Early life and education

James Buchanan was born on April 23, 1791, near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. His father, a Scots-Irish immigrant, was a successful storekeeper and landowner. His mother, also Scots-Irish, instilled in James a love for books.

Buchanan attended school in Mercersburg and in 1809 graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He then studied law in Lancaster for three years. After becoming a lawyer in 1812, he soon established a successful practice.

Political life

Buchanan emerged as a successful speaker in his college days. This gift led him to enter politics after two years of practicing law. In 1814 he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

During his service in the state capital Buchanan became engaged to Anne Coleman. The engagement was broken by a quarrel, however, and Coleman died soon after. Buchanan never married, making him the only bachelor president.

In 1820 Buchanan was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Here he served for ten years. In the early 1830s he served as minister to Russia. In 1834 he was elected to the United States Senate from Pennsylvania. He served until 1845, when he resigned to become secretary of state under President James K. Polk. In that post, Buchanan presided over the annexation of Texas. He also helped settle a dispute with Britain over the boundary between Canada and the Oregon Territory.

Presidential ambitions

Buchanan made two unsuccessful attempts to run for president in the 1840s. In 1852 he lost the Democratic primary to Franklin Pierce. He supported Pierce in the general campaign, however, and was named minister to Great Britain after Pierce won the election.

While in Europe Buchanan played a major role in drafting the Ostend Manifesto. The report recommended that the United States take Cuba from Spain, by force if necessary. This move increased Buchanan's popularity at home because the nation was eager to acquire more territory. His service abroad added to his political standing also because it separated him from domestic troubles.

Nomination and election

In 1856 the Democratic party nominated Buchanan for president and John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky for vice-president. “Buck and Breck,” as they were popularly called, won the election with a total of 174 electoral votes. The Republican candidate, John Charles Frémont, received 114 electoral votes. With the victory, Buchanan became the nation's 15th president.

Presidency

On a social level, Buchanan's administration was a great success. His orphaned niece, Harriet Lane, acted as his hostess and entertained brilliantly. In foreign affairs, too, the administration was received well. In domestic affairs, however, the president stumbled over the question of slavery. The split between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North steadily widened. Several Southern states threatened to withdraw from the Union.

Buchanan disapproved of slavery, but he was more concerned with holding the country together. He believed the United States might avoid a civil war if Northerners stopped their protests against slavery and the government enforced laws to protect slave owners.

A bitter struggle over the expansion of slavery was already underway in the territory of Kansas, however. Pro-slavery advocates wanted Kansas to enter the Union as a slave state, but opponents of slavery tried to prevent that from happening. Buchanan attempted to persuade Kansas voters to accept the unpopular Lecompton Constitution, which would have permitted slavery there, but he was unsuccessful. Kansas ultimately entered the Union as a slave state in 1861.

In 1860 the Democratic Party split into northern and southern factions. Neither of the groups would accept Buchanan as its presidential nominee. The split paved the way for the election of the antislavery Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln. As Buchanan's term was ending, seven slave states of the Deep South seceded from the Union. Buchanan opposed this action but was unable to prevent it. The result was the American Civil War, which began during Lincoln's administration.

Retirement

Buchanan retired to Wheatland, his home near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in March 1861. His reputation suffered greatly during his retirement years. He came under attack from critics in both the North and South for his compromise tactics. Buchanan strongly defended his presidency until his death, on June 1, 1868. He was buried in Lancaster.