美国历届总统简介：第15任总统 詹姆斯•布坎南

James Buchanan, Jr. was born the second of 11 children in 1791 into a well-to-do Pennsylvania family. He was gifted as a debater and graduated in law with honors in 1809. He was admitted to the bar in 1812. He was the 15th President of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He is the only president never to have married and the last to be born in the 18th century.

1791，詹姆斯·布坎南出生于宾夕法尼亚州的一个富裕家庭，11个兄弟姐妹中他排行第二。他天生就有辩论的才能，并于1809年以优异的成绩毕业于法学系。1812年他参加了第二次独立战争。他成为了第15任美国总统，他任职的时间是1857-1861年。他是唯一一位从未拥有过配偶的总统，同时，他也是18世纪诞生的最后一位总统。

He was elected five times to the House of Representatives; then, after an interlude as Minister to Russia,served for a decade in the Senate. He became President Polk's Secretary of State and President Pierce's Minister to Great Britain. Service abroad helped to bring him the Democratic nomination in 1856 because it had left him out of involvement in bitter domestic controversies.

他曾经竞选了5次参议院议员，之后他在参议院工作了十年的时间，在这之前他是驻俄罗斯公使。他曾经是波尔克总统的国务卿，还担任了皮尔斯总统的驻英国公使。在国外的工作帮助了他在1856年的民主党提名，因为这让他远离了国内激烈的论战旋涡。

When Buchanan became President, the country was rapidly becoming divided. He failed to realize how seriousthe North-South divisions were over the slavery question. He never understood that the North would not accept laws that favored the South. When the Dred Scott decision arrived, stating Congress had no constitutional power to deprive persons of their property rights in slaves, the North was furious.

当他成为总统时，美国正在迅速分裂。他并没有意识到南北方在奴隶制问题上的严重分歧。他没有意识到北方军将不会接受对南方军有利的法律。德雷德·史考特决议的达成，说明国会没有剥夺奴隶财产权的法律权限，这让北方军大为恼火。

In 1860 his Democratic Party split into northern and southern wings. There was a power struggle in the party and several Cabinet members resigned. He appointed northerners and this lost him almost all the support he had in the south. In 1861 he sent a war ship to reinforce Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The state fired at it and it returned to New York, making Buchanan look weak. He died in 1868, aged 77.

1860年，他的民主党分成了南北两翼。党内发生了争夺权力的纷争，许多内阁成员辞职。党内发生了争夺权力的纷争，许多内阁成员辞职。他委派了北方军，这使他失去了他在南部的所有支持。1861年，他派军舰加强了南卡罗莱纳州苏姆特堡的进攻。敌方给予了还击，军舰返回了纽约，这使得布坎南显得非常孱弱。他去世于1868年，享年77岁。