As president, Pierce set out to placate all factions within the Democratic Party. His cabinet included people who opposed slavery and people who favored slavery. Despite the diversity of opinion in his cabinet, Franklin Pierce has the distinction of being the only U.S. president to keep his cabinet intact. Not one of his cabinet members resigned during his administration.
Trying to expand
President Pierce believed in the concept of Manifest Destiny (see Chapter 8). He tried his best to expand the United States, but he was fairly unsuccessful. His attempts included
The Gadsden Purchase: Pierce wanted to buy a chunk of Mexico so that he could build a railroad from New Orleans to San Diego. Pierce offered $20 million to buy all of northern Mexico (most of the existing country). The Mexican government only sold him what today is southern Arizona and southern New Mexico for $15 million.
The Ostend Manifesto: Pierce offered Spain $130 million for Cuba. The Southern states wanted Cuba because Spain was considering freeing all slaves on the island. This would have set a dangerous precedent for the U.S. South. If Spain refused to sell, Pierce was going to threaten war. The manifesto upset Northern Democrats, who feared that the South was attempting to spread slavery, and many European powers. Pierce later disclaimed the manifesto.
Addressing slavery with the Kansas-Nebraska Act
In 1854, Senator Douglas, a Northern Democrat, introduced a bill proposing the creation of the Kansas and Nebraska territories to facilitate building a railroad from his home state of Illinois.
The question of whether the new territories should be free or slave states arose right away. President Pierce and most Democrats favored the concept of popular sovereignty, which allowed the people in the new states to decide for themselves. But to do this, the Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery in the territories, had to be repealed. In 1854, Pierce signed the repeal of the Missouri Compromise into law, and the fat was in the fire.
Nebraska opted to be a free state, but Kansas was split on the issue. When Kansas voted on the issue of slavery, thousands of people from Missouri, a slave state, crossed the border to vote. Slavery won big at the ballot box.
Northerners moved to Kansas to organize an opposition to slavery and establish their own anti-slavery government. Kansas suddenly found itself with two governments. Pierce recognized the pro-slavery government. A small civil war broke out — it was referred to as Bleeding Kansas (see the section of the same name later in this chapter).
With the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, Pierce committed political suicide. His own party turned away from him, and he didn’t even attempt to run for reelection in 1856, saying, “There’s nothing left but to get drunk.”
Controversial to the end
Pierce continued to be controversial even after he retired. In 1860, he endorsed Jefferson Davis for the presidency. After Lincoln’s win that same year, Pierce became an outspoken critic of Lincoln — especially of the Emancipation Proclamation.
After his wife, Jane, and his best friend, Nathaniel Hawthorne, died in 1863 and 1864, respectively, Pierce found himself all alone. He found solace in the bottle and died a bitter man in 1869.
Failing to Save the Union: James Buchanan
James Buchanan, shown in Figure 9-4, is one of the two lowest-rated presidents in U.S. history. (See Chapter 2 for more information on presidential ratings.) His notable accomplishments before becoming president in 1857 are ignored by many.
Figure 9-4: James Buchanan, 15th president of the United States.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress
James Buchanan loved and lived by the Constitution. He believed that, as president, he could do only what the Constitution explicitly stated. So he tolerated slavery, even though he personally opposed it. When the Southern states started to secede, Buchanan did nothing, waiting for Congress to act. Congress, split over the issue, didn’t help Buchanan with the decision — so he didn’t act. In turn, he, not Congress, received the blame for not saving the Union.
James Buchanan disliked the institution of slavery so much that he bought slaves in Washington, D.C. and took them back to Pennsylvania to set them free.
A self-made man
James Buchanan was born in 1791 in Pennsyl-vania. His father was a small town businessman. James went to average schools and proved to be a mediocre student. The college he attended, Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, expelled him for partying too much. He did manage to graduate after promising to change his lifestyle. Buchanan began to study law in 1809. He found his true calling and became a successful, wealthy lawyer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
While practicing law, Buchanan fell in love and became engaged to be married. But his fiancée broke their engagement over what Buchanan called a minor disagreement. She committed suicide shortly thereafter. Buchanan never recovered from her suicide. He remained single for the rest of his life. James Buchanan is the only unmarried president in U.S. history.
Buchanan’s early career
Buchanan volunteered to fight in the War of 1812, but he didn’t see any action. So he returned home and started his long political career. In 1814, he was elected to the Pennsylvania state legislature. From there, he slowly worked his way up the political ladder.
For the next half century, Buchanan served his country in many roles. Buchanan’s political jobs included
U.S. congressman: Buchanan started his national career in 1821 when he entered the House of Representatives as a Federalist. When the party fell apart, he became a supporter of Andrew Jackson and joined the Democrats.
Ambassador to Russia: Buchanan became ambassador to Russia in 1832 and established commercial ties with the country.
U.S. senator: Buchanan entered the U.S. Senate in 1834 and served 12 years.
Secretary of state: In 1845, President Polk appointed Buchanan secretary of state. Buchanan proved to be a capable leader in this role, settling the Oregon Territory dispute with Great Britain (see Chapter 8). On the other hand, he failed to buy Cuba from Spain.
Ambassador to Great Britain: Buchanan retired after he failed to receive the 1852 presidential nomination from the Democratic Party. But President Pierce called him out of retirement and sent him to Europe in 1853. In Europe, Buchanan participated in the disastrous Ostend Manifesto (see “Sympathizing with the South: Franklin Pierce” earlier in this chapter).
President James Buchanan (1857–1861)
In 1856, the Democratic Party was split again over the issue of slavery. The Democrats couldn’t agree on a candidate for the presidency, so they started to look for a compromise candidate. They needed someone acceptable to the pro-slavery Southern wing of the party, as well as the anti-slavery Northern wing. Buchanan was a perfect fit. He was a Northerner who personally opposed slavery but believed that the institution of slavery was constitutional.
In the 1856 election, Buchanan faced a new political party. The Republican Party, which was opposed to slavery, ran a candidate for the first time in its short history. In addition, former president Fillmore ran as a third party candidate on the extreme right. Buchanan won the election easily, with the backing of all the Southern states.
Starting out with a bang
James Buchanan became president in March 1857. The infamous Dred Scott decision undermined his presidency right away.
Two days after Buchanan’s inauguration, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Dred Scott decision (see the sidebar in this section), wherein the Court ruled that slaves were property, not people. The ruling drove the country closer to civil war.
Bleeding Kansas
Under the provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Kansas could decide for itself whether to become a slave state. (See the earlier section, “Addressing slavery with the Kansas-Nebraska Act.”) By 1857, Kansas had two governments. The government in favor of slavery created the “Lecompton Constitution,” allowing slavery in the state. The anti-slavery government, headquartered in Topeka, refused to recognize
the new state constitution. When Kansas applied for statehood in 1857, Buchanan accepted the pro-slavery constitution, even though it failed in a statewide popular referendum. The state of Kansas held a new referendum, and slavery failed again. Congress decided not to admit Kansas, and Buchanan took blame from both sides.
President Buchanan had stated early on that he wanted to serve only one term. When the 1860 elections came around, the question of his succession split the Democratic Party. When the Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas, who opposed slavery, for president, the Southern Democrats walked out. The Southern Democrats nominated their own candidate, Vice President John Breckinridge, for the presidency. Because two Democratic candidates ran for the presidency, splitting the Democratic vote, the Republican nominee, Abraham Lincoln, was elected president.
The Dred Scott decision
Dred Scott was a slave who had been taken by his owner from a slave state, Missouri, to a free state, Illinois, and then back to Missouri. Scott refused to go back to being a slave, arguing that, because he had been in a free state, he was a U.S. citizen and not a slave. The Missouri State Supreme Court agreed with Scott, so his owner took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1857, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Roger Taney, a Southerner, wrote, “slaves are property and not people.”
Taney’s ruling stated that slaves were not citizens and had no political rights. The ruling also held that because slaves were property, they had to be returned to their rightful owners, even if they fled to states where slavery was illegal. Taney said that outlawing slavery was illegal, which opened the door to slavery in the new states.
The South, of course, applauded the decision, while the Northern states chose to ignore it. The decision solidified Northern support against slavery. Many Northern Democrats left their own party and joined the anti-slavery Republicans.
Sitting by through secession
After Lincoln won the presidency in 1860, Buchanan just sat out the end of his term. South Carolina and other Southern states had proclaimed that a Lincoln win would lead to secession. When the states started to secede, Buchanan stood by, believing that he didn’t have the constitutional authority to prevent a state from seceding. He tried desperately to find a solution, but his compromises all failed. So he let them go.
Buchanan left the office of president on March 4, 1861, telling Lincoln, “My dear sir, if you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel in returning to Wheatland, you are a happy man indeed.”
Throughout the Civil War, Buchanan supported the Union and defended both Presidents Lincoln and Johnson. Buchanan died at home in 1868. Shortly before his death, he published a book, Mr. Buchanan’s Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion, in which he defended his policies.
Part IV
Becoming a Force in the World: Lincoln to Hoover
In this part . . .
Ilook first at the greatest of all our presidents, Abraham Lincoln, and his valiant attempts to save the union and to end slavery in the United States.
His successors all set the foundation for the country to become an economic and military power. Some were successful, such as presidents Arthur, Cleveland, and Harrison; others failed. The failures include our first president to be impeached, Andrew Johnson, and Ulysses S. Grant, a great war hero. Both their presidencies were smeared by corruption and scandals. And, you may be surprised to discover how a candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes, lost the presidential election and still became president of the U.S.
Next, I turn to the presidents who turned the U.S. into a world power. There was William McKinley, an imperialist, who enlarged the U.S. by annexing Hawaii and winning the Spanish American War. Who can forget about Teddy Roosevelt? He not only gave us the Panama Canal and was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but he also established the tradition of protecting the average American from the excesses of big business. Woodrow Wilson is famous for saving democracy in Europe by entering World War I and reforming the country back home. He is the president who gave women the right to vote in 1920. Finally he set the foundation for the United Nations by giving us its predecessor the League of Nations.
It’s a shame that I have to close this part by looking at the three presidents of the 1920s. One, Warren G. Harding, was immoral; one, Calvin Coolidge, preferred sleeping to work; and the final one, Herbert Hoover, even though a great human being and humanitarian, reacted too little too late to the Great Depression.
Chapter 10
Preserving the Union: Abraham Lincoln
In This Chapter
Entering politics
Becoming a national figure
Winning the presidency
Starting the Civil War
Doing away with slavery
A braham Lincoln ranks first in most surveys of great U.S. presidents. It doesn’t make a difference whether you ask a professor or the average U.S. citizen. Both rank Lincoln as the most successful of all U.S. presidents.
Does Lincoln deserve this honor? Certainly. Besides saving the Union, Lincoln created the modern presidency by absorbing many of the powers Congress used to possess.
Abraham Lincoln was a kind, gentle man and a true humanitarian. Had he lived to finish serving as executive officer, the process of reintegrating the Southern states into the Union might have worked better. On the other hand, one of the great misconceptions in U.S. history is that Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery. It is true that he hated the institution and considered it immoral, but at the same time, he believed that slavery was constitutional, and he pledged to maintain it in the Southern states. All he really wanted to do was to prevent the expansion of slavery into new territories.
Lincoln’s Early Political Career
Lincoln ran for the Illinois state legislature in 1832. The general store he’d been working in went out of business about a month after he declared his candidacy, so he joined the military. The Black Hawk War broke out in 1832 and Lincoln became captain of a company of militiamen, though he never saw any action.
He returned home just two weeks before the election took place. With just a few days to campaign, Lincoln lost the election badly, which didn’t surprise him. As a Whig, he figured he would have a tough time winning because the country was moving to the Democratic Party. Despite this, Lincoln had decided to run as a Whig and supported the National Republican candidate Henry Clay in 1832, who lost badly to Andrew Jackson.
After the election, Lincoln opened his own general store in New Salem. Lincoln got a break after his store went out of business. Because he was popular and well liked, he was given the job of postmaster for New Salem. The job gave him time to read. Lincoln continued his education by reading about law, politics, and the world.
Most importantly, the job of postmaster gave him the name recognition he needed to run for political office again. When he ran for the Illinois state legislature in 1834, he won — and he kept winning. He was reelected in 1836, 1838, and 1840. Soon, he was leader of the Whigs in the Illinois state legislature.
Born in a log cabin
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in Kentucky. His father, Thomas, was a carpenter by trade who provided well for the family. His mother Nancy was completely illiterate. She signed her marriage certificate with an X.
Instead of going to school, Lincoln hunted and worked on his father’s farm. In 1816, the family moved to Indiana. They arrived in winter and didn’t have enough time to build a log cabin. So Abraham’s father built an open shelter, which kept the family sheltered through the winter.
In 1818, tragedy struck when Lincoln’s mother died. The following year, his father remarried a kind, gentle woman who took an interest in Lincoln and pushed him to attend the local schools. Lincoln received a crude education, but he did learn how to read and write.
After school, Lincoln became skilled at splitting rails — using an ax to divide logs to make fence rails — people even referred to him as the “Rail-splitter” during his presidential campa
igns.
In 1830, the Lincoln family moved to Illinois where Lincoln helped his father build a livelihood and received his first introduction to politics. The manager of a local general store in New Salem, Illinois hired Lincoln for a full-time clerk position. The general store happened to be the meeting point for New Salem’s citizens. The citizens discussed many issues, including politics, and Lincoln joined in on the discussions. He further added to his interest in politics by reading newspapers and books, and joining a debating society.
Getting ready for the national level
Abraham Lincoln used his seat in the Illinois state legislature as a springboard to national-level politics. In 1836, he spearheaded the successful effort to move the state capital of Illinois from Vandalia to Springfield.
To accomplish this feat, Lincoln employed a strategy called logrolling, whereby he and his colleagues who favored moving the capital voted for bills other legislators supported, and in return, those legislators voted for Lincoln’s bill.
Lincoln was a Whig in the truest sense. As a legislator, he supported business interests and constructing roads and bridges in Illinois.
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