Wow, I typed an unique for an! essay and then Word grammar check said it was wrong. But I always thought that the rule was: an = when a word starts with a,e,i,o,u. But then I figured, yeah it does sound strange.
Buchanan was nominated by the Democratic Party in the 1856 presidential election. Throughout most of Pierce's term, he had been stationed in London as a minister to the Court of St. James's, so was not caught up in the crossfire of sectional politics that dominated the country.
Buchanan was from the North, yet he maintained ideological ties to the South, and he could count on Southern votes while retaining some strength in the North. Although Buchanan won the election, he did so without a popular mandate in a nation sharply divided over slavery and sectional issues.