James Buchanan then enters politics “as a distraction from my great grief” and is elected to Congress representing central Pennsylvania. Upon arriving in Washington, he takes a room at Mrs. Ironside’s Boarding House on Tenth and F Streets. The nickname for such establishments is “bachelors mess” due to the number of single congressmen in residence. Buchanan shares a room with Alabama’s William Rufus King, who will later become vice president under Franklin Pierce. This arrangement continues long after each man buys a home of his own.
