James Buchanan was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States.

When the British invaded Maryland in 1814, he served in the defense of Baltimore as a private in Henry Shippen's Company, 1st Brigade, 4th Division, Pennsylvania Militia, a unit of yagers. Buchanan is the only president with military experience who was not an officer. He is also the last president who served in the War of 1812.

He previously served as Secretary of State and represented Pennsylvania in both houses of the U.S. Congress.

Beginning in 1844 Buchanan became a regular contender for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. He was finally nominated in 1856, defeating incumbent Franklin Pierce and Senator Stephen A. Douglas at the Democratic National Convention.

He was a Freemason, and served as the Master of Masonic Lodge No. 43 in Lancaster, and as a District Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.

Buchanan defeated Republican John C. Fremont and Know-Nothing candidate (and former president) Millard Fillmore to win the 1856 presidential election, carrying every slave state except for Maryland, as well as five slavery-free states, including his home state of Pennsylvania. He won 45 percent of the popular vote and decisively won the electoral vote, taking 174 of 296 votes.

He joined with Southern leaders in attempting to admit Kansas to the Union as a slave state. Buchanan made every effort to secure congressional approval, offering favors, patronage appointments, and even cash for votes, thereby angering not only the Republicans but also many Northern Democrats. He won approval in the Senate, but a coalition of anti-slavery forces defeated the bill in the House.

John C. Breckinridge was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. After the Civil War began, Breckinridge fled behind Confederate lines and was commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate Army.

The division between Northern and Southern Democrats allowed the Republicans to win a plurality of the House in the 1858 elections, and allowed them to block most of Buchanan's agenda. Buchanan, in turn, added to the hostility with his veto of six substantial pieces of Republican legislation. Among these measures were the Homestead Act, which would have given 160 acres of public land to settlers who remained on the land for five years, and the Morrill Act, which would have granted public lands to establish land-grant colleges. He had previously pocket vetoed H.J. Res. 37, bringing his total number of vetoes to 7, none of which were overridden.

Buchanan's lifelong bachelorhood has drawn interest from historians, with some speculating as to his sexual orientation. Before becoming president in 1857, Buchanan lived with William Rufus King, who at various times served as senator from Alabama, ambassador to France and, finally, Franklin Pierce's vice president. They met in Washington as young politicians, and lived together on and off for more than 16 years until King's death from tuberculosis in 1853. Some contemporaries called King Buchanan's "better half," and one congressman referred to him as "Mrs. B."