James Buchanan Dbq

America’s fifteenth president, James Buchanan, was one of the few candidates of the 1856 election who could have kept America together through the contention over slavery. Many Americans saw his absence during the violence in Kansas in 1854 between pro-slavers and free-soilers, or those against slavery, as giving him an air of neutrality that most of the other candidates in the election did not have. Once elected, Buchanan’s goal as president was to eradicate all sectional parties and preserving the Union. However, by March 1861, when Buchanan departed from the presidency, America was on the brink of a civil war. Buchanan’s appointments for his executive cabinet, his involvement in and complete support of the Dred Scott case, his determination

Buchanan’s inaugural address stated that the extension of slavery into the territories was “a matter of but little importance.” Since the judiciary’s role was to judge the constitutionality of legislation and the problem at hand was what the proper role of the government should be in regard to slavery in the territories, only the Supreme Court could give an appropriate and fair ruling. Buchanan thus left the decision of slavery to the Supreme Court and declared that he ultimately supported its decision regardless of the outcome. This ruling allowed Buchanan to remain neutral - neither theoretically angering Northerners over the possibility of allowing slavery to be permitted in the territories nor Southerners over the possibility of banning it. However, Buchanan made a key mistake. The Supreme Court presiding over the Dred Scott case was mostly Southerners who feared that the South was in grave danger. Given this fact, it was no surprise that the Supreme Court ruled against Scott, stating that as a Missourian slave, Scott was not a citizen and so not afforded the rights due to a citizen, including the right to sue for his freedom. As a second measure, the Supreme Court also decreed that Congress had no constitutional right to ban the movement of private property, or in this case slaves, from any territory or state. Buchanan's mistake was that he interfered. Before his inaugural speech, Buchanan learned that the Supreme Court’s decision was going to be in favour of the South. If he could persuade a Northern judge to vote with the majority, the decision would not be construed as biased. Thus, Buchanan persuaded Justice Robert Grier of Pennsylvania to support the majority against Scott and the justice accommodated his wish.