Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 02.djvu/38

 BUCHANAN,

BUCHANAN.

existence of this power is denied. We are now required to believe that all which former presi- dents have done was wrong; the first Congress was entirelj' mistaken in its construction of tlie constitution, and that the president does not possess the power of removal without the concur- rence of the senate. If ever a question has occur- red in the history of any country that ought to be considered and settled it is that one. A solemn decision at first, adopted in practice afterwards by all branches of the government for five and forty years makes the precedent one of almost irresistible force." In the next session of Con- gress, December, 1836, he delivered a speech defending the President's action in the removal of the public deposits and in support of Senator Benton's " expunging " resolutions, which pro- posed the cancellation on the journal of Mr. Clay's resolution, condemning President Jackson for the act. In his speech, which has been char- acterized as the ablest effort in the senate, he deftly separated what was personal or partisan in the controversy from the serious questions involved, and covering the whole field of argu- ment upon the really important topics in a tem- perate, courteous, but firm discussion, placed his I side of the debate upon its true merits. The reso- " lutions were adopted by a strict party vote. ' During the latter part of General Jackson's administration the subject of slavery began to be agitated, and uLimerous petitions were made to Congress for its suppression in the District of Columbia. One from the Quakers of Pennsyl- vania was presented by Mr. Buchanan. His attitude at that time upon the slavery question is best expressed in his own words in the senate, Jan. 7, 1836: " The memorial which I have in my possession is entitled to the utmost respect from the character of the memorialists. If any one principle of constitutional law can at this day be considered as settled, it is that Congress has no right, no power, over the question of slavery within those states where it exists. The prop- erty of the master in his slave existed in full force before the Federal constitution was adopted. It was a subject which then belonged, as it still belongs, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the sev- eral states. For one, whatever may be my opin- ions upon the abstract question of slavery, — I am free to confess they are those of the people of Pennsylvania, — I shall never attempt to violate this fundamental compact. The Union will be dissolved and incalculable evils will arise, the moment any such attempt is seriously made by the free states in Congress." In June, 1886, ■when a bill was proposed in the senate to restrain the use of the mails for the circulation of in cendiary publications in the south, Mr. Webster addressed the senate in opposition to the bill, and

Mr. Buchanan argued against him. In 1836, when Michigan sought admission to the Union, Mr. Buchanan spoke in favor of admitting the territory as a state. His whole career showed him to be pre-eminently a state rights man. Among his many loyal friends President Jackson had none more staunch than Mr. Buchanan. He supported him in his financial measures, advo- cated the recognition by Congress of the independence of Texas, and at a later time its annexation. Mr. Buchanan supported the princi- pal measures of the administration of Mr. Van Buren, including the establishment of an inde- pendent treasury. He was re-elected to the senate January, 1837, for a full term, being the first United States senator re-elected by the legis- lature of Pennsylvania. President Van Buren invited him to his ofiicial family as attorney- general to succeed Mr. Grundy, but Mr. Buchanan declined, claiming that he could best serve his country in the senate. On Feb. 2, 1842, in reply to Mr. Clay, he delivered a speech on the veto power of the president, in which he said: "Of all the executive powers it is the least to be dreaded. It cannot create, it can change no existing law, it can destroy no existing institu- tion. It is a mere power to arrest hasty and incon- siderate changes imtil the voice of the people, who are alike masters of senators, representa- tives and President, shall be heard." In 1842 he opposed the ratification of the treaty between the United States and England, which Mr. Webster had negotiated with Lord Ashburton. In 1843 the legislature of Pennsylvania re-elected him senator for a third term, and in 1844 his political and personal friends were anxious to propose him as Democratic candidate for the presidency. But he saw that if he permitted his friends to have their way, his interests would clash with those of Benton, Van Buren and other prominent men in the party. Mr. Buchanan accordingly promptly withdrew his name in a public letter, and James K. Polk was nominated and elected, and at the invitation of the President Mr. Buchanan accepted the position of secretary of state in his cabinet. Here he had some criti- cal questions to adjust, including the settlement of the boundary line between Oregon and the British possessions, and the annexation of Texas, from which aro.se the war with Mexico. He also advised President Polk to strongly re-assert the Monroe doctrine, which was in effect that no European nation should in future be permitted to settle a colony on the American continent or in any way to interfere with Ameri- can affairs; and he also advocated cultivating the most friendly relations with the Central Ameri- can states. When the Whigs came into power in 1849, Mr. Buchanan retired for a time from