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James Buchanon Party: Democrat Lifespan: April 23, 1791- June 1, 1868 Term: March 4, 1857- March 3, 1861 Vice President: John Cabell Breckinridge

With the fear of the Civil War coming closer and closer, in 1857 the United States needed a strong, well put together president who would be able to control the upcoming conflicts and strengthen the nation. It was soon realized that James Buchanan was not the president for the job. Instead of dealing with the difficulties the nation was facing throughout his term, such as the huge issue of slavery, he took a passive approach to the job and thus the nation was thrown into the civil war. Despite himself being actually a very good politician, Buchanan was not the president that the country needed at that time period and deserves a grade of a "D".

Coming into his administration, Buchanan’s goals seemed reasonable. One of his most important dealt with the issue of slavery, where he said that he wanted slavery to be up to each individual state and territory. While this could have been an okay goal at an earlier time, the decision concerning slavery in a state or territory was surrounded by controversy and legislation that made it hard for states to decide for themselves. Thus, the aspiration wasn’t exactly successful. His other goal had to do with foreign policy, which surprisingly was well effective. With the United States still dealing with other nations in his term, he decided that he wanted to strengthen the influence of the U.S. in nations to its South and keep other nations out. He was able to do this when the British tried to push themselves onto Central America, but the U.S. navy headed them off. Still, his goals were few and far from effective in preventing the impending war.

Even though most of Buchanan’s Congress was Democratic, his relationship with them wasn’t admirable. In issues such as accepting Kansas as a slave state, slavery in general, and wanting to start a war with Mexico, Congress and Buchanan often butted heads. In one incidence, Buchanan wanted the Lecompton constitution to be passed, which would have made Kansas a slave state. After the first obvious rejection, Buchanan still fought for it so Congress had to issue a referendum. With Stephen Douglas fighting on the opposite end, the Lecompton constitution never ended up passing, and Kansas was admitted as a free state. It’s evident in this sense that Buchanan didn’t get what he wanted but Congress did, so the differences are highlighted. During his term, Buchanan also vetoed 7 bills, none of which were overruled.

It’s hard to pick out a positive point of Buchanan’s presidency because he essentially didn’t do much, but one of the more positive outcomes would have to be how he handled Britain using his foreign policy. Britain was looking to expand into Central America, but came into conflict with the United States. Using his foreign policy goal, Buchanan boldly and strictly sent a message to Britain stating to stay out of the territory. To reinforce his point, he sent naval forces to provide extra warning. In the end, Britain was successfully pushed out of Central America and backed down, showing the United States had used its authority well. In a case where Britain might have kept urging itself onto Central America, the United States could have been involved with a conflict that would have split the nation even further apart. Buchanan acted intelligently in this area by asserting the right amount of U.S. power. If only he could have been so bold in other issues.

By far, Buchanan’s most negative outcome had to be the handling of the seven southern states’ secession and Fort Sumter. When Lincoln was elected president in November, South Carolina stayed true to its warning and seceded from the Union. In its wake, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas followed suit and seceded as well. The nation looked to Buchanan, who was still in power, to deal with the problem. Unfortunately, he failed to take any action in preventing the secession because while he thought it was illegal, he also thought he and the federal government lacked any constitutional authority to stop the states. Therefore, this later promoted the conflict at Fort Sumter, where an unarmed merchant ship was attacked and Buchanan refused to take action in punishing the South. Some believe it was Fort Sumter that indicated the start of the Civil War, which makes perfect sense. If Buchanan had sent force or tried to stop the states from seceding, it most likely would have made it easier for Lincoln to step into presidency and solve the crisis at hand. In the end, however, he took the passive route and ended up throwing the nation into war.

As Buchanan went through his presidency, he probably didn’t realize how his passiveness would affect the future generations of presidents. In short term, he basically tossed Lincoln into a national crisis emerging into a war that split the entire country in two. Even though the country was already split, he could have taken more action and made the crisis easier for Lincoln to handle, maybe even being able to avoid the Civil War. Obviously, the effects of the Civil War lasted for a very long time, judging by the fight for black equality that was still happening in the 1950s. It’s safe to say Buchanan should take some of the blame for the Civil War and all it’s lasting effects, because he did nothing to prevent it from happening.

In conclusion, the United States would have definitely been better off without James Buchanan. During his presidency he failed to take charge of the country in a time where strong leadership was badly needed. His submissive qualities at Fort Sumter resulted in the start of the Civil War, which he tried to avoid but not very well. Of all Buchanan’s decisions, the one positive outcome involving Britain and foreign policy does not have the ability to make up for what he failed to do. So it’s only fair that James Buchanan deserves a "D" for his presidency.

Works Cited:

"American President: James Buchanan." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. . Bailey, Thomas A., Lizabeth Cohen, and Mel Piehl. //Brief American Pageant: A History of the Republic (Student Text)//. 6 Brief ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. Print. Degregorio, William A.. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition (Complete Book of Us Presidents)//. 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.