James Buchanan Quotes
April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868
More James Buchanan Quotes
All the friends that I loved and wanted to reward are dead, and all the enemies that I hated and I had marked out for punishment are turned to my friends.
James Buchanan— 1857 Onfinally achieving his country's highest politicaloffice at the age of 65.
What is right and what is practicable are two different things.
James Buchanan— As quoted in Presidential Leadership : Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (2004) edited by James Taranto and Leonard Leo
If you are as happy, my dear Sir, on entering this house as I am on leaving it and returning home, you are the happiest man in the country.
James Buchanan— 1861Saidonwelcoming his successor, Abraham Lincoln, to the White House.
I am the last President of the United States!
James Buchanan— A statement he is reported to have made several times to others after the secession of South Carolina, or as early as after the election of Abraham Lincoln (1860), as quoted in Lincoln's War: The Untold Story of America's Greatest President as Commander in Chief (2004) by Geoffrey Perret
Sir, if you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland, you are a happy man indeed.
James Buchanan— Said to Abraham Lincoln on the ride back from Lincoln's inauguration as president (4 March 1861); as quoted in James Buchanan (2004) by Jean H. Baker, Pg 140; This or slightly paraphrased variants or abbreviated versions have also been been reported as having been said before the inauguration:Sir, if you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning [home], you are a happy man indeed.If you are as happy entering the presidency as I am in leaving it, then you are truly a happy man.As quoted in Presidential Leadership : Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (2004) edited by James Taranto and Leonard Leo
