James Buchanan and the Coming of the Civil War

"Provides scholars with a fresh and thoughtful examination of the first administration that had to deal with Southern secession."—Jonathan M. Atkins, author of Politics, Parties, and the Sectional Conflict in Tennessee, 1832-1861

As James Buchanan took office in 1857, the United States found itself at a crossroads. Dissolution of the Union had been averted and the Democratic Party maintained control of the federal government, but the nation watched to see if Pennsylvania's first president co...