Amanda+S.+-+JB+-+SP10

//Date of Birth: April 23, 1791 | Date of Death: June 1, 1868// //Term of Office: 1857-1861// //Vice President: John C. Breckinridge// //Political Party: Democrat//
 * -James Buchanan- **

To the public and common people of the nation, James Buchanan is most popularly defined as the one president who never married. What most politicians remember, and anyone taking stock of history, is that Buchanan is the man who put the country into danger in the late 1850's by splitting the Democratic party, shaking the entire nation and ruining the only national party left at that time. With only his former political experience (elected five times for the House of Representatives) and knack for being talented and honest, James Buchanan was not the right man needed at this time in history, therefore deserving the grade of a D+.

One of Buchanan's most prominent goals of his presidency was to maintain and uphold the Constitution. This appears evident with the fact that when the Southerners declared their secession of the country, Buchanan almost let it slide. He had no power according to the Constitution to prevent anyone from seceding, although he felt it was wrong doing so. Continuing with the idea of slavery, another goal was to achieve popular sovereignty. Buchanan whole-heartedly supported this idea, as he did support the South, hence his belief that each territory and state should decide whether to be a free or slave state, and not to be decided by the national government.

Although the majority of the Senate and House was democratic, James Buchanan and Congress had quite a few disagreements during his presidency. The first major conflict was over Kansas and its state of being. Buchanan, being a Southerner at heart, believed it best that Kansas remain a slave state, a notion supported by his backing of the Lecompton Compromise, a deal that would decide whether the constitution would include or not include slavery. However, Stephen Douglas, a Senator at the time, opposed Buchanan and campaigned against the compromise. With discrepancies among the Democrats and Republicans in Congress, a new vote was taken, leaving Kansas as a free state. From this point on, Congress and Buchanan never quite saw eye-to-eye, which quickly led to the divide of Buchanan's own political party.

With being graded so lowly, it clearly gives the idea that Buchanan hadn't really a "fine moment" during his term. However, it is said that he was an intelligent man, very honest and truthful, and believed in fair balances and compromises. It could be said that, had Buchanan been elected at another time, he would have done a fine job in leading this country. He even said this himself, stating, "I had hoped for the nomination in 1844, again in 1848, and even in 1852, but now I would hesitate to take it. Before many years the abolitionists will bring war upon this land. It may come during the next presidential term." Even Buchanan himself knew that this was not a good time to take office, but his most positive effort would have to be his perseverance through the huge mess that would inevitably lead to a Civil War.

There are many lows of Buchanan's term, as reflected upon his grade, but the most negative may not be his support of popular sovereignty, the Lecompton Compromise, or the entire Dred Scott ordeal, but his reasons for carrying out (or lack thereof) such ideas. Buchanan was a man born in the North but who almost 100% supported the South. His saddling of this thin line often disrupted both sides, and was one of the motives for his own party to split while in control- his constant swaying and uncertainty of who to stand for and what to say brought about sectionalism once again. Many of his arguments that supported the South were not favored among the North, which he seemingly appeared to pay no attention to.

Because he was faced with so many troubles, it's hard to determine a lasting impression or influence Buchanan had on the country. However, with a deeper look into this presidency, it could be said that his influence on Americans is to not make rash decisions. Buchanan was intelligent, despite opposing remarks, and he never jumped to a conclusion without looking at all sides. After looking at the positive and negative effects of popular sovereignty, he latched onto the idea because he thought it was the best move possible, to let the people vote for slavery themselves, and because he believed he'd have the support of many. Sometimes taking a step back and viewing big decisions from a distance and taking time to decide is better than making a decision on the spot.

Clearly, it is obvious to formulate that the country was worse off after Buchanan's term, whose problems were all dumped onto Lincoln's shoulders to sort out and fix. Many people, both congressmen and common people alike, will say that Buchanan was one of the leading causes for the nation's Civil War, ultimately because of his failure to fix the slavery problems while they started. Not only did Buchanan leave the nation in the midst of a divide/conflict, they were also facing economic issues and were quickly put into a financial crisis and panic. These reasons, along with many other details, support James Buchanan's rating of a D+ as President.

"15. James Buchanan 1857-1861." __The White House.__ 17 March 2010. [|http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesbuchanan] Bailey, Thomas A., Lizabeth Cohen, and David M. Kennedy. __The American Pageant.__ Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Cooper, William. "James Buchanan (1791-1868)." __Miller Center of Public Affairs.__ 2010. 17 March 2010. []
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