Buchanan had always looked to the statesmen of the South as a superior class; and after a political life wholly spent in close association and constant service with them, it could not be expected that, even in a crisis threatening destruction to the Union, he would break away from them in a day.
Blaine reflects on Buchanan's long-standing ties to Southern states and their influence on his decisions.
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The two schools in short marked the dividing line between the radical and the conservative.
I believe that if it should pass it will receive the sanction of nineteen-twentieths of the loyal people of the country.
That is his work and it cannot properly be taken out of his hands.
Their success as civil magistrates, as legislators, as executives was not less marked and meritorious than their illustrious service in war.
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