Dr. Michael Birkner, professor of history at Gettysburg College, will visit the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum at 1 p.m. on Saturday to speak on James Buchanan and the Civil War.

“This program is for anyone interested in the politics leading up to the Civil War,” said Joseph Garrera, executive director of the museum.

President James Buchanan of Lancaster was the only president from Pennsylvania. He entered the White House in March 1857 with sectional disharmony over the issue of slavery already intensifying. By the end of his single term, southern states had begun seceding, soon triggering a great Civil War.

Was this war — known to early Republicans as “Buchanan’s War” indeed Buchanan’s failure? What were Buchanan’s options before and during the secession crisis? Birkner will explore these and many other questions about a critical era in our nation’s history.

Event admission is free to Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum/Lehigh County Historical Society members. There is a fee for nonmembers.

The Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum is located at 432 W. Walnut St. in Allentown. Parking is available in the rear of the museum, on the street and in nearby lots.

For more information, contact Garrera at 610-435-1074, visit www.lehighvalleyheritagemuseum.org or on Facebook.