Pro-Buchanan political cartoon - from 1856, of course (Library of Congress)
I thought it was kind of ironic that Buchanan was dishing out the Union soup in this 1856 cartoon.
You can read all the words in this political cartoon at Wikimedia. Buchanan says:
I have fairly beaten them at their own game, and now that I have became possessed of this great “Reservoir” I will see that each and Every State of this great and glorious Union receives its proper Share of this sacred food.
Ladling out the federal goodies wasn’t enough to keep seven states (so far) in the Union.
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Checks and Balances Still in Play
Two days before he finishes up President Buchanan is required to send Congress an explanation of why he brought so many troops to Washington D.C. From The New-York Times March 4, 1861:
MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT BUCHANAN.; REASONS FOR THE COLLECTING OF TROOPS AT THE FEDERAL CAPITAL.
WASHINGTON, Saturday, March 2.
The President sent a message to the House, in compliance with a resolution heretofore adopted, as to the reasons which induced him to assemble so large a number of troops in Washington. He submits that the force is not so large as the resolution presupposes, its total amount being six hundred and fifty-three, exclusive of the marines, who are of course at the Navyyard, as their appropriate station. These troops were ordered here to act as a posse comitatus, in strict accordance to the civil authority, for the purpose of preserving peace and order in Washington, should this become necessary, before or at the period of the inauguration of the President elect. What was the duty of the President at the time the troops were ordered to the city? Ought he to have waited before this precautionary measure was adopted, until he could obtain proof that a secret conspiracy existed to seize the Capitol. In the language of the Select Committee, this was “in a time of high excitement, consequent upon revolutionary events transpiring all around us. The very air was filled with rumors, and individuals indulged in the most extravagant expressions of fears and “threats”. Under these circumstances, which the President says he need not detail, as they appear in the testimony of the Select Committee, he was convinced that he ought to act. The safety of the immense amount of public property in this city, and that of the archives of the Government, in which all the States, and especially the new States, in which the public lands are situated, have a deep interest — the peace and order of the city itself, and the security of the inauguration of the President elect were objects of such vast importance to the whole country, that I could not hesitate to adopt precautionary and defensive measures. At the present moment, when all is quiet, it is difficult to realize the state of alarm which prevailed when the troops were first ordered to this city. This almost instantly subsided after the arrival of the first company, and a feeling of comparative peace and security has since existed both in Washington and throughout the country. Had I refused to adopt this precautionary measure, and evil consequences, which many good men at the time apprehended, had followed, I should never have forgiven myself.
JAMES BUCHANAN.
