14. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) — 14. PIERCE

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) — 16. LINCOLN

OVERVIEW:

BORN:
April 23, 1791;
Cove Gap, Pennsylvania

DIED:
June 1, 1868 (age 77);
Lancaster, Pennsylvania

EDUCATION:
Dickinson College

POLITICAL PARTY:
Democrat

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
1814-1816:
Member, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
1821-1831:
U.S. House of Representatives (D-PA)
1829-1831:
Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
1832-1833:
U.S. Minister to Russia
1834-1845:
U.S. Senator (D-PA)
1845-1849:
U.S. Secretary of State
1853-1856:
U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom
1857-1861:
15th President of the United States

ACTING FIRST LADY:

VICE PRESIDENT:

RESOURCES:

BIOGRAPHIES:
White House
Biographical Directory Congress
American Presidents (C-SPAN)
American National Biography
State Department
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
UVA Miller Center
Wikipedia

PAPERS:
Library of Congress
American Presidency Project (UCSB)
Lancaster County Historical Society
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
The Works of James Buchanan
Dickinson College

RECOMMENDED BOOKS:

**PRESIDENT JAMES BUCHANAN: A BIOGRAPHY** by Philip S. Klein

1856 ELECTION:

DEMOCRAT:
JAMES BUCHANAN (PRESIDENT)
JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE (VICE PRESIDENT)
Electoral Vote: 174 (58.8%)
Popular Vote: 1,836,072 (45.3%)

REPUBLICAN:
JOHN C. FREMONT (PRESIDENT)
WILLIAM L. DAYTON (VICE PRESIDENT)
Electoral Vote: 114 (38.5%)
Popular Vote: 1,342,345 (33.1%)

WHIG-AMERICAN:
MILLARD FILLMORE (PRESIDENT)
ANDREW JACKSON DONELSON (VICE PRESIDENT)
Electoral Vote: 8 (2.7%)
Popular Vote: 873,053 (21.6%)

1857 INAUGURATION:

BuchananInaug — The Inauguration of President James Buchanan at the east front of the U. S. Capitol on March 4, 1857. (Library of Congress)

Inaugural Address
Library of Congress
Joint Congressional Committee
Wikipedia

BUCHANAN ADMINISTRATION:

President James Buchanan and his cabinet. From Left to Right: Secretary of the Interior Jacob Thompson, Secretary of State Lewis Cass, Secretary of War John B. Floyd, President Buchanan, Secretary of the Treasury Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Navy Isaac Toucey, Postmaster General Joseph Holt, and Attorney General Jeremiah S. Black (Library of Congress)

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR:
Jacob Thompson (1857–1861)

ATTORNEY GENERAL:
Jeremiah S. Black (1857–1860)
Edwin M. Stanton (1860–1861)

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY:
Isaac Toucey (1857–1861)

POSTMASTER GENERAL:
Aaron V. Brown (1857–1859)
Joseph Holt (1859–1861)
Horatio King (1861)

SECRETARY OF STATE:
Lewis Cass (1857–1860)
Jeremiah S. Black (1860–1861)

SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY:
Howell Cobb (1857–1860)
Philip F. Thomas (1860–1861)
John A. Dix (1861)

SECRETARY OF WAR:
John B. Floyd (1857–1860)
Joseph Holt (1861)

SUPREME COURT NOMINEES:

Nathan Clifford (1858-1881)
Jeremiah S. Black (Rejected by Senate)

CONGRESS:

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE:
James L. Orr (1857-1860)
William Pennington (1860-1861)

SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE:
James M. Mason (1857)
Thomas J. Rusk (1857)
Benjamin Fitzpatrick (1857-1860)
Jesse D. Bright (1860)
Benjamin Fitzpatrick (1860)
Solomon Foot (1861)

HISTORIC SITES:

Wheatland, the former home of President James Buchanan in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Photo Credit: Allie Caufield/ Flckr/ licensed under CC BY 2.0)

James Buchanan’s Wheatland
Virtual Tour
Wheatland