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.
James Buchanan. James Buchanan (1791-1868) was the fifteenth president of the United States. His administration was dominated by fighting between pro-and antislavery forces. In 1860, at the close of his term in office, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union.