Despite its being the Keystone State, one of the largest of the 13 colonies, the sixth-largest state in the union today in terms of population and a number of firsts, Pennsylvania has had just one president of the United States.

If you know he's James Buchanan, give yourself a gold star. Wait, make that two gold stars.

Suddenly, this month, Buchanan's name has become much more well-known, but for the wrong reason.

In conjunction with Presidents Day, C-SPAN released its rankings of the best and worst presidents in our history.

Buchanan is dead last. No. 43. Of course, Donald Trump is not in the mix yet since he has been president for just a little more than a month, and he is not eligible for consideration for best or worst until he is no longer in office.

Wait, you say. Wasn't Barack Obama the 44th president? Why is Buchanan listed last at 43rd and not 44th? Grover Cleveland was the only president elected to nonconsecutive terms (1884 and 1892), so he gets two numbers - 22 and 24. Cleveland, a Democrat, won the popular vote in a re-election bid in 1888, but lost to Republican Benjamin Harrison who had the necessary number of Electoral College votes. Sound familiar?

In its listing of best and worst, C-SPAN relied on more than 90 presidential scholars and historians who rated the presidents using 10 different categories. Abraham Lincoln came out on top followed by the father of our country, George Washington.

Chosen worst was Buchanan, our 15th president, who was elected in 1856, preceding Lincoln. Next-to-last was Andrew Johnson, our 17th president, who followed Lincoln. Johnson was one of just two presidents who were impeached (Bill Clinton was the other.) Both were acquitted by the Senate, Johnson by a single vote.

The other times that C-SPAN has conducted this survey (2000 and 2007), Lincoln also came out on top, and Buchanan went from 41st in 2000 to 42nd in 2007 to cellar-dweller this year.

If we consider the modern era of the presidency to have started with Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, history has been kind to most of the recent residents of the White House. Roosevelt is listed third, Harry Truman sixth, Dwight Eisenhower fifth, John F. Kennedy eighth. Lyndon B. Johnson, 10th, Richard Nixon 28th, Gerald Ford, 25th, Jimmy Carter 26th, Ronald Reagan 9th, George H.W. Bush 20th, Bill Clinton 15th, George W. Bush 33rd and Barack Obama 12th.

Buchanan placed 41st in administrative skills and 42nd in economic management and relations with Congress and last in such categories as crisis leadership, moral authority, international relations and vision.

The Civil War at one point was called "Buchanan's War," because he failed to take decisive action when southern states started talking about secession. He maintained that secession was illegal but believed that going to war to stop it was illegal, too. An attorney, Buchanan's favorite phrase was "I acknowledge no master but the law."

Buchanan came to the presidency with impressive credentials. Born in Cove Gap, Franklin County, he moved to Lancaster when he was 18. His home, called Wheatland, near Lancaster, is preserved as a historic site operated by a private foundation.

Buchanan's political career included service in the U.S. House and Senate. He served as minister to Russia under Andrew Jackson. He also was Secretary of State in the James Polk administration.

Polk nominated Buchanan to a U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, but Buchanan declined. He served as minister to the Court of St. James's (Great Britain) from 1852 until 1856 when he ran for president.

One of the main criticisms of Buchanan concerns his attitude to slavery. He supported a Supreme Court decision that denied that African-Americans were citizens, and he backed the admittance of Kansas to the Union with a pro-slavery constitution.

Buchanan was adamant that it was illegal for the South to secede, but he also believed that it was illegal to do anything militarily unless the South started the fight.

Ivan Eland, author of Recarving Rushmore, said. "I don't think Buchanan was a great president, but he's probably better than people give him credit for. He was trying to avoid the war, and it ended up being a catastrophe," Eland said.

Today, Buchanan is known for three things: He was single; he was the only president from Pennsylvania, and he preceded Abraham Lincoln.

And, oh, yes, one other thing: He kept his word; he said he would serve just one term, and he did.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com