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James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press

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James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press Frank Turner James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press Frank Turner Master of Arts Thesis California State University at San Marcos February, 2016 Dr. Watts 1 Frank Turner James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press Table of Contents Title Page...………………………………………………………………………...1 Table of Contents……………………………………………………………….....2 Abstract………………………....…………………………………………………3 Introduction……………………………..………………………………………...4 Chapter One James Buchanan and Slavery……….……..……………………………………...16 Chapter Two Buchanan and the 1850s Press…………………………..………………………...35 Buchanan’s Inauguration……………….…………………………………………41 Dred Scott…………………………………………………………………..……..51 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..63 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………..….67 2 Frank Turner James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press Abstract James Buchanan was the fifteenth president of the United States, who served from1857 until 1861, preceding Abraham Lincoln. He is considered to have been one of the most ineffective presidents, due to policies that some historians believe helped lead to the American Civil War. This thesis looks at how the antebellum presses viewed Buchanan, and what types of images they projected of him to the public. From the very beginning of his presidency, there were concerns in most of the presses about his leadership. In March of 1857, his inauguration and the Dred Scott decision were two events that happened early in his administration, that offer evidence that the press, from the start, projected negative images of him, especially in regards to his policies regarding slavery. This helped to create the belief that he was an ineffectual leader. Buchanan was aware of the powerful influence the press held over its readership, and he immediately went to work to reconstruct his “organ,” the Washington Daily Union, as a mouthpiece for himself, as well as the Democratic Party. He intended to use the newspaper as a vehicle to express his policies, and to compete with his opponents in the press; the southern, Republican, black, and abolitionist newspapers. These adversarial presses were a constant threat to Buchanan, and in combination with his early missteps, were effective in representing him unfavorably. 3 Frank Turner James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press Introduction Although today judged harshly by historians, in 1856 James Buchanan seemed well qualified to become the new American president. He had built a long public career, beginning with his years as a lawyer, where he had been successful both in the courtroom, and financially-- although he was born to relative privilege, he had added to the family fortune. He had been a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and later served in Congress as both a Representative and a Senator. He had been appointed as the United States Minister to Russia in the 1830s, and the minister to the United Kingdom in the 1850s. He had served as Secretary of State in James Polk’s administration; Polk nominated him to become a Supreme Court justice, but he turned the position down. Buchanan had earned an impressive resume over the years he had served his country, and he was now poised to accept the grandest political prize of them all, the American presidency. At the time of his election, many of Buchanan’s peers felt he was agreeable to work with. According to Lord Clarendon, the English Foreign Minister, in a letter written to Buchanan, “I will always look back with sincere satisfaction to the friendly…relations…between us.”1 John A. Dix, who served as Buchanan’s Secretary of the Treasury, and later as a Union general, wrote “the remembrance of your kindness…will always be among my brightest retrospections.”2 Martin Van Buren, himself a former president, felt Buchanan was “a cautious, circumspect, and sagacious man, amply endowed with those clear perceptions of self-interest and duties connected 1 Lord Clarendon to James Buchanan, March 3, 1856, in The Works of James Buchanan, Vol X, ed. John Bassett Moore (Philadelphia and London: J.P.Lippencott Company 1910), 65-66. 2 John A. Dix to J. Buchanan, March 14, 1861, The Works, Vol XI, 168-169. 4 Frank Turner James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press with it.”3 He was considered, by some people in high places, to be a thoughtful man, who operated within the rules and followed his own principles. Buchanan was elected to the presidency in 1856, and took the office on March 4, 1857. In his nearly fifty years of service, he had achieved much, and felt that his presidency “might rank in history with that of George Washington.”4 Prior to the election, Buchanan had been in Great Britain in his role as minister, and had avoided confronting the sectional strife that had been going on in the United States between the north and the south. Some felt he was the right man for the job, as he had not been tainted by much of the “mud-slinging.”5 However, to many, despite his victory, he came into office under a cloud of suspicion. Buchanan held an affinity for the Founding Fathers and their words, and professed a reverence for the Constitution, and followed its intentions precisely. As the southern states moved towards the reality of secession, Buchanan wrote in a letter to George M. Wharton, a lawyer from Philadelphia, that the south was “rapidly losing their respect & attachment for the Constitution & the Union.”6 The disrespect was disconcerting to Buchanan, as the Constitution had been written by the Founding Fathers, who he venerated. He wrote to Royal Phelps, another lawyer, that “I would sacrifice my own life at any moment to save the Union, if such were the will of God.”7 Yet Buchanan is considered, by historians, to have been an utter failure in holding the nation together. He is remembered by many people to have been one of the worst, if not the worst, president in American history. In 1982, historian Robert K. Murray, with the help of one 3 Elbert B. Smith, The Presidency of James Buchanan (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1975), 11. 4 Phillip Klein, President James Buchanan (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1962), xviii. 5 Smith, 5. 6 James Buchanan to George M. Wharton, December 16, 1860, The Works, Vol. XI, 66. 7 J. Buchanan to Royal Phelps, December 22, 1860, The Works, Vol. XI., 73-74. 5 Frank Turner James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press of his doctoral students, Timothy H. Blessing, sent questionnaires out to 2000 people that held Ph.D. degrees, and asked them to rank all the presidents, based on their level of success. The results of the Murray-Blessing poll determined Buchanan to have been a “failure.”8 His legacy in the annals of United Stated history dwells on his failures, not his successes. A man that had been a prosperous lawyer and a successful politician for fifty years watched it all unravel during his four years as the president. In 1857, many Americans had been confident and hopeful when Buchanan began his presidency. Yet, by 1861, as his presidency ended, Buchanan was vilified by nearly everyone, including his own party. When and where did this shift begin? This thesis will argue that the press was partly responsible for his decline from the very beginning, due to the types of images that were projected by them, of Buchanan and his policies. The country was divided over his image from the start, and within a short time, more and more people were questioning his leadership abilities. This occurred four years before the end of his term as president. Buchanan was a northerner from Pennsylvania, yet he was pro-southern in his political viewpoints. The issue of slavery proved to be one of the subjects responsible for Buchanan’s downfall. In a speech given on April 11, 1826, he publicly acknowledged that slavery was a “Great Political and a great moral evil.”9 Yet he later endorsed the provisions of the Dred Scott decision. By the time he was president, his policies supported the southern plantation owners and the idea of states’ rights, in regards to slavery. Furthermore, he lobbied for the extension of the institution throughout his career. 8 Charles F. Faber and Richard B. Faber, The American Presidents Ranked by Performance (North Carolina, and London: McFarland & Company Inc.), 2-3. 9 Buchanan speech, “On the Panama Mission,” The Works, Vol. I, 202. 6 Frank Turner James Buchanan, Slavery, and the Press Some scholars have accused Buchanan of “sitting on the fence,” or not choosing one side or the other, and being indecisive. They feel this defines his lack of leadership abilities. This shortfall, according to them, comes keenly into focus when one examines his actions regarding slavery. In fact, this thesis will argue that he was quite decisive regarding his slavery policies, and operated with a certainty of purpose, and it was that certainty which turned the press against him almost immediately. Over time, Buchanan supported the expansion of slavery each time the opportunity presented itself. He became zealous in his pro-slavery approach, but failed to consider the anti- slavery point of view, that was in opposition to his, that many of the citizens of the United States had. Buchanan biographer Elbert B. Smith suggests that Buchanan was hampered by his “southern extremism,” as his unbridled support for their issues seemed to indicate.10 Jean Baker, also a Buchanan biographer, asserts his inclination toward the south “bordered on disloyalty in an officer pledged to defend all the United States.”11 According to historian Kenneth Stampp, there was a practical side to his interest in southern affairs also, as roughly two-thirds of the electoral votes that elected Buchanan were cast in the south.12 He was popular there due to his pro-slavery stance.
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