Buchanan Was Trying To Keep The Nation Together

Slavery began to loom bigger and threaten to spark a political and territorial crisis toward the end of Buchanan's administration. It seemed obvious that some states would secede from the Union after Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election in 1860.

One of the interesting facts about James Buchanan is that in his farewell statement to Congress, Buchanan stated that although the states' decision to secede from the union was illegal, the federal government had no authority to reverse their decision. South Carolina became the first state to leave the Union on December 20, 1860, despite Buchanan's efforts to prevent it.

Six additional states imitated it by February 1861. The Confederate States of America were created as a result. The country was on the precipice of civil war when James Buchanan resigned on March 3rd, 1861. He resided in his estate outside of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for the remainder of his life.