| CHAPTER I. |
| 1848-1852. |
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| PAGE |
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| Purchase of Wheatland—Nomination and Election of General Taylor—His Death and the Accession of President Fillmore—The Compromise Measures of 1850—Letters to Miss Lane—Public Letters on Political Topics | 1 |
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| CHAPTER II. |
| 1852. |
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| The Presidential Nominations of 1852—Election of General Franklin Pierce to the Presidency—Buchanan’s Course in regard to the Nomination and the Election—His Efforts to defeat the Whig Candidate | 34 |
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| CHAPTER III. |
| 1852-1853. |
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| Personal and Political Relations with the President—Elect and with Mr. Marcy, his Secretary of State—Buchanan is offered the Mission to England—His own Account of the Offer, and his Reasons for accepting it—Parting with his Friends and Neighbors in Lancaster—Correspondence with his Niece | 68 |
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| CHAPTER IV. |
| 1853-1856. |
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| Arrival in London—Presentation to the Queen at Osborne—The Ministry of Lord Aberdeen—Mr. Marcy’s Circular about Court Costumes, and the Dress Question at the English Court—Letters to Miss Lane | 99 |
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| CHAPTER V. |
| 1853-1856. |
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| Negotiations with Lord Clarendon—The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and Affairs in Central America—The Crimean War and the new British Doctrine respecting the Property of Neutrals | 126 |
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| CHAPTER VI. |
| 1853-1856. |
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| British Enlistments in the United States—Recall of the English Minister at Washington—The Ostend Conference | 134 |
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| CHAPTER VII. |
| 1854-1855. |
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| The Social Position of Mr. Buchanan and his Niece in England | 142 |
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| CHAPTER VIII. |
| 1856. |
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| Return to America—Nomination and Election to the Presidency—Significance of Mr. Buchanan’s Election in respect to the Sectional Questions—Private Correspondence | 169 |
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| CHAPTER IX. |
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| 1857-1858. |
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| Inauguration as President—Selection of a Cabinet—The Disturbances in Kansas—Mr. Buchanan’s Construction of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and of the “Platform” on which he was elected—Final Admission of Kansas into the Union | 187 |
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| CHAPTER X. |
| 1857-1861. |
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| Foreign Relations during Mr. Buchanan’s Administration | 211 |
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| CHAPTER XI. |
| 1858-1860. |
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| Complimentary Gift from Prince Albert to Mr. Buchanan—Visit of the Prince of Wales—Correspondence with the Queen—Minor Incidents of the Administration—Traits of Character—Letters to Miss Lane—Marriage of a young Friend | 228 |
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| CHAPTER XII. |
| 1860—March and June. |
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| The so-called “Covode Investigation.” | 246 |
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| CHAPTER XIII. |
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| Summary of the Slavery Questions from 1787 to 1860—The Anti-Slavery Agitation in the North—Growth and Political Triumph of the Republican Party—Fatal Divisions among the Democrats—Mr. Buchanan declines to be regarded as a Candidate for a second Election | 262 |
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| CHAPTER XIV. |
| 1860—October. |
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| General Scott’s “Views.” | 297 |
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| CHAPTER XV. |
| 1860—November. |
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| Election of President Lincoln—The Secession of South Carolina—Nature of the Doctrine of Secession—President Buchanan prepares to encounter the Secession Movement—Distinction between making War on a State and enforcing the Laws of the United States | 315 |
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| CHAPTER XVI. |
| 1860—December. |
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| The President’s Annual Message of December 3, 1860 | 330 |
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| CHAPTER XVII. |
| 1860—December. |
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| Reception of the President’s Message in the Cabinet, in Congress, and in the Country—The firm Attitude and wise Policy of Mr. Buchanan | 352 |
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| CHAPTER XVIII. WHEATLAND.
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