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James Buchanan Born: April 23, 1791 in Cove Gap, PA Died: June 1, 1868 in Lancaster, PA Political Party: Democrat Term of Office: 1857-186 Vice President: John C. Breckenridge (1857-1861)

Were James Buchanon to be graded on his term as president, he would receive the grade of an F. This is because he did almost nothing to extend the political or economic successes of the United States. Many of Buchanon's actions were not liked by the American people, including the endorsement of the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution. President James Buchanon undoubtedly deserves an F on his presidency.

One goal of President Buchanon was to allow states to decide whether or not it would be a slave state. He did not want the responsibility of choosing slave or not for new states. This shows he was not a confident or capable president. He did, however, succeed in not having to make decisions pertaining to slavery as president. Buchanon made almost no executive decisions, though his presidency was riddled with problems facing the union. One goal Buchanan did not achieve was to protect the ideals and foundation of the Constitution. By dividing the nation and the democratic party, President Buchanon did not achieve this goal, as well as let the nation down. This seperation of the country would later prove to be one of the turning points towards civil war in the states.

President James Buchanon's relationship with Congress was very poor. A perfect example of this is the Cuba incident. President Buchanon wanted to buy Cuba from Spain for 30 million dollars, but Congress would not approve the purchase. Without Congress and the President on the same page for issues like these it becomes very difficult to run this country. This shows in Buchanon's tenure as president. The poor relationship between Buchanan and Congress is also shown through the abundance of vetoes made by Buchanon. The president shot down countless republican bills proposed and passed by Congress. One example is the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act gave 160 acres of public land to each settler after a period of five years without any cost to the settler. Declaring this an unfair advantage and benefit to new settlers, Buchanon rejected this bill. President's unwillingness to cooperate with the Legislative Branch was the root cause of the poor relationship between the two parties, and definitely had a negative impact on the overall success of his presidency.

One good impact President Buchanon had on the country was hardly an impact at all. By not completely allowing the civil war to break out during his presidency, Buchanon showed that he had at least some competence at presiding over this great union. A general peace-maker, though, he was not. During his "lame duck" period after Lincoln was elected, he did almost nothing to prevent the Southern states from secceding. Also, he allowed a small scale civil war to ensue in Kansas.

The worst decision made by President Buchanon was his support of the Lecompton Constitution. This article allowed states to vote on being slave or not slave supporting. If they did, however, vote agaisnt slavery, the owners of slaves already residing in the state could maintain possesion of their slaves. This wildly pro-slave idea infuriated the Northern democrats. Supported by Senator Douglas, the northen democrats drew a definitive line between themselves and the Southern democrats. "Douglas Democrats", as they called themselves, would later prove to be a major party responsible for the start of the civil war.

Buchanan's actions during his tenure as president negatively influenced the lives of people in future generations in the US. His failure to resolve or prolongue the escalation of the slavery issue proved to fuel the fire and ultimately cause the civil war. the country was literally in two by the end of his term. This democratic failure caused a long line of republican presidents to ensue. Therefore, President greatly affected future generations of Americans, though doing so in a negative light.

In conclusion, James Buchanon was a total and complete failure as a president. He seldom, if ever, aided the union in substantial ways. He escalted rather than calmed the issue of slavery amongst the states, and he openly supported pro-slavery legislature. President James Buchanon certainly deserved the grade on an F on his tenure as President of the United States

Bibliography:

//American President: An Online Reference Resource//. N.p., 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <[]>.

Haysville Community Library. N.p., 23 Apr. 2009. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <[]>.

DeGregorio, William A., and Sandra Lee. Stuart. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade, 2009. Print.