In 1854 , Whitney was appointed superintendent of the federal armory at Springfield , Massachusetts , by President Franklin Pierce , holding the position until 1860 . He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1856 in Cincinnati , which nominated James Buchanan , and also that of 1860 in Charleston , which was wracked by sectional dissension before finally nominating Stephen A. Douglas . When Whitney left the Springfield Armory in 1860 , President Buchanan appointed him Collector of Customs for the Port of Boston . He was removed , however , by the incoming Republican administration of Abraham Lincoln in 1861
Democratic National Convention of 1856
1856 Democratic National Convention
James Scollay Whitney