James Buchanan

James Buchanan grew up on the edge of the wilderness at Stony Batter, where the western frontier lay just across the mountains and daily pack trains of up to 15 horses linked him to the West. He saw packhorses loaded with whiskey and the furs of wolf, bear, panther, and beaver, and freight wagons from the east filled with farm tools, cloth, and salt. The unbroken forest at his doorstep offered constant adventure, and some said his mother tied a bell on him to keep from losing him among the rocks and brush of Tuscarora Mountain. When he was six years old, he moved to nearby Mercersburg, where his father owned a store, began his education under his mother’s tutelage, and later attended Old Stone Academy. At age 16, he entered Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. Though he sometimes struggled to conform to its formal setting, he graduated with honors in 1809. Soon afterward, he moved to Lancaster, Pa., then the state capital, to continue his studies, become a lawyer, and begin his political career.

Pennsylvania · United States