Timeline
 
     Links:          1791-1809 | 1809-1820 | 1820-1831 | 1831-1833 | 1834-1845
                          1845-1849 | 1849-1853 | 1853-1856 | 1856-1861 | 1861-1868
 

1831-1833: Minister to Russia
 
1831 Representative Buchanan supports the renomination of Andrew Jackson, as relations between Jackson and Buchanan's rivals worsen.
    Jan. 1 - William Lloyd Garrison of Boston begins publication of The Liberator; the leading abolitionist journal in the US.
    Jan. 24 - Representative Buchanan presents the minority report opposing a proposal by the Judiciary Committee to abrogate Section 25 of the Judiciary Act of 1789.  
    Jan. 28 - Representative Buchanan reports to the US Senate the US House's argument for the impeachment of Judge James Peck.  
    Feb. - Representative Buchanan's supporters form a movement in PA to select Buchanan as vice presidential candidate in the next presidential election.  
    Mar. - Representative Buchanan is nominated for vice president at a meeting in Lancaster, PA.  
      Mar. 19 - During the first bank robbery in the US, $245,000 is stolen from City Bank in New York.
    Representative Buchanan's supporters in the PA Democratic Party advocate his appointment to the Department of the Treasury or to the position of US attorney general.  
    May 31 - James Buchanan is invited confidentially to serve as minister to Russia.  
    June 12 - James Buchanan accepts the position of minister to Russia; he spends much of the year learning French and studying trade problems with Russia.  
      July 4 - James Monroe, 5th President of the US, dies in New York.
      July 4 - The song “ America ” is sung for the first time, at a church in Boston.
    Aug. - James Buchanan travels to New York, under cover of illness, to gather information regarding the relationship between American trade and the Baltic and Black Seas.
 
      Aug. 21 - Nat Turner, a slave in Virginia, kills his master and leads a slave insurrection.
    Oct. 21 - James Buchanan's mother asks him not to accept the mission to Russia.  
      Nov. 11 - Virginia slave Nat Turner, is hanged for killing his master and leading a slave uprising.
    Dec. 13 - James Buchanan collaborates with Henry Muhlenberg to support the election of George Dallas for US Senator and to prevent the election of an anti-Mason or pro-Adams candidate.  
      Dec. 25 - Louisiana and Arkansas become the first two states to celebrate Christmas as a legal holiday.
         
1832   Jan. 12 - James Buchanan's appointment to the Russian mission is confirmed by the US Senate.  
    Jan. 21 - Thomas Jefferson Randolph, the grandson of Thomas Jefferson, presents a plan of gradual emancipation to the Virginia Assembly.
    Mar. 3 - The Supreme Court rules that the Federal Government has jurisdiction over Indians within the states.
    Mar. 21 - Minister Buchanan leaves Lancaster, PA bound for Russia.  
    Apr. 6 - The Sauk Indians, led by Chief Black Hawk, begin killing white settlers after two Indians are killed seeking a meeting, beginning the Black Hawk War.
    Apr. 8 - Minister Buchanan leaves New York for Liverpool on board the Silas Richards, sailed by Captain Henry Holdridge.  
    May 3 - Minister Buchanan arrives in Liverpool, where he presides at a passengers' dinner for Captain Henry Holdridge.  
    May 9 - The Seminole Indians sign the Treaty of Payne’s Landing, accepting resettlement west of the Mississippi River.
    May 21 - The Democratic Party formally adopts its name and nominates Andrew Jackson for a second term at its convention in Baltimore.
    May - Minister Buchanan spends several weeks in England; he rides on a train for the first time on his way from Liverpool to Manchester.  
    June 2 - Minister Buchanan arrives in St. Petersburg.  
    June 11 - Minister Buchanan presents his letter of credence to Emperor Nicholas I.  
    June 28 - The first epidemic of Asiatic cholera appears in New York, eventually killing over 2200 people and rapidly spreading across the US.
    July 13 - An expedition led by Henry Schoolcraft discovers the source of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca, Minnesota.
    July 14 - Congress passes the Tariff Act of 1832, requiring high duties on textiles and iron.
    Aug. 27 - Sauk Chief Black Hawk surrenders, ending the Black Hawk War.
    Oct. - Minister Buchanan receives notice that Emperor Nicholas does not wish to negotiate a commercial treaty with the US; however, Buchanan submits a revised treaty proposal with encouragement from Count Karl Robert Nesselrode, Russia's foreign minister.  
    Nov. - George W. Buchanan (brother of James Buchanan) dies of tuberculosis and is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery near Mercersburg, PA.  
    Nov. 24 - South Carolina declares the US tariff null and void in a test of states’ rights against the Federal Government.
    Nov. 26 - The New York & Harlem Railroad begins operating the first streetcar in the US.
    Dec. 10 - President Jackson issues a proclamation to South Carolina, calling its nullification of US tariff laws an act of rebellion.
    Dec. 15 - Minister Buchanan learns that Count Karl Robert Nesselrode has been given authority to sign a commercial treaty with the US.  
    Dec. 18 - Minister Buchanan attends the birthday levée for Emperor Nicholas.  
    Dec. 18 - Minister Buchanan and Count Karl Robert Nesselrode sign a Treaty of Commerce between the US and Russia.  
    Dec. 20 - Minister Buchanan receives a request to have Andrew Jackson censor the Washington Globe's articles about Emperor Nicholas; Buchanan explains that the US government has no authority over the press.  
    Dec. 27 - The US and Russia sign a treaty of commerce at St. Petersburg .
       
1833   Jan. 2 - Minister Buchanan declares that he does not wish to be considered for the position of secretary of the treasury in Andrew Jackson's cabinet.  
    Jan. 9 - Minister Buchanan receives approximately one-half ton of previously undelivered mail from the US and a bill for $330 in postage.  
    Feb. 25 - Minister Buchanan meets with Count Karl Robert Nesselrode regarding Andrew Jackson's failure to censor the Washington Globe.  
    Feb. 26 - Minister Buchanan recommends that the federal government ask the Washington Globe to focus on the good will created by the new commercial treaty between the US and Russia; he also recommends that Andrew Jackson include positive statements about the commercial treaty in his inaugural address.  
    Mar. 21 - Minister Buchanan is given permission by Andrew Jackson to leave his post, due to his mother's illness.  
    Apr. 2 - Minister Buchanan is informed that he has a good chance of being elected to the US Senate if he returns from Russia.  
    May 14 - Elizabeth Speer Buchanan (mother of James Buchanan) dies in Greensburg, PA and is buried at Spring Grove Cemetery near Mercersburg, PA.  
    May 19 - Minister Buchanan predicts that his political career is almost finished; he expresses interest in exchanging his law practice in Lancaster, PA for one in New York or Baltimore.  
    May 19 - Minister Buchanan favors Levett Harris over Daniel Webster as the new minister to Russia.  
    May 22 - Minister Buchanan expresses hope that he will be elected to the US Senate.  
    June 4 - Minister Buchanan leaves St. Petersburg for Moscow on a sight-seeing trip.  
    June 24 - Minister Buchanan returns to St. Petersburg.  
    July 3 - Minister Buchanan informs the US secretary of state that he has not made any progress with the maritime treaty with Russia.  
    July 19 - Minister Buchanan receives news of his mother's death.  
    Aug. 5 - Minister Buchanan takes leave of Emperor Nicholas and the Empress.  
    Aug. 7 - Minister Buchanan takes leave of Count Karl Robert Nesselrode.  
    Aug. 8 - Minister Buchanan leaves St. Petersburg bound for the US.  
    Aug. 28 - England abolishes slavery.
    Aug. 31 - Minister Buchanan stops in Paris on his way to the US; as the only US minister in western Europe, Buchanan finds himself pressed to represent his country during a time of tension.  
    Sep. 2 - Minister Buchanan speaks with the Duke of Treviso and Marquis de Lafayette.  
    Sep. 3 - Minister Buchanan speaks with Count Pozzo di Borgo.  
    Sep. 12 - Minister Buchanan meets with the Duc de Broglie.  
    Sep. 13 - Minister Buchanan meets with Count Pozzo di Borgo.  
    Sep. 18 - Minister Buchanan arrives in London.  
    Oct. - Minister Buchanan visits Ramelton, the village in Ireland where his ancestors lived.
 
    Nov. 24 - Minister Buchanan arrives in Philadelphia aboard the Susquehanna and is honored with a $5-a-plate homecoming dinner.  
    Dec. 3 - Oberlin Collegiate Institute in Oberlin, Ohio becomes the first women’s college in the US.
    Dec. 4 - The American Anti-Slavery Society is founded in Philadelphia.
    Dec. 7 - Minister Buchanan is defeated by Samuel McKean in the election for US Senator.  
 
Continue to 1834-1845: US Senate



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