BUCHAN AN, JAMES (VW), the 13th elected president of the United States, filling, the 18th presidential term (1857-61); b. at Stony Batter, Franklin co., Penn., April 22. 1791; d. Lancaster, Penn., June 1, 1863. He was the son of an Irish emigrant and an American mother, educated at Dickinson college, bred to the law, and admitted to practice in 1812. Though a professed federalist, he served as a private in the war with England. In 1814, he was a member of the Pennsylvania legislature, and in 1820 was elected to congress, where he served through five terms. In 1828, he favored Jackson for president, and in the congress of 1829-31 was chairman of the committee on the judiciary. After leaving congress, Jackson sent him as minister to Russia, where he concluded the first commer cial treaty between the two countries, securing valuable privileges in the Black and Baltic seas. In 1833, he was chosen to the United States senate, where he supported Jackson, especially in the claim that appointments might be made by the president alone when the senate was not in session. When it was proposed to exclude from congress petitions for the abolition of slavery, B. desired to prevent even the discussion of slavery by congres's, proposing-to leave the matter solely to the slaveholding states, and holding that congress had no power over it. He favored the recognition of Texan independence, and the annexation of that republic to the United States. In the affair of the French indemnity, he supported Jackson's demand for payment or war. During Van Buren's administration Buchanan supported the independent treasury scheme; favored the pre emption of public lauds, and opposed the bill to prevent the interference of federal officers in elections. Ile sustained the veto power under Tyler, and opposed the ratification of the Ashburton which settled the dispute concerning the northern boundary. When the question of the annexation of Texas came to the senate there were but 15 votes in its favor. but the measure was carried in the form of joint resolutions only three days before the close of the term of congress. B. was the only member of the senate committee of foreign affairs to report in favor of annexation. Polk made him secretary of state. In this position he had to deal with the north-western boundary question, whence arose the famous partisan cry "51'40' or fight." Both England and the United States had formally claimed the territory between the Pacific coast and the Rocky mountains up to the Russian boun dary, but after much negotiation the line of 40' n. lat. was agreed upon. During the war with Mexico, B. was busy in avoiding or preventing the interference of other nations. Ile was in private life during the discussion and adoption of the compromise measures of 1830, hut fully approved them. When Pierce came into office in 1853, he sent 13. as minister to Gre tt Britain, where he was engaged in endeavors to settle a series of questions con cerning Central American affairs. In the course of these duties he was present at the Ostend conference, the object of which was to bring about the sale of Cuba to the United States; but nothing resulted beyond talk. In April, 1856, B. returned to the United States, and in June was nominated for president by the democratic party. The electoral vote wits: for Buchanan, 174; for John C. Fremont (candidate of the newly organized republican party), 114; for Millard Fillmore (native-American), 8. The popular vote was: Buchanan, 1,833,169; Fremont, 1.341,264; Fillmore, 874,534; majority against Buchanan, 377,629; plurality for him, 496,003. He had the votes of every slaveholding state except
Maryland, winch went alone for Fillmore. The vote for Fillmore also gave Buchanan California and New .Jersey. In the executive chair his effort was to smother and put out of sight the agitation concerning slavery not only in new states, but everywhere. Among other acts of his administration was the temporary pacification of the Mormon troubles, and the vetoing of the homestead bill. After Lincoln's election, 13. was more than ever anxious to suppress the slavery discussion, and pointedly accused the north, in his last message to congress, of being responsible for the unwarrantable agitation which had " produced its malign influence on the slaves, and inspired them with a vague idea of freedom." While holding that the executive ought to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, he shrank before the secession of South Carolina, declaring that he could not employ lured except upon the detnaud of thy ktwful authorities of the state, and in South Carolina no such authority then existed. His argument was that, if a state had withdrawn, or was even attempting to withdraw, from the union, there was no power in the constitution to prevent the act. A few days later he was confronted by comnds sioners from South Carolina (that state having passed an act of secession on the 20th Dec., 1860), who came to demand the surrender by the president to the seceded state of all public property, and to negotiate for the continuance of "peace and amity between that commonwealth and the government at Washington." His reply was that he had no power, and could only submit the matter to congress; he could only receive them as " private gentlemen of the highest character," and treat respectfully such propositions as they might make. He did, however, decline to accede to their demand for the removal of the troops from Charleston harbor. The cabinet immediately broke up. Gen. Cass was secretary of state, but resigned when the president refused to order reinforce ments to the Charleston ports; the secretary of the treasury and the secretary of the interior had already gone; Floyd, secretary of war, resigned because the president refused to withdraw the troops. The last official act of president Buchanan of any importance was characteristic of his whole course where the south and its institutions were con cerned. It was embodied in a letter from the secretary of war (Holt) to the governor of South Carolina (Jan. 5, 1861), which declared, "by order of the president," that " the forts in that state, in common with the other forts, arsenals, and property of the United States, are in charge of the president, and that if assailed, no matter from what quarter or under what pretext, it is his duty to protect them by all the means which the law has placed at his disposal ;" adding that it was not his present purpose to garrison the forts, as he "considered them entirely safe under the protection of the law-abiding sentiment for which the people of South Carolina had ever been distinguished; but should they be attacked or menaced with danger of being seized or taken from the possession of the United States, he could not escape from his constitutional obligations to defend and preserve them." After the installment of his successor, B. retired altogether from public affairs, but a year or two after the rebellion had been put down, he published a defense of his administration and the measures he adopted for the preservation of peace. He was never married.