Potus Geeks Book Review: James Buchanan and the Coming of the Civil War

[kensmind]

James Buchanan regularly ranks among the worst of the Presidents of the United States in ratings done by historians and scholars. He is criticized for his weak and ineffective response to the coming of the secessionist crisis, his obsequiousness to the southern slave-holding political powers, his ethical impropriety in seeking to influence the

Comments

[seaivy]

uummm
another one!
my problem is my rural library is not exactly an intellectual treasure trove and a book must be a year old before they can go outside the 3 county system to ask for it

sigh!

[kensmind]

It's too bad we're not neighbors (or as we call them, "neighbours"). If we were you could borrow from the potus_geeks library.

On another unrelated topic, as a Marylander, are you familiar with your state's historical figure Charles Carroll? I was listening to a Teaching Company lecture about the history of religion in the US, and learned about this very interesting fellow. He was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence and the first US Senator from your state. He lived to the ripe old age of 95, still politically active at 91. History is full of interesting nuggets and gems.

[seaivy]

LOL

[kensmind]

I don't know what to make of Carroll. It must have been courageous at the time to be such a fervent Catholic in a Protestant nation, although less so if he was living in the strongest pocket of Catholicism. I also see that he spoke out against slavery, but he kept slaves and unlike George Washington, he never freed them in his will.

[gm_1787]

Thank you for the review. I have had this on my to-buy list for a few years and it time to move it up the list. I have the earlier book he edited on Buchanan: JB and the Political Crisis of the 1850s. Also a fine collection.

[kensmind]

There is so much about Buchanan that is rife for analysis. It doesn't surprise me to learn that there is another book of collected essays about his presidency.