BUCHANAN, James, fifteenth president of the
United States, born at Stony Batter, Franklin
co., Penn., April 22, 1791, died at Lancaster, Penn., June 1, 1868. His father emigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1783; his mother was the daughter of a farmer of Adams co., Penn. He graduated at Dickinson college in 1809, studied law at Lancaster, was admitted to the bar in 1812, and soon obtained a large practice. Although a federalist, and avowedly opposed to the war of 1812, he headed a list of volunteers, and enlisted as a private in a company which marched to the defence of Baltimore. He was elected to the Pennsylvania legislature in 1814, and in 1821 was elected to congress, where he remained ten years. In respect to the tariff he held that duties ought to be imposed merely for revenue purposes, although indirectly certain branches of manufacture might happen to be benefited more than others. In the presidential election of 1828 he took an active part in favor of Gen. Jackson, and in the next congress was chairman of the judiciary committee. In 1829 articles of impeachment were passed against James H. Peck, judge of the United States court for the district of Missouri, who had committed to prison and debarred from practice a lawyer who had published some strictures upon one of his judicial decisions. Mr. Buchanan was chosen one of the five managers on the part of the house of representatives, and closed the case, confining himself to the legal and constitutional principles involved. Though the senate, by a vote of 22 to 21, refused to convict Judge Peck, it shortly afterward unanimously passed an act obviating whatever technical objections then stood in the way of his conviction, and so framed the law that no judge has since ventured to commit a similar offence. In 1831, at the close of his fifth term, Mr. Buchanan withdrew from congress, and was soon afterward selected by President Jackson as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at St. Petersburg. He concluded the first commercial treaty between the United States and Russia, which secured to our merchants and navigators important privileges in the Baltic and Black seas. In 1833 he was elected to the United States senate. A great revulsion in politics had taken place during his absence