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Presidency of James Buchanan (American Presidency (Univ of Kansas Hardcover))

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James Buchanan entered the presidency in 1857 under difficult circumstances. This book tries to elucidate Buchanan's southern position, his inability to coalesce the factions in the Democratic party, and allegiance to a Jacksonian era of the past. Although the author does not portray Buchanan as a shrewd politician, he does recognize that the president tried to avert a Civil War. Furthermore, the chapter about secession clarifies the disunity in southern politics. In addition, the author explains how the slavery dispute thwarted Buchanan's quest for territorial expansion, especially his desire to annex Cuba. Besides, this penetrating study analyzes the economic panic of 1857 and the ultimate corruption in Buchanan's cabinet. In summary,Buchanan emerges as neither weak nor incompetent, but rather a man who had a clear purpose in mind. Unfortunately, Buchanan did not ameliorate the animosities about slavery and he has gone down in history as a much disparaged president. The prose made it a bit tedious to read. Also, the author treats some topics with such brevity (for instance the panic of 1857) that it helps to already have some familiarity with this subject.

This book on the presidency of James Buchanan, as with the others in this series, is relatively short (under 200 pages), and is not meant to be a biography of Buchanan. It does, however, present an adequate discussion of the highlights of the Buchanan presidency in the political, economic and social context of the times. The author provides ample evidence as to why most historians rank Buchanan near or at the bottom of the presidential ratings list. At a time when the nation was rapidly heading toward civil war, Buchanan consistently failed to understand northern sensitivities and perspective on the important issues of the day, the most significant of which was the expansion of slavery. Moreover, Buchanan, who was from Pennsylvania, surrounded himself with cabinet members who reinforced his pro-southern views. There is much discussion in the book of the influence these men had on the President. Among other highlights are the relationship between Buchanan and Sen. Stephen A. Douglas, the effects of the Supreme Court decision in the Dred Scot case, the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, Buchanan's surprising foreign policy objectives, and secession of the southern states and how Buchanan reacted. Although at times Buchanan seems to disappear from the narrative, this book would be of interest to readers who would like to become better acquainted with the administration of a president who served at a very crucial time in our history, but about whom not much is generally known.

When I was learning to drive, there was an emphasis on the "last clear chance." In the realm of responsibility for road accidents this is the principle that even if the other driver made the mistake, if you had a clear chance to avoid the accident, you could be held responsible. In trying to determine blame for the causes of the American civil war, by the time James Buchanan became president the last clear chance to avoid the war had probably passed. While the overwhelming majority in all areas were strongly opposed to disunion, the minorities in favor of the forced abolition of slavery and secession had grown large and influential enough to determine the course of history. Therefore, any analysis of the presidency of James Buchanan must be done with that in mind.
While no examination of that time can avoid an analysis of the issue of slavery, Smith makes one point that seems lost on many other commentators. A great deal of ink has been used in analyzing the economics of slavery and many argued that it did not make economic sense and would have ended. Others argue that it provided an effective source of cheap labor and would have remained economically viable. As Smith so succinctly points out, both points are of questionable validity. Slavery was no longer an economic issue, but a cultural, social and emotional one. To the south, slavery was their culture and any attempt to criticize, hinder or eliminate it was considered an attack on their very existence. In this environment, economics are a secondary concern, a point made very well in the book.
What will be surprising to many people is how expansionist a president James Buchanan was. I am in full agreement with the author that he was the most imperialist president the United States has ever had. For unlike McKinley who took Spanish territory, Buchanan's goal was to impose a brutal slavery on the new territories. He was very activist in the foreign arena, running foreign policy with a strong interventionist hand. However, nearly all of his plans for expansion were of dubious merit. The most wild was the attempt to purchase Cuba from Spain and make it another slave state. While slavery existed on Cuba, it was very mild relative to what existed in the United States and it would have taken an enormous "pacification" effort to impose American rule. Other schemes were to annex additional segments of Mexico as well as parts or all of central America. Fortunately, sectional rivalries prevented any bipartisan consensus and Buchanan would not act without support. The only plan for territorial acquisition that was eventually completed was the only one that could be executed without conflict, namely the purchase of Alaska from the Russian empire.
Clearly, Buchanan was a president who took the Southern side in most disputes, which sometimes placated the southern radicals and other times emboldened them. Could he have done more to reduce the tensions? Of course. Would it have made a major difference in the outcome? Almost certainly not. The forces in favor of dissolution were becoming so powerful that only blood could have led to a long-term conclusion. Despite his southern leanings, Buchanan was a Unionist who was the last president before the war. In that position, he was the last person to have a chance to avert the conflict. He made many mistakes and if there was any chance at all to avoid the war, those mistakes eliminated it. Smith explains all this in describing the presidency of a man who could have been one of the greatest presidents of all time if he could have found a way to satisfy a set of unsatisfiable conditions.

This is one of those presidents that seem to have a void in the history books. Yes, we can blame him for setting the stage of the Civil War and beyond that, not too much is remembered. Well, this book certaintly doesn't completely fill the history void but it does give you additional color and depth to Buchanan's presidency. My main learning was that Buchanan wasn't a completely worthless president, he just had too many friends and relationships with the South to try to stamp out a start to the Civil War. The second fact I learned from this book was that Buchanan was extremely interested in the expansion of the US, which has tremendous irony considering the secession of the south. In summary, good book on a obscure president.

This book provides an overview of the presidency of James Buchanan. It is not a biography. As a result, this book will not provide an insight into the man's soul or his thinking. That is best saved for biographies of Buchanan. What this does provides is an administrative history of Buchanan's time as overseer of the American government. This was a failed presidency, not only because he could not avert the sectionalism that was so prevalent within society at that point, but also because Buchanan made many poor appointments that weakened his exercise of power. He picked many because they appeased certain constituencies, not because they were capable, and this left him in a hole from which he could not remove himself. At any rate, the book is readable and very well research. It offers an insight into a period of time that has been cast in the shadows of its successor. Get it and learn.

Another of the American Presidency Series and another factual but somewhat shallow look at an American President.