1791 – 1868

Poor James Buchanan!

He didn’t know what to do,

For the South was getting is dander up

And the North was angry, too.

"You’re villains and knaves for holding slaves!"

The Abolitionists groan,

But the Southerner swear it’s their own affair

And the North must leave it alone.

Poor James Buchanan:

He fiddled and fussed and blew,

While the argument went from bad to worse

As arguments often do.

"We’d rather be done with the Union

Than let you Yankees boss us!"

"You Southerners crow you’re the whole blame show,

But just you try to cross us!"

It was "Shan’t!" and " Won’t!" and "Can’t!" and "Don’t!"

And "Liar!" and "You’re another!"

Till the whole wide land was spilt in two

And brother set against brother,

Till, at last, with a "There!" and a haughty stare,

In martial precipitation,

The Southern States left the Union’s gates

To set up a separate nation.

Poor James Buchanan!

He twiddled his four years through,

And left the mess for somebody else

As weak men always do.

For when times are dark and outlook stark,

The government needs a man on

Its chair of State, not an addleplate

Like weary old James Buchanan.

In the last stanza of the poem it says "Poor James Buchanan! / He twiddled his four years through, / And left the mess for somebody else / As weak men always do." I think that the poets are saying that James Buchanan did a poor job of running the government and is also partly to blame for the Southern States seceding from the Union.

The poets also did a good job of using the literary devices. Line 17 "It was ‘Shan’t!’ and ‘ Won’t!’ and ‘Can’t!’ and ‘Don’t!" has alliteration with the "T" sound. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABCB. The poem also has a steady rhythm.

By Jennifer

8-1

General Robert E. Lee of the Confederate army and his men surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia on April 9, 1865. General Grant offered Lee's army very generous terms of surrender. The soldiers were required to hand over their rifles. The officers, however, were allowed to keep their pistols. At the end, Grant said, "The rebels are our countrymen again."