Small wonder that unlike Washington and Lincoln, no one celebrates Pres. James Buchanan's birthday (born in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania -- April 23,1791). The only bachelor president in our history, his presidency from 1857-1861 has generally been ranked at or near the bottom of presidential rankings by historians, as he had the misfortune to be president when the Union disintegrated, precipitating the Civil War. It's odd in a way, because his background as an accomplished lawyer, state Democratic leader, ambassador to Russia and later to the UK, and Secretary of State under Pres. James K. Polk during the U.S.'s greatest territorial expansion, should have made him eminently qualified for the position.
But on the slavery question he had all the wrong instincts -- supporting popular sovereignty on the slavery issue in the territories that wanted to become states, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the infamous Dred Scott decision that destroyed the compromises that had limited the expansion of slavery up until that time and ensured the issue would continue to inflame and escalate into the foreseeable future. After Lincoln's election, Buchanan was essentially helpless in preventing dissolution of the Union or decisively defending federal property in the seceding states -- leading directly to the Fort Sumter crisis that started the Civil War. He spent most of the rest of his life trying to unsuccessfully claim history would vindicate his reputation. No chance.
But on the slavery question he had all the wrong instincts -- supporting popular sovereignty on the slavery issue in the territories that wanted to become states, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the infamous Dred Scott decision that destroyed the compromises that had limited the expansion of slavery up until that time and ensured the issue would continue to inflame and escalate into the foreseeable future. After Lincoln's election, Buchanan was essentially helpless in preventing dissolution of the Union or decisively defending federal property in the seceding states -- leading directly to the Fort Sumter crisis that started the Civil War. He spent most of the rest of his life trying to unsuccessfully claim history would vindicate his reputation. No chance.
