Born: 1830
Died: 1903

Harriet Lane was born in rural Pennsylvania, the sixth of seven children of Jane Buchanan and Elliot Lane, a prosperous merchant. Orphaned at 11, Harriet chose her favorite uncle, U.S. Senator james Buchanan, to be her guardian. Educated at a Washington convent while “Nunc” served as Secretary of State under Polk, Harriet became a poised and skillful hostess, admired for her political savvy and her gracious manners. When Buchanan became Ambassador to England in 1853, he took Harriet with him and she formed a personal friendship with Queen Victoria. When Buchanan became President, his 26-year-old niece brought a welcome gaiety to the White House after the somber Pierce years. A popular figure, Harriet used her psotion to promote the arts and to further the cause of Native Americans. but the nation was grappling with a more immediate and explosive issue and in Nunc’s final year in office, the Civil War began.

When Nunc retired Harriet looked after him at his Pennsylvania farm. At 35, she married Baltimore banker Henry Johnston with whom she had two sons. All predeceased her, leaving Harriet, at 54, on her own once more. She moved back to Washington and devoted herself to worthy causes. She founded a home for invalid children at Johns Hopkins University, and bequeathed her extensive art collection to the government for display in a national museum.

Fifteenth President
James Buchanan

Born: 1791, Cove Gap, PA
Died: 1869

A lawyer, Congressman, Senator and Secretary of State under Polk, James Buchanan was untainted by the fractious domestic politics of the Franklin Pierce Presidency, thanks to his posting overseas as Pierce’s Minister to Britain. Chosen as the Democrat’s Presidential candidate in 1856, Buchanan favored popular sovereignty in the territories and tried generally to downplay the divisive slavery issue. His attitude of denial worked for a time — he defeated the candidate of the newly formed Republican party, which opposed slavery’s extension. Just days after his inauguration the Supreme Court handed down the Dred Scott decision, holding that Congress could not bar slavery from the territories. But in 1858 Republicans controlling the House of Representatives refused to allow Kansas into the Union as a slave state. The government became deadlocked.

In 1860 the Democrats abandoned Buchanan. Now split into Northern and Southern wings, each with its own Presidential candidate, the party essentially handed over the Presidency to the Republican, Abraham Lincoln. Seven southern states seceded rather than accept the election and Buchanan’s Southern Cabinet members, resigned to join the Confederacy. Buchanan called the secession illegal, but took no action to save the Union.

Fifteenth President
Democrat