James Buchanan

James Buchanan Jr. was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. A northern Democrat, he sought to resolve the sectional crisis through a pro-slavery interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, which alienated abolitionists in the North. In his final months in office, seven Southern states seceded, forming the Confederacy. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, sparking the American Civil War.