1791 - 1868
James Buchanan
Next in importance to the maintenance of the Constitution and the Union is the duty of preserving the Government free from the taint or even the suspicion of corruption. Public virtue is the vital spirit of republics, and history proves that when this has decayed and the love of money has usurped its place…the substance has departed forever. Inaugural Address
Overview
In the 1850s, the question of slavery divided the United States. Hopes ran high that the new President, "Old Buck," might be the man to avert national crisis. He failed entirely. During his administration, the Union broke apart, and when he left office, civil war threatened.
Fast Facts
Cove Gap (near Mercersburg), Pennsylvania
Dickinson College (graduated 1809)
Presbyterian
Lawyer
Democrat
“Old Buck”
None
15
Woodward Hill Cemetery, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
