Howdy folks. I have no idea if this will interest any of you, but I couldn't resist the urge to post it anyway. The other night my Civil War group was graced by the presence of a political scientist, a historian, and the former head of Millersville University's history department as we hosted a public debate among these three gentlemen. The subject of the debate was supposed to be former president James Buchanan vs. his political rival Thadeus Stevens, both of whom where from our area. However, it turned out to be mostly a discussion of James Buchanan's accomplishments, a comparison between him and Lincoln, and a debate on the legality of secession. I've given a quick overview for you here.
The part that sticks out in my mind most was how the idea was put forward that there have been three kinds of presidents. The "constitutional president" exercises only the powers that he has been specifically given by the constitution, and does not go further than that. James Buchanan was this sort of president. He made a speech (which unfortunately the gentlemen did not name) in which he stated that while he believed that secession was unconstitutional, he had no power to stop it (remember, he has not been told be the constitution that he can do that). However, we have to examples of precedent that might indicate that he could have. One is during the South Carolina Nullification Crisis, in which that state on South Carolina tried to nullify a federal tariff. Andrew Jackson prepared to take troops in and force them to pay the tariff, and the Carolinians backed down. Second is the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. Whiskey farmers from Western Pennsylvania revolted against a tax on whiskey, tarring and feathering and burning the homes of the tax collectors. President Washington took national troops to stop the revolt, and the revolt was put down after a standoff between the farmers and the troops. Thus, Jackson and Washington could be considered the next category. But the point of these examples was to show that yes, Buchanan probably had the power to stop the secession by precedent. But Lincoln, as the first of the last group I'm going to mention, completely rearranged American politics and caused the constitutional presidents to become an extinct group.
The second group is the "stewardship president," and these performed whatever power was not specifically denied them by the constitution. As I said, Washington and Jackson were this type, along with probably most of the presidents.
Lincoln was a "prerogative president," meaning that he did whatever he felt necessary for the good of the country, even if it meant fudging and breaking the constitution from time to time. A good example of Lincoln ignoring the constitution is how he locked up several leaders of the state of Maryland to prevent the state government form considering whether or not to secede as well. If Maryland had joined the Confederacy, Washington D.C. would have found itself in the middle of enemy territory, and Lincoln was determined to prevent this at all costs. So instead of following due process, and without even suspicion of a crime, Lincoln had the leaders imprisoned to prevent their voting. And that is something expressly prohibited by the constitution.
Another issue that came up was whether or not Buchanan was gay. He was the country's only bachelor president, and for years showed little interest in courting. However, there is a certain incident that often seems to be overlooked: the fact that Buchanan was once engaged. In the late 1828, Buchanan was engaged to a young lady named Anne Coleman. Now, Buchanan at this time was still a struggling young lawyer, and Anne was the daughter of a wealthy iron master. Mr. Coleman, a poor immigrant who married his bosses daughter to become one of the wealthiest men in the Pennsylvania (I'm sure some of you have seen the Coleman camping products, it's the same company), thought that Buchanan was only after Anne's money and so disapproved of the engagement. When Buchanan was sent on a long business trip to Philadelphia, Anne thought that he wasn't sending her as much mail as he ought to be. It turns out that her parents were actually intercepting the letters. When Buchanan returned he stopped at his bosses home to discuss the case, but his boss's niece happened to be visiting, and word got to Anne that Buchanan had stopped to see another woman before coming to see her. She broke the engagement and went to visit her sister and brother-in-law in Philadelphia. While there she was prescribed laudanum as an antidepressant, although it is also very toxic in large quantities. We don't know if her death was accident or suicide, but Anne died of a laudanum overdose. Buchanan was devastated when he heard the news, and wrote a long letter to Mr. Coleman, telling how much he had loved Anne and asking permission to walk in the funeral as a mourner (in those days you had to be invited). The letter was returned unopened. Buchanan would later write that he could not marry because his heart had been buried in the grave.
Okay, that's all I have time for. Hope you guys enjoyed, and I'm happy to answer questions on history in general, though my specialty is the American Civil War.
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[This message has been edited by
chipmunk man
(edited March 25, 2004
6:29:22 AM)]
