February 20, 2024 – Theme Week Day 2

We’re continuing our theme week on Obscure Presidents! Today’s forgettable president is Franklin Pierce, who served as our 14th president from 1853 to 1957. He’s the only president from New Hampshire. He served in the House of Representatives and the Senate before serving in the Mexican-American War. He was seen as a compromise candidate and was nominated for president at the 1852 Democratic National Convention.
Pierce was a popular and outgoing guy, but he had a rough family life. His 3 children all died young and his wife, Jane, suffered from illness and depression for most of her life. Just weeks after he was elected, the Pierce family was traveling from Boston by train when their train car derailed and rolled down an embankment, tragically killing his son, Benjamin. He and Jane both, understandably, had severe depression afterward, which likely affected Pierce’s performance as president. Jane would avoid social functions for much of her time as First Lady.
At 47, Pierce was the youngest man to be elected to that point. For his inauguration, he chose to take his oath of office on a law book rather than the Bible, as all of his predecessors except John Quincy Adams had done. He was also the first president to deliver his inaugural address, all 3000 words of it, completely from memory.
When Pierce took office, he was intent on westward expansion. In 1854, the U.S. agreed to pay Mexico $10 million for 29, 670 square miles of land in what is now Arizona and New Mexico. Pierce also signed trade treaties with Britain and Japan and his Cabinet reformed its departments and improved accountability. However, these successes were overshadowed by the political strife that plagued his presidency. He supported the controversial Kansas-Nebraska act, which angered Northern states and caused violent conflict over the expansion of slavery in western states. This legislation set the country on the path toward the Civil War and heavily damaged Pierce’s reputation.
He expected to be re-nominated in the 1856 election, but the Democrats abandoned him and his bid failed. Pierce was a heavy drinker for much of his life, and he died of cirrhosis in 1869. Due to his support of the South and his inability to hold the Union together in a time of strife, Pierce is generally ranked as one of the worst and least memorable presidents. Learn more here.