Presidency of James Buchanan

Historical Context Note

Lucas Paul Richert (University of Saskatchewan)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.2: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth Century, 1783-1900.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Domains

Changes of government, elections and reigns

Dates

Date of occurrence 1857-03-04-1861-03-04

Places

United States (Location)

Resources

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James Buchanan, a product of Pennsylvania, was lected president in 1856 with 174 electoral votes. The Republican candidate, John C. Fremont, won 114 votes and Millard Fillmore, of the American Know-Nothing party, won 8 electoral votes. Buchanan was the only president to live a bachelor lifestyle. His niece acted as the White House hostess. Buchanan felt that slavery was morally wrong, but he was unwilling to challenge the South by abolishing the practice. Thus, the most important issue of the day, and one that threatened the stability of the Union, was left to the states. Buchanaan did not play an active part in Kansas, as he attempted to persuade Kansas voters to adopt and accept the Lecompton Constitution, which would have allowed slavery in the state. Buchanan's authority and public…

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287 words

Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "Presidency of James Buchanan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 January 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=579, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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