President-elect James Buchanan had no idea what was happening to his body. But political Washington had its suspicions.

It is unlikely that anyone watching Monday’s presidential inaugural will spend much time thinking about the changing of the ...

Pledged to serve only one term — and eager to vacate the White House before civil war became a reality -- Buchanan's antagonistic relationship with Stephen Douglas split the Democratic Party ...

We were a divided nation on the brink of Civil War. Buchanan had eked out a victory ... That wasn’t an unusual smell in 1857 Washington. “When James Buchanan took the oath of office, there ...