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James Buchanan (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) Democratic Party One Term: March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861 Vice President: John C. Breckinridge

James Buchanan was straight forward a horrible president. He made a joke of the presidential office. His support of the Lecompton Constitution and the Panic of 1857 pained his administration. His “most positive action” of hesitating when the South seceded only indirectly helped the US and displayed the weakness of his personality. He was one of the worst presidents fortunately followed by the best. His administration earns a solid F.

Buchanan didn’t have many goals entering office, big surprise. His main objective was to prevent secession. To accomplish this was his second goal, to push through the Lecompton Constitution. The Lecompton Constitution was a misleading document devised by proslaveryites that made it so the people of Kansas couldn’t vote on the constitution itself, but only whether the constitution came with or without slavery. A catch however was that even if slavery was voted down, slave owners would be protected and allowed to keep all previous slaves. Abolitionists were furious and boycotted the voting booths. A compromise arose that submitted the entire constitution to a vote. It was swiftly defeated and Kansas didn’t become a state until after the South seceded and the Civil War began. Therefore, James Buchanan failed miserably at both of his goals.

Not much congressional activity occurred during Buchanan’s presidency. The most headline grabbing was the Lecompton Constitution. After Buchanan’s strong support it was completely shot down by Congress. The only other significant bill was a homestead act that would have arranged land to be sold at $.25 an acre. As Buchanan was a Democrat and strong supporter of the South, he fell in with the accusations of the planter aristocrats that the bill would only take up vital farmland from the territories. Thus he firmly vetoed the bill.

The best action of Buchanan’s administration was actually unintended and helped the Union in a roundabout way. His insecurity and indecision of how to handle the South secession delayed Northern action until Lincoln could become president and take the necessary control of the situation. Buchanan was laughable is his belief that the South was unlawful in seceding but that the Union wasn’t allowed to stop them from secession. His ignorance of how to act gave the Union the advantage of better leadership when the Civil War began.

Buchanan’s worst decision was his support of the Lecompton Constitution. It supported slavery and was surrounded by heated controversy and fraud. It was truly undemocratic and was against American principles. It did much to diminish his presidency and in fact divided his party to the point that it was incapable of defeating the Republicans in the next election. Also, when the Panic of 1857 hit, Buchanan took a minimist approach and practically did nothing to tide the depression. His reaction received mixed criticism.

President Buchanan had virtually no effect on future administrations. As soon as Lincoln took office, he took the Union by the reigns and went head to head with the Confederacy. The idea of being shy and hesitant as a president is generally considered a handicap. In addition, his lack of opposition to slavery was immediately reversed by Lincoln and has since been extinct. If anything, Buchanan was an example of how not to be a president.

America was far worse after Buchanan was president. It had been through an economic crisis and was at the beginning of a whole other crisis, the Civil War. He had no positive impact on the U.S. and failed to set any precedents. He is consistently ranked as one of the worst presidents and is deservedly so. James Buchanan earned an F.

 Bibliography:  1. "James Buchanan." __Tulane University__. 22 Oct. 2009 . 2. "James Buchanan - MSN Encarta." __MSN Encarta : Online Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Atlas, and Homework__. 22 Oct. 2009 . 3. [] 4. DeGregorio, William A. __Complete book of U.S. presidents__. Fort Lee, N.J: Barricade Books, 2005.