Buchanan, James, Fifteenth President

Autograph letter signed, 2 pages (7 7/8 x 5 1/4 in.; 200 x 132 mm), headed "Private & Confidential," Wheatland, near Lancaster, 14 June 1862, to John Griffin; a few short fold separations repaired.

Autograph letter signed, 2 pages (7 7/8 x 5 1/4 in.; 200 x 132 mm), headed "Private & Confidential," Wheatland, near Lancaster, 14 June 1862, to John Griffin; a few short fold separations repaired.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Lincoln's predecessor washes his hands of responsibility for the Civil War: "no act or omission of mine has produced the terrible calamity."

During his unsuccessful campaign for the United States Senate in 1858, Abraham Lincoln made himself a viable candidate for the presidency by having the courage to address head-on the issue of slavery. At the Illinois Republican Convention on 16 June 1858, Lincoln expanded a New Testament parable (Mark 3:25) into his "house divided" doctrine: "'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new, North as well as South."          

James Buchanan, who occupied the White House at the time of Lincoln's pronouncement, believed just the opposite. A pro-Southern Democrat from Pennsylvania, Buchanan sought to maintain the Union while preserving both slave and free states. This was a constant policy of Buchanan's long political career. As a United States Representative in 1826, Buchanan argued that the country could not abolish slavery "without the introduction of evils infinitely greater"; and in his final State of the Union Address, delivered after Lincoln's election and the foment of the secession crisis, he excoriated "the long-continued and intemperate interference of the Northern people with the question of slavery in the Southern states."

Buchanan left office reviled as a weak and ineffectual tool of his cabinet by both the North and the South, and by both Republicans and Democrats. He not only failed to solve the question of regionalism and slavery, he had exacerbated it by his cowardly support of the Lecompton Constitution, which would have forced the Free Soil majority of Kansas to accept that "the right of the owner of a slave to such slave and its increase is ... inviolable." He made little effort to oppose secession. He did not prepare the Union for war. And, through his Southern partisanship, he split the Democratic party into two factions, helping to assure Republican victories in the next six presidential elections.

But in retirement, Buchanan remained obstinately confident, even though Griffin's letter could not have been the first time he had learned of the "abuse" and "slanders" being spoken against his administration. "I felt happy, once more to receive a letter from you; & although it informed me of the abuse poured upon my head in New York, this did not disturb my tranquility. After a careful review of all my public conduct since the election of Mr. Lincoln I would not change any part of it if I had the power. Every step was well considered & I never was deceived by any member of my cabinet. I know them all well. It will not be long before the public mind will be disabused of the slanders against me, & I have not the least apprehension of the award of posterity." Had Old Buck been able to look into the future, he would not have been so sanguine about posterity's award: he is consistently placed at, or near, the very bottom of any ranking of U.S. Presidents.

Only the Civil War seemed to cast a slight shadow on Buchanan's contentment, but even in that particular, he assures his correspondent, his own conscience is clear: "I would be the happiest old man in the Country were it not for the Civil War; but I console myself with the conviction that no act or omission of mine has produced the terrible calamity. After the attack on Fort Sumter war became inevitable & so I warned the Southern advance. I trust that Divine Providence may speedily ring it to a successful conclusion & that the Constitution & the Union may be re-established."

Buchanan concludes his remarkable letter on a more routine note. "I should be much grateful to see you at Wheatland & would give you a cordial welcome. I cannot ask you to incur the trouble & expense of coming here for no other purpose than to see me; but if you should have business at Philadelphia, I hope you will not fail to come here & see your old friend."