B Y A M E L I A S C H W E I T Z E R

James Buchanan (D)15th President of the USA, 1857-1861

Occupational & Educational Background

Early Life and Education

Political and Public Career

Born on April 23, 1791 in Mercersburg, PA to an Irish father and American mother. 2nd of 11 children

Expelled: Attended Dickinson College in PA, expelled for breaking the rules, returned as high honors student

Lawyer: Studied law in Lancaster, PA in 1809, and began working by 1812. Produced immense fortune.

Soldier and Legislator: Federalist and opposed 2nd war with Britain. However volunteered as a private to protect Baltimore in the War of 1812. Served in PA legislator for two terms beginning in 1814.

Tragedy: returned to politics after his estranged fiancé died. She may have committed suicide.

Congressman: served in US House of Representatives from 1820-1830. Broke with Federalist party and supported Andrew Jackson.

Diplomat: appointed by Jackson as minister to Russia in 1831. secured first trade treaty between the 2 countries.

Senator: was elected by PA legislature to fill vacant position in US Senate in 1834, served until 1845.

Secretary of State: appointed by James Knox Polk. Texas annexation, Mexican war, Oregon fever

Minister to GB: appointed by Pierce, Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (neither country should have possessions in Central America) Failed. Wrote Ostend Manifesto (set up for US to purchase Cuba from Spain). 1849-1856

Presidential Election: Away in London during infamous Kansas – Nebraska Act of 1854. Nominated by Democratic Party in 1856.

1791

1812

1820

1834

1849

1856

Presidential Opponents

Republicans:

Sen. John Fremont (R-CA)

Sen. William Dayton (R-NJ)

Whigs and “Know-Nothings”:

Former President Millard Fillmore

Former Minister to Prussia Andrew Donelson

(in order)

BACKGROUND CONTINUEDVP and Cabinet Vice President: John Breckinridge, of Kentucky Secretary of State Lewis Cass (1857-60) Jeremiah S. Black

(1860-61) Secretary of the Treasury Howell Cobb (1857-60) Philip F.

Thomas (1860-61) John A. Dix (1861) Secretary of War John B. Floyd (1857-60) Joseph Holt (1861) Attorney General Jeremiah S. Black (1857-60) Edwin M.

Stanton (1860-61) Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown (1857-59) Joseph Holt

(1859-61) Horatio King (1861) Secretary of the Navy Isaac Toucey (1857-61) Secretary of the Interior Jacob Thompson (1857-61) Supreme Court Appointments: Justice Nathan Clifford

(1858-81)

States admitted to the Union: Minnesota .………………………………1858

Free state

Oregon…………………………………..1859 Free state

Kansas....………………………………...1861

CAMPAIGN & ELECTION

DIRTY POLITICS

Democrats called Fremont "Black Republican" and made frequent jabs at his out-of-wedlock birth.

Republicans made fun of Buchanan's age and bachelorhood , called him "Ten-Cent Jimmy“, and said that Buchanan tilted his head because he had once tried to hang himself.

Buchanan’s ElectionPlace of Nominating Convention:

CincinnatiBallot on which nominated: 17Major Opponents: Fremont

(Republican) and Fillmore (“Know Nothing”)

Electoral Vote: Buchanan 174, Fremont (114), Fillmore, 8

Popular Vote: Buchanan 1,832,955; Fremont 1,339,932; Fillmore 871,731

Age at Inauguration: 65Why he won: he was in

England at the time of the Kansas Nebraska Act, Fillmore votes took away votes from the Fremont campaign.

1852 – lost Democratic Nomination to Franklin Pierce. Was however appointed Minister to GB.

1856 - won1860 – did not run. Lincoln won

“I had hoped for the nomination in 1844, again in 1848, and even in 1852, but now I would hesitate to take it. Before many years the abolitionists will bring war upon this land. It may come during the next presidential term.”

Political and Social Events

ONGOING ISSUES: BLEEDING KANSAS (1853-1861)

Finally in September 1856, a new territorial governor, John W. Geary, arrived in Kansas and began to restore order. In total, approximately 55 people died in "Bleeding Kansas."In July 1859, Kansas adopted a Free State constitution. Kansas applied for admittance to the Union, but did not become a state until 1861 after the Confederate states seceded. Once it became a state, Kansas sent more troops than any other state in the Union.

The Kansas Nebraska Act stated that the slavery question would be decided by popular sovereignty not by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which said that slavery, could not extend above the 36' 30" line.

Though most settlers who had come to Kansas from the North and the South were only interested in new farming lands, Abolitionists and Southerners flocked to Kansas to fight to win popular sovereignty

Violence erupted throughout the territory and escalated as time went on. On May 21, 1856, a group of proslavery men burned the Free State Hotel. In retaliation, abolitionist John Brown led a group of men on an attack at Pottawatomie Creek, killing five proslavery men. The violence that followed was dubbed “Bleeding Kansas”.

Impending Crisis of the South (1857)

Sources for information and images include docsouth.unc.edu and www.gathkinsons.net and digitalhistory.uh.edu

In 1857, Hinton Helper, the son of a farmer in North Carolina published “The Impeding Crisis of the South.” He argued that slavery prohibited economic prosperity in the South by comparing statistics from slave states and free states. Helper called for non-slave-holding whites to overthrow slave owners in the south. “During the 1860 presidential campaign, the New York Tribune distributed 500 copies of the book a day, considering it the most effective propaganda against slavery ever written. Many Southerners burned it, fearful that it would divide the white population.”

1857: Harper’s weekly begins publication and the Financial Panic

cartoons.osu.edu, u-s-history.com, www.sonofthesouth.net

The Panic of 1857Causes: the failure of the NY branch of the Ohio Insurance and Trust Co, the removal of British credit, the drop in grain prices, the pile up of manufactured goods in warehouses, the overbuilt rail system, too much land speculation, and 30,000 lbs of gold lost at sea.Significance: The panic spread to Europe and Latin America. The country showed no signs of improvement for more than a year and a half.

Harper’s weekly was the most read magazine during

the civil war. It included illustrations and in depth

stories about important people and events of the

war. It was created by publisher Harper &

Brothers and featured cartoonist Thomas Nast.

July 5, 1861 Issue

A slave, Dred Scott had been taken into a territory where slavery was illegal. The court ruled that all people of African ancestry -- slaves as well as those who were free -- could never become citizens of the United States and therefore could not sue in federal court. The court also ruled that the federal government did not have the power to prohibit slavery in its territories.. As a result, several Northerners, Abolitionists passed “personal liberty laws”, encouraging people to disobey unjust laws.

DRED SCOTT DECISION 1857

What: The Lincoln Douglas DebatesWho: Stephen Douglas, the incumbent Senator (elected in 1847) and political newcomer, Abraham Lincoln Why: Douglas helped enact the Compromise of 1850 and was a proponent of Popular Sovereignty, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which led to "Bleeding Kansas“. However Lincoln stated that the US could not survive as half-slave and half-free states. Where: IllinoisWhen: 1858, during Buchanan’s candidacySo What?: Though Lincoln did not win the senate seat, he won the Presidency in 1860. The Debates brought national attention to Lincoln and prompted the end of compromises.

LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 1858

JOHN BROWN AND HARPER’S FERRY (1859) , THE PONY EXPRESS (APRIL 3rd 1860 – OCT 1861)

Who: John Brown, an abolitionist who grew up in Ohio and was an anti-slavery outlaw who had been involved in other bloodsheds.What: planned to raid a US arsenal with 18 followers to encourage slaves to rebel, but he and his followers were captured, some killed, by Robert E Lee.When: Oct. 1859, during Buchanan’s candidacy.Where: Harper’s Ferry in what is now WVWhy: to encourage slaves to rebelSo What: Brown was put on trial and sent to the gallows. Northerners protested, thinking it was unfair.

An on land mail service from CA through Oregon. Ended when telegram started being used.

Financial Firsts: Macy’s Opens in NYC, Comstock Lode Discovered, Edwin L Drake drills first oil well

http://orangemercury.blogspot.com/2010/10/this-day-in-shopping-history-1858-macys.htmlhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B000J0M2D4

http://www.thelampworks.com/lw_edwin_drake.htmhttp://laurela.us/shopping/

macys-celebrates-150-year-anniversary/

Opened by Rowland Hussey Macy as a “Fancy Dry Goods” store in 1858 in NYC

First of its kind

Comstock Lode 1859-silver discovered in Nevada, east of the Sierras

August 27, 1859-Drake and Seneco Oil Company were looking for alternatives to Wale Oil. Digging did not worlk well but drilling did. On August 27, 1859, hit “pay dirt!” Using a steam engine and iron pipes, Drake was able to erect about ten barrels of oil. Soon after oil fields began springing up in PA and the Petroleum Industry was born.

ONGOING ISSUES: SUCCESSION AND THE CONFEDERATION

On Dec 20, 1860, SC was the 1st state to secede from the union after Lincoln wins the election

On January 9th 1861 an unarmed merchant ship, arrives with troops and supplies to reinforce Ft. Sumter (a Union stronghold). The ship is fired upon and retreats.

(“Ft. Sumter” occurs several months later)

Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas secede from the Union.

February 18th

1861 Jefferson Davis becomes Confederate President

Slide 6: Impact

1. Postponed, but did not prevent the Civil War. It can be argued that he both intensified it and that he dulled it.

2. Was able to keep many western states on the side of the Union including Oregon and Minnesota

3. Ended “bleeding Kansas ”. Kansas became a free state and a member of the Union4. Stabilized foreign policy in Central America and in Europe5. Though it was ignored, he had an idea to build the Panama Canal6. Many southern states seceded including NC, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana7. Appointed a Supreme Court Justice8. His VP became an important Confederate leader9. John Brown was executed (not pardoned)10. Dred Scott Decision (though this was really the court’s fault)

SLIDE 5 - QUOTES

Buchanan's strengths were also his flaws. His political canniness and ability to avoid major controversies led to his successes but also prevented him from being an effective leader. In fact, he tried to avoid being a leader, feeling that wasn't the purpose of his position. While it is unlikely that he could have averted the Civil War, he wound up being ineffective in even slowing down the drive to conflict.

-MrLiteral @amazon.com

Instead of being characterized as an inept failure, Buchanan comes across as an accomplished statesman who was dedicated to the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law who was caught in a "no win" situation as President. In seeking a compromise solution to avoid the impending holocaust of the Civil War when a compromise solution was probably no longer possible, Buchanan appear as a tragic figure more than as an abysmal failure.-a history buff “historybuff”@amazon.com

"Buchanan assumed leadership of the United States when an unprecedented wave of angry passion was sweeping the nation. That he held the hostile sections in check during these revolutionary times was in itself a remarkable achievement. His weaknesses in the stormy years of his presidency were magnified by enraged partisans of the North and the South. "

-author, Phillip S Klein

he exacerbated a situation that Franklin Pierce had helped to create-Steve Fast @amazon.com

Slide 7: Personal Reflection

Amelia Schweitzer, October 23, 2011 I did not have room to write my sources at the bottom of the pages. I used the same

sources throughout the slides. Here they are: http://www.american-presidents.org/2007/03/james-buchanan-and-election-of-

1856.html www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2932.html http://www.illinoiscivilwar.org/debates.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2952.html

And The World Book Encyclopedia 1967 (b, ci, d, f, jk) (my quotes were from the comments about a book about Buchanan by Klein since I

could not find quotes anywhere else. I looked and looked. I had to be ingenious.)