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James Buchanan
Born:  April 23, 1791
Died:June 1, 1868

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James Buchanan was born in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania.

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James Buchanan went to Dickinson College. He served in the Pennsylvania legislature, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate. He also served in the presidential administrations of Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Franklin Pierce before becoming president himself in 1857.

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James Buchanan served one term as president from March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861.

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An issue that James Buchanan faced was slavery. Although he was against it, he believed that it was protected by the Constitution. As president, he tried to maintain peace between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the government, but tensions only escalated.

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John C. Breckinridge was James Buchanan's Vice President

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In the 1856 election, there was a three way election. James Buchanan's opponents were Republican nominee John C. Frémont and Know Nothing nominee Millard Fillmore.

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James Buchanan was part of the Democratic Party.

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James Buchanan had not to  many major domestic policies but he had a foreign policy of slavery and he had attempts to influence the Americas. Efforts to annex Cuba derailed because the island would surely have entered the Union as a slave state. This foreign policy would then keep out another slave state from forming and further stopping slavery.

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Edwin Drake strikes oil while drilling at a depth of 69.5 feet. Prior to that, oil had only been obtained from places where it seeped from the ground.

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A major supreme case during his presidency was the Dred Scott

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The Mountain Meadow Massacre took place in Utah and resulted in the death of around 140 people.  Incited by Mormon fanatic John D. Lee, Paiute Indians and the Mormon Militia kill emigrants heading for California. This took place in retaliation for Buchanan's order to remove Mormon leader Brigham Young from his position as governor of Utah.

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Economic- none

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Dred Scott decision was a legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a slave (Dred Scott) who had resided in a free state and territory was not thereby entitled to his freedom; that African Americans were not and  citizens of the United States; and that the Missouri Compromise′, was unconstitutional. The decision added fuel to the sectional controversy and pushed the country closer to civil war.

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During his presidency he had the Dred Scott Decision which was a decision between if there should be slavery or there should not be slavery in the free states.