New York Times Features House Divided Image

A blog post by Jamie Malanowski in the New York Times’ “Disunion” series featured this political cartoon from House Divided’s image collection. In this entry Malanowski explores how President James Buchanan addresses the secession crisis in his last State of the Union message to Congress in December 1860. “Buchanan at long last waded into the secession crisis…in the manner of a cranky grandfather who has found a pleasant afternoon nap spoiled by a household of fractious children,” as Malanowski describes. (Read the full text of Buchanan’s State of the Union here).This post is part of a new series that, as the New York Times explains, “revisits and reconsiders America’s most perilous period — using contemporary accounts, diaries, images and historical assessments to follow the Civil War as it unfolded.” Other entries include “Two Communiqués, and a Commander’s Dilemma,” “Silencing the Fanatics,” and “An American Thanksgiving, Skewered and Roasted.”  You can also  learn more about Buchanan from his profile on House Divided or at the James Buchanan Resource Center.