Politics Thread

James Buchanan and Trump have a great deal in common.  Buchanan attributed to an insurrection on the government, a little dust up called the US Civil War.  He liked the idea of being President, but didn't want to actually do any governing.  Since there was no cable news in those days, he spent most of his time playing cards with his lackeys.  On the rare occasions when he did get involved, it was always to do something horrible.  He was a racist, publicly supporting the Supreme Court's notorious Dred Scott decision that said blacks weren't citizens and therefore had no rights.  He made sure that when Kansas was granted statehood, it entered as a slave state.  There was a major collapse of the national economy during his administration, known as the Panic of 1857.  After Lincoln won the election and talk of secession went into overdrive, Buchanan made a speech in which he said states couldn't leave the US, but also said that the Federal government lacked the power to stop states from leaving.  He also blamed Northerners for all the trouble and said that their actions justified whatever response Southerners chose.