James Buchanan

[[File:JamesBuchananPortrait.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Dear god, the hair. And what's with the look on his face? Is he coming on to us?]]{{uspolitics}}
{{distinguish|{{wpl|James M. Buchanan}}, who was a bastard in his own way}}
{{cquote|As a nation, we began by declaring that '''"all men are created equal."''' We now practically read it '''"all men are created equal, except Negroes."''' When the [[Know Nothing|Know Nothings]] get control, it will read '''"all men are created equal, except Negroes, foreigners, and Catholics."''' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty — to [[Russia]], for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.|||from [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s letter arguing against [[bigotry]], indirectly giving the middle finger to Buchanan's "Neutrality"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090701175223/http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/manzanar/thinking3.html Letter to Joshua Speed quoted in "Suffering Under a Great Injustice": Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar] ''Library of Congress'' (archived from July 1, 2009).</ref>}}

'''James Buchanan Jr.''' {{lived|1791|1868}} was an [[United States|American]] traitor who was a flaming [[States' rights|state rights]] [[racism|doughface]] and the 15th [[President of the United States]](!), serving from 1857 to 1861. Originally a member of the deceased [[Federalist Party]],<ref name=beforepresident>[https://millercenter.org/president/buchanan/life-before-the-presidency/ JAMES BUCHANAN: LIFE BEFORE THE PRESIDENCY.] ''Miller Center''</ref> he later joined the [[Democratic Party]].<ref group=note>Although, remember at this time, the party was '''extremely''' [[Racism|racist]]. You can thank one [[Andrew Jackson]] for that one.</ref>

Just about every time someone brings up James Buchanan, they say or suggest strongly that he was the "Worst US President Ever".<ref>[https://www.history.com/news/why-is-james-buchanan-considered-one-of-americas-worst-presidents/ Why is James Buchanan considered one of America’s worst presidents?] ''History''.</ref><ref>Eric Black, [https://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2020/10/worst-u-s-president-consider-james-buchanan/ “Worst U.S. president? Consider James Buchanan”], ''Minnpost'', October 10, 2020</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22946672/ James Buchanan: Worst US president?] ''BBC''.</ref><ref>[https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-worst-president-james-buchanan-214252 Worst. President. Ever.] ''Politico Magazine''</ref><ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/why-james-buchanan-was-a-bad-president-2017-3?r=US&IR=T One of the worst US presidents in history wasn't just incompetent — it was his beliefs that led to failure.] ''Business Insider''</ref><ref>[https://www.usnews.com/news/special-reports/the-worst-presidents/slideshows/the-10-worst-presidents?slide=11/ Even the Top 10 lists are nasty.]</ref> American history enthusiasts can assure you that this title is 100% deserved. Buchanan inflicted more damage on his own country than any other president, damage so severe that it took until [[Reconstruction|1865]] and [[2021 U.S. Capitol riot|2021]] to even find two competitors, and the adverse impacts of his failures (and his severely defective sense of morality) are still felt today.

He was way worse than [[George W. Bush|Dubya]], [[Ronald Reagan|Saint Reagan]], [[Richard Nixon|Tricky Dick]], [[Woodrow Wilson|Professor Wilson]], and even his godawful predecessor and cowardly doughface, [[Franklin Pierce]]. The only two competitors he has for the dishonor of being the worst president are [[Andrew Johnson]], who bungled [[Reconstruction]], allowed a [[Lost Cause of the South|stab-in-the-back myth]] to take hold in the former territory of a [[Confederate States of America|racist breakaway nation]] that formed because of Buchanan, and ended up scaling back [[Civil Rights]] for a century, and [[Donald Trump]], who mishandled the [[COVID-19]] pandemic, told many lies, and incited [[2021 U.S. Capitol riot|an armed insurrection]] after [[2020 U.S. presidential election|a divisive election]] in which there were fears of civil unrest, but Buchanan is still '''far''' worse than even the racist tailor from [[Tennessee]] and the man with a tan from [[New York]].<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/walmart-pulls-guns-ammo-displays-in-u-s-stores-citing-civil-unrest-11604002136 Walmart pulls guns and ammos from stores, citing potential post-election civil unrest]</ref> "Why is he so bad?", you ask? Simple. His incompetence, passivity, corruption, and pro-[[slavery]] sympathies '''brought about the [[American Civil War]]''', one of the bloodiest conflicts in the country's history, leaving at least 620,000 Americans dead, an unimaginable death toll placed indirectly on his record.<ref>[https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/civil-war-casualties Civil War Casualties], ''American Battlefield Trust''.</ref> At a time when the country needed stability and order, he blatantly favored the interests of slavers despite claiming neutrality,<ref>[https://www.history.com/news/james-buchanan-bought-and-freed-slaves-but-not-for-the-reason-you-might-think/ James Buchanan Bought and Freed Slaves—But Not For the Reason You Might Think.] ''History''</ref> digging the trenches early between the North and South. If he wasn't enough of a [[hypocrite]], he blamed the ''abolitionists'' for blocking the solution to the slavery issue. He then proceeded to insist the slaves were treated with "[[Wronger than wrong|kindness and humanity]]",<ref>[https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2013/9/30/1242522/-The-Four-Worst-American-Presidents/ The Four Worst American Presidents], ''Daily Kos''. (This article reports on a ranking placing Buchanan at the bottom, with Pierce, [[Warren G. Harding]], and [[William Henry Harrison]] coming ahead of him, in ascending order.)</ref> an absurd defense for perhaps the worst of America's [[crimes against humanity]] and was so stupidly false that it leaves one wondering if Buchanan had defenestrated<ref group=note>In case you aren't aware, defenestration is literally the act of chucking something/someone out a window. No, seriously! Enjoy learning something new today. Well, either way, Buchanan most definitely defenestrated the entire future of the USA by extension. Thanks a lot, mate.</ref> his common sense.<ref>[https://www.ushistory.org/us/27b.asp Slave Life and Slave Codes], ''UShistory.org''.</ref> Although he debatably tried to prevent the American Civil War,<ref group=note>If you were to consider merely speaking out against secession as "trying". AKA, the '''bare minimum effort'''.</ref> many of his policies ended up dividing the Union further. Buchanan's passivity on the slavery issue and being frankly evil to the Northern states and territories, is considered by the majority of historians to have been one of the leading causal factors in the outbreak of the American Civil War.

Overall, the Democratic reasoning behind the choice of Buchanan, as the "let's all get along guy", is a [[lie]]. He was not only a dyed-in-the-wool [[racist]], but was also very authoritarian and corrupt as president, was all over [[slavery]] at any moment you looked, and he left the [[United States]] to kick and scream their way through all [[Southern Strategy|manner]] [[Tea Party|of]] [[White supremacy|demons]]. Sadly, most historians will talk about "how [[Homosexuality|gay]] he was, and his secret affair with one William Rufus King". The damage done by the toxic presidency of this stupid president is a topic so underdiscussed, that it is frankly avoided, even when the nation desperately needed to [[2020 U.S. presidential election|uproot]] and [[2021 U.S. Capitol riot|acknowledge]] the nation's domestic and racial extremism, that has been caused over generations because of his evil and toxic legacy.

==Calm before the storm==
Despite what you might think, on paper, Buchanan was remarkably qualified to hold the highest office of Government. He was a member of the [[Fun:Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] House of Representatives, was in both houses of [[Congress]], served as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Minister<ref group=note>The early American government thought "Ambassador" was too highfaluting a title for representatives abroad and used "Minister" instead for a century or so after the federal founding.</ref> to [[Russia]], Secretary of State AND Minister to the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{wpl|James Buchanan|You can see all his roles and tenures on his Wikipedia page.}}</ref> [[George W. Bush|Dubya]] would be crying for such qualifications. 
Maybe Bush II would be a good President if he had this portfolio.
 This, however, belies his own personal beliefs, which are remarkably important for being a president. It's weirdly congruent with Nixon: Qualified guy who was a crook and an asshole. Still, he did a lot of quite notable things, good or not. He helped to organize the [[Personality cult|boy band]] of [[Andrew Jackson]] into the Democratic Party, and was one of his biggest cheerleaders himself. Mentor to student, Jackson's fervent racism and anti-abolitionist beliefs got reflected right onto Buchanan. Perhaps it did not help that Jackson reeeeallyyyyy cozied up to Buchanan ("lol he must be gay then"), and appointed him Minister to Russia.<ref name=beforepresident></ref><ref group=note>[[Stopped clock|Even Jackson hated him, though]], saying Saint Petersburg "was as far as I could send him out of my sight and where he could do the least harm. I would have sent him to the North Pole if we had kept a minister there."</ref> Soon, he was serving in the Senate, where he even [[Stopped clock|stamped on his own clock]] voting against [[John C. Calhoun]] when he attempted to press a gag rule for anti-slavery petitioning.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Gag_Rule.htm U.S. Senate: Gag Rule]</ref> However, he only really opposed it believing it would only further strengthen the abolitionists, and blamed them, as usual, for "making slavery an issue".

Just before his election, he served under the utterly awful doughface from New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce, as ambassador to the UK. Early signs of awfulness began to surface as he became ever more determined to purchase and annex [[Cuba]].<ref>[https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0400170/ Buchanan, James], ''American National Biography''.</ref> The Pierce administration managed to fuck that up for themselves, pretty much writing that the [[Spain|Spanish]] should seize it by force if it were not handed over. Along with the rabid controversy caused by the Kansas–Nebraska Act (he literally begged Congress to admit Kansas as a slave state);<ref>[https://millercenter.org/president/buchanan/domestic-affairs#:~:text=The%20Kansas%2DNebraska%20Act%2C%20signed,a%20free%20or%20slave%20state.&text=Even%20Buchanan's%20own%20territorial%20governor,Kansas%20as%20a%20slave%20state./ JAMES BUCHANAN: DOMESTIC AFFAIRS], ''Miller Center''.</ref> this utterly failed, as the US does NOT, in fact, have Cuba.{{nofact}} Buchanan would never get the chance during his presidency, so his [[Imperialism|imperialistic]] racism would have to be put on hold in ''that'' regard.<ref group=note>That's not to say he didn't try to do it during his presidency. Oh no, he did. Just the [[Republican Party|Republicans]] gave him the middle finger. :)</ref> Still, when it came down to it, he pretty much thought [[Manifest destiny|God had declared the USA had every right to take over the North American continent]].

A close observer (perhaps you) may be thinking "How in the name of any deity is this your 'neutral' president?" Well, that's precisely the point. James Buchanan was so obviously pro-slavery, it is rather insulting to call him as such. Then again, the [[Democratic Party]] was <big>'''EXTREMELY'''</big> stupid in its years of youth. Nevertheless, there's no time to rest on this point, because it is…

===Time for an Election!===
[[File:ElectoralCollege1856.svg|thumb|right|275px|[*Facepalm*] Oh dear, dear, dear.]]
The absolute worst part about this all is that Buchanan didn't even desire fully to be president, regardless not discouraging the movement behind him.{{sfn|Klein|1962|pp=248–252}} His lovely platform for election had such wonderful views such as supporting the {{wpl|Fugitive Slave Law||,}} the USA swiping the Gulf of Mexico, and… not being Pierce?? The Democrats nominated him anyway, by the blessing that his foreign tasks meant he wasn't present for the debate on the Kansas–Nebraska Act.<ref>Many biographies mention this, but [https://www.tulane.edu/~sumter/Buchanan.html here is one.]</ref> Because, of course, not being present means you know the answers,{{lie}} and nobody bothered to ask for Buchanan's opinions upon his return.<ref group=note>Ah, remember when it was considered impolite for presidential candidates to campaign on their own behalf? Nope, neither do we, but if the erosion of ''that'' norm has made repeats of happenings like this less likely, we're not complaining.</ref> The biggest threat to his victory was the [[Republican Party]], but they were new enough that it was unlikely to be their victory, and people thought the Democratic ideas of [[PIDOOMA|benevolent slavery]] and "{{wpl|popular sovereignty||"}} would solve the slavery issue.<ref group=note>TL;DR: it's allowing states to choose whether they wanted slavery or not. We put it in quotes because it is some [[bullshit]] rhetoric by Buchanan specifically, because he did everything to preserve slavery in all capacity.</ref>

Alas, we know how this ends. But in case you were not aware and were wondering how he became president, Buchanan won. It's hardly a victory to speak of, though. He only won the {{wpl|1856 United States presidential election|plurality of the popular vote}} (to be precise, 45.3% 
of American [[Sexism|men]] who met their home state's [[Classism|property]] and [[Racism|racial qualifications]] [[Crazification factor|took leave of their senses]]
). Had [[Millard Fillmore]]<ref group=note>He ran on a third-party [[Xenophobia|anti-immigration]] ticket, being endorsed by the ludicrously misnamed [[Know Nothing|"Native American" Party]].</ref> or {{wpl|John C. Frémont}} come out on top in a few key states, there would have been a {{wpl|contingent election||.}}<ref group=note>If Fremont had shifted the nation over 3% in his direction, there would have been a contingent election.</ref> Republicans couldn't even get on the ballot in Southern states. The country was '''still''' divided. Regardless of how close it was, Buchanan was about to tear apart the United States barehandedly over a period of four years, so retroactively we can term this a dark, dark day for the United States of America.

=="Presidency"==
[[File:Dred Scott photograph (circa 1857).jpg|thumb|right|165px|Dred Scott, a man legally declared to be property.]]
{{cquote|There is no such person running as James Buchanan. He is dead of lock-jaw. Nothing remains but a platform and a bloated mass of political putridity.|||Thaddeus Stevens.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=A0Fs655TKfsC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=%22Nothing+remains+but+a+platform+and+a+bloated+mass+of+political+putridity%22&source=bl&ots=oqB1kBMZ_i&sig=KmEw-qDWsNFXiJ8PVI78z7q-iSQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiW1eakxNLLAhUJFT4KHUioB4UQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=%22Nothing%20remains%20but%20a%20platform%20and%20a%20bloated%20mass%20of%20political%20putridity%22&f=false The Selected Papers of Thaddeus Stevens, Volume 1: April 1865-August 1868].</ref>}}

Not even more than President-Elect at this point of scribe, Buchanan managed to spit in the face of unity…

===Dred Scott case===
{{main|Dred Scott v. Sandford}}
Buchanan spearheaded the ''Dred Scott versus Sandford'' case as political leverage, and aligned with flaming racist (and former slave owner)<ref>https://housedivided.dickinson.edu/sites/slavery/people/roger-taney/</ref> [[Supreme Court of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[Roger Taney]],{{efn|Who, not so coincidentally, was also appointed by Andrew Jackson. Isn't it amazing how many horrible things from before the Civil War can be traced back to him?}} hellbent on using it to settle the slavery issue for good. First, he wrote to Justice John Catron about whether it would be settled before his inaguration.<ref name="isbn0-7006-1502-4">{{Cite book |last=Maltz|first=Earl M. |title=Dred Scott and the politics of slavery |publisher=University Press of Kansas |location=Lawrence |year=2007 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dredscottpolitic0000malt/page/115 115] |isbn=978-0-7006-1502-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/dredscottpolitic0000malt/page/115 }}</ref> This wasn't enough for Buchanan; he then engaged in some [[Donald Trump|Trump]]-level bullying by squeezing Justice Robert Cooper Grier, who was from the same state, until he joined the majority in the decision.<ref>[https://law.jrank.org/pages/7226/Grier-Robert-Cooper.html/ Robert Cooper Grier], ''Law Library''.</ref> Even for the time, such actions were extremely unethical. Remember, the entire point of the Supreme Court is to check and balance the actions of the other two branches of government, and if the Executive Branch is actively pressuring then it loses its place as an independent force upholding the Constitution. If one considers that ''Dred Scott'' marks the second time in American history that the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] used its power to nullify a law of Congress through declaring it unconstitutional,<ref>[https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/marbury-v-madison ''Marbury v. Madison'' (1803)] National Archives</ref> this could also be seen as Buchanan using his power to assert authority over the Legislative Branch of government through pressuring the Judicial Branch to overrule them.

Buchanan pretty much revealed that he ''de facto'' wanted to destroy the Republican brand in his inaugural address, claiming the Supreme Court would "speedily and finally settle" the matter.<ref>[https://www.bartleby.com/124/pres30.html His entire inaugural address right here!]</ref> In one of the vilest, most abhorrent judicial decisions made in 
the United States
 ANY country, the Supreme Court basically ruled that black people were not citizens, and "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect".<ref>https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/60/393.html</ref> Instead of destroying the Republicans, it caused them to dig their heels hard into the dirt and become even more determined, while the Democratic Party became sharply divided.

He managed to make the list of the worst presidents with his actions, before he had even started doing anything ''as'' president.

==="Oh, I'm sure it will be better after a while"===
[[File:Reynolds's Political Map of the United States 1856.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Slave states, free states, and territories, with [[Fun:Kansas|Kansas]] in question (1856).]]
{{cquote|Violence reached the floor of the [[United States Congress|United States Senate]], where Congressman Preston Brooks of [[Fun:South Carolina|South Carolina]] savagely beat Abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner with his cane. Southern sympathizers sent Brooks new canes. Members began carrying knives and pistols into the Chamber. Meanwhile, the Nation's Chief Executive, James Buchanan, did nothing.|||David McCullough narrating ''The Civil War'' by Ken Burns.<ref>[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Buchanan#Quotes_about_Buchanan James Buchanan: Quotes about Buchanan], ''Wikiquote''.</ref>}}
Now that Buchanan had struck a fissure in the United States with Supreme Court meddling, it was time to do even more damage.

Only half a year into his presidency came the Panic of 1857, which collapsed 1,400 state banks and 5,000 businesses. Thanks to a basis in agriculture, the South got out with minimal repercussion, whereas the North suffered pretty badly in comparison. Rather than offer any measure of support, he joined the South in blaming the North for being greedy [[Capitalism|capitalists]] with serious overspeculation issues.<ref name=panicanddeficit>James Buchanan by Jean H. Baker, [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780805069464/page/89/mode/2up/ page 90].</ref> Naturally, the people of the Northern states were even more pissed off and suffered while the economy took several years to recover.

While fucking up things in the [[Fun:Utah|Utah]] Territory,<ref>Baker, Jean H. (2004). ''James Buchanan''. Times Books. ISBN 0-8050-6946-1. p. 90–91</ref> he started meddling with the [[Fun:Kansas|Kansas]] Territory, in order to further collapse any sense of unity in the Democratic party. He did everything he could to make sure Kansas could only be admitted as a slave state. When he pushed the Lecompton Constitution, it got crushed in the House. Instead of giving up, he pushed the 1858 English Bill, which said "Look, we'll give Kansas statehood and loads of land, ONLY if they come as a slave state". Kansas destroyed this one TOO in a referendum,<ref>''James Buchanan'' by Jean H. Baker, [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780805069464/page/105/mode/2up/ page 105].</ref> which widened the split between Northern and Southern Democrats (the Northerners rallied behind Stephen Douglas, who took the belief that it was up to states to determine if they were would allow slavery in their boarders). He was continuously battling from then on to weaken the influence of Douglas, which is just a terrible position. Simply, Buchanan was the '''President''', while Douglas was ''not''.

===A painful, agonising last two years===
James Buchanan's already terrible presidency went from bad to worse in 1858. He really, really wanted Douglas to lose his seat in the Senate, and did everything in his power to stop him from attaining re-election. He was so obsessed with getting Douglas ousted, hated him so fervently, that he missed the real threat to his entire pro-slavery platform: [[Abraham Lincoln]]. Despite losing the opportunity to be in the Senate, Lincoln had become a star, and had equally, convincingly secured anti-abolitionist credentials that he used only to win the presidency in 1860.<ref>[https://www.thoughtco.com/the-lincoln-douglas-debates-of-1858-1773590 The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858], ''ThoughtCo''.</ref> Not that Buchanan realized the magnitude of the man he let be unleashed, as he was pissed off enough that Douglas was able to hold onto his seat in the Senate. It gets 
better
 worse: the Democrats got ruined in the House, as the Republicans swiftly took a massive plurality of 116 seats.<ref>[https://history.house.gov/Institution/Party-Divisions/Party-Divisions/ Party Divisions of the House of Representatives, 1789 to Present], ''History, Art and Archives''.</ref> It truly was an incredible triumph, as now they had the power to block Buchanan's disgusting agenda, preventing him from doing much of anything.

Instead of taking his loss like a president should and having some sympathy for the Republican cause, the Dark Lord Buchanan ramped up his aggression, and over the next two years would veto seven bills from the Republicans,<ref>This link has been ''vetoed'' … Just kidding, [https://www.senate.gov/reference/Legislation/Vetoes/Presidents/BuchananJ.pdf/ here we are.]</ref> rather than trying anything bipartisan. He certainly wasn't capable of that, not by any means, all while the South grew more extreme by the 
month
 
week
 
day
 
hour
 
minute
 second. The debate about Buchanan's gayness is nothing compared to asking whether he'd [[Sex|love up]] the South if they were a person,{{shock}} because that's what he spent 99% of his time doing.

Buchanan was pretty much crippled at this point, all while tensions got worse and the United States of America shredded itself in front of his eyes. He responded to this predicament by doing '''nothing'''. No really,{{nofact}} because there is literally no goddamn source on Planet Earth that even gives a whippet of any action by Buchanan to keep the Union … well, united. Ol' Jimmy much preferred <small><small>more</small></small> slavery legislation, because he just hadn't had enough of that, apparently. In essence, Southern radicals wanted to pass a federal {{wpl|slave code}} to protect slavery in the territories. They also declared they'd leave the party if their 1860 platform included popular sovereignty. Douglas and supporters fired back by saying they'd bolt the party if the platform included the slave code. Only Buchanan could reunite the party at this time of division, but he threw away neutrality for cozying up to the Southern extremists.<ref>''The Presidency of James Buchanan'' by Elbert B. Smith, [https://archive.org/details/presidencyofjame0000smit/page/84/mode/2up?q=89/ page 84–89.]</ref> Thanks in all part to being so shit, the Covode Committee was even set up to investigate his administration for corruption, treason, and incompetence, possibly for potential impeachment and they were successful in uprooting many issues of this kind. Despite no grounds for impeachment, they agreed his administration was the most corrupt since the ''adoption of the Constituion''.<ref>Joshua Zeitz, [https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/12/18/james-buchanan-impeachment-history-087506 What Democrats Can Learn from the Forgotten Impeachment of James Buchanan], ''Politico'', December 18, 2019.</ref> (I mean, wouldn't your administration be corrupt as fuck, too, if you [[Donald Trump|only appointed loyalists]]? Even [[Andrew Jackson|Jackson]] didn't sink to Buchanan's level in this regard, despite his plague of cabinet infighting.)<ref>''James Buchanan'' by Jean H. Baker, [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780805069464/page/77/mode/2up/ page 77].</ref>

Buchanan had utterly succeeded in festering an unhallowed, chilling, and frankly depraved division in the entire United States. He constantly blamed the North and the anti-abolitionists for ruining everything, while having a country-wide house party with a South so [[far right|far to the right]] that they fell off the political spectrum.

==ATTENTION! CIVIL WAR INEVITABLE!==
[[File:JohnCBreckinridge.jpg|thumb|right|125px|Don't tell us that Breckinridge ''doesn't'' look like a Sith Lord.]]
By the dawn of the {{wpl|1860 United States presidential election|1860 presidential election|,}} the Democratic division became a tangible reality. While he said he wouldn't run for a second term, it's not as if he'd have ever stood a snowball's chance in hell of getting nominated. Upon Douglas winning the nomination for President, the Southern Democrats did a [[2020 U.S. presidential election|modern-day GOP]], and refused to accept a result like this. They nominated Buchanan's VP, John C. Breckinridge, as a "Southern Democratic nominee". Despite Lincoln not being able to get on the ballot in the Southern states, he utterly [[pwned]] the competition. With Abraham Lincoln now the President-Elect of the United States, secession became a reality, thereby forming the [[Confederate States of America]]. Instead of realizing how apeshit insane the South was, he blamed the North ''again'' in his State of the Union address, for bullying the poor Southerners.<ref>[http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/presidents/james-buchanan/state-of-the-union-1860.php/ Read all of this. It will no doubt convince you that Buchanan is a true asshole like no other.]</ref> He also ''de facto'' stated in such address that the federal government didn't have the power to prevent secession. So, the federal government CAN strong arm Supreme Court justices, meddle directly in territories, veto bills like you throw out wrapping paper, and just generally abuse power, but could not be bothered to help the North out with the Panic of 1857, or do '''anything''' to ''try'' and prevent states from seceding? That's ''priorities'', not [[PIDOOMA|"lacking power"]].

Along with the gift of leaving the presidency in disgrace, he left Lincoln with some other gifts, like an outrageous deficit of $17 million<ref name=panicanddeficit /> and, even worse, a ticking time bomb, units away from detonating into the [[American Civil War|bloodiest and most disgusting war]] in the history of the United States. Notwithstanding the fact that the country [[Southern Strategy|has not recovered]] from the full magnitude of that war. What a happy ending… Luckily, the brave and heroic Abraham Lincoln was just a total legend when it came to dealing with a threat of such immense caliber by taking most proactive (and pragmatic) decisions and cleaning up the mess of this nation that was left by the evil Buchanan.

==Legacy==
[[File:Harper's Weekly Old Mother Buchanan.jpeg|thumb|right|315px|''Harper's Weekly'' lambasts "Old Mother Buchanan's" political cowardice and inaction in the lead-up to the Civil War, 1862.]]
{{cquote|Americans have conveniently misled themselves about the presidency of James Buchanan, preferring to classify him as indecisive and inactive… In fact Buchanan's failing during the crisis over the Union was not inactivity, but rather his partiality for the South, a favoritism that bordered on disloyalty in an officer pledged to defend all the United States. He was that most dangerous of chief executives, a stubborn, mistaken ideologue whose principles held no room for compromise. His experience in government had only rendered him too self-confident to consider other views. In his betrayal of the national trust, Buchanan came closer to committing treason than any other president in American history.|||Jean H. Baker, American historian and biographer.<ref>Baker, Jean H. (2004). James Buchanan. Times Books. ISBN 0-8050-6946-1. p. 141.</ref>}}

Buchanan's legacy is just so unbelievable. He managed to wreck the United States more than even the worst presidents after, with the possible exceptions of Andrew Johnson and Trump, and did something that no other President could ever dream of. '''''He nearly destroyed the United States and divided the country even further!''''' No amount of [[Fun:True Christian|True Christianity]], [[American Dream|dreams]], or [[American exceptionalism|ideals]] could undo what James Buchanan wrought upon the country. So, to put the seal on this article, it's good to recap and summarize everything we discussed about this evil and diabolical traitor to America:
*Managed to be so extremely [[Racism|racist]] that he was even more of a total racist for his time than Andrew Jackson was, even by today's standards.
**His presumption of unity and neutrality, only attained by a convenient accident, was squandered by being so [[Slavery|pro-South]] it insults his [[Fun:Pennsylvania|home state]] and every other Northern state. A doughface until the end.
*Didn't even want to be President.
*Constantly and blatantly coerced the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] Justices into supporting the "[[Dred Scott v. Sandford|worst Supreme Court decision ever]]", according to many accounts.<ref>[https://amazingblackhistory.com/2019/04/20/dred-scott-worst-decision-ever/ "Dred Scott – Worst Decision Ever?"] ''Amazing Black History''.</ref><ref>[https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/177738 "Judicial Overreach in High Partisan Times: How the Dred Scott Decision Broke the Democrats and Boomeranged on the Court"], ''History News Network''.</ref>
**This broke the [[Democratic Party]] into two distinct, mutually bitter and hostile, factions.
**Instead of weakening the [[Republican Party]] as he wanted, the party was now unstoppable.
*Refused to even speak a kind word to the North during the Panic of 1857.
*Gave the Mormons in Utah territory an absolute nightmare.
*Bullied Kansas into admittance only as a slave state.
*During midterm elections, instead of being President, he tried extremely hard to block Douglas from winning back his seat in [[Fun:Illinois|Illinois]].
*He vetoed the Morrill Land Grant College Act and Homestead Act that the Senate failed to override.
**He therefore gave rise to Abraham Lincoln, because he was too focused on hating Douglas.
*Terrible loss in the House of Representatives, to which he responded by vetoing any Republican bills.
*Did not get along or compromise with the Republicans or Congress.
*Did '''nothing''' to keep the Union intact.
*Did '''nothing''' to pursue peace and avoid the Civil War.
*Did '''nothing''' to stop the South from leaving the Union.
*Got titled by the Covode Committee as the most corrupt administration and the most corrupt pre-Civil War president since the formation of the Constitution.
**Because he tried to buy votes from one Republican Congressman, this led to him to accomplish the dishonor of becoming the second president after [[John Tyler]] to be threatened with a serious [[impeachment]] investigation; in his case, it was for corruption in his administration. Sadly for the Covode Committee, they could not find enough evidence to help support this allegation that would have proposed the resolution to rightfully impeach, convict, and fire this traitor.
*And through every single screw-up he made, he immediately pissed off the North and the abolitionists by blaming them for '''everything'''.

And how could we forget:

*Because of his incompetence and pro-slavery sympathies, he caused the [[American Civil War]] through all of this, costing over '''620,000''' lives, which also leads to:
**The [[Confederacy]] and, post-Confederacy, continued racism and extremism from the South, which has [[Fun:Jesusland|continued to get worse]].
**The [[Southern Strategy]], which resulted from such.
**The polarization of US politics, stemming from 
a piss-poor
 '''zero''' attempt at unity.
**And finally, the magnification of other dire issues such as the [[Religious Right]] and [[anti-intellectualism]].
*To make matters worse, he got off scot-free with all the atrocities he committed to this nation!!!

Nothing more needs to be said other than that all these corrupt actions severely ruined his own reputation and career. Except for the fact that on his deathbed, the man had the flagrant, unbelievable gall to declare "History will vindicate my memory from every unjust aspersion." As we can all see, it did no such thing and he was super dead wrong. To add to that, he would never have any chances to redeem himself to the public, as he passed away in June 1868, due to complications from pneumonia and respiratory failure.<ref group=note>Well, none of the above can be considered "aspersions" since they are all true, and they cannot be unjust since he thoroughly deserved them, so maybe he was right?</ref>

Non-exhaustive list. Is there anything good to say?

Well, he did sign the Pacific Telegraph Act, negotiated a trade treaty with China and gave rise to the man who is considered by many to be the best US president ever, [[Abraham Lincoln]], who proved to be the opposite of Buchanan. And hey, at least [[Joe Biden]] got an easy road to the title "Best President from Pennsylvania",<ref group=note>Well, "The ''Better'' President from Pennsylvania," since no other president has been connected to the Keystone State by birth or residence, if you want to be a grammar cop.</ref> managing to achieve such in a single day, since Buchanan was such a liability — yyyyeahhh.

So, yes, James Buchanan Jr. is the absolute worst President in United States history. '''Bar none.'''

==See also==
*[[Abraham Lincoln]], his '''much''' better successor and arguably the best US president ever. He had no choice but to clean up the whole mess Buchanan left for him by defeating the South in the Civil War in order to reunite the union, ban slavery, and declare freedom for the slaves.
*[[Andrew Jackson]], his genocidal mentor.
*[[John Tyler]], yet another American traitor and a flaming racist [[states rights|state’s rights]] advocate who was also threatened with an impeachment investigation and infamously supported the traitorous South.
*[[Andrew Johnson]], yet another terrible president who was also a despicable racist. If James Buchanan was the one who broke and divided the Union, then Andrew Johnson was the one that prevented it from being fixed by being abysmally authoritarian around his opponents.
*[[Joe Biden]], another US president from Pennsylvania.
*[[Woodrow Wilson]], yet another terrible president who was a despicable racist and authoritarian as well.
*[[Donald Trump]], yet another terrible president who was a despicable racist and brazenly contemptuous of the concept of civic unity.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
{{POTUS}}

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[[Category:Former United States Representatives]]
[[Category:Former United States Senators]]
[[Category:Government incompetence]]
[[Category:Homosexuality]]
[[Category:Imperialists]]
[[Category:White supremacists]]
[[Category:Lawyers]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Slavery]]
[[Category:United States politicians]]

Categories: Former United States Representatives, Former United States Senators, Government incompetence, Homosexuality, Imperialists, White supremacists, Lawyers, Presidents of the United States, Racists, Slavery, United States politicians