<h1>One of America's worst presidents: James Buchanan</h1>
In 1856, after four elections, James Buchanan was finally elected the fifteenth president of the United States at the age of 66.
He was elected at a very old age, no longer young, no longer sharp, and tended to be conservative in his administration.
During Buchanan's tenure, although the Civil War did not break out during his tenure, the abolitionist movement had become incandescent. He argued that both the Fugitive Slave Act and Kansas' becoming a slave state were legitimate, and that his primary mission was to preserve the unity of the Constitution and the Commonwealth. His policy of compromise with the southern states led to dissatisfaction with Congress, and many members of parliament resigned and adopted a passive and uncooperative attitude, which led Buchanan into a dilemma and it was difficult to do anything.
Buchanan is like, the picture comes from the Internet
Buchanan also had a very impressive record before he was elected president, and why he is still considered one of the worst presidents, we will analyze it through the following introduction:
First, buchanan in his youth, had a heart
Born in 1791 to a small family of farmers in Pennsylvania, buchanan was born in Ireland with irish ancestors who still maintain the tradition of having many children in the Irish, and Buchanan, as the eldest of eleven children in the family, developed a rigorous and responsible attitude towards life.
However, when he was admitted to Dickinson College, he was almost expelled from the school for "indiscipline", and if it were not for the school's face on his father's face, he would not have had the opportunity to graduate with honors. Of course, the school did not issue him the certificates of outstanding graduates, which led to his resentment.
The school's approach inspired Buchanan to be motivated, and after graduating in 1809, he began to study law, usually reading the law during the day and thinking while walking in the evening. I finally got a bar at the age of 21 and became a lawyer.
If this path were to follow, Buchanan would have become a respected barrister.
In 1812, the American-British War broke out, and Buchanan was very angry at the British plundering, so he threw himself into the army, signed up for the volunteer army, and performed well in the defense of Baltimore and other battles.
Barrister's eloquence, military prowess and handsome appearance became his capital in politics. In 1814 he was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature, beginning his glorious political path. There is no doubt that he is about to become a rising star in Pennsylvania politics.
At this time, Buchanan is full of ambition and spirit, and a sweet love and marriage is more perfect.
In 1819, Buchanan became engaged to the wealthy Anne Coleman. It will be a perfect marriage in our eyes: you have money, I have talent, it is a match made in heaven. If the Coleman family has a long-term vision of investment politics, it is believed that there will be a "first lady" in the future of their family.
Happiness is always short-lived, and not everyone has Mrs. Lincoln's investment vision and ambitions. Anne's father believed that the poor boy (the son of a small farmer) was just greedy for his own property and wanted to increase his political wealth by tying Anne up, so he vigorously opposed the love between the two young people. Under pressure from her family, Anne committed suicide after announcing the dissolution of the marriage contract that winter.
The departure of his lover devastated Buchanan, and even though he wrote a letter begging Anne's father to allow him to attend the funeral, he was returned by the original letter, which deeply hurt Buchanan and never married.
The White House, Buchanan's ultimate dream. Image from the web
Second, the deeply wounded Buchanan is angry and strong, only to prove that he does not love Anne for money
The departure of his lover made Buchanan no longer consider marriage, but to focus all his energy on his career.
He ran for the Election of The Parliament in 1820 and was successful, but the eunuch sea floated and gradually got rid of the shadow of lost love.
Buchanan served the people wholeheartedly until he stepped down as president.
Buchanan, who served four consecutive terms in Congress, came in handy for his vast legal knowledge, handled government affairs with ease, and grew in prestige.
He did everything in his power to safeguard the interests of the Federation in the House of Representatives, supporting the policies and domestic reform measures implemented by the Federal Government to protect the development of national industry. In his early years, he was a solid supporter of the abolitionist movement, giving anti-slavery speeches and even encouraging support for slave revolts in the South.
Buchanan's speech had a great impact and sparked a lot of young people's thinking. For example, the 5.4 Movement in 1919 in China was a patriotic movement against imperialism and feudalism that was mainly composed of young students and participated in by the broad masses of the people.
The young Buchanan was more radical in his political views, and he became a supporter of the Jackson faction in the Democratic Party and was entrusted by Jackson.
In 1832 Buchanan faithfully fulfilled the negotiation and conclusion of commercial conventions with Russia and treaties on the right to sail, and although the treaty on the right to sail was not concluded, his efforts also laid the foundation for the settlement of the subsequent treaty problem. It also became the capital for his 11-year stint in the Senate.
With the growth of age, the accumulation of capital, and the enrichment of experience, Buchanan's political concepts tend to be conservative in the midst of the ups and downs of the eunuch sea.
Yet his diplomatic stance is hawkish and tough. He advocated the strengthening of military strength, and his attitude was expansionist on major diplomatic issues that plagued successive U.S. governments at the time, such as Texas, Oregon, the U.S.-Canada border, and U.S.-Mexico relations.
Buchanan presided over the completion of the merger of Texas; at first, he advocated the peaceful purchase of California and New Mexico from Mexico. After the failure of the peace talks, the United States suppressed the territory with a large army and launched the US-Mexico War. After the victory of the United States, after negotiations, more than a million square miles of land, including present-day California, New Mexico and Arizona, were bought from Mexico, which greatly expanded the territory of the United States.
People participate in Buchanan's inaugural speech, image from the Internet
After three or four campaigns, he finally became president as he wished
He served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849, but becoming secretary of state was not Buchanan's ultimate ideal, but entering the White House.
After three failed campaigns, he ran for the fourth time in 1856, when the focus was on whether Kansas would become a legal slave state.
At the time, some in Kansas sought to make the state legal slave state, but most didn't think it was a good idea.
The president at the time was Pierce, a Democrat. Pierce hopes to qualify for re-election. Democrats in the North argue that Pierce would be unwise to support Kansas as a legal slave state. After the competition, Buchanan defeated Pierce to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
During his campaign, Buchanan proposed to maintain economic prosperity and stability and called on the north and the south to unite and safeguard national unity. His campaign platform led him to win the presidential election.
Buchanan's cabinet government is the product of political compromise. Slave states and free states are evenly divided. He professed to be opposed to slavery, but on the other hand, the Constitution upholds slavery, and as president, he must uphold the Constitution. In his view, both the Fugitive Slave Act and Kansas became a slave state.
The oil is already in the pot, and only a little spark is left to burn. At this time, the struggle between the north and the south of the Federation over slavery was becoming more and more intense. We have to mention a book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," a great literary masterpiece written by Mrs. Stowe, whom President Lincoln called "the little woman who started a great war," described the tragic fate of the slaves. Published in 1852, the book shook the conscience and ignited the mood of the abolition of slavery.
At this time, Buchanan still carried out his policy of compromise, and when the Confederation of the South announced its secession from the Union, he only morally persuaded that "no state has the right to secede from the Union, but the Federation has no right to stop them from seceding."
There is a small episode that gives a glimpse of Buchanan's conservative governance: there was a black man named Dred Scott, who had been a slave and had fled to live in a free state, so he claimed to be a free man. Buchanan believes that this case is of great significance and will put an end to the dispute between the north and the south over the legality of slavery. He asked the Supreme Court of the North to agree with the Southern Court's decision that "Scott is still a slave, and Congress cannot order a ban on slavery in the Southern states" and strives for all the judges in the country to accept this judgment.
Buchanan's policy of compromise led many members of Congress to resign in protest. His situation is getting more and more difficult, and the people are even more dissatisfied.
Coupled with the collapse of the Ohio Insurance Company in 1857, which caused economic panic and caused an economic crisis, Buchanan's prestige was declining.
The tragic life of black people, pictures from the Internet
Buchanan's term ended in 1861, and although he had made various efforts to unify the Union, many people accused him of being responsible for the division of the Union and the outbreak of the Civil War. Even Buchanan's later self-justification of the evaluation did not change people's perceptions, so he was called "one of the worst presidents in American history" by historians.