Origins
James Buchanan was born on April 23, 1791, in a log cabin near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, the second of eleven children in a prosperous Scots-Irish family. His father, James Buchanan Sr., had emigrated from Ireland and established himself as a successful merchant and farmer. The younger Buchanan received an education befitting his family’s rising status, attending the Old Stone Academy before enrolling at Dickinson College, from which he graduated in 1809. He subsequently studied law in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, gaining admission to the bar in 1812. His legal practice flourished, making him one of the wealthiest attorneys in the state. A personal tragedy marked his early adulthood: his engagement to Ann Coleman ended abruptly in 1819 when she broke off the relationship and died shortly thereafter under mysterious circumstances, possibly by suicide. Buchanan never married, remaining the only bachelor president in American history.
Buchanan’s political career spanned four decades and encompassed service in virtually every branch of government. He served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1814 to 1816, then won election to the United States House of Representatives, where he served five terms as a Federalist before transitioning to the Democratic Party. President Andrew Jackson appointed him minister to Russia in 1832, and he later represented Pennsylvania in the Senate from 1834 to 1845. Under President James K. Polk, Buchanan served as Secretary of State, overseeing the resolution of the Oregon boundary dispute with Britain. President Franklin Pierce appointed him minister to Great Britain in 1853, a posting that conveniently removed him from domestic controversies over slavery. This absence proved politically advantageous; the Democratic Party nominated him for president in 1856, and he defeated Republican John C. Frémont and Know-Nothing candidate Millard Fillmore in a sectionally divided contest.
Presidency
Buchanan’s domestic presidency was dominated entirely by the slavery crisis. He entered office just two days before the Supreme Court issued the Dred Scott decision, which he had privately encouraged and publicly endorsed, believing it would settle the territorial question permanently. Instead, the ruling inflamed sectional tensions. The administration became embroiled in the Kansas controversy, as Buchanan supported the proslavery Lecomte Constitution despite evidence that it did not represent the will of Kansas settlers, alienating northern Democrats including Senator Stephen A. Douglas. The Panic of 1857 further undermined his administration, though economic recovery had begun by 1859. Following John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in October 1859, sectional hostility intensified. When Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 election, southern states began seceding. Buchanan denounced secession as illegal but maintained that the federal government lacked constitutional authority to prevent it, a position that satisfied neither section and earned lasting condemnation.
In foreign affairs, Buchanan pursued an expansionist agenda with limited success. He sought to acquire Cuba from Spain, continuing efforts that dated to his participation in drafting the controversial Ostend Manifesto in 1854, but congressional opposition and Spanish resistance thwarted these ambitions. His administration did negotiate treaties with China and Japan that expanded American commercial access to Asia. Buchanan dispatched military expeditions to Paraguay and deployed forces to Utah during the so-called Mormon War of 1857-1858, ultimately resolving the latter through negotiation. He also clashed with Britain over Central American influence, though tensions remained manageable.
Historical Significance
Buchanan bequeathed to his successor a nation in dissolution. By March 1861, seven states had seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. Federal property across the South had been seized, and the incoming Lincoln administration faced immediate decisions about Fort Sumter and other remaining installations. Buchanan’s refusal to challenge secession militarily, combined with his failure to reinforce federal positions adequately, left the new president with severely constrained options. The outgoing president retired to his Pennsylvania estate, Wheatland, convinced that history would vindicate his constitutional scruples.
Historians have rendered harsh judgments on the Buchanan presidency. Scholarly rankings consistently place him among the least effective presidents, with many surveys positioning him last. Critics emphasize his proslavery sympathies, his mishandling of Kansas, and his paralysis during the secession crisis. Some scholars have offered modest defenses, noting the genuine constitutional ambiguities he faced and the impossible political circumstances of the late 1850s. Nevertheless, the consensus holds that Buchanan’s rigid legalism, combined with his inability to recognize slavery’s moral dimensions, contributed materially to the coming of civil war. He died on June 1, 1868, maintaining to the end that posterity would judge him fairly.
Key Developments
- April 23, 1791: Born near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
- 1809: Graduated from Dickinson College
- 1820: Elected to U.S. House of Representatives as a Federalist
- 1834: Began service in U.S. Senate representing Pennsylvania
- 1845-1849: Served as Secretary of State under President Polk
- 1853-1856: Served as minister to Great Britain under President Pierce
- November 4, 1856: Elected fifteenth president, defeating Frémont and Fillmore
- March 6, 1857: Supreme Court issued Dred Scott v. Sandford decision
- 1857-1858: Kansas controversy over Lecomte Constitution divided Democratic Party
- October 1859: John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry intensified sectional crisis
- December 1860-February 1861: Seven southern states seceded following Lincoln’s election
- March 4, 1861: Left office; retired to Wheatland estate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- June 1, 1868: Died at Wheatland, age seventy-seven