James Buchanan

About James Buchanan

The fifteenth President, consistently ranked as the worst in American history. Buchanan failed to prevent the secession of southern states after the election of Abraham Lincoln. He believed secession was illegal but also that the federal government could not stop it, creating a paralyzing contradiction. Buchanan supported the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision, which ruled that African Americans could not be citizens. By the time he left office, seven states had seceded and formed the Confederacy. His inaction made the Civil War more likely and more costly.