James Buchanan Jr. (; April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861, serving directly prior to the American Civil War. A member of the Democratic Party for much of his career, Buchanan served as Secretary of State and represented Pennsylvania in both houses of the U.S. Congress before becoming president. In 1845, he was appointed to serve as President James K. Polk's Secretary of State. He was a major contender for his party's presidential nomination throughout the 1840s and 1850s and was finally nominated in 1856, defeating incumbent President Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the 1856 Democratic National Convention. Buchanan and running mate John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky defeated Republican John C. Frémont and Know-Nothing former president Millard Fillmore to win the 1856 presidential election. A bronze and granite memorial residing near the southeast corner of Washington, D.C.'s Meridian Hill Park was designed by architect William Gorden Beecher and sculpted by Maryland artist Hans Schuler. James Buchanan: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress.