The ladies of the White House, or, In the home of the presidents : being a complete history of the social and domestic lives of the presidents from Washington to the present time
In search of Buchanan : 'Clarior hinc honos' : the stories of some Buchanan ancestors before and after the emigration of James Buchanan of Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland, in 1783
iii, 152, [17] pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color), portraits (some color), facsimiles ; 25 cm
Notes
Sub-title on cover: from Anselan to President James Buchanan.
"Some of these stories are incorporated in the BBC1 TV documentary, 'Are you related to an American President?', produced by Big Mountain Productions."
Introduction: Remembering -- Leavening, 1786-1819 -- Hardening, 1820-1834 -- Messing, 1834-1840 -- Wooing, 1840-1844 -- Ministering, 1844-1848 -- Running, 1848-1853 -- Presiding, 1853-1868 -- Epilogue: Preserving -- Washington residences of James Buchanan and William Rufus King (1834-1853) -- Percentage correlation of roll call votes of James Buchanan with senators of the Bachelor's Mess, 23rd to 28th Congresses (1834-1844) -- Calendar of correspondence of James Buchanan / Harriet Lane Johnston and William Rufus King / Catherine Margaret Ellis (1837-1868.
Summary
"Politicians James Buchanan (1791-1868) of Pennsylvania and William Rufus King (1786-1853) of Alabama has excited much speculation through the years. Why did they never marry? Might they have been gay, or was their relationship a nineteenth-century version of the modern-day 'bromance'? Then, as now, they have intrigued by the many mysteries surrounding them. In Bosom Friends : the Intimate World of James Buchanan and William Rufus King, Thomas Balcerski explores the lives of these two politicians and discovers one of the most significant collaborations in American political history. Unlikely companions from the start, they lived together as messmates in a Washington, DC, boardinghouse. There developed a bosom friendship that blossomed into a significant political partnership. Before the Civil War, each man was elected to high executive office, William Rufus King the vice-presidency in 1852 and James Buchanan as the nation's fifteen president in 1856. This book offers a dual biography of James Buchanan and William Rufus King. Special attention is given to their early lives prior to elected office, the circumstances of their boardinghouse friendship, and the juicy political gossip that has circulated about them ever since. In addition, the author traces their many contributions to the Jacksonian political agenda, manifest destiny, and the debates over slavery, while finding their style of politics to have been disastrous for the American nation. Ultimately, Bosom Friends demonstrates that intimate male friendships among politicians were, and continue to be, an important part of success in American politics"-- Provided by publisher.
Papers from a conference held at LancasterHistory.org in 2008. Presentation copy from the editors.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents
Introduction: Bum rap or bad leadership? -- James Buchanan, Dred Scott, and the whisper of conspiracy / Paul Finkelman -- Prelude to armageddon: James Buchanan, Brigham Young, and a president's initiation to bloodshed / William P. MacKinnon -- General Jackson is dead: James Buchanan, Stephen A. Douglas, and Kansas policy / Nicole Etcheson -- In defense of doughface diplomacy: a reevaluation of the foreign policy of James Buchanan / John M. Belohlavek -- President James Buchanan: executive leadership and the crisis of the democracy / Michael A. Morrison -- The South has been wronged: James Buchanan and the secession crisis / Jean H. Baker -- "In the midst of a great revolution": the northern response to the secession crisis / William G. Shade -- Joseph Holt, James Buchanan, and the secession crisis / Daniel W. Crofts -- A conversation with William W. Freehling and Michael F. Holt, September 19, 2008 / Moderated by John W. Quist -- Epilogue: James Buchanan's Civil War / Michael J. Birkner.
Summary
An edited volume examining the presidency of James Buchanan and his role engaging the complexities of the debate surrounding the president immediately before Lincoln.
Journal of Capt. Jonathan Heart on the march with his company from Connecticut to Fort Pitt, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from the seventh of September, to the twelfth of October, 1785, inclusive : to which is added the Dickinson-Harmar correspondence of 1784-5 ; the whole illustrated with notes and preceded by a biographical sketch of Captain Heart by Consul Willshire Butterfield
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 1 Papers of James Buchanan, Series 2 Financial and Legal Documents
Description
The James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 1, Papers of James Buchanan, Series 2 contains the financial and legal documents of James Buchanan, including invoices and receipts, ledgers, accounts, deeds and land records, and estate papers, dated 1812-1883. Among these papers are financial papers including bank statements and memorandums; documents related to land in Clarion, PA; legal papers for the settlement of the Boyd estate and other properties; summaries of three cases decided by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; a summary for the cost of a dinner in Russia in 1833; estate papers for family members and James Buchanan's will. Amos Slaymaker, Henry F. Slaymaker, Hiram B. Swarr, Edward Young Buchanan, Harriet Lane Johnston, and Henry E. Johnston are among the names found in these records.
Admin/Biographical History
James Buchanan was born on April 23, 1791 to James Buchanan and Elizabeth Speer. He was the second child born out of ten children, and he would go on to outlive all but one of his siblings. Most popularly remembered as Pennsylvania's only President and as a lifelong bachelor, Buchanan committed a lifetime to politics. In 1821, he left his law practice and embarked on his political career after having been voted into the U.S. House of Representatives. He would remain in the House for five consecutive terms before serving as the U.S. Minister to Russia, a Senator in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, and finally, the 15th President of the United States. He died in his bedchamber at Wheatland at 8:30 AM on June 1, 1868. He was 77 years old. [https://www.lancasterhistory.org/about-wheatland, accessed 10/24/2019]
System of Arrangement
JBFP Part 1 Series 2 Financial and Legal Documents
James Buchanan Papers, Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections http://archives.dickinson.edu/collection-descriptions/james-buchanan-papers
James Buchanan and Harriet Lane Johnston Papers, Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/collections/james-buchanan-and-harriet-lane-johnston-papers/
James Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/b/Buchanan0091.html
James Buchanan Papers, Penn State University Libraries, https://libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/1458.htm
Related Item Notes
James Buchanan Family Papers
James Buchanan Collection, MG0096
Historical Society of Pennsylvania microfilm
Photograph collections
Curatorial collections
Wheatland Mansion
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available.
Original documents may be used by appointment. Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes only.
LancasterHistory retains the rights to the digital images and content presented. The doctrine of fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use includes comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Any images and data downloaded, printed or photocopied for these purposes should provide a citation. All other uses beyond those allowed by fair use require written permission.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Some items are photocopies from other collections--researchers must obtain permission for reproduction and publication from the owner of the original material. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
The James Buchanan Family Papers were collected by the James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland. This collection was relocated from the Wheatland mansion to the LancasterHistory archives in the Spring of 2009. Digitization of the James Buchanan Family Papers was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 2 Papers of Harriet Lane Johnston, Series 1 Correspondence
Description
James Buchanan Family Papers, Part 2 Papers of Harriet Lane Johnston, Series 1 contains the correspondence of Harriet Lane Johnston.
Subseries 1 contains letters written by Harriet to James Buchanan, Lily Macalester and Charles Macalester, Lois Buchanan, Hiram B. Swarr, Mary Speer, and others from 1848-1902.
Subseries 2 contains letters written to Harriet from Captain W. R. Palmer, Alfred Pleasanton, Laura Pleasanton, Isaac E. Hiester and others from 1854 to 1897, including several describing Washington, D.C. in 1861.
Admin/Biographical History
Born on May 9, 1830, Harriet Lane was the youngest surviving child of Elliot Toll Lane and Jane Buchanan Lane. When both of her parents died of consumption, now known as tuberculosis, Harriet went on to be her Uncle James Buchanan's ward in 1841. A well-educated lady, Harriet attended several boarding schools before graduating from the Georgetown Academy of Visitation Convent at the age of 18. When James Buchanan served as the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, Harriet Lane joined him for a time and served as a hostess. During her time in England, which she noted as "the realization of a beautiful dream," she befriended none other than Queen Victoria. When her Uncle assumed the presidency, Harriet Lane assumed her role as hostess. She is considered the first First Lady, as the title had initially been given to the president's hostess during Harriet's time in Washington.
After Buchanan's presidency, Harriet Lane married Henry Elliot Johnston, a banker from Baltimore, on January 11, 1866. She was 35 years old. The couple went on to have two sons, both of whom would pass away from rheumatic fever in their early teenage years. Two years after losing her youngest son, Harriet lost her husband to pneumonia. By 1884, Harriet was a childless widow. She would go on to leave a legacy for generations to come, including establishing a children's hospital in Baltimore called The Harriet Lane Home for Invalid Children (today the Harriet Lane Clinic at the John's Hopkins Children's Hospital), preserving her Uncle's letters and manuscripts, bestowing her art collection to the Corcoran Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and constructing the St. Alban's School, a school for choir boys. She died on July 3, 1903. [ https://www.lancasterhistory.org/about-wheatland/, accessed 10/24/2019]
James Buchanan Papers, Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections http://archives.dickinson.edu/collection-descriptions/james-buchanan-papers
James Buchanan and Harriet Lane Johnston Papers, Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/collections/james-buchanan-and-harriet-lane-johnston-papers/
James Buchanan Papers, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, http://www2.hsp.org/collections/manuscripts/b/Buchanan0091.html
James Buchanan Papers, Penn State University Libraries, https://libraries.psu.edu/findingaids/1458.htm
Related Item Notes
James Buchanan Family Papers
James Buchanan Collection, MG0096
Historical Society of Pennsylvania microfilm
Photograph collections
Curatorial collections
Wheatland Mansion
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Please use digital images and transcriptions when available.
Original documents may be used by appointment. Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org at least two weeks prior to visit.
Copyright
Images have been provided for research purposes only.
LancasterHistory retains the rights to the digital images and content presented. The doctrine of fair use allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use includes comment, criticism, teaching, and private scholarship. Any images and data downloaded, printed or photocopied for these purposes should provide a citation. All other uses beyond those allowed by fair use require written permission.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Some items are photocopies from other collections--researchers must obtain permission for reproduction and publication from the owner of the original material. Persons wishing to publish any material from this site must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions. Publication fees may apply.
Please contact archives@lancasterhistory.org for a high-resolution image and permission to publish.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Description Level
Series
Custodial History
The James Buchanan Family Papers were collected by the James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland. This collection was relocated from the Wheatland mansion to the LancasterHistory archives in the Spring of 2009. Digitization of the James Buchanan Family Papers was funded by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, PHMC Appl ID # 201808013051, 2019-2020.
