First Administration
Inauguration:
March 4, 1857; The Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Vice President:
John C. Breckinridge
Secretary of State:
Lewis Cass; Jeremiah S. Black (from December 17, 1860)
Secretary of the Treasury:
Howell Cobb; Philip F. Thomas (from December 12, 1860); John A. Dix (from January 15, 1861)
Secretary of War:
John B. Floyd; Joseph Holt (from January 18, 1861)
Attorney General:
Jeremiah S. Black; Edwin M. Stanton (from December 20, 1860)
Postmaster General:
Aaron V. Brown; Joseph Holt (from March 14, 1859); Horatio King (from February 12, 1861)
Secretary of the Navy:
Issac Toucey
Secretary of the Interior:
Jacob Thompson
Supreme Court Appointment:
Nathan Clifford (1858)
Congress #35
(December 7, 1857-March 3, 1859):
Senate:
39 Democrats; 20 Republicans; 5 Others
House:
131 Democrats; 92 Republicans; 14 Others
Congress #36
(December 5, 1859-March 3, 1861):
Senate:
38 Democrats; 20 Republicans; 5 Others
House:
113 Republicans; 101 Democrats; 23 Others
States Admitted:
Minnesota (1858);
Oregon (1859);
Kansas (1861)
| Election of 1856
| | Candidates
| Electoral Vote
|
| Popular Vote
| James Buchanan
(Democratic)
| 174
|
| 1,836,072
| John C. Fremont
(Republican)
| 114
|
| 1,342,345
| Millard Fillmore
(Know-Nothing)
| 8
|
| 873,053
|
|