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James Buchanan

April 23, 1791 - June 1, 1868 Political Party: Democratic

Presidential term: March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861 Vice President: John Breckinridge


 * Thematic Context **

Buchanan was coming into office during a vital time for the United States. At this time, slavery was becoming an increasingly pressing issue. Therefore, it was quickly becoming obvious that something would have to be done soon affecting it. The development of slavery in the United States largely contributed to the development of America’s identity. Thus, when happenings arose concerning it, America’s identity was affected.

A major development in slavery happened through what is now called “bleeding Kansas”. This refers to the time in which there was controversy over whether Kansas was to enter the Union as a slave state or a free state. As a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the decision was to be based on popular sovereignty. This caused many people to cross the border in an attempt to sway the votes which, in turn, resulted in bloody clashes among many. In addition to this, several constitutions were created some of them pro-slavery some anti-slavery, but none were passed. This included the Lecompton Constitution which was extensively promoted by the president, James Buchanan. However in the end, Kansas entered the Union as a free state. This developed the American identity because it added to the growing Union. In addition, by entering as an anti-slavery state, they promoted no slavery in America. Furthermore, it preluded to what would come about through the Civil War, the abolition of slavery.

The second development was in the secession of South Carolina and the creation of the Confederate States of America. Both of these happenings were the result of Lincoln’s election as president. South Carolina seceded because they feared that Lincoln would fight to end slavery. When they did this, they brought with them six additional states to form the Confederate States of America. This was a massive development in the American identity. Because of these occurrences, the United States was being split in two. This changed the country altogether as it lost many of its states. The main reason that the states seceded was because of the issue of slavery and so by leaving they drew a clear line through the country showcasing the varying beliefs on slavery and causing a civil war to erupt within the country.


 * Thesis **

Buchanan entered his presidency with an impressive track record, although, this did not seem to be reflected in his presidency. Throughout his term, Buchanan failed to act on many problems as a result of his goal to uphold the Constitution. He also failed to make decent decisions regarding the good of the people. Therefore, Buchanan deserves a D for his presidency because although he did successfully achieve his goal of upholding the Constitution, he failed to make good decisions that were drastically needed by the country at the time.


 * Goals **

It is apparent in his inaugural address that Buchanan’s main goal during his presidency was to uphold the Constitution. He completed this task thoroughly, though it did, at times, prevent him from taking any sort of viable action. Furthermore, Buchanan was kept from making several vital decisions regarding cases such as the Dred Scott Case by which he made it clear that he strongly believed that slavery was rooted in the Constitution and could not be legislated out of existence. And even more importantly the secession of South Carolina, during which he did nothing because he believed the federal government did not possess the constitutional authority to force states to remain in the Union. In conclusion, by not acting upon what he felt was unconstitutional, he did accomplish his goal of upholding the constitution to a great degree.


 * Congress **

At this time, there was division between northern and southern Democrats. This allowed for the Republicans to win a relative majority in the House in 1858. As a result, Republicans had much control over decisions. They prevented Buchanan from getting anything done during his presidency. Buchanan had had many ideas such as proposals for expansion of influence in Central America and the purchase of Cuba, both of which could have led to the betterment of the United States, but alas Congress used their large majority to turn them down. In turn, Buchanan vetoed six pieces of Republican legislation. Consequently, more tension built between Congress and the White House which made it virtually impossible for anything to get done. And so, it is clearly evident that Buchanan’s relationship with Congress was not good.


 * Positive Action **

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Throughout his presidency, Buchanan made a point of upholding the Constitution. For that reason, he was not able to take much action as he found most of the decisions he could make unconstitutional. In addition, out of the few decisions that Buchanan did make, essentially all of them resulted negatively. Because of this, Buchanan’s presidency largely contributed to the Civil War. Therefore, Buchanan did not make a decision that resulted in a positive outcome because virtually all of his decisions further disjointed the United States and caused greater sectionalism among the North and South.


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Negative Action **

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">As previously stated, many of Buchanan’s decisions affected the country negatively, though one decision does stand out among the rest. That decision would be his handling of the Panic of 1857. The main cause of the panic was the failure of the Ohio Life Insurance Company of Cincinnati accompanied with overexpansion of railroads, rapid growth of state banks operating under flimsy laws, the end of the Crimean War in Europe, and the drop in the price of gold during the California Gold Rush. In response to this, Buchanan decided that reform as opposed to relief would be the better way of handling the situation. In this attempt, Buchanan tried to encourage different ways of handling the banking system instead of just relieving the country. In addition, the Panic of 1857 encouraged the idea that the North needed the South to stabilize their economy as they were the main ones affected by the panic. And so, though America did recover eventually, many Americans had to suffer through the panic and tensions between the North and South greatened. Therefore, as a result of Buchanan’s reform instead of relief decision many Americans suffered greatly and the idea of sectionalism was further developed, thus making it a negative decision.


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Influential Decision **

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Buchanan came into his presidency at a very important time for this nation. Therefore, many of his decisions had the potential to impact the future greatly. Though, the one decision that was truly influential was his choice to allow South Carolina to secede. Buchanan stated that the federal government did not possess the constitutional authority to force states to remain in the Union and essentially did nothing to prevent states from leaving. As a result, six more states joined South Carolina and formed the Confederate States of America. This was essentially the beginning of the war between the North and the South. If Buchanan had prevented the South from seceding, then there may not have been a war. And if there had not been a war then the country would have probably returned to its previous state and the issue of slavery may never have been addressed or dealt with. Therefore, because Buchanan decided to allow the secession of the Southern states, he essentially provided the platform for the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, making it an extremely influential decision.


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Conclusion **

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">In conclusion, Buchanan both affected and did not affect the country. Though he did not make many decisions, by not making them he affected the country. Thus, his lack of action brought about great effects that contributed to the start of the Civil War, such as his handling of the secession of Southern states and the creation of the Confederate States of America. Many of Buchanan’s decisions were large contributors to the Civil War as they caused tension between the North and South and increased sectionalism. And so, although Buchanan did achieve his goal of upholding the constitution, he failed to avert a crisis and in fact contributed to it, therefore making him deserve a D for his presidency.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bibliography

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