Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) might be our most forgotten president. His father became the governor of New Hampshire. Franklin became a politician at an early age, later being the youngest (at the time) president of the United States. He had an unremarkable record in all his public roles. President Pierce was a states’ rights Democrat who was pro-Southern and anti-abolitionist. He opposed President Lincoln and died in obscurity.
Who Is the Most Forgettable President?
There are various options for the most forgettable president.
There are forty-five (serving forty-seven terms) options. Some lowly ranked presidents are remembered for how they died. President William Henry Harrison was only in office for a month. His successor, John Tyler, had a grandson who lived until 2025. No, really, that’s true.
Others are also well known for specific things. President Hayes had a controversial election and ended Reconstruction. “Millard Fillmore” has a memorable name and ran as a “Know Nothing.”
My choice for most forgettable would be Franklin Pierce.
Early Years
Franklin Pierce was born on November 23, 1804, in New Hampshire.
Franklin was the fifth of eight children born to Benjamin Pierce (Revolutionary War veteran and state governor) and his second wife, Anna Kendrick. No, not the actress from Pitch Perfect.
His father once made him walk back to school in a thunderstorm after Franklin was homesick and went back to his family. Pierce later said that this was “the turning point of his life.”
Pierce went to Bowdoin College. He met a fellow student, Nathaniel Hawthorne, who later became a famous novelist. They became close lifelong friends. Hawthorne later wrote a campaign biography for Franklin. Pierce was the first person to discover that Hawthorne died.
After graduating from college, he studied law. Politics would soon be his profession.
Politician
Franklin was elected (as a Democrat) for his first office in 1828 as the moderator (he oversaw the town meeting) of his hometown. He was a strong supporter of Andrew Jackson.
He was elected to the state legislature in 1829. His popularity and connections helped the young politician to quickly become Speaker of the House after two years. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1832. Franklin joined President Jackson’s opposition to the national bank.
He later became a U.S. senator. Pierce’s congressional record had no major achievements. He also, even though he was from New England, was close to many Southern Democrats.
Pierce developed a strong opposition to abolitionists, though he claimed to hate slavery as an institution. He left the Senate in 1842 but campaigned for James Polk two years later.
President Polk appointed him U.S. Attorney in New Hampshire.
Married Life
Franklin found the nation’s capital unpleasant. He was alone and homesick. His lifelong problems with alcohol began in this period. His partying and drunken escapades became legendary.
Franklin married Jane Pierce, the daughter of the president of his college. It was a curious match. Her family supported the Whig Party, she was very shy, and supported temperance.
Their marriage was often an unhappy one. Jane did not like being a politician’s wife.
It was also mixed with tragedy as each of their three sons died in childhood. The last died in a horrible train accident shortly before Franklin became president. His wife was in mourning for the rest of her life. Franklin was also deeply depressed, and it likely affected his presidency.
“Young Hickory of the Granite Hills”
Franklin Pierce had served in the state militia. The Mexican War allowed him to obtain greater military experience. His political connections allowed him to become a Brigadier General.
The general’s service was short-lived, after Franklin was thrown off his horse, crushing his leg. Still, he was now “Brigadier General Pierce,” and some overenthusiastic campaigners compared his deeds to General Andrew “Old Hickory” Jackson. “Granite Hills” is New Hampshire.
Franklin beat his old commander, General Winfield Scott, in the 1852 presidential election. Pierce was a compromise candidate, a “dark horse,” picked on the 49th ballot.
President Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the only president who “affirmed” instead of taking a presidential oath.
President Pierce was a strong state rights Democrat with a narrow view of the reach of national power. At forty-seven, he was the youngest man to be elected (the fourteenth) president.
Pierce sent James Gadsden to negotiate the “Gadsden Purchase” from Mexico, a strip of land to help build a Southern railroad route. A more controversial piece of his foreign policy was the Ostend Manifesto, which argued for a strong effort to obtain Cuba from Spain.
Southerners supported obtaining Cuba, where slavery was legal. He also supported the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act, which opened more territory to slavery. Violence broke out in Kansas over slavery. Pierce’s mismanagment of the situation did not help his popularity.
He had some successes, including reorganizing the War Department, which would be helpful during the Civil War. Pierce hoped to be renominated, but the country was ready to move on.
Final Years
Franklin, after taking a world tour, went back to New Hampshire.
He blamed the Republicans and President Lincoln for the Civil War. Pierce opposed the “aggressive war of conquest,” he argued Lincoln fought.
He sought to help Jefferson Davis, his Secretary of War, when Davis was detained after the war. A mob was angry when Pierce did not raise a flag in remembrance of President Lincoln after he was assassinated. Many thought he was a traitor to the Union.
(The winner in the traitor category was former President John Tyler. He supported secession and was elected to the Confederate Congress. Tyler died before being able to serve.)
Franklin Pierce died on October 8, 1869, from complications of his drinking habit. He died in obscurity, getting a head start in becoming perhaps our most forgotten president.