An autobiographical vindication of the policy of the Buchanan administration during the last months of his term, this book is an important source for understanding the political events leading to the secession and the Civil War. Throughout his administration, Buchanan was constantly plagued with the issues of slavery, even though the existence of domestic slavery in the South was recognized and protected by the Constitution of the United States. This book details the rising conflict within the nation as Southern slave holding states argued with Northern abolitionists and Anti-Slavery societies as to whether or not slavery should continue to flourish in the United States.