Question

Which of the following stands did President Buchanan take after the first state seceded?

A) No state has the right to secede from the Union.
B) The federal government has no authority to stop a state from seceding from the nation.
C) Federal troops should be called out to stop secession.
D) Secession was a legal act.
E) No state has the right to secede from the Union; however, the federal government does not have the authority to stop a state from seceding from the nation.

Answer 1

President Buchanan believed that no state has the right to secede from the Union, but also that the federal government could not coerce a state to stay. The correct answer is option E).

Step-by-step explanation:

After the first state seceded, President Buchanan took the stance that no state has the right to secede from the Union; however, he also believed that the federal government had no authority to stop a state from seceding from the nation. Buchanan viewed the Union as 'perpetual' and that its preservation was more important than states' rights. Despite his belief in the illegality of secession, he was also of the opinion that the government couldn't coerce sovereign states. This ultimately put Buchanan in a passive position, hoping for compromise rather than confrontation as the nation moved closer to civil war.