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

James Buchanan should receive a D- because he did not do much to help our country. Many of the decisions he did make, like endorsing the Lecompton Constitution. Buchanan and his administration deserve no grade better than a D- because of their lack of action during the Antebellum period in American history.

A goal Buchanan had going into the presidency was to suppress the issue of slavery. Buchanan wished for the states to individually decide whether or not they were free or slave states and decide their own future with slavery. You could say that Buchanan succedded in this goal, but it is not a goal to be proud about. Buchanan sat back and took almost no responsibility during his presidency. That is a not a good quality of a president. Buchanan made no executive decisions, even during the Nebraska-Kansas fiasco, Buchanan left it to the states and congress to figure what was best for them. In fact, Buchanan did the opposite of what he wished to do going into office. Buchanan's lack of authority and action actually helped grow the division between the Northern and Southern states.

Buchanan's relationship with congress can be described as awful at best. Congress payed no attention to many of the plans Buchanan put in place. Congress ignored Buchanan's plan of buying Cuba. The poor relationship between the two bodies of government also manifested itself in the form of vetoes. Almost any plans Congress drew up would be shot down by the Democratic Buchanan, and vice versa. A prime example of the foul relationship that Buchanan held with congress was the vetoing of the Homestead act. Buchanan thought this act, which wished to give free land to settlers, was unconstitutional and unfair to other and older settlers.

The successes of Buchanan's time in office are few and far in between. Mainly few. One point of Buchanan's administration that could be considered a success was the ability to keep war from completely breaking out in America. this was mainly due to his lack of action and his "make your own decisions" way of thought, but he still kept away from decisions that would have rocketed America into civil war earlier than it happened. The worst decision Buchanan made in office was his opposing Senator Douglas and supporting of the Lecompton Constitution this constitution, which was pro-slave, deeply upset democratic abolitionists. His support of this pro-slave document drove a deeper stake between the democratic party, and more importantly the North and the South. This eventually led to the complete split of the Democrat political party.

Buchanan's administration, thankfully, minimally influenced future generations. His administration had an impact in the fact that it was around during the inklings of a civil war, but that would really be credited more to the next president. His division of the Democrat party did affect the political parties of the next few presidents, with a Democrat not being elected as president again until 1885.

In conclusion, the country was much worse off at the end of James Buchanan's administration. His inaction towered the issue of slavery definitely helped lead to the Civil War. The action that Buchanan did take further split the North and South and also the democratic party. For these reasons, Buchanan deserves a grade of a D-.

Bibliography

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.

American President: An Online Reference Resource. N.p., 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. .