{"id":18000,"date":"2024-06-29T12:00:55","date_gmt":"2024-06-29T16:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=18000"},"modified":"2024-09-03T17:57:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T21:57:55","slug":"15-buchanan-james-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitalcitiesusa.org\/?p=18000","title":{"rendered":"#15. Buchanan, James Jr"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Linda Lou Burton posting from Little Rock, Arkansas <\/em>\u2013 James Buchanan Jr (April 23, 1791 \u2013 June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, from 1857 to 1861. We\u2019ve gone from rough and ready <\/em>to dull <\/em>to pretty boy<\/em> in descriptions of the last few presidents. The words obscure<\/em> and forgettable<\/em> also popped up. James Buchanan is the first one that has been accused of treason<\/em> by a biographer. Jean Baker wrote in 2004: \u201cBuchanan’s failing during the crisis over the Union was not inactivity, but rather his partiality for the South, a favoritism that bordered on disloyalty in an officer pledged to defend all the United States.\u2026. In his betrayal of the national trust, Buchanan came closer to committing treason than any other president in American history.\u201d <\/em>OK, she actually said he \u201ccame close.\u201d It\u2019s kind of like that other thing they say about James, with winks and innuendo. I mean, the man never married, so\u2026.did he \u201ccome close\u201d to being gay? James\u2019 romantic life got almost as much coverage as his politics, so let\u2019s just tackle the gossip right away. A truth: he never married. A truth: he was engaged to Anne Coleman in 1819. A truth: she broke off the engagement, and suddenly died. A truth: Her father refused permission for James to attend her funeral.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>There was much more speculation, aka gossip, about William King than Anne, however. William was from Alabama; he was Franklin Pierce\u2019s vice-president for a while, and he and James lived in the same Washington boarding house, and attended social functions together, for ten years. William King had a few nicknames \u2013 Andrew Jackson called him \u201cMiss Nancy,\u201d and others referred to him as James Buchanan\u2019s \u201cbetter half.\u201d Would I invite James to my party? Yes I would. He grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where the Amish cooking is to die for; I\u2019d ask him to bring Shoofly Pie and we could talk about what it was like in those frantic days before our country split apart. I\u2019d invite Harriet too, she was in the thick of it.<\/p>\n

Violet Eyes and Golden Hair<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Harriet Rebecca Lane (May 9, 1830 \u2013 July 3, 1903) was James\u2019 niece. When she was orphaned at 11 James became her guardian; he sent her to boarding schools, and later, as Secretary of State, he introduced her around Washington circles. She joined him in London in 1854 when he was Minister to the court of St James. Harriet was a beauty, described as having \u201cviolet eyes and masses of golden hair;\u201d Queen Victoria was impressed with her; admiring suitors lined up; she even received a proposal of marriage. She was the obvious choice to serve as First Lady for the new Bachelor President in 1857 and was welcomed into the White House with loving admiration. Harriett turned out to be the \u201cJackie Kennedy\u201d of the 1800s; women copied her hair and clothing styles, and parents named their daughters for her. She wasn\u2019t just a \u201cpretty girl,\u201d she used her position to promote social causes, such as improving the living conditions of Native Americans on reservations. She invited artists and musicians to the White House; and she paid careful attention to seating arrangements at the weekly formal dinner parties, keeping political foes apart, a task which eventually became impossible, as seven states had seceded by the end of James\u2019 presidency.<\/p>\n

Yes, that began under James\u2019 watch. What happened between a peaceful Pennsylvania childhood and the splitting apart of a nation that had fought so hard to became \u201cunited\u201d states?<\/p>\n

Back Home In Pennsylvania<\/strong><\/p>\n

A log cabin in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania was where James entered the world on April 23, 1791. Scotch-Irish parents James Sr and Elizabeth Buchanan moved into the town of Mercersburg by the time James was three and James Sr became wealthy; he was a merchant, farmer, and real estate investor. James attended Old Stone Academy and then Dickinson College, graduating with honors in 1809. He moved to Lancaster, which was the state capital at the time, read law, and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1812. He did very well, handling various types of cases, including a much-publicized impeachment trial, and his income grew rapidly. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1814, but when the British invaded Maryland that year he served in the defense of Baltimore as a private in the Pennsylvania Militia. James is the only president with military experience who was not an officer; he was also the last president who served in the War of 1812.<\/p>\n

Government Positions<\/strong><\/p>\n