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James Buchanan April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868 Political Party – Democratic Party Term – March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861 (1 term) Vice President – John Cabell Breckinridge

__Thematic Context – American Identity__ Most Americans would describe the American identity with words like “equality” or “liberty.” During James Buchanan's presidency, several developments took place that made it clear that the federal government believed equality and liberty were only to be extended to whites, not blacks. The largest of these developments was the Dred Scott decision made by the Supreme Court. Radical actions made by abolitionists, such as those made by John Brown, also played a large role in establishing the American identity. The Dred Scott decision was announced by the Supreme Court only two days after Buchanan’s inauguration. The decision regarded a slave named Dred Scott who sued the court for his freedom after leaving his master, taking up residence on free soil, then returning to a slave state. The Court ruled that slaves were property of their masters, no matter where the slave was located. It also claimed that slaves and free blacks could never become citizens and that the federal government could not prohibit slavery in any territories or states. Northern abolitionists were outraged at this decision that contradicted the Declaration of Independence statement that “all men are created equal.” Many abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglas, were further encouraged by the Dred Scott decision to fight harder for blacks to be guaranteed the basic liberties that were essential to being American. Thus, the Dred Scott Decision had a large impact on American identity, while also affecting Buchanan’s presidency. Buchanan supported the decision, which further divided the Democratic Party between the proslavery advocates and the popular sovereignty advocates. The abolitionist movement also had a large impact on American identity. Some radical attempts by abolitionists to destroy slavery resulted in an increased sentiment in the public that human bondage was unquestionably immoral. The most radical of these attempts was made by John Brown in order to begin a slave rebellion. Accompanied by a number of followers, Brown seized a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. In his attempt to stop slavery, Brown killed seven people, one of whom was a free black. Brown was obviously guilty of murder and treason, and was hanged for his crimes. However, Brown’s actions shook the public, and he died a martyr to the abolitionist cause and more people were encouraged to continue fighting to secure blacks the freedoms that were guaranteed to whites.

__Thesis__ President James Buchanan was in office during an incredibly difficult time in American history; the long suppressed issue of slavery was rising faster and faster and threatened to break the Union apart. Strongly adhering to the principles of the Constitution, James Buchanan did nothing to preserve the Union, believing it was beyond the power of the federal government to interfere in the sectional issue of slavery. Due to the extreme issues the Union was facing, strong leadership was drastically needed. The indecisive President Buchanan did not provide this, and his decisions regarding Bleeding Kansas and South Carolina’s Ordinance of Secession encouraged the South to split from the North. Because James Buchanan lacked the abilities to quell sectional differences and preserve the Union which he truly loved, he deserves a D for his only term in office.

__Goals__ In his inaugural address, Buchanan repeatedly asserted the rights of the states and territories to decide the legality of slavery within their borders. This reflected his strong belief that the U.S. Constitution should be upheld, which was also the main goal he hoped to accomplish while in office. Overall, Buchanan was mostly successful in upholding the Constitution. As was stated in his inaugural address, Buchanan believed the Supreme Court would handle the issue of slavery in the territories and that the federal government had no power to intervene in the institution of slavery in Southern states. When South Carolina voted to secede from the Union in 1860, Buchanan took a strong stance in upholding the Constitution, believing that it was both unconstitutional for the states to leave the Union and for the United States federal government to force them to return. Even though this attitude did have negative consequences, Buchanan can be considered successful in upholding the Constitution. However, Buchanan did face an issue regarding the Constitution during the struggle in Kansas between those who opposed slavery and those who supported it. The Lecompton Constitution was drafted by the proslavery political advocates, and was not submitted to the people for a public vote. Rather, it was submitted to only be voted upon with or without slavery. Regardless of the public opinion, the Constitution would allow slavery to continue in the Kansas Territory. Due to a boycott from free soil supporters, the Lecompton Constitution was adopted and Kansa applied for statehood as a slave state. Buchanan believed that under the Constitution, he had an obligation to support Kansas’s decision. On the contrary, the Lecompton Constitution went against the idea of popular sovereignty as it was only voted upon by a minority of Kansans. Therefore, Buchanan was not bound by the Constitution to support the Lecompton Constitution. Thankfully, the House of Representatives decided that Kansas should vote again on its state constitution, and it was defeated. In the case of Kansas’s admission as a slave state, Buchanan was mistaken and failed to uphold the U.S. Constitution. The other goal Buchanan hoped to achieve was to preserve the Union, believing that the issues concerning slavery had been threatening to tear the nation apart on sectional lines. On this front, Buchanan failed entirely. He aligned himself strongly with the South in almost all of his decisions. This, combined with his non-interference policy, virtually encouraged sectional differences to expand to the point where a civil war seemed almost inevitable.

__Congress__ Both houses of Congress had a Democratic majority in the first two years of Buchanan’s presidency. However, in his third year, the quickly growing Republican Party managed to secure a majority in the House of Representatives and by the end of his fourth year, a majority in the Senate as well. Ordinarily, a president would benefit greatly from having a majority of his party represented in Congress, but this was not necessarily true during Buchanan’s presidency. Many of the issues the country was facing split the Democratic Party into strictly sectional factions. Therefore, Buchanan often faced a great deal of opposition from his own party, mainly from Senator Stephen A. Douglas. As more issues concerning slavery became prevalent, the Democratic Party became sharply divided between the North and South. Buchanan had large support from the South, and was influenced into encouraging Congress to continue to allow slavery in the South. On the other hand, Stephen A. Douglas believed in true popular sovereignty, allowing the people of the states to vote on slavery. This divide was evident in the Congressional debate over Kansas’s admission as a slave state. Buchanan believed that he should stand by Kansas’ decision in the Lecompton Constitution, while Douglas believed the constitution had been adopted under fraudulent means. Thus, Douglas defeated Buchanan’s hope that Kansas would be admitted as a slave state. Buchanan faced even more opposition in Congress as the Republican Party gained more power. He exercised several vetoes to kill Republican bills, and many of his foreign policy plans were defeated by the Republicans. Because there was so much opposition in the divided Congress towards Buchanan’s policies, it was difficult to pass effective legislature. Therefore, Buchanan did not have a very positive relationship with Congress.

__Positive Outcome__ While it is admirable that James Buchanan tried very hard to uphold the Constitution and hoped to preserve the Union, none of his decisions ended positively. Not only did his policies play a large role in causing the Civil War, but he also had other major failures. When the financial Panic of 1857 hit, Buchanan’s policy was reform, not relief. He also made a large mistake in calling for the War on the Mormons in Utah, and the affair was considered “Buchanan’s Blunder.” The war, which suffered few casualties, resulted in tensions between the Utah area and the federal government. Buchanan did manage to preserve the Union for the first years of presidency, though this was not because of Buchanan’s administration. His decisions actually led to the disruption of the Union, not to the preservation of it. Buchanan never made one definite decision that had a positive effect on America.

__Negative Outcome__ Buchanan’s way of dealing with “Bleeding Kansas” had the most negative impact on the country. Not only did it further divide the North and the South, but it also divided the Democratic Party. Those who had been living in Kansas previous to the Kansas-Nebraska Act mostly supported slavery, and the Southern states were under the belief that after the Kansas-Nebraska Act it would become a slave state. However, northern abolitionists took measures to insure that Free-Soilers entered the state and stalled the institution of slavery. The Civil War, in some ways, began in Kansas, where two separate governments were created. Tensions rose to the point of physical violence in 1856, and in 1857 it seemed as though the abolitionists would prevail. However, the proslavery government created the Lecompton Constitution, which would protect slavery no matter the opinion of the majority. The Lecompton Constitution was supported by James Buchanan. Meanwhile, it was strongly opposed by Stephen Douglas, Buchanan’s fellow Democrat. Thus, Congress and the general public became split, which proved to have disastrous effects. The Democratic Party was the only national political party remaining as the Whig Party had disappeared and the Republican Party consisted almost exclusively of Northern abolitionists. Now, the Democratic Party was being divided between the North and South as well. This would cause the Democratic Party to lose power and fade out. The Republicans then gained power and elected Abraham Lincoln as president, giving South Carolina its reason to leave the Union. Buchanan’s decision regarding slavery in the Kansas Territory led to the fall of the Democratic Party, the South’s secession, and the Civil War. Therefore, it was the worse decision made by President James Buchanan.

__Influential Decision__ The most influential decision that Buchanan made unfortunately only influenced Lincoln’s presidency and required him to solve the issues Buchanan had created. Due to the sectional struggle splitting the Democratic Party, the abolitionists in the Republican Party was able to take control of the government and Abraham Lincoln became president. The Southern states’ right to hold slaves was threatened by the new party. In defiance, South Carolina held a convention and in 1860 unanimously voted to secede from the Union. At this point, Buchanan made his most influential decision. Believing strongly in the Constitution, he did not feel as though the federal government had any power to force the states to return. Therefore, he did nothing in order to stop the South from seceding before or after the decision was made. This, of course, had disastrous effects, as secession would eventually lead to fighting in a very bloody war. If Buchanan had been firm from the beginning of his presidency, he may have been able to stop Southern secession. Since he was not firm on any issue, Buchanan was instead faced with the deadlock of not interfering with the South at all and allowing them to secede, or interfering and causing the Civil War to begin. Buchanan’s decision was made worse by his determination to protect federal property while also maintaining that he did not intend to intervene in the newly created Confederacy. Buchanan felt it was the president’s responsibility to equip the federal forts. In 1861, he sent an unarmed merchant ship to Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The Confederacy, upon seeing the ship approach, opened fire, starting the Civil War. Buchanan’s decisions regarding South Carolina’s secession officially began the Civil War shortly before his term ended. Thus, he left the next president, Abraham Lincoln to deal with the Civil War. Therefore, this decision was very influential.

__Conclusion__ America was in a much worse state after Buchanan’s presidency than when it had begun. His decisions surrounding Bleeding Kansas and South Carolina’s secession had split the Democratic Party and the Union, and the Civil War, the bloodiest war in American history, had begun. In addition, America was also in the midst of a financial crisis, which Buchanan had predictably done nothing to relieve. Buchanan’s leadership skills were not strong enough to tackle the great issues facing the nation, and virtually every decision he made failed in preserving the Union. Because his conservative attitude was the opposite of what the U.S. needed, Buchanan deserves a D for his presidency.

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