James Buchanan Jr. (1791-1868) was born in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania, and died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was an attorney and state politician and served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857-1861. Buchanan was educated at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, graduated in 1809, and studied law in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was admitted to the bar in 1812 and soon after established a successful law practice. He served as U.S. minister to St. Petersburg from 1831-1833 for the Andrew Jackson administration and served as secretary of state from 1845-1849 in the cabinet of President James K. Polk. Buchanan represented Pennsylvania for many years in both houses of the U.S. Congress before becoming president. He was a states' rights advocate and minimized the role of the federal government in the nation's final years of slavery.

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