claim: B. R. Ambedkar was an Indian politician during the British Raj.
evidence: James Buchanan Jr. -LRB- -LSB- bjuːˈkænən -RSB- April 23 , 1791June 1 , 1868 -RRB- was the 15th President of the United States -LRB- 1857 -- 61 -RRB- , serving immediately prior to the American Civil War .. 15th President of the United States. List of Presidents of the United States. American Civil War. American Civil War. He is the only president from Pennsylvania , the only president to remain a lifelong bachelor , and the last president born in the 18th century .. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. bachelor. bachelor. last president born. List of Presidents of the United States by date and place of birth. A member of the Democratic Party , he was the 17th United States Secretary of State and served in the the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives .. Democratic. Democratic Party ( United States ). 17th. List of United States Secretaries of State. United States Secretary of State. United States Secretary of State. Democratic Party. Democratic Party ( United States ). United States Senate. United States Senate. United States House of Representatives. United States House of Representatives. Buchanan was born in Cove Gap , Pennsylvania to parents of Ulster Scots descent .. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. Ulster Scots. Ulster Scots people. He became a prominent lawyer in Lancaster , Pennsylvania and won election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as a Federalist .. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Federalist. Federalist Party. In 1820 , Buchanan won election to the United States House of Representatives , eventually becoming aligned with Andrew Jackson 's Democratic Party .. Democratic. Democratic Party ( United States ). Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson. Democratic Party. Democratic Party ( United States ). United States House of Representatives. United States House of Representatives. After serving as Jackson 's Minister to Russia , Buchanan won election as a Senator from Pennsylvania .. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. Minister to Russia. United States Ambassador to Russia. In 1845 , he accepted appointment as President James K. Polk 's Secretary of State .. James K. Polk. James K. Polk. During Buchanan 's tenure as Secretary of State , the United States grew immensely with the conclusion of the Oregon Treaty and victory in the Mexican-American War .. Oregon Treaty. Oregon Treaty. Mexican-American War. Mexican-American War. From 1853 to 1856 , during the presidency of Franklin Pierce , Buchanan served as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom .. Franklin Pierce. Franklin Pierce. United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. A major contender for his party 's presidential nomination throughout the 1840s and 1850s , Buchanan finally won his party 's nomination in 1856 , defeating Pierce and Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the 1856 Democratic National Convention .. Democratic. Democratic Party ( United States ). Stephen A. Douglas. Stephen A. Douglas. 1856 Democratic National Convention. 1856 Democratic National Convention. Buchanan and his running mate , John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky , defeated Republican John C. Fremont and Know-Nothing Millard Fillmore to win the 1856 election .. John C. Breckinridge. John C. Breckinridge. Republican. Republican Party ( United States ). John C. Fremont. John C. Fremont. Know-Nothing. Know-Nothing. Millard Fillmore. Millard Fillmore. 1856 election. United States presidential election, 1856. Shortly after his election , Buchanan lobbied the Supreme Court to issue a broad ruling in Dred Scott v. Sandford , which he fully endorsed as president .. Dred Scott v. Sandford. Dred Scott v. Sandford. He allied with the South in attempting to gain the admission of Kansas to the Union as a slave state under the Lecompton Constitution .. Kansas. Kansas. slave state. slave state. Lecompton Constitution. Lecompton Constitution. In the process , he alienated both Republican abolitionists and Northern Democrats , most of whom supported the principle of popular sovereignty in determining a new state 's slaveholding status .. Republican. Republican Party ( United States ). popular sovereignty. popular sovereignty. He was often called a `` doughface , '' a Northerner with Southern sympathies , and he fought with Douglas , the leader of the popular sovereignty faction , for control of the Democratic Party .. Democratic. Democratic Party ( United States ). Democratic Party. Democratic Party ( United States ). popular sovereignty. popular sovereignty. doughface. doughface. control of the Democratic Party. History of the United States Democratic Party. In the midst of the growing sectional crisis , the Panic of 1857 struck the nation .. Panic of 1857. Panic of 1857. Buchanan indicated in his 1857 inaugural address that he would not seek a second term , and he kept his word and did not run for re-election in the 1860 presidential election .. 1860 presidential election. United States presidential election, 1860. After his party splintered , largely along geographic lines , Buchanan supported Vice President Breckinridge over Douglas , who won the support of most Northern Democrats .. Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln , running on a platform of keeping slavery out of all Western territories , defeated both Democrats and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell to win the election .. Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln. Republican. Republican Party ( United States ). Constitutional Union. Constitutional Union Party ( United States ). John Bell. John Bell ( Tennessee politician ). In response , seven Southern states declared their secession from the Union , eventually leading to the American Civil War .. American Civil War. American Civil War. secession. Secession in the United States. Buchanan 's view was that secession was illegal , but that going to war to stop it was also illegal , and so did n't confront the new polity militarily .. secession. Secession in the United States. Buchanan supported the United States during the Civil War , and publicly defended himself against charges that he was responsible for the war .. He died in 1868 at age 77 .. Buchanan aspired to be a president who would rank in history with George Washington .. George Washington. George Washington. His inability to address the sharply divided pro-slavery and anti-slavery 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 .. worst presidents. Historical rankings of presidents of the United States. Historians who participated in a 2006 survey voted his failure to deal with secession the worst presidential mistake ever made .. secession. Secession in the United States