James Buchanan

: For the economist of this name, see James M. Buchanan.

Biography

Buchanan was a Representative and a Senator from Pennsylvania. He was born in a log cabin at Cove Gap, near Mercersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on April 23, 1791 to James Buchanan and Elizabeth Spear. He moved to Mercersburg with his parents in 1799, was privately tutored and then attended the village academy and was graduated from Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1809 he moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The same year he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1812 and practiced in Lancaster. He was one of the first volunteers in the War of 1812 and served in the defense of Baltimore, Maryland. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from 1814 to 1815. He was elected to the Seventeenth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1821 - March 3, 1831). He was chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary (Twenty-first Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1830. Buchanan served as one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1830 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against James H. Peck, judge of the United States District Court for the District of Missouri. Buchanan served as Minister to Russia from 1832 to 1834.

Related Topics:
Representative - Senator - Mercersburg - Franklin County, Pennsylvania - April 23 - 1791 - 1799 - Dickinson College - Carlisle, Pennsylvania - 1809 - Lancaster, Pennsylvania - Bar - 1812 - War of 1812 - Baltimore, Maryland - 1814 - 1815 - March 4 - 1821 - March 3 - 1831 - Committee on the Judiciary - 1830 - Impeachment - James H. Peck - United States District Court for the District of Missouri - Russia - 1832 - 1834

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Buchanan was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Wilkins. He served from December 6, 1834; was reelected in 1837 and 1843, and resigned on March 5, 1845, to accept a Cabinet portfolio. He was chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations (Twenty-fourth through Twenty-sixth Congresses).

Related Topics:
Democrat - William Wilkins - December 6 - 1834 - 1837 - 1843 - March 5 - 1845 - Committee on Foreign Relations

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Buchanan served as Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President James K. Polk from 1845 to 1849, during which he negotiated the 1846 Oregon Treaty establishing the 49th parallel as the northern boundary in the western U.S. No Secretary of State has become President since James Buchanan.

Related Topics:
Secretary of State - James K. Polk - 1845 - 1849 - 1846 - Oregon Treaty - 49th parallel

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In 1853, Buchanan was named president of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College in his hometown of Lancaster. He served in this capacity until 1865.

Related Topics:
1853 - Franklin and Marshall College - Lancaster - 1865

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He served as Minister to the United Kingdom from 1853 to 1856, during which time he help to draft the Ostend Manifesto which proposed the purchase of Cuba under the threat of force.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - 1853 - 1856 - Ostend Manifesto - Cuba

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Questions About Buchanan's Sexual Orientation

In 1819 Buchanan was engaged to Ann Caroline Coleman, the daughter of wealthy iron manufacturer. However she abruptly broke off their engagement and died of mysterious causes several days later. After his fiancee's death Buchanan vowed he would never marry. He would live with Alabama senator William Rufus King for sixteen years in Washington, D.C., but King died four years before Buchanan became president. Rumors and speculation circulated that the two had a homosexual relationship, with references to Buchanan's "wife" and "better half", even President Andrew Jackson referred to King as "Miss Nancy". The difficulty in determining if someone was a homosexual, especially in the mid-1800s, means Buchanan's sexual orientation remains uncertain.

Related Topics:
1819 - Alabama - William Rufus King - Washington, D.C. - Homosexual - Andrew Jackson - 1800s

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