James Buchanan

James Buchanan Jr. (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) served as the 12th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861, serving just before the American Civil War. Buchanan also served as a senator, ambassador, and vice president.

Early Life
James Buchanan was born in a log cabin in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 1791. Shortly after Buchanan's birth the family moved to a farm near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and in 1794 the family moved to town. Buchanan's father became the wealthiest person in town, as a merchant, farmer, and real estate investor. Buchanan attended the village's Old Stone Academy and then Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Though he was nearly expelled at one point for poor behavior, he pleaded for a second chance and graduated with honors on September 19, 1809.

Buchanan began his political career in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1814–1816) as a member of the Old Federalist Party. The legislature met for only three months a year, and Buchanan's notoriety as a legislator helped him add clients to his practice. Like his father, Buchanan believed in federally-funded internal improvements, a high tariff, and a national bank.

Political Career
By 1820, the Federalist Party had largely collapsed, and Buchanan ran for the United States House of Representatives as a "Republican-Federalist." During his tenure in Congress, Buchanan became a supporter of Andrew Jackson and an avid defender of states' rights. After the 1824 presidential election, Buchanan helped organize Jackson's followers into the Democratic Party, and he became a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat. In Washington, he became personally close with many southern Congressmen, including William R. King of Alabama. Buchanan tended to view many New England Congressmen as dangerous radicals. He was appointed to the Committee of Agriculture in his first year, and he eventually became Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, leading impeachment proceedings of Judge James H. Peck of the United States District Court for the District of Missouri, arguing that Peck had abused his position. Peck was acquitted by the Senate. Buchanan declined re-nomination to a sixth term, briefly returning to private life.

Buchanan returned to the United States and was elected to the United States Senate by the state legislature in 1834 to oppose the newly elected Henry Clay. Buchanan would remain in the senate as a major obstacle to the Clay administration until the election of Martin Van Buren, who gave Buchanan the role of ambassador to the United Kingdom. Van Buren was voted out in the 1840 election, but President Daniel Writ kept him as ambassador during his own presidency. However after the 1844 election of Harrison F. Hopkins, Buchanan would once again briefly retire from politics.

In 1852 Buchanan accepted the Democratic National Convention invitation to be nominee Franklin Pierce's vice president.