Letters from James Buchanan to James Webb

James Buchanan, the United States Minister to the United Kingdom, writes four letters to General James Watson Webb regarding Buchanan's experiences living in London and international affairs, including the Ostend Manifesto, the Vienna Conference, and the prospects for peace. Buchanan also notes the collapse of the Whigs as a national party and discusses prospects for the 1856 Presidential Election. "In regard to the future I now feel as independent as a wood sawyer, having effectually banished the Presidential maggot from both my head & heart," as Buchanan explains. Transcripts included.