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James Buchanan, Jr. (; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th President of the United States (1857–1861), serving immediately prior to the American Civil War. He represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives and later the Senate, then served as Minister to Russia under President Andrew Jackson. He was named Secretary of State under President James K. Polk, and is to date the last former Secretary of State to serve as President of the United States. After Buchanan turned down an offer to sit on the Supreme Court, President Franklin Pierce appointed him Ambassador to the United Kingdom, in which capacity he helped draft the Ostend Manifesto. Buchanan was nominated by the Democratic Party in the 1856 presidential election. Throughout most of Pierce's term, he had been stationed in London as a minister to the Court of St. James's, so was not caught up in the crossfire of sectional politics that dominated the country. His subsequent election victory took place in a three-man race with John C. Frémont and Millard Fillmore. As President, he was often called a "doughface", a Northerner with Southern sympathies, who battled with Stephen A. Douglas for control of the Democratic Party. Buchanan's efforts to maintain peace between the North and the South alienated both sides, and the Southern states declared their secession in the prologue to the American Civil War. Buchanan's view of record was that secession was illegal, but that going to war to stop it was also illegal. Buchanan, an attorney, was noted for his mantra, "I acknowledge no master but the law."〔Klein 1962, p. 305.〕 By the time he left office, popular opinion was against him, and the Democratic Party had split. Buchanan had once aspired to be a president that would rank in history with George Washington.〔Klein 1962, p. xviii.〕 However, his inability to identify a ground for peace or address the sharply divided proslavery and antislavery partisans with a unifying principle on the brink of the Civil War has led to his consistent ranking by historians as one of the worst presidents in American history. Historians in both 2006 and 2009 voted his failure to deal with secession the worst presidential mistake ever made. He is, to date, the only president from Pennsylvania and the only president to remain a lifelong bachelor. He was the last president born in the 18th century. ==Early life== Buchanan was born in a log cabin in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania (now Buchanan's Birthplace State Park), in Franklin County, on April 23, 1791, to James Buchanan, Sr. (1761–1821), a businessman, merchant, and farmer, and Elizabeth Speer, an educated woman (1767–1833).〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Buchanan Family 1430 – 1903 )〕 His parents were both of Ulster Scots descent, the father having emigrated from Donegal, Ireland, in 1783. Buchanan had six sisters and four brothers.〔 In 1797, the family moved to nearby Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. The home in Mercersburg was later turned into the James Buchanan Hotel.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The James Buchanan Hotel, Pub & Restaurant – A Brief History )〕 Buchanan attended the village academy (Old Stone Academy) and later Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Though he was nearly expelled at one point for poor behavior, he pleaded for a second chance and subsequently graduated with honors on September 19, 1809.〔Klein 1962, pp. 9–12.〕 Later that year, he moved to Lancaster, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1812. A dedicated Federalist, he initially opposed the War of 1812 because he believed it was an unnecessary conflict. When the British invaded neighboring Maryland, he joined a volunteer light dragoon unit as a private and served in the defense of Baltimore.〔Baker 2004, p. 18.〕 Buchanan is the only president with military experience who did not, at some point, serve as an officer.〔Marco O'Brien, Military.com, (Military trivia facts ), retrieved February 9, 2014〕 An active Freemason, he was the Master of Masonic Lodge No. 43 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and a District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.〔Klein 1962, p. 27.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「James Buchanan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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