BUCHANAN, James (1791-1868), President. Three Autograph letters signed ("James Buchanan") to Benjamin Crispin, Washington, [D.C.], 9 November 1843; 18 July 1846; 10 December 1847. Together 3 pages, 4to, one with integral address leaf, two with integral blank. BUCHANAN EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER OBSTACLES TO HIS NOMINATION AS PRESIDENT. Buchanan, serving as Senator and Secretary of State advises Crispin, a friend from Philadelphia, that he should not worry about a military appointment: "Colonel Page will be confirmed by the Senate, I trust and believe, without any serious opposition; and I cannot believe that your son is in the least danger of being removed by him. If he should be, I shall do all in my power to prevent it." In the 1847 letter Buchanan voices concerns regarding his chances for the Democratic nomination for President: "I feel much gratified ... that my old & valued friend still continues to be the same at the present crisis... [the] W.C. lies at the foundation of the present movement. Its actions desire to prevent the other States from nominating me by showing that the Democracy of Pennsylvania is divided on the question." James Buchanan was a quietly rising star in the Democratic Party by the mid 1840s: "Although neither a magnetic personality nor a robust stump orator, Buchanan, through years of quiet and painstaking labor, had made himself the pre-eminent figure in the Pennsylvania Democracy, but not its complete master" (Coleman, The Disruption of the Pennsylvania Democracy 1848-1860, p. 19). It appeared that Buchnanan would win the Democratic nomination for President in 1848, but the issue of the Mexican cession and the impact of the Wilmot Proviso reintroduced the divisive question of Federal limits to slavery. This caused a split in the Pennsylvania Democrats which was exploited by the Whig Party, preventing Buchanan's nomination. Together three items. (3)