James Buchanan
Did he ever marry?
No, Buchanan is the only president in U.S. history to never marry. He was engaged to Anne Coleman, who was the daughter of a millionaire who owned a prosperous iron mine. The engagement broke off in 1819 and a short time later Coleman died. Some have speculated that she killed herself.
What was his early education?
Buchanan studied at Old Stone Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. He then attended Dickinson College Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He graduated college in only two years, though he was briefly expelled from college for allegedly participating in drunken, disorderly behavior.
Who appointed him as minister to Russia?
President Andrew Jackson, whom Buchanan supported during his days in the House, appointed Buchanan as minister to Russia in 1831.
Which states seceded from the Union before Buchanan left office?
A few weeks after Abraham Lincoln was elected--but while Buchanan was still in office--South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana seceded from the Union in January 1861. Texas seceded on February 1, 1861. The four other states that seceded--Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee--did so after Lincoln was sworn into office.
Buchanan was blamed for failing to act effectively in preventing war. Upon his death in 1868, the New York Times wrote: "he met the crisis of secession in a timid and vacillating spirit, temporizing with both parties, and studiously avoiding the adoption of a decided policy."
Who was Buchanan's vice president?
John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky served as Buchanan's vice president. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and became the vice president at the age of thirty-six. He remains the youngest person in American history to serve as vice president. He later served in the administration of the Confederate government. He ran for the presidency in the election of 1860 as a southern Democrat, but lost to Republican Abraham Lincoln.
From The Handy Presidents Answer Book, Second Edition by David L. Hudson, Jr., JD., (c) Visible Ink Press(R)
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