James Buchanan Jr. (/bjuːˈkænən/; 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. Buchanan considered the essence of good self-government was restraint. Regarding slavery and the Constitution, he stated: 'Although in Pennsylvania we are all opposed to slavery in the abstract, we can never violate the constitutional compact we have with our sister states. Their rights will be held sacred by us. Under the constitution it is their own question; and there let it remain.'
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