Joan Woodhead, president, Pierce Brigade, said, “The funny part is, people in New Hampshire don’t really like him that much.” The Pierce Brigade was founded in 1966 to save Concord, New Hampshire’s Pierce Manse – and to restore the reputation of the man who once resided here.
Mo Rocca, Correspondent asked: “He was known for being a very good-looking president. Is that correct?
Woodhead said, “Yes, he was.” “Harry Truman believed he was the most handsome President we had in the White House until his time,” Woodhead said.
“But why is Harry Truman considered the arbiter for good-looking presidents?”
“Well, I don’t know. “That’s all we have from a president.”
Michael Holt, University of Virginia, agrees with the statement that Pierce was “the most handsome man to ever serve in the White House”. He also adds that Pierce had an amazing personality. “He was probably our most friendly president. Even historians who dislike him make comments about his friendliness and kindness.
He met Nathaniel Hawthorne at Bowdoin College and began a friendship that would last a lifetime. Hawthorne would also write Pierce’s campaign biographie.
Woodhead stated that “it’s probably less interesting than some of his novels.”
“It’s not a ‘Scarlet Letter! Rocca.
“No, it is not a ‘Scarlet Letter. “Thank God, it’s not a ‘Scarlet Letter.’
Pierce, a Democrat was injured after falling from his horse during the Mexican-American War. He served in both houses. He was a compromise candidate and won the nomination of his party for the presidency via the 49th ballot. The campaign slogan of his party? “We Polked You in ’44. We will Pierce you in 52. Pierce was elected by a majority vote.
Rocca asked historian Michael Holt: “What good things has he done in office?”
He laughed. “Uh, well…
While Holt is composing himself, let’s go back to the Pierce Manse to learn more about Pierce’s reforms of the Postal Service such as the perforation stamps which were introduced under him.
Woodhead explained, “So that people could separate the stamps more easily.”
“Yeah! He’s the postage stamp guy!” Gary Sparks is a volunteer guide at Pierce Manse. “He also ensured that American farmers had adequate guano.
The Guano Islands Act of1856 was signed into law in 1856 by Pierce. It granted rights to unclaimed, rich in guano islands (a.k.a. Bird poop was a natural fertilizer that American farmers valued at the time. FYI, Midway is the location of a pivotal battle during World War II .
So why is Pierce a bad name?
Holt responded, “Because… he played an important role in bringing about the Civil War.”
Yeah, there’s that. The Kansas–Nebraska Act was signed by Pierce in 1854. This allows voters in Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether slavery is allowed within their borders. It replaces the Missouri Compromise which prohibited slavery in these areas.
Holt stated, “He made a terrible error in endorsing Kansas-Nebraska Act then jumping in with both his feet on the pro-Southern sides.”
In Kansas, violence brokeout between pro-slavery and anti-slavery force in a preview of the Civil War.
The Republican Party was born out of the intense anger in Northern states. Holt stated that Holt believed making concessions to Southerners was necessary in order to preserve the Union.
Pierce could not be forgiven by his hometown for the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Holt claims that they burned him in Concord ineffigy for his pro-Southern acts.
Pierce’s political woes can only be matched with his personal. His three children, Jane and Benny, died young. Benny, eleven-year-old Benny, was the last survivor. He died in a train crash while traveling with his parents two months prior to Pierce’s inauguration.
It was more than Jane Pierce could bear.
Holt said that Holt “went into mourning” and “draped the White House in black. She didn’t really come out of public view until the end 1854, nearly two years after the administration began.”
After serving one term, Pierce applied for renomination but was denied by his party. In 1857, he returned to New Hampshire to live in a house that was later destroyed. The front steps of this house are all that remains.
Every house in this area, except Pierce’s, displayed an American flag to commemorate the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. A mob of angry people gathered to ask Pierce why he wasn’t showing respect. The crowd was irritated by Pierce’s explanation that he was also sad but that his many years of service speak louder than the display a flag.
Franklin Pierce, 64 years old, died in 1869.
Rocca asked Gary Sparks to guide him, “Does Franklin Pierce merit his ranking as one our worst Presidents?”
Sparks responded, “I’m trying to avoid this – I don’t think Franklin Pierce comes up as one of the best Presidents in any manner.” Sparks replied, “But he was not a terrible, horrible person!”
