James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, entered office as the nation was splitting apart and left it even more divided than it had been before. A lifelong politician and the only unmarried president, Buchanan believed the Constitution did not grant him the power to prevent states from seceding, a decision that defined his presidency. His time in office was marked by weak leadership, deep sectional conflict, and a failure to confront the growing crisis over slavery. By the time he left the White House in 1861, the country was on the brink of civil war, and Buchanan’s legacy was largely shaped by what he did not do.

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