James Buchanan. 15 th President of the United States

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1 James Buchanan 15 th President of the United States

2 Ge8ng to know James Buchanan 15 th President of the United States ( ). The only president to never marry The only president from Pennsylvania Served as Secretary of State under President James Polk. Member of the DemocraLc Party.

3 The eleclon of 1856 James Buchanan of the DemocraLc Party defeated John Fremont of the Republican Party and Millard Fillmore of the Whig party. Buchanan received 45 % of the popular vote and 174 electoral votes. Buchanan fared very well in the south due to his pro slavery stance but only took 5 free states, compared to Fremont s 11. This eleclon demonstrated how cilzens can take part in civic life through volng, as only a small shiu of the popular vote to Fremont in Illinois and Pennsylvania would have won him the eleclon. James Buchanan of Pennsylvania John C. Fremont of California

4 Buchanan s beliefs on Gov t Buchanan felt that good self government was founded upon restraint. He saw the consltulon as a list of restraints that cilzens put upon themselves and the people they elect to represent them, and not by an arbitrary authority figure. James Buchanan was a major advocate of states rights. He believed that issues such as slavery and educalon should be leu to the states. Buchanan did not feel it was his place, nor was it consltulonally legal for him to outlaw slavery. Since Buchanan was such a believer in having strong state governments, it is important for us to have an idea of how state governments are operated and what they do Buchanan believed that states, such as his home state of Pennsylvania should have true authority to make decisions.

5 State Governments State governments are organized in a way that is similar to the federal government. Each state government has its own consltulon which outlines the structure of the government and how it will create laws. The state government consltulon must NOT contradict the United States consltulon. In a state government, the Governor plays a similar role to that of the President in the federal government. The governor must appoint leaders to various state agencies (ex. Superintendant of State Police department). The governor must oversee the budgets and laws of the state.

6 State governments have a LegislaLve, ExecuLve and Judicial Branch, just like the federal government.

7 Foreign Policy The rising hoslliles between the North and South and the conlnuing threat of civil war limited the foreign policy of President Buchanan. Much of his foreign policy was focused on expanding the U.S. to the south but he had trouble garnering support for his foreign policies and the U.S. had more pressing domeslc issues at this Lme. Part of Buchanan s foreign policy was focused on the Caribbean, as he had worked in that region while being the ambassador to England. Buchanan strongly wanted to annex Cuba but Republican opposilon to this plan proved to be too strong. Buchanan wanted to send American troops into northern Mexico to establish a military protectorate but tensions were slll high from the Mexican American war which concluded in Congress was not interested in waging a foreign war while a civil war seemed so imminent, therefore, they vetoed Buchanan s plans. Buchanan also asked Congress for funds in order to police Mexico and various Central American countries but was denied. However, Buchanan was able to win reparalons from Costa Rica, Mexico and Columbia for damages to American policies. Overall, Buchanan s foreign policy can be described as one that used American power to bully smaller Caribbean and Central American countries and garnered much ill will towards American diplomacy.

8 Failures as President In 1857 an economic depression called the Panic of 1857 occurred. Many northern and western states were negalvely impacted but Buchanan took virtually no steps to alleviate the economic downturn. His presidency was defined by hoslliles between the North and South. His overall policy was described as one of inaclvity. Buchanan wanted to keep the status quo of allowing slavery in the south and proteclng freedom in the north. Buchanan was hesitant about how to deal with these hoslliles and hoped that leaders of the North and South would reach a compromise on their own.

9 Failures as President He thought that it would be illegal for the south to succeed but also illegal for the North to go to war in order to prevent succession. His indecision angered people on both sides of the debate and led to a split in the DemocraLc Party. This split opened the door for America s first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, to be elected. Buchanan s lack of leadership opened the door for the Civil War to take place.

10 Legacy James Buchanan will chiefly be remembered for his unwillingness to act in the face of a country at the brink of civil war. Buchanan believed in The Law above all else and his insistence on following the law and the consltulon at all costs may have contributed to what some people saw as indecisiveness and weak leadership. Historical rankings of U.S. presidents consistently rank Buchanan among the least effeclve leaders in American history.

11 Legacy Buchanan enjoyed an immensely successful career as an aforney and served in the U.S. House of RepresentaLves and Senate. He was the United State s minister to Russia and was even nominated for a seat in the Supreme Court before serving as Secretary of State. Buchanan had extensive polilcal experience and may have had a successful presidency if he had served in another era. However, the circumstances under which Buchanan served proved to be overwhelming for him. Upon leaving office he said to Abe Lincoln, If you are as happy entering the White House as I am leaving it, you are a happy man indeed.