Franklin Pierce was the
14th President of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
(1853-1857) and is the only President from
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. Pierce was a
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and a "
doughfaceThe term doughface originally referred to an actual mask made of dough, but came to be used in a disparaging context for someone, especially a politician, who is perceived to be pliable and moldable...
" (a Northerner with Southern sympathies) who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a
brigadier general in the ArmyA brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
. His private
law practiceA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in his home state,
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, was so successful that he was offered several important positions, which he turned down. Later, he was nominated as the party's candidate for president on the 49th ballot at the
1852 Democratic National ConventionThe 1852 Democratic National Convention was held at Maryland Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. This convention is notable for the hostility between groups of the party, divided over the Compromise of 1850. The convention was called to order by Democratic National Committee chairman Benjamin F....
. In the presidential election, Pierce and his running mate
William R. KingWilliam Rufus DeVane King was the 13th Vice President of the United States for about six weeks , and earlier a U.S. Representative from North Carolina, Minister to France, and a Senator from Alabama...
won by a
landslideIn politics, a landslide victory is the victory of a candidate or political party by an overwhelming margin in an election...
in the Electoral College. They defeated the
Whig PartyThe Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
ticket of
Winfield ScottWinfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
and
William A. GrahamWilliam Alexander Graham was a United States Senator from North Carolina from 1840 to 1843, the 30th Governor of North Carolina from 1845 to 1849 and United States Secretary of the Navy from 1850 to 1852. He was also a candidate for the vice-presidency in 1852.-Education:Graham was born near...
by a 50 percent to 44 percent margin in the popular vote and 254 to 42 in the
electoral voteThe Electoral College consists of the electors appointed by each state who formally elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Since 1964, there have been 538 electors in each presidential election...
.
His amiable personality and handsome appearance caused him to make many friends, but he suffered tragedy in his personal life. As president, he made many divisive decisions which were widely criticized and earned him a reputation as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. Pierce's popularity in the Northern states declined sharply after he came out in favor of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, replacing the
Missouri CompromiseThe Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30'...
(which had been declared unconstitional by the U.S. Supreme Court), and renewing the debate over expanding
slaverySlavery in the United States was a form of slave labor which existed as a legal institution in North America for more than a century before the founding of the United States in 1776, and continued mostly in the South until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in...
in the American West. Pierce's credibility was further damaged when several of his diplomats issued the
Ostend ManifestoThe Ostend Manifesto was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain and implied the U.S. should declare war if Spain refused. Cuba's annexation had long been a goal of U.S. expansionists, particularly as the U.S. set its sights...
. Historian David Potter concludes that the Ostend Manifesto and the Kansas-Nebraska Act were "the two great calamities of the Franklin Pierce administration.... Both brought down an avalanche of public criticism." More importantly, says Potter, they permanently discredited the
Manifest DestinyManifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...
and "popular sovereignty" as political doctrines.
Abandoned by his party, Pierce was not renominated to run in the 1856 presidential election and was replaced by
James BuchananJames Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
as the Democratic candidate. After losing the Democratic nomination, Pierce continued his lifelong struggle with
alcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
as his marriage to Jane Means Appleton Pierce fell apart. His reputation was destroyed during the
Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
when he declared support for the
ConfederacyThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, and personal correspondence between Pierce and the
Confederate PresidentThe President of the Confederate States of America was the Head of State and Head of Government of the Confederate States of America, which was formed from the states which declared their secession from the United States, thus precipitating the American Civil War. The only person to hold the...
Jefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
was leaked to the press. Pierce died in 1869 from cirrhosis of the liver.
Philip B. Kunhardt and Peter W. Kunhardt reflected the views of many historians when they wrote in
The American President that Pierce was "a good man who didn't understand his own shortcomings. He was genuinely religious, he loved his wife, and he reshaped himself so that he could adapt to her ways and show her true affection. He was one of the most popular men in New Hampshire, polite and thoughtful, easy, and good at the political game, charming and fine and handsome. However, he has been criticized as timid and unable to cope with a changing America."
Upbringing
Franklin Pierce was born in a
log cabinA log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
in
Hillsborough, New HampshireHillsborough, frequently spelled Hillsboro, is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,011 at the 2010 census...
, on November 23, 1804, as the first President of the United States born in the 19th century. The site of his birth is now under
Franklin Pierce LakeFranklin Pierce Lake is a reservoir located in Hillsborough County in southern New Hampshire, United States, in the towns of Hillsborough and Antrim. It is named for Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, who was born in Hillsborough at a site now inundated by the lake...
. Pierce's father was
Benjamin PierceBenjamin Pierce was an American Democratic-Republican politician. He served as Governor of New Hampshire from 1827 to 1828 and from 1829 to 1830.-Biography:...
, a frontier farmer who became a
Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
soldier, a state militia general, and a two-time Democratic-Republican
governor of New HampshireThe Governor of the State of New Hampshire is the supreme executive magistrate of the U.S. state of New Hampshire.The governor is elected at the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Vermont, to hold...
. He was a direct descendant of Thomas Pierce (1623–1683), who was born in
NorwichNorwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Norfolk, England and settled in the
Massachusetts Bay ColonyThe Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
. Franklin Pierce's mother was Anna B. Kendrick. The fifth of eight children, he had four brothers and three sisters. Former
First Lady of the United StatesFirst Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Barbara Pierce BushBarbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
is a distant cousin.
Education
Pierce attended school at
Hillsborough CenterHillsborough, frequently spelled Hillsboro, is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,011 at the 2010 census...
and moved to the Hancock Academy in
HancockHancock is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,654 at the 2010 census. Hancock is home to the Welch Family Farm Forest....
at the age of 11; he transferred to
FrancestownFrancestown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,562 at the 2010 census.- History :Incorporated in 1772, Francestown takes its name from Frances Deering Wentworth, the wife of colonial governor John Wentworth. There were 928 residents when the first...
Academy in the spring of 1820. Friends recalled that just after he entered the school, he became homesick and returned home barefoot. His father put him in a wagon, drove him half way back to the academy, and left him on the roadside, never saying a word. The boy trudged the remaining seven miles back to school. Later that year he transferred to
Phillips Exeter AcademyPhillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
to prepare for college. In fall 1820, he entered
Bowdoin CollegeBowdoin College , founded in 1794, is an elite private liberal arts college located in the coastal Maine town of Brunswick, Maine. As of 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranks Bowdoin 6th among liberal arts colleges in the United States. At times, it was ranked as high as 4th in the country. It is...
in
Brunswick, MaineBrunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 20,278 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, , and the...
, where he joined literary, political, and debating clubs.
There he met writer
Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
, with whom he formed a lasting friendship, and
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowHenry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
. He also met Calvin E. Stowe,
Seargent S. PrentissSeargent Smith Prentiss was the representative for Mississippi in the Twenty-fifth United States Congress...
, and his future political rival,
John P. HaleJohn Parker Hale was an American politician and lawyer from New Hampshire. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1843 to 1845 and in the United States Senate from 1847 to 1853 and again from 1855 to 1865. He was the first senator to make a stand against slavery...
, when he joined the Athenian Society, a group of students with progressive political leanings.
In his second year of college his grades were the lowest of his class, but he worked to improve them and ranked third among his classmates when he graduated in 1824. In 1826 he entered a
law schoolA law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
in
NorthamptonThe city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, studying under Governor
Levi WoodburyLevi Woodbury was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, a U.S. Senator, Governor of New Hampshire and cabinet member in three administrations. He was the first Justice to have attended law school....
, and later Judges Samuel Howe and Edmund Parker, in
Amherst, New HampshireAmherst is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,201 at the 2010 census. Amherst is home to Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary, Hodgman State Forest, the Joe English Reservation and Baboosic Lake....
. He was admitted to the
barBar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
and began a law practice in
Concord, New HampshireThe city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
, in 1827.
Early political career
After graduating from college, Pierce entered politics and rose to a central position in the Democratic party of New Hampshire and became a member of the Concord Regency leadership group. In 1828 he was elected to the
lower houseA lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of the
New Hampshire General CourtThe General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members. The upper house is the New Hampshire Senate with 24 members...
, the
New Hampshire House of RepresentativesThe New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 103 districts across the state, created from divisions of the state's counties. On average, each legislator represents about 3,300...
. He served in the State House from 1829 to 1833, and as Speaker from 1832 to 1833. Pierce served in the state legislature of New Hampshire while his father was governor.
In 1832, Pierce was elected as a
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
to the 23rd and 24th Congresses (March 4, 1833 – March 4, 1837). He was only 27 years old, the youngest U.S. Representative at the time.
In 1836, he was elected by the New Hampshire General Court as a Democrat to the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, serving from March 4, 1837, to February 28, 1842, when he resigned. He was chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Pensions during the 26th Congress.
After his service in the Senate, Pierce resumed the practice of law in
ConcordThe city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
with his partner
Asa FowlerAsa Fowler was a New Hampshire politician, lawyer and jurist. He served as a justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court from August 1, 1855 until February 1, 1861 and in the New Hampshire House of Representatives 1845, 1847, 1848 and 1871 to 1872. In 1872 he was Speaker of the House...
. He was the United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire from 1845 to 1847. He refused the
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nomination for
Governor of New HampshireThe Governor of the State of New Hampshire is the supreme executive magistrate of the U.S. state of New Hampshire.The governor is elected at the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Vermont, to hold...
and declined the appointment as
Attorney General of the United StatesThe United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
tendered by
PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
James K. PolkJames Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
.
Family
On November 19, 1834, Pierce married Jane Means Appleton (1806–63), the daughter of a former president of Bowdoin College. Appleton was Pierce's opposite. Born into an aristocratic
WhigThe Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
family, she was shy, often ill, deeply religious, and pro-
temperanceA temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
. They had three children, all of whom died in childhood:
- Franklin Pierce, Jr. (February 2, 1836 – February 5, 1836)
- Frank Robert Pierce (August 27, 1839 – November 14, 1843), died at the age of four from epidemic typhus
- Benjamin "Bennie" Pierce (April 13, 1841 – January 6, 1853), died at the age of 11.
None lived to see his father become President.
Pierce suffered a devastating tragedy just weeks after his election when he, his wife, and his last son Benjamin were in a terrible train accident in which Bennie was decapitated in front of his father. Pierce put a sheet over the boy hoping his wife would not see the body, but she did anyway. This sent Pierce and his wife into a plummeting despair, affecting his presidency until he left office in 1857. Jane was never happy with her husband's involvement in the political world. She took no pleasure from life in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, having encouraged Pierce to resign his Senate seat and return to
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, which he did in 1842. After the gruesome death of her last child, shortly before Pierce's inauguration, she was overcome with
melancholiaMelancholia , also lugubriousness, from the Latin lugere, to mourn; moroseness, from the Latin morosus, self-willed, fastidious habit; wistfulness, from old English wist: intent, or saturnine, , in contemporary usage, is a mood disorder of non-specific depression,...
and distanced herself from her husband during his presidency. She became known as "the shadow of the White House." She was deeply religious and regarded the death of their last child as God's anger brought on by her husband's political life.
Mexican-American War
Pierce enlisted in the volunteer services during the Mexican-American War and rose to the rank of colonel. In March 1847, he was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and took command of a brigade of reinforcements for
Winfield ScottWinfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
's army marching on
Mexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. His brigade was designated the 1st Brigade in the newly created 3rd Division and joined Scott's army in time for the
Battle of ContrerasThe Battle of Contreras, also known as the Battle of Padierna, took place during August 19–20, 1847, in the final encounters of the Mexican-American War. In the Battle of Churubusco, fighting continued the following day.-Background:...
. During the battle he was seriously wounded in the leg when he fell from his horse.
He returned to his command the following day, but during the
Battle of ChurubuscoThe Battle of Churubusco took place on August 20, 1847, in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Contreras during the Mexican-American War. After defeating the Mexican army at Churubusco, the U.S. Army was only 5 miles away from Mexico City, the capital of the nation...
the pain in his leg became so great that he passed out and had to be carried from the field. His political opponents used this against him, claiming that he left the field because of cowardice instead of injury. He returned to command and led his brigade throughout the rest of the campaign, resulting in the
capture of Mexico CityThe Battle for Mexico City refers to the series of engagements from September 8 to September 15, 1847, in the general vicinity of Mexico City during the Mexican-American War...
. Although he was a political appointee, he proved to have some skill as a military commander. He returned home and served as president of the New Hampshire state
constitutional conventionA constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...
in 1850.
Election of 1852
At the Democratic National Convention of 1852, Pierce was not a serious candidate for the presidential nomination. He had no credentials as a major political figure or leader, and had not held elective office for the last ten years. The convention assembled on June 1 in Baltimore, Maryland, with four major contenders—
Stephen A. DouglasStephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
,
William L. MarcyWilliam Learned Marcy was an American statesman, who served as U.S. Senator and the 11th Governor of New York, and as the U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State.-Early life:...
,
James BuchananJames Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
and
Lewis CassLewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...
– for the nomination. Most of those who had left the party with
Martin Van BurenMartin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
to form the
Free Soil PartyThe Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership...
had returned. To unite the various Democratic Party factions before voting on a nominee, delegates adopted a
party platformA party platform, or platform sometimes also referred to as a manifesto, is a list of the actions which a political party, individual candidate, or other organization supports in order to appeal to the general public for the purpose of having said peoples' candidates voted into political office or...
that rejected further "agitation" over the slavery issue and supported the
Compromise of 1850The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September 1850, which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War...
.
When the balloting for president began, the four candidates deadlocked, with no candidate reaching even a simple majority, much less the required
supermajorityA supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority . In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority...
of two-thirds. On the thirty-fifth ballot, Pierce was put forth to break the deadlock as a compromise candidate. Pierce's long career as a party activist and consistent supporter of Democratic positions made him popular among delegates. He had never fully explained his views on slavery, allowing all factions to view him as reasonably acceptable. His service in the Mexican-American War would allow the party to portray him as a war hero. On June 5, delegates unanimously nominated Pierce on the 49th ballot. Alabama Senator
William R. KingWilliam Rufus DeVane King was the 13th Vice President of the United States for about six weeks , and earlier a U.S. Representative from North Carolina, Minister to France, and a Senator from Alabama...
was chosen as the nominee for
Vice PresidentThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
.
The United States Whig Party's candidate was General
Winfield ScottWinfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
of
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, under whom Pierce had served in the Mexican-American War; his running mate was
Secretary of the NavyThe Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
William A. GrahamWilliam Alexander Graham was a United States Senator from North Carolina from 1840 to 1843, the 30th Governor of North Carolina from 1845 to 1849 and United States Secretary of the Navy from 1850 to 1852. He was also a candidate for the vice-presidency in 1852.-Education:Graham was born near...
. Scott – nicknamed "Old Fuss and Feathers" – ran a blundering campaign.
The Whigs' platform was almost indistinguishable from that of the Democrats, reducing the campaign to a contest between the personalities of the two candidates and helping to drive
voter turnoutVoter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
in the election to its lowest level since 1836. Pierce's affable personality and lack of strongly held positions helped him prevail over Scott, whose antislavery views hurt him in the South. Pierce's military service effectively neutralized Scott's reputation as a celebrated war hero.
Irish CatholicIrish Americans are citizens of the United States who can trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,278,332 Americans—estimated at 11.9% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2008 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau...
support of the Democratic Party and disdain for the Whig Party also helped Pierce.
The Democrats' slogan was "We Polked you in 1844; we shall Pierce you in 1852!" (a reference to the victory of
James K. PolkJames Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
in the 1844 election). This proved to be true, as Scott won only the states of
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
,
TennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and
VermontVermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. The total popular vote was 1,601,274 to 1,386,580, or 50.9% to 44.1%. Pierce won 27 of the 31 states, including Scott's home state of Virginia.
John P. HaleJohn Parker Hale was an American politician and lawyer from New Hampshire. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1843 to 1845 and in the United States Senate from 1847 to 1853 and again from 1855 to 1865. He was the first senator to make a stand against slavery...
, who like Pierce was from New Hampshire, was the nominee of the remnants of the Free Soil Party, garnering 155,825 votes (5% of the total).
The 1852 election was the last presidential contest in which the Whigs fielded a candidate. The
Kansas-Nebraska ActThe Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
, passed in 1854, divided the Whigs. The Whig Party splintered and most of its adherents migrated to the
nativistNativism favors the interests of certain established inhabitants of an area or nation as compared to claims of newcomers or immigrants. It may also include the re-establishment or perpetuation of such individuals or their culture....
American Party Know Nothings, the
Constitutional Union PartyThe Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid disunion over the slavery issue...
, and the newly formed
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
At his inauguration, Pierce, at age 48, was the youngest President to have taken office, a record he would keep until
Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
took office in 1869 at 46 years old.
Presidency 1853–1857
Beginnings
Pierce served as President from March 4, 1853, to March 4, 1857. He began his presidency exhausted and in mourning. Two months before, on January 6, 1853, the President-elect's family had boarded a train in Boston, and were trapped in their
derailedA derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
car when it rolled down an
embankmentTo keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...
near
Andover, MassachusettsAndover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was incorporated in 1646 and as of the 2010 census, the population was 33,201...
. Pierce and his wife survived, merely shaken up, but saw their 11-year-old son Benjamin crushed to death. Jane Pierce viewed the train accident as a divine punishment for her husband's pursuit and acceptance of high office.
Pierce chose to "
affirmIn law, an affirmation is a solemn declaration allowed to those who conscientiously object to taking an oath. An affirmation has exactly the same legal effect as an oath, but is usually taken to avoid the religious implications of an oath...
" his oath of office rather than swear it, becoming the first president to do so; he placed his hand on a law book rather than on a Bible while doing so. He was also the first president to recite his inaugural address from memory. In it Pierce hailed an era of peace and prosperity at home and urged a vigorous assertion of US interests in its foreign relations. "The policy of my Administration," said the new president,
- "will not be deterred by any timid forebodings of evil from expansion. Indeed, it is not to be disguised that our attitude as a nation and our position on the globe render the acquisition of certain possessions not within our jurisdiction eminently important for our protection".
The nation was enjoying economic growth and relative tranquillity, and the
Compromise of 1850The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September 1850, which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War...
calmed the debate over slavery. When the issue flamed up early in his administration, though, Pierce did little to cool the passions it aroused, and sectional conflicts reignited.
Administration
Pierce selected men of differing opinions for his
CabinetThe Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
, including colleagues he knew personally and Democratic politicians. Many anticipated the diverse group would soon break up, but it remained unchanged during Pierce's four-year term (as of 2011, the only presidential cabinet to do so). In foreign policy, Pierce sought to display a traditional Democratic assertiveness. Various interests nursed ambitions to detach nearby Cuba from a weak and distant Spain, open trade with a reclusive Japan, and gain the advantage over Britain in Central America. Although the
Perry ExpeditionThe Perry Expedition was a U.S. naval and diplomatic expedition to Japan, involving 2 separate trips to and from Japan by ships of the United States Navy, which took place during 1853-54. The expedition was commanded by Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry...
to Japan was a success, Pierce's leadership increasingly came into question when poorly anticipated developments exposed failures of Administration planning and consultation.
Pierce's administration aroused sectional apprehensions when it pressured the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to relinquish its interests along part of the
Central AmericaCentral America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n coast. Three US diplomats in Europe drafted a proposal to the president to purchase
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
from
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
for $120 million (USD), and justify the "wresting" of it from Spain if the offer were refused. The publication of the
Ostend ManifestoThe Ostend Manifesto was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain and implied the U.S. should declare war if Spain refused. Cuba's annexation had long been a goal of U.S. expansionists, particularly as the U.S. set its sights...
, which had been drawn up on the insistence of Pierce's Secretary of State, provoked the scorn of Northerners who viewed it as an attempt to annex a slave-holding possession to bolster Southern interests. It helped discredit the expansionist policies the Democratic Party had supported in the 1844 election. The
Gadsden PurchaseThe Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States in a treaty signed by James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico at the time, on December 30, 1853. It was then ratified, with changes, by the U.S...
from Mexico similarly exposed the seething unresolved sectional conflicts inherent in national expansion.
The greatest challenge to the country's equilibrium during the Pierce administration, though, was the passage of the
Kansas-Nebraska ActThe Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
in 1854. It repealed the
Missouri CompromiseThe Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30'...
and reopened the question of slavery in the West. This measure, sponsored by Senator
Stephen A. DouglasStephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
, originated in a drive to promote a transcontinental railroad with a link from
Chicago, IllinoisChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, to
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
through
NebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
.
Secretary of War
Jefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
, advocate of a southern transcontinental route, had persuaded Pierce to send
James GadsdenJames Gadsden was an American diplomat, soldier and businessman and namesake of the Gadsden Purchase, in which the United States purchased from Mexico the land that became the southern portion of Arizona and New Mexico. James Gadsden served as Adjutant General of the U. S...
to Mexico to buy land for a southern railroad. He purchased the area now comprising southern
ArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and part of southern New Mexico for $10 million (USD), commonly known as the
Gadsden PurchaseThe Gadsden Purchase is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United States in a treaty signed by James Gadsden, the American ambassador to Mexico at the time, on December 30, 1853. It was then ratified, with changes, by the U.S...
. This became known as the greatest success of the Pierce presidency.
Pierce fulfilled the expectations of Southerners who had supported him by vigilantly enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act when
Anthony BurnsAnthony Burns was born a slave in Stafford County, Virginia. As a young man, he became a Baptist and a "slave preacher"...
was seized in Boston in 1854 and returned to his owner.
To win Southern support for organizing Nebraska, Douglas added a provision declaring the Missouri Compromise to be invalid. The bill
provided that the residents of the new territories could decide the slavery question for themselves. Although his cabinet had made other proposals, Douglas and several southern Senators successfully persuaded Pierce to support Douglas' plan.
The passage of the
Kansas-Nebraska ActThe Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
triggered a series of events that became known as
Bleeding KansasBleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
. Pro-slavery Border Ruffians, mostly from
MissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, illegally voted in a government that Pierce recognized, and Pierce called the
Topeka ConstitutionThe Topeka Constitutional Convention was held in October 1855 in the town of Topeka, Kansas Territory. The convention was held in the town's Constitution Hall...
, a
shadow governmentShadow government may refer to:*An opposition government in a parliamentary system, see Shadow Cabinet*A term for plans for an emergency government that takes over in the event of a disaster, see continuity of government...
set up by Free-Staters, an act of "rebellion." Pierce continued to recognize the pro-slavery legislature even after a congressional investigative committee found its election illegitimate, and dispatched federal troops to break up a meeting of the shadow government in
TopekaTopeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
.
The Act provoked outrage among northerners who already viewed Pierce as kowtowing to slave-holding interests. It provided the impetus for the formation of the Republican Party and contributed to critical estimates of Pierce as untrustworthy and easily manipulated. Having lost public confidence, Pierce failed to receive the nomination of his party for a second term. Pierce's hiring of a full-time bodyguard - the first president to do so - is testament to his ruined reputation.
Pierce has been
ranked among the least effective PresidentsIn political science, historical rankings of Presidents of the United States are surveys conducted in order to construct rankings of the success of individuals who have served as President of the United States. Ranking systems are usually based on surveys of academic historians and political...
. He was unable to steer a steady, prudent course that might have sustained a broad measure of support. Having publicly committed himself to an ill-considered position, he maintained it steadfastly, but at disastrous cost to his reputation.
Supreme Court appointments
Pierce appointed the following Justices to the
Supreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
:
- John Archibald Campbell
John Archibald Campbell was an American jurist.Campbell was born near Washington, Georgia, to Col. Duncan Greene Campbell...
Later life
After losing the Democratic nomination for reelection in 1856, Pierce retired and traveled with his wife overseas. He returned to the U.S. in 1859 in time to comment on the growing sectional crisis between the South and the North, often criticizing Northern abolitionists for encouraging ugly feelings between the two sections. In 1860 many Democrats viewed Pierce as a solid compromise choice for the presidential nomination, uniting both Northern and Southern wings of the party, but Pierce declined to run.
During the Civil War, Pierce attacked Lincoln for his order suspending habeas corpus. Pierce argued that even in a time of war, the country should not abandon its protection of civil liberties.
Pierce's stand won him admirers with the emerging
Northern Peace DemocratsThe Copperheads were a vocal group of Democrats in the Northern United States who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. Republicans started calling anti-war Democrats "Copperheads," likening them to the venomous snake...
, but enraged certain members of the Lincoln administration: in 1862 Secretary of State William Seward sent Pierce a letter accusing him of being a member of the seditious
Knights of the Golden CircleThe Knights of the Golden Circle was a secret society. Some researchers believe the objective of the KGC was to prepare the way for annexation of a golden circle of territories in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean for inclusion in the United States as slave states...
. Outraged, Pierce responded and demanded that Seward put his response in the official files of the State Department. When that didn't happen, a Pierce supporter in the US Senate,
Milton LathamMilton Slocum Latham was an American politician, and served as the sixth Governor of California and as a member of the federal U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Latham holds the distinction of having the shortest governorship in California history, lasting for five days between...
of California, had the entire Seward-Pierce correspondence read into the
Congressional GlobeThe Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
. Nearly every Seward biographer has since considered the Pierce-Seward exchange as a blot on the Secretary's otherwise notable career.
In 1864, friends again put his name in play for the Democratic nomination, but by a letter read out loud to the delegates, Pierce said he would not run.
The year before, Pierce's reputation was greatly damaged in the North during the aftermath of
VicksburgThe Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C...
. Union soldiers serving under General Hugh Ewing's command captured Confederate President
Jefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
' Fleetwood Plantation, and Ewing turned over Davis' personal correspondence to his brother-in-law William T. Sherman. However, Ewing also sent copies of the letters to friends in Ohio. Those letters revealed Pierce's deep friendship with Davis and ambivalence about the goals of the war. As early as 1860, Pierce had written to Davis about "the madness of northern abolitionism." Another letter stated that he would "never justify, sustain, or in any way or to any extent uphold this cruel, heartless, aimless unnecessary war," and that "the true purpose of the war was to wipe out the states and destroy property." Abolitionist author Harriet Beecher Stowe, who had long disliked Pierce, now referred to him as "the archtraitor."
On April 16, 1865, when news had spread of the murder of President Lincoln, an angry mob of young teenagers gathered outside Pierce's home in Concord. Earlier that day a different mob had thrown black paint on the front porch of former President Millard Fillmore, who, like Pierce, was also regarded as a Lincoln detractor. The crowd in Concord wanted to know why Pierce's house was not dressed with black bunting and American flags, the visual proof of grief being used that day by millions of people across the country. Pierce came outside to confront the crowd and said he, too, was saddened by Lincoln's passing. When a voice in the crowd yelled out "Where is your flag?" Pierce became angry and recalled his family's long devotion to the country, including both his and his father's service in the military. He said he needed to display no flag to prove that he was a loyal American. The crowd soon quieted down and even cheered and applauded the former president as he went back into his home.
Franklin Pierce died in
Concord, New HampshireThe city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
, at 4:49 am on October 8, 1869, at 64 years old. President Ulysses S. Grant, who later defended Pierce's service in the Mexican War, declared a day of national mourning. Newspapers across the country carried lengthy front-page stories examining Pierce's colorful and controversial career. He was interred in the
Minot Enclosure in the Old North Cemetery of Concord.
In his last
willA will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
, which he signed January 22, 1868, he left an unusually large number of specific bequests to friends, family and neighbors, including the children of Nathaniel Hawthorne. He left $1,000 in trust to the local library. The interest was used to purchase books. He left gifts of money, paintings, and other items to various people. The cane of General Lafayette was among the bequests. His nephew Frank Pierce received the residue.
Legacy
Places named after President Pierce:
- Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, New Hampshire
Rindge is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,014 at the 2010 census. Rindge is home to Franklin Pierce University, the Cathedral of the Pines, and part of Annett State Forest.-Native American inhabitants:...
.
- Franklin Pierce School District, and namesake high school
Franklin Pierce High School in Midland, Washington is named after the fourteenth US President, Franklin Pierce, who was president when the Washington Territory was formed in 1853.-Music:Music at Franklin Pierce High School has a rich history...
in Parkland, WashingtonParkland is a census-designated place in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,053 at the 2000 census and grew to 35,803 as of the 2010 census...
- Pierce Elementary School in Birmingham, Michigan
Birmingham is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan and an affluent suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103...
.
- Pierce County in Washington
right|thumb|[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] - Seat of Pierce CountyPierce County is the second most populous county in the U.S. state of Washington. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory...
, Nebraska-History:Pierce County was formed in 1856. It was named after President Franklin Pierce.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 7,857 people, 2,979 households, and 2,141 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile . There were 3,247 housing...
, GeorgiaPierce County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 15,636. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 17,881. The county seat is Blackshear....
, and WisconsinPierce County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2010, the population was 41,019. Its county seat is Ellsworth. Pierce County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area .-Geography:...
(But not in North Dakota-National protected area:*Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 4,675 people, 1,964 households, and 1,276 families residing in the county. The population density was 5 people per square mile . There were 2,269 housing units at an average density...
)
- Franklin Pierce Law Center
The University of New Hampshire School of Law, formerly the Franklin Pierce Law Center, is an American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Concord, New Hampshire. It is the only law school in the state. It was founded in 1973 by Robert H...
in Concord, New HampshireThe city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
- Mt. Pierce in the Presidential Range
The Presidential Range is a mountain range located in the White Mountains of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Containing the highest peaks of the Whites, its most notable summits are named for American Presidents, followed by prominent public figures of the 18th and 19th centuries.Mt...
of the White MountainsThe White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England...
, New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
- Franklin Pierce Lake
Franklin Pierce Lake is a reservoir located in Hillsborough County in southern New Hampshire, United States, in the towns of Hillsborough and Antrim. It is named for Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, who was born in Hillsborough at a site now inundated by the lake...
(a reservoir in New Hampshire which covers the site of the log cabin in which he was born)
- Pierceton, Indiana
Pierceton is a town in Washington Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,095 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Pierceton is located at ....
Pierce was portrayed by
Porter HallPorter Hall was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s...
in the 1944 film
The Great MomentThe Great Moment is a 1944 biographical film written and directed by Preston Sturges. Based on the book The Triumph Over Pain by René Fülöp-Miller, it tells the story of Dr. William Thomas Green Morton, a 19th century Boston dentist who discovered the use of ether as an anesthetic...
and voiced by
Sargent ShriverRobert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
in the PBS documentary series
The American President.
Ancestors
External links
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