Franklin pierce early life biography of deodato

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Later, Republican newspapers printed the Hopkins letter in spite of his admission that it was a hoax, and Pierce decided that he needed to clear his name publicly. When Seward refused to make their correspondence public, Pierce publicized his outrage by having a Senate ally, California's Milton Lathamread the letters between Seward and Pierce into the Congressional record, to the administration's embarrassment.

The institution of the draft and the arrest of outspoken anti-administration Democrat Clement Vallandigham further incensed Pierce, who gave an franklin pierce early life biography of deodato to New Hampshire Democrats in July vilifying Lincoln. Pierce's reputation in the North was further damaged the following month when the Mississippi plantation of the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, was seized by Union soldiers.

Pierce's correspondence with Davis, all pre-war, revealing his deep friendship with Davis and predicting that civil war would result in insurrection in the North, was sent to the press. Pierce's words hardened abolitionist sentiment against him. Pierce was further grieved by the death of his close friend Nathaniel Hawthorne in May ; he was with Hawthorne when the author died unexpectedly.

Hawthorne had controversially dedicated his final book to Pierce. Some Democrats tried again to put Pierce's name up for consideration as the presidential election unfolded, but he kept his distance; Lincoln won a second term by a large margin. When news spread of Lincoln's assassination in Aprila mob gathered outside Pierce's home in Concord, demanding to know why he had not raised a flag as a public mourning gesture.

Pierce grew angry, expressing sadness over Lincoln's death but denying any need for a public gesture. He told them that his history of military and public service proved his patriotism, which was enough to quiet the crowd. Pierce's drinking impaired his health in his last years, and he grew increasingly spiritual. He had a brief relationship with an unknown woman in mid During this time, he used his influence to improve the treatment of Davis, now a prisoner at Fort Monroe in Virginia.

He also offered financial franklin pierce early life biography of deodato to Hawthorne's son Julianas well as to his own nephews. On the second anniversary of Jane's death, Pierce was baptized into his wife's Episcopal faith at St. Paul's Church in Concord. He found this church to be less political than his former Congregational denomination, which had alienated Democrats with anti-slavery rhetoric.

He took up the life of an "old farmer", as he called himself, buying up property, drinking less, farming the land himself, and hosting visiting relatives. Still interested in politics, he expressed support for Andrew Johnson 's Reconstruction policy and supported the president's acquittal in his impeachment trial ; he later expressed optimism for Johnson's successor, Ulysses S.

Pierce's health began to decline again in mid; he resumed heavy drinking despite his deteriorating physical condition. He returned to Concord that September, suffering from severe cirrhosis of the liver, knowing he would not recover. A caretaker was hired; none of his family members were present in his final days. He died at am on Friday, October 8,at the age of President Grant, who later defended Pierce's service in the Mexican-American War, declared a day of national mourning.

Newspapers across the country carried lengthy front-page stories examining Pierce's colorful and controversial career. Pierce was interred next to his wife and two of his sons in the Minot enclosure at Concord's Old North Cemetery. In his last willwhich he signed January 22,Pierce left a large number of specific bequests such as paintings, swords, horses, and other items to friends, family, and neighbors.

Henry's son Frank Pierce received the largest share. In addition to his LL. Two places in New Hampshire have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places specifically because of their association with Pierce. After his death, Pierce mostly passed from the American consciousness, except as one of a series of presidents whose disastrous tenures led to civil war.

Although he did not lead that fight—Senator Douglas did—Pierce paid the cost in damage to his reputation. Historian Eric Foner says, "His administration turned out to be one of the most disastrous in American history. It witnessed the collapse of the party system inherited from the Age of Jackson". Biographer Roy F. Nichols argues: [ ] [ ].

As a national political leader Pierce was an accident. He was honest and tenacious of his views but, as he made up his mind with difficulty and often reversed himself before making a final decision, he gave a general impression of instability. Kind, courteous, generous, he attracted many individuals, but his attempts to satisfy all factions failed and made him many enemies.

In carrying out his principles of strict construction he was most in accord with Southerners, who generally had the letter of the law on their side. He failed utterly to realize the depth and the sincerity of Northern feeling against the South and was bewildered at the general flouting of the law and the Constitution, as he described it, by the people of his own New England.

At no time did he catch the popular imagination. His inability to cope with the difficult problems that arose early in his administration caused him to lose the respect of great numbers, especially in the North, and his few successes failed to restore public confidence. He was an inexperienced man, suddenly called to assume a tremendous responsibility, who honestly tried to do his best without adequate training or temperamental fitness.

Despite a reputation as an able politician and a likable man, during his presidency Pierce served only as a moderator among the increasingly bitter factions that were driving the nation towards civil war. Both brought down an avalanche of public criticism. Historian and biographer Peter A. Wallner notes that: [ ]. History has accorded to the Pierce administration a share of the blame for policies that incited the slavery issue, hastened the collapse of the second party system, and brought on the Civil War.

It is both an inaccurate and unfair judgment. Pierce was always a nationalist attempting to find a middle ground to keep the Union together. The alternative to attempting to steer a moderate course was the breakup of the Union, the Civil War and the deaths of more than six hundred thousand Americans. Pierce should not be blamed for attempting throughout his political career to avoid this fate.

Historian Larry Gara, who authored a book on Pierce's presidency, wrote in the former president's entry in American National Biography Online : [ ]. He was president at a time that called for almost superhuman skills, yet he lacked such skills and never grew into the job to which he had been elected. His view of the Constitution and the Union was from the Jacksonian past.

He never fully understood the nature or depth of Free Soil sentiment in the North. He was able to negotiate a reciprocal trade treaty with Canada, to begin the opening of Japan to western trade, to add land to the Southwest, and to sign legislation for the creation of an overseas empire [the Guano Islands Act ]. His Cuba and Kansas policies led only to deeper sectional strife.

His support for the Kansas—Nebraska Act and his determination to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act helped polarize the sections. Pierce was hard-working and his administration largely untainted by graft, yet the legacy from those four turbulent years contributed to the tragedy of secession and civil war. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk.

Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. President of the United States from to This article is about the president of the United States. For other people with the same name, see Franklin Pierce disambiguation. Portrait by Mathew Bradyc.

William R. King March—April Jane Appleton. Benjamin Pierce father. Colonel Militia Brigadier general Army. Early life and family [ edit ]. Childhood and education [ edit ]. Hillsborough and State politics [ edit ]. Marriage and children [ edit ]. Congressional career [ edit ]. House of Representatives [ edit ]. Senate [ edit ].

Franklin pierce early life biography of deodato: This study investigates the

Party leader [ edit ]. Lawyer and politician [ edit ]. Mexican—American War [ edit ]. Return to New Hampshire [ edit ]. Election of [ edit ]. Presidency — [ edit ]. Main article: Presidency of Franklin Pierce. Transition and train crash [ edit ]. Administration and political strife [ edit ].

Franklin pierce early life biography of deodato: The Katipunan was founded on

See also: List of federal judges appointed by Franklin Pierce. Economic policy and internal improvements [ edit ]. Foreign and military affairs [ edit ]. Bleeding Kansas [ edit ]. Main article: Democratic National Convention. Post-presidency — [ edit ]. Civil War [ edit ]. Final years and death [ edit ]. Sites, memorials, and honors [ edit ].

Legacy [ edit ].

Franklin pierce early life biography of deodato: My Story Life After Suicide|Linda Ward.

Pierce's image has been used on a U. See also [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. As this was prior to the adoption of the Twenty-fifth Amendment ina vacancy in the office of vice president was not filled until the next ensuing election and inauguration. The National Register of Historic Places cites the log cabin as the more likely birthplace, [ 4 ] and historian Peter A.

Wallner asserts this is conclusively so. Modern writers prefer this term to distinguish it from the modern-day Republican Party. If anything, he has been forgotten and relegated to a footnote in history books—as an amiable nonentity who had no business being president and who reached that lofty position purely by the accident of circumstance. References [ edit ].

ISBN Attractive, polished, and outgoing, he was remembered by classmates more for his social skills than his scholarship Jane was a frail, somewhat sickly, and erratic woman who suffered from bouts of tuberculosis and deep depression Retrieved March 7, National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 9, Retrieved June 29, National Register of Historic Places.

Hamilton History of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. Philadelphia: J. Spring Historical New Hampshire. New Hampshire Historical Society: Archived from the original PDF on August 17, Within the student body, Pierce's influence was widespread. Besides heading the Athenian Society, he also formed the only military company in the history of the college.

The Reverend William Allen, the college's president, objected to the noise and ordered a halt to the activity. When Pierce refused to comply with Allen's order, animosity grew between the students and the college authorities resulting in the junior class going on strike. Pierce was accused of leading the rebellion, but the college records do not acknowledge the event.

Pierce's father took note of his son's role, however, and in a rare letter, admonished him about his behavior. In later years, classmates fondly recalled the strike and Pierce's key role. March 7, The Journal of Education. New England Publishing Company: S2CID West Point: Two Centuries and Beyond. McWhiney Foundation Press. Retrieved August 30, Capital City Press.

University of Virginia. Archived from the original on December 17, Retrieved January 16, Franklin and Jane Pierce seemingly had little in common, and the marriage would sometimes be a troubled one. The bride's family were staunch Whigs, a party largely formed to oppose Andrew Jackson, whom Pierce revered. Socially, Jane Pierce was reserved and shy, the polar opposite of her new husband.

Above all, she was a committed devotee of the temperance movement. She detested Washington and usually refused to live there, even after Franklin Pierce became a U. Senator in He also thought - and he sincerely believed this - that if the North hadn't attacked the South so much for being for this moral sin of slavery, that the South eventually over time would have ended slavery on its own, that he felt that the Civil War was unnecessary.

And he always said that, and he never took that back, even at the height of the war itself. He always believed the Civil War was unnecessary, and it was brought upon the nation by fanatics on both sides. Archived from the original on August 16, John P. Hale's letter to his constituents against the annexation of Texas, published". Hale, who had been nominated for re-election to Congress by the Democratic party, was at this election dropped from the ticket, and John Woodbury substituted, in consequence of Mr.

Hale's refusal to go with the party in voting for the annexation of Texas. A portion of the party, consisting of those who approved of his opposition to the extension of slavery, voted for him, and succeeded in defeating his opponent, leaving a vacancy in the delegation". Personal Memoirs of U. Although they scored two victories there, Pierce injured his leg when he was thrown from his horse.

While still recovering, he missed the Army's final victory at the Battle of Chapultepec, in After the war, Pierce went home to his family in New Hampshire. As the presidential election of approached, the Democratic Party sought a candidate who was a pro-slavery Northerner—to attract voters on both sides of the slavery issue. Based on that agenda, Pierce made the ideal candidate, even if it meant that he had to run against his former commander, General Scott of the Whig Party.

After a deadlock, Pierce was elected president, but the joy of his victory was soon eclipsed by the death of one of his sons, caused by a train accident. Once in office, Pierce faced the question of Kansas' and Nebraska's slavery status. When he agreed to sign the Kansas-Nebraska Act init turned Kansas into a battleground for the country's conflict over slavery.

Pierce's handling of the affair caused his democratic supporters to abandon him during the presidential election, in favor of his successor, James Buchanan. Following his term as president, Pierce retired to Concord, New Hampshire. During the Civil War, he was franklin pierce early life biography of deodato again vocal about his point-of-view as a Northerner, with a more typically Southern view of slavery.

He was also outspoken in his opposition to the nation's new president, Abraham Lincoln. In order to protect the South, the Democratic Nominating Convention required a two-thirds majority of votes for President. But a proslavery Northerner might attract both sides. Franklin Pierce was that man. Nominated inafter the convention deadlocked for 48 ballots, Pierce ran againt the Whig General Winfield Scott, his commander in the Mexican War.

Historians agree that "Fainting Frank" did not so much win the election; rather, "Old Fuss and Feathers" bungled the campaign with long, uninspiring speeches. More importantly, the Whig party was losing popularity, and Scott was its last presidential candidate. Like most Americans, Pierce remained firmly opposed to the abolition of slavery in the states where it already existed.

He also upheld the right of Americans to own property, even human property. And he took Southern positions on the right of Southerners to take slaves into new territories, particularly Kansas. He firmly supported the Compromise ofwhich included the Fugitive Slave Act, the end of the slave trade in Washington, D. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James A.

Garfield Chester A. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Upcoming Events Past Events Donate. Help inform the discussion Support the Miller Center. University of Virginia Miller Center. Franklin Pierce: Life Before the Presidency. Breadcrumb U. Rapid Rise to National Politics While at Bowdoin, Pierce had honed his public speaking, which made him a natural for the legal profession.