James Buchanan

2 6.1

The fifteenth President of the United States from 1857 to 1861

proper noun
/ˈdʒeɪmz bjuˈkænən/

: James Buchanan

James Buchanan was the 15th President of the United States from 1857 to 1861.

Examples

In fact, even James Buchanan, a founder of Public Choice Theory, argued against heightened judicial review of social or economic legislation.

Academic text (2016)
The 1997 Selection Committee included Kenneth J. Arrow, James Buchanan, Morris P. Fiorina, Jr., Vernon L. Smith, and James Tobin.

Academic text (2016)
In 1856, James Buchanan won the presidential election as a candidate from the Democratic Party.
As President, James Buchanan faced significant national challenges, including rising tensions over slavery.

Surface Forms

James Buchanan main

Morphology

James + Buchanan

This is a referential proper name identifying a specific historical individual; the propositional content 'the 15th President of the United States (1857–1861)' cannot be derived from the constituent lexemes 'James' and 'Buchanan'. Proper names are arbitrary labels rather than compositional descriptions, so a B1 learner who knows the words would not infer the presidential identity without prior exposure.

Etymology

James Buchanan belongs to the man who was the United States' 15th president from 1857 to 1861. He led the country just before the Civil War and is often remembered for not stopping the growing split between the North and South, so his name brings to mind a leader who 'could not keep the country together'.