Life of James Buchanan Volume 2 of 2 George Ticknor Curtis

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Title: Life of James Buchanan, v. 2 (of 2)
Fifteenth President of the United States

Author: George Tickner Curtis

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Language: English

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JAMES BUCHANAN

LIFE

OF

JAMES BUCHANAN

Fifteenth President of the United States

BY

GEORGE TICKNOR CURTIS

IN TWO VOLUMES

Vol. II.

NEW YORK

HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE

1883

Copyright, 1883, by George Ticknor Curtis.

All rights reserved.

Stereotyped by Smith & McDougal.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
1848-1852.

PAGE

Purchase of Wheatland—Nomination and Election of General Taylor—His Death and the Accession

of President Fillmore—The Compromise Measures of 1850—Letters to Miss Lane—Public
Letters on Political Topics

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CHAPTER II.

1852.

The Presidential Nominations of 1852—Election of General Franklin Pierce to the Presidency—

Buchanan’s Course in regard to the Nomination and the Election—His Efforts to defeat the Whig
Candidate

34

CHAPTER III.
1852-1853.

Personal and Political Relations with the President—Elect and with Mr. Marcy, his Secretary of State

—Buchanan is offered the Mission to England—His own Account of the Offer, and his Reasons
for accepting it—Parting with his Friends and Neighbors in Lancaster—Correspondence with his
Niece

68

CHAPTER IV.

1853-1856.

Arrival in London—Presentation to the Queen at Osborne—The Ministry of Lord Aberdeen—Mr.

Marcy’s Circular about Court Costumes, and the Dress Question at the English Court—Letters to
Miss Lane

99

CHAPTER V.
1853-1856.

Negotiations with Lord Clarendon—The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and Affairs in Central America—

The Crimean War and the new British Doctrine respecting the Property of Neutrals

126

CHAPTER VI.

1853-1856.

British Enlistments in the United States—Recall of the English Minister at Washington—The Ostend

Conference

134

CHAPTER VII.

1854-1855.

The Social Position of Mr. Buchanan and his Niece in England
142

CHAPTER VIII.

1856.

Return to America—Nomination and Election to the Presidency—Significance of Mr. Buchanan’s

Election in respect to the Sectional Questions—Private Correspondence

169

iii

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CHAPTER IX.

1857-1858.

Inauguration as President—Selection of a Cabinet—The Disturbances in Kansas—Mr. Buchanan’s

Construction of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and of the “Platform” on which he was elected—Final
Admission of Kansas into the Union

187

CHAPTER X.
1857-1861.

Foreign Relations during Mr. Buchanan’s Administration
211

CHAPTER XI.

1858-1860.

Complimentary Gift from Prince Albert to Mr. Buchanan—Visit of the Prince of Wales—

Correspondence with the Queen—Minor Incidents of the Administration—Traits of Character—
Letters to Miss Lane—Marriage of a young Friend

228

CHAPTER XII.

1860—March and June.

The so-called “Covode Investigation.”
246

CHAPTER XIII.

Summary of the Slavery Questions from 1787 to 1860—The Anti-Slavery Agitation in the North—

Growth and Political Triumph of the Republican Party—Fatal Divisions among the Democrats—
Mr. Buchanan declines to be regarded as a Candidate for a second Election

262

CHAPTER XIV.
1860—October.

General Scott’s “Views.”
297

CHAPTER XV.
1860—November.

Election of President Lincoln—The Secession of South Carolina—Nature of the Doctrine of

Secession—President Buchanan prepares to encounter the Secession Movement—Distinction
between making War on a State and enforcing the Laws of the United States

315

CHAPTER XVI.
1860—December.

The President’s Annual Message of December 3, 1860
330

CHAPTER XVII.
1860—December.

Reception of the President’s Message in the Cabinet, in Congress, and in the Country—The firm

Attitude and wise Policy of Mr. Buchanan

352

CHAPTER XVIII.

v

vi

1860—December.

General Scott again advises the President—Major Anderson’s Removal from Fort Moultrie to Fort

Sumter—Arrival of Commissioners from South Carolina in Washington—Their Interview and
Communication with the President—The supposed Pledge of the Status Quo—The “Cabinet
Crisis” of December 29th—Reply of the President to the South Carolina Commissioners—The
anonymous Diarist of the North American Review confuted

365

CHAPTER XIX.

December, 1860-January, 1861.

Resignation of General Cass from the Department of State—Reconstruction of the Cabinet which

followed after the Resignations of Messrs. Cobb, Thompson, and Thomas

396

CHAPTER XX.
1860—December.

The Resignation of Secretary Floyd, and its Cause—Refutation of the Story of his stealing the Arms

of the United States—General Scott’s Assertions disproved

406

CHAPTER XXI.

November, 1860-March, 1861.

The Action of Congress on the Recommendations of the President’s Annual Message—The

“Crittenden Compromise”—Strange Course of the New York Tribune—Special Message of
January 8, 1861

418

WHEATLAND.

LIFE OF JAMES BUCHANAN.

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CHAPTER I.

1848-1852.

PURCHASE OF WHEATLAND—NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF GENERAL TAYLOR—HIS DEATH AND THE

ACCESSION OF PRESIDENT FILLMORE—THE COMPROMISE MEASURES OF 1850—LETTERS TO MISS LANE
—PUBLIC LETTERS ON POLITICAL TOPICS.

At the distance of a little more than a mile from that part of the city of Lancaster where Mr. Buchanan had lived for

many years, and a little beyond the corporate limits, there had long stood a substantial brick mansion on a small estate of
twenty-two acres known as Wheatland, and sometimes called “The Wheatlands.” The house, although not imposing, or
indeed of any architectural beauty, was nevertheless a sort of beau ideal of a statesman’s abode, with ample room and
verge for all the wants of a moderate establishment. Without and within, the place has an air of comfort, respectability, and
repose. It had been for some years owned and occupied as a summer residence by the Hon. Wm. M. Meredith of
Philadelphia, a very eminent lawyer, who became Secretary of the Treasury in the administration of President Taylor. The
house stands about half way up a gently rising ground, and has a wide lawn stretching down to the county road, shaded by
oaks, elms, and larches, interspersed with evergreens. The view from the front of the house, looking to the west of north,
ranges over a broad expanse of the county of Lancaster, one of the richest of Pennsylvania’s lovely domains, spread out in
a map of highly cultivated farms, and dotted by the homesteads of a wealthy agricultural population. Behind the house
stands a noble wood, which is reached through the gardens; and from the crown of the hill, in a southerly direction, the eye
ranges over another fine valley of smaller extent. Coolness and peace pervade this attractive old place, and it is not singular
that a man of Mr. Buchanan’s habits and temperament, who could not afford time and had no strong tastes for large
pursuits of agriculture, should have coveted this his neighbor’s dwelling.

But he did not break the commandment in seeking it. A treaty between two persons for the purchase of an estate is not

ordinarily a matter of much interest. But this one was conducted in a manner so honorable to both parties that a few words
may be given to it. The buyer and the seller had always been on opposite political sides; but they were friends, and they
were gentlemen. In the month of June, 1848, Mr. Buchanan, having heard that Mr. Meredith wished to sell this property,
addressed to him the following letter:

[MR. BUCHANAN TO MR. MEREDITH.]

Washington, June 12, 1848.

My Dear Sir:
I have received an intimation from our friends Fordney and Reynolds that you are willing to sell the Wheatlands, for the

price which you gave Mr. Potter for them. As I intend, in any event, to retire from public life on the 4th of March next, I
should be pleased to become the purchaser. The terms of payment I could make agreeable to yourself; and I should be glad if
you would retain the possession until the autumn. In making this offer, I desire to purchase from you just what you purchased
from Mr. Potter, and to pay you the same price which you paid him. If I have been misinformed in regard to your desire to
sell, I know you will pardon this intrusion.

Yours, very respectfully,

James Buchanan.

To this letter Mr. Meredith replied as follows:

[MR. MEREDITH TO MR. BUCHANAN.]

Philadelphia, June 19, 1848.

My Dear Sir:—

On my return home a day or two since I had the pleasure of finding your letter. A month ago, I should probably have

accepted your offer, as I had then an opportunity of securing a place in this neighborhood that would have suited me better in
point of proximity than Wheatland. I have missed that, and it is now too late to make new arrangements for my family for the
summer. I should not like to occupy the place after having sold it, for several reasons, and principally because the certainty of
leaving it would tend to render the children uncomfortable through the season. These little people are imaginative and live
very much on the future, and it would scarcely do to destroy all their little plans, and schemes, and expectations connected
with the place at the very commencement of their holidays. I will therefore, with your permission, postpone the subject to the
autumn, when, if I should be disposed to part with the place, I will do myself the pleasure of writing to you. Of course your
offer does not stand over; but I will certainly make no disposition of the property without first offering it to you.

With great esteem, I am, sir, yours most respectfully,

W. M. Meredith.

In the autumn, Mr. Buchanan again wrote:

[MR. BUCHANAN TO MR. MEREDITH.]

Washington, September 25, 1848.

My Dear Sir:—

Upon my return to this city, on Saturday night, I found your letter to Mr. Fordney kindly offering to dispose of Wheatland,

including all that you bought from Mr. Potter, to myself at the price you paid, and the matting in the house at a valuation. I
accept this proposition, and you may consider the bargain closed.

Of the purchase-money I can conveniently pay $1750 at present, and the remainder on or before the first of January. If,

however, you should need it sooner, I can procure it without much difficulty.

You can make the deed when you think proper, and the affair of the matting may be arranged at any time.

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With many thanks for your kindness,

I remain yours very respectfully,

James Buchanan.

In the succeeding month of November, the following letters passed between the two gentlemen:

[MR. BUCHANAN TO MR. MEREDITH.]

(Private.)

Lancaster, November 21, 1848.

My Dear Sir:—

I have seen Mr. Fordney since I came here, who read me a part of your second letter. From this I infer that you regret you

had parted with Wheatland. Now, my dear sir, if you have the least inclination to retain it, speak the word and our bargain
shall be as if it never had been. It will not put me to the least inconvenience, as I have an excellent house in Lancaster.
Indeed I feel a personal interest in having you in the midst of our society; and if you should retain Wheatland, I know that
after you shall be satisfied with fame and fortune, you will make this beautiful residence your place of permanent abode.

Please to address me at Paradise P. O., Lancaster county, as I shall be at my brother’s, near that place, to-morrow

evening, where I shall remain until Thursday evening.

From your friend, very respectfully,

James Buchanan.

[MR. MEREDITH TO MR. BUCHANAN.]

Philadelphia, November 23, 1848.

My Dear Sir:—

Your very kind letter was received yesterday, just as I was going to court in the morning, where I was kept without dinner

till near six. I was then obliged to attend an evening engagement at seven. I mention these details to excuse myself for the
apparent want of promptness in replying. I have in the first place to express to you my deep sense of the courtesy and
consideration which induced you to make me the offer which your letter contains. I cannot accept it, because to do so would
be to take advantage of your friendly impulses, which I ought not and cannot do. I have no doubt I shall find a place
somewhere in the same county, and hope to call neighbors with you yet. I need not say how much I regret that Mr. Fordney
should have been so indiscreet as to communicate my letter to you.

My furniture, etc., is now removed, and I will deliver possession at once, and I wish you heartily, my dear sir, many years

of happiness there.

I am, always your obliged friend and servant,

W. M. Meredith.

In December the purchase-money was paid and the deed of the property was executed by Mr. Meredith. Mr.

Buchanan soon afterwards transferred his household goods to Wheatland, and from that time until his death it was his
permanent abode, when he did not occupy some official residence in Washington or in London. He removed to Wheatland
the furniture which he had hitherto used in Washington and Lancaster, and made some new purchases. The style of
everything was solid, comfortable, and dignified, without any show. The library was in the eastern wing of the house, and
was entered by a hall running transversely from the main hall, which extended through the house from east and west, and
was also entered from the principal parlor. At the window of the library farthest from the main hall was Mr. Buchanan’s
accustomed seat. Long years of honorable public service, however, and sore trials, are to be traced, before we reach the
period when he finally retired to the repose of this peaceful retreat. He left office on the 4th of March, 1849, with a fixed
purpose not to re-enter public life. But although he held no public position during the four years of General Taylor’s and
Mr. Fillmore’s term, he could not avoid taking an active interest in public affairs; and it will be seen that he was not at
liberty to decline all public service when his party in 1853 again came into power.

But it is now necessary to revert to the spring and summer of 1848, and to the state of things consequent upon the treaty

which had been concluded with Mexico. The great acquisitions of territory made by the annexation of Texas, and the
cession of New Mexico and California to the United States, had opened questions on which the Democratic and the Whig
parties occupied very different positions. The acquisition of these countries was a Democratic measure; and had that party
retained its control of the Federal Government, it is probable that its Northern and its Southern branches would have
united upon some plan for disposing of the question of slavery in these new regions. The Whigs, on the other hand,
although constituting the opposition, and as such acting against the administration of Mr. Polk and its measures, were far
from being unanimous in their resistance to the treaty which Mr. Polk proposed to make with Mexico. There were very
eminent Whigs who were opposed to all acquisitions of new territory, for various reasons, and especially because of the
tendency of such acquisitions to re-open questions about slavery. There were other very prominent men in the Whig party
who were willing to have New Mexico and California added to the Union, and to trust to the chances of a harmonious
settlement of all questions that might follow in regard to the organization of governments for those extensive regions. It may
not only now be seen, but it was apparent to thoughtful observers at the time, that the true course for the Whig party to
pursue, was to adopt as its candidate for the Presidency some one of its most eminent and experienced statesmen, who
would represent a definite policy on this whole subject, either by an application of the so-called “Wilmot Proviso,” or what
was far better, considering the sectional feelings involved, by an extension to the Pacific Ocean of the Missouri
Compromise line of division between free and slave territory. But there came about in the winter of 1848 one of those
states of popular feeling, in which the people of this country have sometimes taken it for granted that military success,
united with certain traits of character, is a good ground for assuming fitness of an individual for the highest civil station.
Along with this somewhat hazardous assumption there runs at such times the vague and scarcely expressed idea that the
Presidency of the United States is to be treated as a reward for distinguished military services. After General Taylor’s
return from his Mexican campaign, in which a series of brilliant victories were gained, on each occasion with a force

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numerically inferior to that of the enemy, he became at once a sort of popular idol. There were a good many elements in his
personal character, which entitled him to strong esteem, and some which easily account for his sudden popularity. He had
a blunt honesty and sincerity of purpose, which were backed by great strength of will, and prodigious energy as a warrior.
The appellation of “Old Rough and Ready,” bestowed on him by his soldiers, went straight to the popular heart. These
indications of what has been called “availability” in the political nomenclature which has acquired a peculiar significance,
were not lost upon that class of Whig politicians who were most disposed to be on the lookout for such means of political
success. General Taylor, although never a politician, and although, from his military life, he had rarely even voted at
elections, was known to be a Whig, but, as he described himself, not an “Ultra Whig.” He was at no pains to seek a
nomination for the Presidency, but it was pretty well known that if it came to him unsought, he would accept it. At the same
time, with the modesty and sincerity that belonged to his honest nature, he did not affect to conceal his own distrust of his
fitness for the office. It was, with him, a matter which the people of the country were to decide. If they chose to call him to
the office, he would discharge its duties to the best of his ability. The sagacity of that portion of the Whigs who expected to
win a political victory with such a candidate, was not at fault. When the Whig national convention, which was to make the
nomination, assembled at Philadelphia in June, (1848), it was found that both Mr. Clay and Mr. Webster were to be
disregarded; and on the fourth ballotting General Taylor received 171 votes out of 279. It is a remarkable fact, that
although this nomination was made by a national convention of all the Whigs, several attempts to have it declared by
resolution that it must be accepted as a “Whig” nomination, and to declare what the principles of the Whig party were,
were voted down. One proposal was to have it declared that Whig principles were “no extension of slavery—no
acquisition of foreign territory—protection to American industry, and opposition to executive usurpation.” But singularly
enough, these propositions were ruled to be out of order: and although the nomination of Millard Fillmore of New York, as
Vice President, might seem to give the whole proceeding a Whig aspect, Mr. Fillmore’s name, unconnected with any
annunciation of a distinctive Whig policy, to be upheld in the election, could do nothing more than to acquire for the
“ticket” such weight as his personal character, not then very extensively known, could give to it. It was plain enough,
therefore, that the election of General Taylor as President, if it should occur, would settle nothing in regard to the very
serious questions that were already resulting from the Mexican war.

It was this step on the part of the Whigs—nominating a candidate without any declared policy—that entailed upon that

party, at the beginning of General Taylor’s administration, the most embarrassing questions, and increased the danger of
the formation of a third party, on the subject of slavery, whose sphere of operations would be confined to the Northern
States, and which might, for the first time in our political history, lead to a sectional division between the North and the
South.

On the other hand, the Democratic party had to nominate a candidate for the Presidency who, besides being of

sufficient consideration throughout the country to counteract the popular furore about General Taylor, would represent
some distinctive policy in regard to the new territories and the questions growing out of their acquisition. The friends of
General Cass, who, although he wore a military title, was not in the category of military heroes, claimed that his party
services and public position entitled him to the nomination. Mr. Buchanan was by far the fittest candidate whom the
Democrats could have adopted; but he had made it a rule not to press his claims upon the consideration of his party, at the
risk of impairing its harmony and efficiency. He had adhered to this rule on more than one previous occasion, and he did
not now depart from it. General Cass was nominated by the Democratic Convention, and along with the candidate for the
Vice-Presidency, W. O. Butler of Kentucky, he was vigorously supported in the canvass by Mr. Buchanan.[1] But the
Whig candidates, Taylor and Fillmore, received one hundred and sixty-three electoral votes, being seventeen more than
were necessary to a choice. General Taylor was inaugurated as President on the 4th of March, 1849. Although he was a
citizen of Louisiana and a slaveholder, he had received the electoral votes of the free States of Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. These, with the votes of Delaware, Maryland,
North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Florida, had elected him. All the other States had been
obtained for the Democratic candidates; for although the Northern Whigs who were dissatisfied with such a candidate as
General Taylor, and who had begun to call themselves “Conscience Whigs,” together with a faction of the Northern
Democracy known as “barn-burners” had put in nomination Ex-President Van Buren of New York and Mr. Charles
Francis Adams of Massachusetts, this singularly combined party did not obtain the electoral vote of a single State.

While General Taylor, therefore, entered upon the administration of the Government under circumstances which

indicated much popular strength, the situation of the country, and his want of the higher qualities of statesmanship and civil
experience, were not favorable to his success as a President of the United States. His cabinet, moreover, was not,
comparatively speaking, a strong one. The Secretary of State, the Hon. John M. Clayton of Delaware, was scarcely the
equal of Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Buchanan, his immediate predecessors; and his negotiation of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty
was one of the most unfortunate occurrences in our diplomatic history. The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Meredith, was
simply an accomplished lawyer and a most estimable gentleman. The Attorney-General, the Hon. Reverdy Johnson of
Baltimore, was a very eminent advocate in the Supreme Court of the United States, but not a wise and far-seeing
statesman. The ablest man in the cabinet, intellectually, was the Hon. Thomas Ewing of Ohio. The other Secretaries were
not men of much renown or force. When this administration took charge of the executive department of the Government, a
session of Congress was not to commence until December, 1849. At that session, California, which had adopted a State
constitution and one that prohibited slavery, demanded admission into the Union as a free State. New Mexico and Utah
required the organization of territorial governments. The whole South was in a state of sensitiveness in regard to these
matters, and also in regard to the escape of slaves into free territory and to the growing unwillingness of many of the people
of the Northern States to have executed that provision of the Constitution which required the surrender of fugitives from
service. General Taylor’s policy on these dangerous subjects was not a statesman-like or a practicable one. In his annual
message (December, 1849), he recommended the admission of California as a State; but he proposed that the other

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Territories should be left as they were until they had formed State governments and had applied for admission into the
Union. Practically, this would have involved the necessity for governing those regions largely by military power; for the
peace must be kept between the inhabitants of Texas and the inhabitants of New Mexico, and between the United States
and Texas, in reference to her boundaries. In the opposite sections of the Union popular feeling was rising to a point of
great excitement. In the North, the “Wilmot Proviso” was most insisted upon. In the South, this was resented as an
indignity. By the end of January, 1850, the angry discussion of these subjects in Congress had obstructed almost all public
business, and this excitement pervaded the legislative bodies of the States and the whole press of both sections. It seemed
as if harmony and judicious legislation were impossible.

It was at this extraordinary juncture that Mr. Clay came forward in the Senate with his celebrated propositions which

became known as the “Compromise Measures of 1850.”[2] The discussion of these measures went on until the 9th of July
(1850), on which day General Taylor died, after a short illness. His policy was characterized by Mr. Webster as marked
by the foresight of a soldier, but not by the foresight of a statesman. It was attended with the danger of a collision between
the United States and Texas, which might have led to a civil war. Mr. Fillmore, however, who as Vice-President
succeeded to General Taylor, and who was sworn into office as President on the 10th of July, was a civilian and was not
without experience as a public man, although not hitherto very conspicuous. Mr. Webster, Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun[3]
had all strenuously advocated the Compromise Measures. A particular description of this great settlement must be
deferred to a future chapter. But in order that these measures might receive their consummation, a reconstruction of the
cabinet became necessary. All of the Secretaries appointed by General Taylor resigned. The State Department was
offered to and accepted by Mr. Webster. Thomas Corwin of Ohio became Secretary of the Treasury; Charles M. Conrad
of Louisiana, Secretary of War; William A. Graham of North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy; Nathan K. Hall of New
York, Postmaster-General; John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, Attorney-General; and Alexander H. H. Stuart of Virginia,
Secretary of the Interior. Thus a new Whig administration, pledged to the pacification of the country by a policy very
different from that of General Taylor, came into the Executive Department. The Compromise Measures became laws
before the adjournment of Congress, which occurred on the 30th of September; and then came the question whether they
were to be efficacious in quieting the sectional controversies about slavery, and were to be acquiesced in by the North and
the South. Mr. Buchanan, although not in official life, in common with many other patriotic men of both the principal
parties, lent all his influence to the support of this great settlement. In November, 1850, he had to address a letter to a
public meeting in Philadelphia, called to sustain the Compromise Measures, in which he said:

[LETTER TO A PUBLIC MEETING.]

“Wheatland, near Lancaster, Nov. 19, 1850.

. . . . . . . .

I now say that the platform of our blessed Union is strong enough and broad enough to sustain all true-hearted Americans.

It is an elevated—it is a glorious platform on which the down-trodden nations of the earth gaze with hope and desire, with
admiration and astonishment. Our Union is the star of the West, whose genial and steadily increasing influence will at last,
should we remain an united people, dispel the gloom of despotism from the ancient nations of the world. Its moral power will
prove to be more potent than millions of armed mercenaries. And shall this glorious star set in darkness before it has
accomplished half its mission? Heaven forbid! Let us all exclaim with the heroic Jackson, ‘The Union must and shall be
preserved.’

And what a Union has this been! The history of the human race presents no parallel to it. The bit of striped bunting which

was to be swept from the ocean by a British navy, according to the predictions of a British statesman, previous to the war of
1812, is now displayed on every sea, and in every port of the habitable globe. Our glorious stars and stripes, the flag of our
country, now protects Americans in every clime. ‘I am a Roman citizen!’ was once the proud exclamation which everywhere
shielded an ancient Roman from insult and injustice. ‘I am an American citizen!’ is now an exclamation of almost equal
potency throughout the civilized world. This is a tribute due to the power and resources of these thirty-one United States. In a
just cause, we may defy the world in arms. We have lately presented a spectacle which has astonished the greatest captain
of the age. At the call of their country, an irresistible host of armed men, and men, too, skilled in the use of arms, sprang up
like the soldiers of Cadmus, from the mountains and valleys of our confederacy. The struggle among them was not who
should remain at home, but who should enjoy the privilege of enduring the dangers and privations of a foreign war, in defence
of their country’s rights. Heaven forbid that the question of slavery should ever prove to be the stone thrown into their midst
by Cadmus, to make them turn their arms against each other, and die in mutual conflict.

. . . . . . . .

The common sufferings and common glories of the past, the prosperity of the present, and the brilliant hopes of the future,

must impress every patriotic heart with deep love and devotion for the Union. Who that is now a citizen of this vast Republic,
extending from the St. Lawrence to the Rio Grande, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, does not shudder at the idea of
being transformed into a citizen of one of its broken, jealous and hostile fragments? What patriot had not rather shed the last
drop of his blood, than see the thirty-one brilliant stars, which now float proudly upon our country’s flag, rudely torn from the
national banner, and scattered in confusion over the face of the earth?

Rest assured that all the patriotic emotions of every true-hearted Pennsylvanian, in favor of the Union and Constitution, are

shared by Southern people. What battle-field has not been illustrated by their gallant deeds; and when in our history have they
ever shrunk from sacrifices and sufferings in the cause of their country? What, then, means the muttering thunder which we
hear from the South? The signs of the times are truly portentous. Whilst many in the South openly advocate the cause of
secession and union, a large majority, as I firmly believe, still fondly cling to the Union, awaiting with deep anxiety the action
of the North on the compromise lately effected in Congress. Should this be disregarded and nullified by the citizens of the
North, the Southern people may become united, and then farewell, a long farewell, to our blessed Union. I am no alarmist; but
a brave and wise man looks danger steadily in the face. This is the best means of avoiding it. I am deeply impressed with the
conviction that the North neither sufficiently understands nor appreciates the danger. For my own part, I have been steadily

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watching its progress for the last fifteen years. During that period I have often sounded the alarm; but my feeble warnings
have been disregarded. I now solemnly declare, as the deliberate conviction of my judgment, that two things are necessary to
preserve this Union from danger:

‘1. Agitation in the North on the subject of Southern slavery must be rebuked and put down by a strong and enlightened

public opinion.

‘2. The Fugitive Slave Law must be enforced in its spirit.’
On each of these points I shall offer a few observations.
Those are greatly mistaken who suppose that the tempest that is now raging in the South has been raised solely by the acts

or omissions of the present Congress. The minds of the Southern people have been gradually prepared for this explosion by
the events of the last fifteen years. Much and devotedly as they love the Union, many of them are now taught to believe that
the peace of their own firesides, and the security of their families, cannot be preserved without separation from us. The
crusade of the Abolitionists against their domestic peace and security commenced in 1835. General Jackson, in his annual
message to Congress, in December of that year, speaks of it in the following emphatic language: ‘I must also invite your
attention to the painful excitement produced in the South by attempts to circulate through the mails inflammatory appeals,
addressed to the passions of the slaves, in prints and various sorts of publications, calculated to stimulate them to insurrection,
and produce all the horrors of a servile war.‘

From that period the agitation in the North against Southern slavery has been incessant, by means of the press, of State

Legislatures, of State and County conventions, Abolition lectures, and every other method which fanatics and demagogues
could devise. The time of Congress has been wasted in violent harangues on the subject of slavery. Inflammatory appeals
have been sent forth from this central point throughout the country, the inevitable effect of which has been to create
geographical parties, so much dreaded by the Father of his Country, and to estrange the northern and southern divisions of the
Union from each other.

Before the Wilmot proviso was interposed, the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia had been the chief theme of

agitation. Petitions for this purpose, by thousands, poured into Congress, session after session. The rights and the wishes of
the owners of slaves within the District were boldly disregarded. Slavery was denounced as a national disgrace, which the
laws of God and the laws of men ought to abolish, cost what it might. It mattered not to the fanatics that the abolition of
slavery in the District would convert it into a citadel, in the midst of two slaveholding States, from which the Abolitionist could
securely scatter arrows, firebrands and death all around. It mattered not with them that the abolition of slavery in the District
would be a violation of the spirit of the Constitution and of the implied faith pledged to Maryland and Virginia, because the
whole world knows that those States would never have ceded it to the Union, had they imagined it could ever be converted by
Congress into a place from which their domestic peace and security might be assailed by fanatics and Abolitionists. Nay, the
Abolitionists went even still further. They agitated for the purpose of abolishing slavery in the forts, arsenals and navy-yards
which the Southern States had ceded to the Union, under the Constitution, for the protection and defence of the country.

Thus stood the question when the Wilmot proviso was interposed, to add fuel to the flame, and to excite the Southern

people to madness.

. . . . . . . .

It would be the extreme of dangerous infatuation to suppose that the Union was not then in serious danger. Had the Wilmot

proviso become a law, or had slavery been abolished in the District of Columbia, nothing short of a special interposition of
Divine Providence could have prevented the secession of most, if not all, the slaveholding States.

It was from this great and glorious old Commonwealth, rightly denominated the ‘Keystone of the Arch,‘ that the first ray of

light emanated to dispel the gloom. She stands now as the days-man, between the North and the South, and can lay her hand
on either party, and say, thus far shalt thou go, and no farther. The wisdom, moderation and firmness of her people qualify her
eminently to act as the just and equitable umpire between the extremes.

It was the vote in our State House of Representatives, refusing to consider the instructing resolution in favor of the Wilmot

Proviso, which first cheered the heart of every patriot in the land. This was speedily followed by a vote of the House of
Representatives at Washington, nailing the Wilmot Proviso itself to the table. And here I ought not to forget the great meeting
held in Philadelphia on the birthday of the Father of his Country, in favor of the Union, which gave a happy and irresistible
impulse to public opinion throughout the State, and I may add throughout the Union.

The honor of the South has been saved by the Compromise. The Wilmot Proviso is forever dead, and slavery will never be

abolished in the District of Columbia whilst it continues to exist in Maryland. The receding storm in the South still continues to
dash with violence, but it will gradually subside, should agitation cease in the North. All that is necessary for us to do ‘is to
execute the Fugitive Slave Law,‘ and to let the Southern people alone, suffering them to manage their own domestic concerns
in their own way......

2. I shall proceed to present to you some views upon the subject of the much misrepresented Fugitive Slave Law. It is now

evident, from all the signs of the times, that this is destined to become the principal subject of agitation at the present session
of Congress, and to take the place of the Wilmot Proviso. Its total repeal or its material modification will henceforward be the
battle cry of the agitators of the North.

And what is the character of this law? It was passed to carry into execution a plain, clear, and mandatory provision of the

Constitution, requiring that fugitive slaves, who fly from service in one State to another, shall be delivered up to their masters.
The provision is so explicit that he who runs may read. No commentary can present it in a stronger light than the plain words
of the Constitution. It is a well-known historical fact, that without this provision, the Constitution could never have existed.
How could this have been otherwise? Is it possible for a moment to believe that the slave States would have formed a union
with the free States, if under it their slaves, by simply escaping across the boundary which separates them, would acquire all
the rights of freemen? This would have been to offer an irresistible temptation to all the slaves of the South to precipitate
themselves upon the North. The Federal Constitution, therefore, recognizes in the clearest and most emphatic terms, the
property in slaves, and protects this property by prohibiting any State into which a slave might escape, from discharging him
from slavery, and by requiring that he shall be delivered up to his master.

. . . . . . . .

The two principal objections urged against the Fugitive Slave law are, that it will promote kidnapping, and that it does not

provide a trial by jury for the fugitive in the State to which he has escaped.

The very same reasons may be urged, with equal force, against the act of 1793; and yet it existed for more than half a

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century without encountering any such objections.

In regard to kidnapping, the fears of the agitators are altogether groundless. The law requires that the fugitive shall be

taken before the judge or commissioner. They must there prove, to the satisfaction of the magistrate, the identity of the
fugitive, that he is the master’s property, and has escaped from his service. Now, I ask, would a kidnapper ever undertake
such a task? Would he suborn witnesses to commit perjury, and expose himself to detection before a judge or commissioner,
and in the presence of the argus eyes of a non-slaveholding community, whose feelings will always be in favor of the slave?
No, never. The kidnapper seizes his victim in the silence of the night, or in a remote and obscure place, and hurries him away.
He does not expose himself to the public gaze. He will never bring the unfortunate object of his rapacity before a
commissioner or a judge. Indeed, I have no recollection of having heard or read of a case in which a free man was kidnapped
under the forms of law, during the whole period of more than half a century, since the act of 1793 was passed.

. . . . . . . .

The Union cannot long endure, if it be bound together only by paper bonds. It can be firmly cemented alone by the

affections of the people of the different States for each other. Would to Heaven that the spirit of mutual forbearance and
brotherly love which presided at its birth, could once more be restored to bless the land! Upon opening a volume, a few days
since, my eye caught a resolution of a Convention of the counties of Maryland, assembled at Annapolis, in June, 1744, in
consequence of the passage by the British Parliament of the Boston Port Bill, which provided for opening a subscription ‘in
the several counties of the Province, for an immediate collection for the relief of the distressed inhabitants of Boston, now
cruelly deprived of the means of procuring subsistence for themselves and families by the operation of the said act of blocking
up their harbor.‘ Would that the spirit of fraternal affection which dictated this noble resolution, and which actuated all the
conduct of our revolutionary fathers, might return to bless and reanimate the bosoms of their descendants! This would render
our Union indissoluble. It would be the living soul infusing itself into the Constitution and inspiring it with irresistible energy.”

I select from the letters of Mr. Buchanan to his niece, written in the years 1850, 1851, and 1852, some of those which

indicate his constant interest in her, and in their home circle of friends, amid the very busy life which he led even when he
was not in any official position:

[TO MISS LANE.]

Bedford Springs, August 4, 1850.

My Dear Harriet:—

I received your letter yesterday and was rejoiced to hear from home, especially of Mr. ——’s visit to Miss Hetty, which, I

know must have rendered her very happy. I hope he will do better than Mr. —— or Mr. ——.

I have found Bedford very pleasant, as I always do; but we have very few of the old set, and the new are not equal to

them. I will not tell you how many inquiries have been made for you, lest this might make you vainer than you are, which to
say the least is unnecessary.

I intend, God willing, to leave here to-morrow morning. Six of us have taken an extra to Chambersburg: Mr. Wilmer and his

daughter, Mrs. and Miss Bridges, Mr. Reigart and myself. I shall leave them at Loudon, as I proposed, and hope to be at
home on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday next, I know not which.

It was kind in you, and this I appreciate, to say a word to me about Mrs. ——. Should Miss Hetty marry Mr. ——, I shall

bring this matter to a speedy conclusion one way or the other. I shall then want a housekeeper, as you would not be fit to
superintend: and whose society would be so charming as that of Mrs. ——-?

Remember me affectionately to Mrs. Dunham and Miss Hetty, and believe me to be yours “with the highest

consideration.”

James Buchanan.

[TO MISS LANE.]

Wheatland, October 12, 1850.

My Dear Harriet:—

Mr. McIlvain of Philadelphia, with whom I had contracted to put up a furnace and kitchen range this week, has

disappointed me, and I cannot leave home until this work shall be finished. He writes me that he will certainly commence on
Monday morning; and if so, I hope to be in New York the beginning of the week after, say about the 22d instant.

You ask what about your staying at Mrs. Bancroft’s. With this I should be very much pleased; but it seems from your

letter that she did not ask you to do so. She wished “to see a great deal” of you when you came to New York, implying that
you were not to stay with her all the time. If she has since given you an invitation, accept it.

Could I have anticipated that you would not pass some time at Governor Marcy’s, I should have arranged this matter by

writing to Mrs. Bancroft. It is now too late.

I may probably pass a few days at the Astor House in New York; but I may have to see so many politicians, that I should

have but little time to devote to you. I desire very much to reach New York before the departure of Mr. Slidell which will be
on the 26th instant.

I shall be very glad, if Clementina Pleasanton should accompany you home, though the leaves are beginning to change

color and to fall.

. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .

Professor Muhlenbergh, having been appointed a professor in Pennsylvania College (Gettysburg), has ceased to teach

school, and James Henry left for Princeton on Thursday last.

We have no local news, at least I know of none, that would interest you. I think we shall have very agreeable neighbors in

the Gonders at Abbeville. Please to remember me very kindly to Mr. and Mrs. Robinson and give my love to Rose.

Yours affectionately,

James Buchanan.

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[TO MISS LANE.]

Wheatland, January 17, 1851.

My Dear Harriet:—

I have received yours of the 15th, and we are all happy to learn that you have reached Washington so pleasantly. I hope

that your visit may prove agreeable; and that you may return home self-satisfied with all that may transpire during your
absence. Keep your eyes about you in the gay scenes through which you are destined to pass, and take care to do nothing
and say nothing of which you may have cause to repent. Above all be on your guard against flattery; and should you receive
it, “let it pass into one ear gracefully and out at the other.” Many a clever girl has been spoiled for the useful purposes of life,
and rendered unhappy by a winter’s gaiety in Washington. I know, however, that Mrs. Pleasanton will take good care of you
and prevent you from running into any extravagance. Still it is necessary that, with the blessing of Providence, you should take
care of yourself.

I attended the festival in Philadelphia, on the occasion of the arrival of the steamer “City of Glasgow,” but did not see Lilly

Macalester. Her father thinks of taking her to the World’s Fair in London. I saw Mrs. Plitt for a moment, who inquired kindly
after you.

We are moving on here in the old way, and I have no news of any interest to communicate to you. Eskridge was out here

last night, and said they were all well in town. I met Mrs. Baker yesterday on the street with her inseparable companion. She
was looking very well.

I have not yet determined whether I shall visit Washington during the present session; but it is probable that I may, on or

about the first of February.

Give my love to Laura and Clementina, and remember me in the kindest terms to Mr. and Mrs. Pleasanton.
Miss Hetty and James desire their love to you.

Yours affectionately,

James Buchanan.

[TO MISS LANE.]

Wheatland near Lancaster, April 7, 1851.

My Dear Harriet:—

Supposing that you are now in Baltimore, I send you the enclosed letter received yesterday. It was inadvertently opened by

me; but the moment I saw it was addressed to “My dear Harriet” it was closed. It may contain love or treason for aught I
know.

Eskridge was here yesterday; but he gave me no news, except that Mary and he were at a party at Mr. McElrath’s on

Wednesday evening last.

The place now begins to look beautiful, and we have concerts of the birds every morning. Still I fear it will appear dull to

you after your winter’s gaiety. Lewis has gone, and we have a new coachman in the person of Mr. Francis Quinn, who with
his lady occupy the gardener’s house. They have no children. Mr. C. Reigart will leave here on Saturday next for the World’s
Fair and a trip to the continent. Your ci-devant lover, Mr. ——, purposes to go likewise; but many persons think he will not
get off on account of the expense. Mr. and Mrs. Gonder prove to be very agreeable neighbors. They are furnishing their
house and fitting up their grounds with much taste and at considerable expense.

With my kindest regards for Mr. and Mrs. White and the young ladies, I remain,

Yours affectionately,

James Buchan...