I'm not too knowledgeable of Buchanan's role specifically in the events leading up to the war, and I'm not asking this as some attempt to defend him, but so many times I've read something along the lines of "Buchanan consistently ranks at/near the bottom because of his failure to find a compromise to prevent the Civil War".
Was there really a compromise to be had in regard to slavery? What would that have been? Let some states peacefully secede because the whole country couldn't agree on slavery? Set up some legal guidelines/restrictions on slavery if they stay in the Union?
I can't see how anyone in office at that time, Buchanan or not, would've avoided a war without allowing slavery to continue. I'm sure there are Constitutional experts out there that could explain how secession could work when there are significant differences amongst major segments of the population. But the conversation is different when you're talking about inbred rednecks that are willing to die for their "right" to own other people.
So seriously, what compromise was this poor douche supposed to pull out of his ass?
The thing is that compromise had worked for the past few decades simply by both pro-and-anti-slavery advocates trying not to upset the delicate balance of power. Buchanan was a staunch pro-slavery ideologue, and spent his entire administration doing his best to strengthen the South, which meant that when Lincoln was elected, the South felt like they had lost more than ever (especially since Buchanan was instrumental in the Dredd Scott decision which effectively legalized slavery nationwide). Wiki has a good overview on his presidency.
Compromise only "worked" to avoid war, though. It didn't work too well for the slaves. I guess my question really should've been...was slavery so firmly established as a "right" by this point that war was inevitable if slavery in the US was to end? If Buchanan had worked out some new compromise, it wouldn't have been a permanent solution. My guess is that it would've meant a delayed, but bloodier war because of an even stronger sense of entitlement from the South.
You're right. People asking for a comprimise 160 years too late forget the missouri compromise, bleeding kansas, the Lecompton crisis and John Brown's raids. Slavery and slave states had to continually expand in order to remain economically viable, there was no compromise that slave states could accept, which is why war was necessary. James Buchanon was a Democrat who represented Southern interests, he could not find a compromise because the South could not accept any compromise and remain competitive with the North.
The reason Buchanon is the worst President is because he sees the Civil War coming and tries to set up a Southern victory during his administration.
I feel like I’d act like him if I were president. I don’t want this job, so I’m not gonna do this job. You all are fucked and I want to go home.
Which is why I will never run for office, though I’m sure that I’ll be forced to do it like he was.
Fuck.
Hello Emperor Tiberius.
spoiler
doesn't want the job of Emperor-heir
Emperor Augustus says fine, fuck you, I won't give you the job
happy for a few years
Augustus comes back, says "Everyone else died, I need you to take the job"
plead not to get the job
Augustus forces you to divorce your wife who you love and take the job anyway
become Emperor when Augustus dies
immediately plead for the Senate to take up its ancient prerogatives and rule
Senate refuses because they've all been replaced with lazy bootlicking bastards by Augustus before you came into power
spend a few years being a miserable and sad bastard but doing your job competently
finally get sick of it and retire to an island with near-zero communication with the outside world, because fuck everyone else
word gets to you that the guy you left in charge is just slaughtering people in preparation for a coup
go back to Rome reluctantly
execute a bunch of the stupid bastards who let it happen
die miserable, just as you lived
James Buchanans legacy stands as that of the single worst president in American history
Er, wait, there was this other guy. What was his name again? Ironically, he still seems to be in the running for the current election.
He hasn't caused a civil war yet (if this comment ages like milk feel free to call me stupid)
