In his inaugural speech, James Buchanan, the 15th president, said two interesting things: that he would not seek a second term and that he would abide by the U.S. Supreme court ruling on Dred Scott versus Sandford. The decision came just a few days later and it was dynamite. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be American citizens and, therefore, could not sue in federal court. This was bad enough, but it went on to say that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories (as opposed to the states). The South was delighted; the North was outraged.

The civil war had basically already stared in Kansas in what became known as ‘Bleeding Kansas’, were pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups were waging guerrilla war on one another. This rumbled on until 1861 when the American Civil War formally started. With regard to Dred Scott and the situation in Kansas, Buchanan said that the judiciary would make the right decisions, which made him look like a bystander watching events unfurl in his own presidency.

Unusually, Buchanan did show decisiveness when it looked like Utah, under the Mormons, was set to break away from the Union, and he sent troops in to resolve the issue. No major battles were fought, but brute military strength brought the Mormon community to heel.

In the end, it was Buchanan’s garbled policy of appeasement with the southern states that lit the touch paper for all-out war. Before he left office, all government military posts and forts in the seceding states were lost, with a few exceptions, most notably Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Buchanan made an unofficial agreement with the state that in return for no interference, he would not reinforce the garrison. Critically (and unforgivably), Buchanan did not inform the Charleston commander of the agreement, and on 26 December 1860, the commander violated this unknown pact by moving his command to Fort Sumter. Southerners responded that Buchanan should remove the reinforcements while northerners demanded support for the garrison. On 5 January 1861, Buchanan sent a civilian steamship to carry reinforcements and supplies to Fort Sumter. Four days later, South Carolina coastal batteries opened fire on the ship as it approached. The ship withdrew and returned to New York.

As a result, Buchanan was attacked by the South for breaking his agreement and trying to reinforce a fort that he had said he wouldn’t, while the North criticized the humiliating retreat from the South Carolina batteries. After this Buchanan thought a policy of doing nothing was best. This was the situation that was playing out as Abraham Lincoln was taking office.

On his death bed, Buchanan said, "History will vindicate my memory”, but like most of his presidential judgments, he was wrong about this, too.  While it is a matter of some debate that he was the very worst president, he is certainly near the bottom of the list.