The "Finally Hit The Bottom Of The Barrel" Story

President James Buchanan from Lancaster, PA

It was an ordinary day.  Checking the headline that read: "Was Buchanan really that bad?"  I guess you realize the article was talking about James Buchanan.  Most people know him as the 15th President of the United States.  Some also know that he remained single his entire life, that he was from Pennsylvania and that he was the president before Abraham Lincoln.  And, anyone who was president before or after Lincoln is not going to get many accolades for the job they may have or may not have done while president.  Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson, seems to always have his name cast along with Buchanan as the worst presidents in our country's history.  Why is that?  Maybe because it was a tough act to precede or follow.  Buchanan was ill suited to become president on the eve of the Civil War, since he didn't agree with many on the topic of slavery.  He was determined not to interfere with the southern slaveholders, but did believe that the South's secession from the union was illegal.  He also believed that the federal government which he led had no power to stop the states from succeeding and he wasn't going to try.  That's were he and Lincoln crossed paths, since Lincoln believed that restoring peace between the states was essential.  Buchanan did try to do his best to cope with a terrible situation, but that didn't endear him to the majority of the citizens of the North.  Buchanan was a five-time member of the U.S. House, the Secretary of State under James Polk and the U.S. Minister to Great Britain.  In 1856 he took the lead from the incumbent President, Franklin Pierce, on the first ballot and then battled Senator Stephen Douglas for the Presidential nomination.  Buchanan defeated John C. Fremont, of the newly formed Republican Party, in the 1856 Presidential election.  From that point on it was all downhill.  He almost died from an illness shortly after the election and when he stated that the issue of slavery was a matter of but little practical importance he angered not only the Republicans but drove a wedge into the Democratic Party.  

President Buchanan's home in Lancaster called Wheatland.

And then came an economic recession as the Civil War ap- proached.  By 1860 it was well known that Buchanan wasn't going to receive another chance at the  Presidency and eventually Lincoln was elected President.  Well, Lancaster's local hero and only President finally hit the bottom of the polling barrel.  In fact, Buchanan has been ranked among the bottom three in every poll and survey since 1948.  James Buchanan retired to his estate, Wheatland, and lived to see the end of the Civil War.  Just before his death in 1868 in Lancaster, he said, "History will vindicate my memory from every unjust aspersion."  If only he knew!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.