| James Buchanan Timeline: Presidential Timeline of Important Events |
 | 1857 | His inauguration as 15th President of the United States |
| 1857 | His presidency saw the continuance of the conflicts between the US and Native American tribes including the Apache Wars (1849 -1924) the rise of Geronimo and Cochise and the Sioux Wars (1854 - 1890) |
| 1857 | The Panic of 1857 resulted due to poor trade and brought a important depression to the United States |
| 1857 | The Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court: Dred Scott, an African American slave attempted to sue for his freedom. The Supreme Court decision was that African Americans had no rights |
| 1858 | The Kansas Controversy in which a compromise between the House and Senate bills on the admission of Kansas to the Union. |
| 1858 | Central Park opened |
| 1858 | Minnesota joins the Union |
| 1858 | Inventor Hamilton Smith patented the first rotary washing machine. |
| 1858 | July 29, 1858: Townsend Harris, the first Consul General to the Empire of Japan, finalizes the Treaty of Kanagawa (aka the Treaty of Amity and Commerce or the Harris Treaty) following Commodore Matthew Perry's Expedition to Japan |
| 1859 | Oregon joins the Union |
| 1859 | The Southern Commercial Convention: Southern slave owners advocate for the re-opening of the African slave trade. The slave trade had been banned in 1808 by an act of Congress |
| 1859 | Silver was discovered in Nebraska |
| 1859 | Harpers Ferry: John Brown seized the Southern town of Harpers Ferry in Virginia in an attempt to spark an uprising of slaves |
| 1860 | Other Native American tribes became involved in conflicts including the Kiowa, Comanche, Paiute, Navajo and the Chiricahua Wars (1860 -1886) |
| 1860 | The Pony Express was established |
| 1860 | November 6th, 1860: Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States. His inauguration as President would take place on March 4, 1861 |
| 1860 | November 10, 1860: After receiving news of the Republican victory, the General Assembly called for a Convention of the People of South Carolina |
| 1860 | December 17th, 1860: The unsuccessful Crittenden Compromise is suggested as an attempt to persuade Southern states to remain in the Union |
| 1860 | December 20, 1860: South Carolina is the First State to Secede from the Union, another 6 Southern States begin secession |
| 1860 | Secession of the South |
| 1860 | President Buchanan refuses to surrender southern federal forts and they are seized by Southern troops |
| 1861 | January 5, 1861, Carolinians fire on a ship sent to re-supply Fort Sumter. The President refused to respond with force, deferring to Congress. |
| 1861 | Congress refused to authorize military action and the President left the Fort Sumter situation to the President-elect, Abraham Lincoln. |
| 1861 | January 9, 1861: Mississippi secedes from the Union |
| 1861 | January 10, 1861: Florida secedes from the Union |
| 1861 | January 11, 1861: Alabama secedes from the Union |
| 1861 | January 19, 1861: Georgia secedes from the Union |
| 1861 | January 26, 1861: Louisiana secedes from the Union |
| 1861 | February 1861: The Confederate States of America are formed. |
| 1861 | March 2, 1861: The Corwin Amendment to the Constitution was passed by Congress and submitted to the state legislatures for ratification as another last-ditch compromise effort to protect slavery in existing slave states |
| 1861 | March 2, 1861: Texas secedes from the Union |
| 1861 | When James Buchanan entered the presidency, there were 32 states in the Union; when he left there were only 25. The seven states to secede were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. |
| 1861 | His presidency and term in office ended on March 4, 1861. The next US President was Abraham Lincoln and the bloody conflict of the Civil War |
| James Buchanan Timeline of important Events |
