Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. II.djvu/287

JAMES BUCHANAN 229 Michigan, secretary of state; Howell Cobb, of Georgia, secretary of the treasury; John B. Floyd, of Virginia, secretary of war; Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, secretary of the navy; Aaron V. Brown, of Tennessee, postmaster-general; Jacob Thompson, of Mississippi, secretary of the interior ; and Jeremiah S. Black, of Pennsylvania, attorney- general. The internal affairs of the country dur ing Buchanan s administration occupied so much of the public attention at the time, and have since been a subject of so much interest, that his manage ment of our foreign relations has been quite ob scured. The wisdom displayed in this branch of his duties was such as might have been expected from one who had had his previous experience in the state department and in important diplomatic posts. His only equals in the executive office in this respect have been Mr. Jefferson and Mr. John Quincy Adams. During an administration fraught with the most serious hazards to the internal rela tions of the states with each other, he kept steadily in view the preservation of peace and good will between the United States and Great Britain, while he abated nothing from our just claims or our national dignity. He left to his successer no unsettled question between these two nations that was of any immediate importance, and he also left the feeling between them and their respective gov-