More about James Buchanan

• During his term the Dred Scott decision was passed which decreed that a slave was not a person but forever property.
• Since Buchanan never married, his orphaned niece, Harriet Lane, acted as hostess during his time as president and was very popular in Washington society.
• Because of the Civil War, Buchanan actually believed he would be the last president of the United States.
• "My dear, sir, if you are as happy on entering the White House as I on leaving, you are a very happy man indeed." -- James Buchanan to Abraham Lincoln.