BUCHANAN 



970 



BUCHANAN 



In his American policy, Buchanan worked 

 hard for the annexation of Cuba, parts of 

 Central America and possibly Mexico, and even 

 went to the point of urging Congress to give 

 him authority to send troops into Mexico in 

 order to dispose of one of the rival fac- 

 tions there. He encouraged William Walker, 

 the filibuster who for a time was dictator of 

 Nicaragua. The Republicans insisted that his 

 purpose was to bring more slave-holding terri- 

 tory into the Union. The Senate, although 

 Democratic, refused to sanction any of these 

 schemes. 



In his domestic policy, Buchanan was equally 

 unfortunate. He foresaw the danger of dis- 

 union, but he took no steps to prevent it, and 

 even gave a sort of passive encouragement to 

 those who urged a separation. He was by 

 nature a compromiser. Two days after his 

 inauguration the Supreme Court of the United 

 States announced its decision in the Dred Scott 

 case (which see) ; the Court held that Congress 

 had no right to interfere with slavery in the 

 territories. Meanwhile, the struggle in Kansas 

 went on with increasing bitterness. At first 

 Buchanan had agreed to the principle of pop- 

 ular sovereignty, but under the influence of the 

 Southerners in his Cabinet he seems to have 

 been led to the conclusion that the only way 

 to prevent secession of the Southern states 

 was to secure the adoption, of the Lecompton 

 Constitution. Although it was once rejected 

 by the people of Kansas, the President gave 

 it his support, declared that Kansas was "al- 

 ready a slave state, as much as Georgia or 

 South Carolina," and urged Congress to admit 

 it. Largely through the influence of Stephen 

 A. Douglas, Congress refused to consider the 

 Lecompton Constitution, and sent it back to 

 the people of Kansas, where it was decisively 

 defeated for the second time. In 1859 occurred 

 John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry (see 

 BROWN, JOHN). In spite of this evidence of 

 violent hostility to slavery, Buchanan did noth- 

 ing to quell the rising storm. He was still 

 much influenced in his attitude by the South- 

 ern members of the Cabinet, particularly 

 Howell Cobb of Georgia and John B. Floyd of 

 Virginia. 



Buchanan was by this time identified in the 

 popular mind with the extreme pro-slavery 

 Democrats, yet the fact that he was not con-* 

 sidered for renomination either by the North- 

 ern or Southern Democrats is some evidence 

 that he was still trying to steer a middle 

 course. Vice-President Breckinridge was nom- 



inated for President by the extreme pro-slav- 

 ery Democrats, and Douglas by the moderate 

 Democrats. The Constitutional Union party 

 nominated John Bell, while the Republicans 

 named Abraham Lincoln. Although the Re- 

 publicans disclaimed any intention of inter- 

 fering with slavery in the states, the election 

 of Lincoln was followed by the secession of 

 the Southern states, led by South Carolina. In 

 February, 1861, the seceded states formed a 

 new government which they called the Con- 

 federate States of America (which see). Dur- 

 ing this period, between Lincoln's election in 

 November, 1860, and his inauguration in 

 March, 1861, a heavy responsibility rested on 

 Buchanan. In his annual message to Con- 

 gress in December, 1860, he argued that there 

 was no right of secession, but on the other 

 hand, he could see no way of preventing seces- 

 sion because any interference would involve 

 war upon a state. He declared that the North 

 was responsible for the break in the Union 

 because it would not cease its criticism of 

 slavery. 



The whole issue came to a head when, on 

 December 26, Major Anderson removed his lit- 

 tle garrison to Fort Sumter from Fort Moultrie, 

 which was almost defenseless against new bat- 

 teries constructed by the South Carolina gov- 

 ernment. When South Carolina's commission- 

 ers came to him to offer "peace and amity 

 between that commonwealth and the govern- 

 ment at Washington," Buchanan refused to see 

 them, except as "private gentlemen of the 

 highest character." Yet he was inclined to 

 yield to South Carolina's demand that he with- 

 draw the garrison from Fort Sumter. Lewis 

 Cass, Secretary of State, resigned because he 

 thought that the President was not properly 

 defending his country, and Floyd, Secretary of 

 War, resigned after being discredited in a 

 money scandal. Jeremiah S. Black and Edwin 

 M. Stanton, who had succeeded Cass and 

 Floyd, respectively, threatened to resign if the 

 President surrendered Fort Sumter. Under 

 their influence and that of John A. Dix of New 

 York and Horatio King of Maine, two staunch 

 Unionists who came into the Cabinet when 

 Howell Cobb and Jacob Thompson resigned 

 to join their states in secession, Buchanan was 

 persuaded to take a firmer stand, and even 

 consented to the attempt to relieve Fort Sum- 

 ter (which see) by the steamer Star oj the 

 West. (See also, WAR OF SECESSION.) 



Buchanan did not want war, but after its 

 beginning he wrote to John A. Dix that Lin- 



