. Polk. After he turned down an offer for an appointment to the Supreme Court, President Franklin Pierce appointed him minister to the Court of St. James' in London, where he managed to keep his head down while the whole Kansas-Nebraska controversy was going on.
Buchanan was nominated as the Democratic Party's candidate for President in the 1856 election. Throughout most of Franklin Pierce's term he was stationed in London and therefore was not caught up in the crossfire of sectional politics that dominated the country. Buchanan was viewed by many as a compromise between the two sides of the slavery question. His subsequent election victory took place in a three-man race with John C. Frémont (the first Republican Party nominee for President) and Millard Fillmore (running for the "Know-Nothing" Party). As President, Buchanan was often called a "doughface", (a Northerner with Southern sympathies). He battled with Stephen A. Douglas for the control of the Democratic Party. Buchanan's efforts to maintain peace between the North and the South alienated both sides, and the Southern states declared their secession in the early stages of what would become the Civil War. Buchanan's view of record was that secession was illegal, but that going to war to stop it was also illegal. Buchanan, first and foremost an attorney, was noted for his mantra, "I acknowledge no master but the law."
When Buchanan left office, popular opinion had turned against him, and the Democratic Party had split in two. Buchanan had once believed that his presidency that would rank in history with that of George Washington. However, his inability to impose peace on sharply divided partisans on the brink of the Civil War has led to his consistent ranking by historians as one of the worst Presidents. Historians in both 2006 and 2009 voted his failure to deal with secession the worst presidential mistake ever made.
Buchanan spent most of his remaining years defending himself from public blame for the Civil War, which was even referred to by some as "Buchanan's War." He was publicly vilified by some and the Senate proposed a resolution of condemnation against him. (It failed). Newspapers accused him of colluding with the Confederacy. His former cabinet members, five of whom had been given jobs in the Lincoln administration, refused to defend Buchanan publicly.
Buchanan began defending himself in October, 1862, in an exchange of letters between himself and Winfield Scott that was published in the National Intelligencer newspaper. He published his memoir in 1866 entitled Mr. Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of Rebellion (reviewed here).
Buchanan caught a cold in May 1868, which quickly worsened due to his advanced age. He died on June 1, 1868, from respiratory failure at the age of 77 at his home at Wheatland and was interred in Woodward Hill Cemetery in Lancaster.
In keeping with this month's theme, James Buchanan is played by actor James Handy in the movie Deterrence, and by Peter Carlisle in the TV miniseries Edward the King.