Ocean State Libraries

Describes the early life and political career of the man who served as president in the years just before the Civil War.

"This biography introduces readers to James Buchanan including his early political career and key events from Buchanan's administration including the Dred Scott case and the secession of seven Southern states prior to the American Civil War. Information about his childhood, family, personal life, and retirement years is included. A timeline, fast facts, and sidebars provide additional information. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to...

"On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. Master storyteller Erik Larson...