Sparks Commentary: Franklin Pierce: One of our most pro-slavery presidents

In the earliest decades of the United States, all successful political parties tried their best to sidestep the controversial issue of slavery. But it became increasingly hard to do this as time went on, because the nation was expanding westward. Thus, people then had to debate about whether slavery would be expanding westward as well. Franklin Pierce continued the westward expansion through the Gadsden Purchase, but slavery rapidly became the biggest issue of his presidency. He hated the abolitionist movement, and the abolitionist movement likewise hated him in return. In 1820, the Congress had enacted the controversial “Missouri Compromise.” This compromise had admitted Missouri as a slave state, while simultaneously admitting Maine as a “free state” (among other policies). But, in 1854, several aspects of this compromise were effectively repealed, when Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act into law. He also created controversy by enforcing the prior Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The country was on a fateful collision course with itself, and the drums of a future civil war began to

beat with ever greater intensity.

Franklin Pierce

Early life and career, through the presidential elections of 1852

But Franklin Pierce was born in a log cabin in New Hampshire in 1804. His father’s first wife had died in childbirth, leaving a daughter. But his father remarried, so Franklin Pierce was the second of eight children from his father’s second wife. Franklin Pierce was only fifteen, when the aforementioned “Missouri Compromise” was passed. Pierce attended Bowdoin College in nearby Maine. Franklin Pierce joined a progressive literary society called the “Athenian Society,” and formed a lasting friendship with the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne would later write the campaign biography of Mr. Pierce, when Mr. Pierce eventually ran for president. (But I’m getting ahead of myself here.) Franklin Pierce was a charming student, but was somewhat prone to misbehavior. He also graduated near the bottom of his class. Nonetheless, Pierce taught at Hebron Academy in Maine, where he earned his first salary. As was common in those days, Franklin Pierce read for the law, and soon became a successful lawyer. Despite never being a legal scholar, Pierce was served well by a deep voice – and a good memory for names and faces. When Franklin Pierce returned to New Hampshire, he soon became involved in local politics there. Soon, he was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and even became the Speaker of that same house. In 1833, Franklin Pierce was elected to the federal House of Representatives, and married his only wife Jane Appleton in 1834. In 1837, Franklin Pierce was instead elected to the United States Senate, and served there until 1842. When Pierce resigned, he returned to practicing law, and continued to be active in Democratic politics. For example, Franklin Pierce served as New Hampshire’s U.S. Attorney. Soon after the Mexican-American War began, Franklin Pierce joined up, and served as a general in that war. After the war, he then returned to New Hampshire. Nonetheless, his war record would be helpful to him, when he later ran for president in 1852.

Franklin Pierce

The presidential elections of 1852 catapult Franklin Pierce into the White House

In 1852, the incumbent president was a Whig politician named Millard Fillmore. Fillmore had become president two-and-a-half years earlier, upon the death of Zachary Taylor by stomach disease. Millard Fillmore had endorsed the Compromise of 1850, and had also enforced the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. These policies were quite popular in the South, but equally hated in the North. Thus, Millard Fillmore failed even to get the Whig nomination in 1852. On the 53rd ballot, the Whigs instead nominated Winfield Scott, another hero of the Mexican-American War. On the Democratic side, the Democrats were divided among four major candidates. The divisions were largely sectional between the North and the South. Thus, a consensus compromise eventually nominated Franklin Pierce on the 49th ballot. A third party called the “Free Soil Party” was opposed to the westward expansion of slavery. This party nominated John P. Hale, who failed to get any electoral votes. The two major parties were still the Whigs and the Democrats. The election turned into something of a personality contest. In that contest, Winfield Scott had the biggest war hero reputation, but Franklin Pierce had also commanded in that same war. Winfield Scott lost Southern votes, due to his anti-slavery stance. And the Whig Party was on its way out anyway, due to the unpopular policies of President Millard Fillmore. Thus, Franklin Pierce eventually won 50.8% of the popular vote that year (an actual majority), and 85.8% of the electoral vote. Franklin Pierce had just been elected the 14th President of the United States.

Franklin Pierce

Pierce is president for four years, but fails even to get the Democratic nomination in 1856

As Wikipedia puts it, “As president, Pierce attempted to enforce neutral standards for civil service while also satisfying the Democratic Party's diverse elements with patronage, an effort that largely failed and turned many in his party against him. He was a Young America expansionist who signed the Gadsden Purchase of land from Mexico and led a failed attempt to acquire Cuba from Spain. He signed trade treaties with Britain and Japan and his Cabinet reformed its departments and improved accountability, but political strife during his presidency overshadowed these successes. His popularity declined sharply in the Northern states after he supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which nullified the Missouri Compromise, while many Southern whites continued to support him. The act's passage led to violent conflict over the expansion of slavery in the American West. Pierce's administration was further damaged when several of his diplomats issued the Ostend Manifesto calling for the annexation of Cuba, a document that was roundly criticized.” (Source: Their page on “Franklin Pierce”) Franklin Pierce again ran for the Democratic nomination in 1856. However, as with his predecessor Millard Fillmore, Pierce’s policies on slavery were unpopular in the North. Thus, the Democratic nomination instead went to James Buchanan, who had served as Pierce’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. Thus, James Buchanan had been abroad during these fierce sectional debates. This had allowed Buchanan to stay out of the national controversies over slavery. By contrast, Franklin Pierce had taken sides, and had paid a price for it. Despite his New Hampshire roots, Franklin Pierce had become identified with a Southern viewpoint. Thus, during the American Civil War, Franklin Pierce also criticized President Abraham Lincoln, making him ever more unpopular with his fellow Northerners.

Franklin Pierce

Conclusion: Despite his New Hampshire roots, Pierce was one of our most pro-slavery presidents

Franklin Pierce had been a heavy drinker for much of his life. This may have contributed to the (relatively) early timing of his death. That is, Franklin Pierce died in 1869 of cirrhosis, at the age of 64. As Wikipedia puts it, “As a result of his support of the South, as well as failing to hold the Union together in time of strife, historians and scholars generally rank Pierce as one of the worst[footnote] and least memorable U.S. presidents.” (Source: Their page on “Franklin Pierce”) I tend to agree with this standard assessment. But Pierce was succeeded by James Buchanan, who would prove even more disastrous than Mr. Pierce. Thus, the prelude to the Civil War was a succession of one disastrous president after another. By the time that James Buchanan left office in 1861, Abraham Lincoln was the president-elect, and Southern states were already seceding from the Union. The American Civil War was about to begin. (For more about the prelude to the Civil War, see my upcoming post about President James Buchanan.)

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James K. Polk: President during the Mexican-American War

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Part of a series about

The Presidents

1. George Washington
2. John Adams
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
6. John Quincy Adams
7. Andrew Jackson

11. James K. Polk

12. Zachary Taylor

14. Franklin Pierce

16. Abraham Lincoln
18. Ulysses S. Grant

19. Rutherford B. Hayes