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=JAMES BUCHANAN=

April 23, 1791 - June 1, 1868

 * **Political party:** Democratic
 * **Term served:** 1857 – 1861
 * **Vice President:** John C. Breckinridge

James Buchanan deserves a **F** for the success of his presidency. He was nominated as the candidate for the Democratic party. Although he didn't even want to run in the election, he accepted the nomination. He surprisingly won the election and lead the worst presidency in history. He did not want to deal with the issues occurring while he was in office. Buchanan attempted to keep peace between the North and South, but failed miserably when the Civil War broke out in 1861.

The greatest goal that James Buchanan had while president was to restore unity within the Democratic party and within the country. He quickly threw this idea out the window when the Dred Scott Case was given to him. The Dred Scott Case stated that Congress had no constitutional power to get rid of slavery in the territories. This decision angered many Northerners, but pleased the Southerners. Buchanan said that it was illegal for states to secede, but that it was also illegal to go to war to stop it. He did not want to act upon this major decision, so he handed it down to the Supreme Court. Abraham Lincoln denounced him as an accomplice of slave owners, which would potentially try to control the federal government and nationalize slavery.

President Buchanan did not have a very strong relationship with Congress. They often disagreed on issues since most of the congressional assembly was of the Republican party. Kansas wanted to be admitted as a slave state. Buchanan did not have a say in the Lecompton Constitution in Kansas, he again left the decision up to Congress. Northerners did not like the Lecompton government because it was controlled by slaveholders who had established laws that decreased the rights of non-slaveholders. Many voters in Kansas rejected the Lecompton Constitution but Buchanan some how passed the bill through the House. Buchanan's bill was blocked in the Senate by Stephen A. Douglas, a Northerner. Congress decided to re-vote on the Lecompton Constitution. This angered Southerners. Buchanan and Douglas fought for control of the Democratic party. Douglas won, leaving Buchanan with no control over the party whatsoever.

James Buchanan left many problems for the next president, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln had to correct everything Buchanan did that caused controversy in the states. This eventually lead to a Civil War between the North and South. Lincoln definitely out did Buchanan during his presidency. Buchanan just let major decisions causally slide by, not caring too much about the outcome.

Its hard to decipher if the United States was better off before or after Buchanan served his presidential term. I would have to say it was better off before he was elected to office. Buchanan didn't do much of anything during his term, other than let the Supreme Court make all of the decisions. Although, toward the end of his presidency, the country became very uneasy and tesions between the North and South grew. This caused a Civil War, which carried over to Lincoln's first term.

__Bibliography__ "Biography of James Buchanan." __Welcome to the White House__. 22 Oct. 2009 . "James Buchanan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." __Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia__. 22 Oct. 2009 . "James Buchanan .net - Biography, Photos, Videos, & Quotes." __James Buchanan .net - Biography, Photos, Videos, & Quotes__. 22 Oct. 2009 