Comments on: Getting to Know Franklin Pierce

By: Ian Randal Strock

Ian Randal Strock — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:55:21 +0000

We’ve been hearing a lot about the more popular Presidents this holiday weekend. But for some reason, nobody’s mentioned Franklin Pierce.

Untrue. He gets a mention in my “Presidential puzzlers,” which appeared in the July 4th Los Angeles Times (pdf at http://www.latimes.com/media/acrobat/2008-07/40683885.pdf).

By: Alex

Alex — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:58:21 +0000

Glad to see someone from my school up here. You didn’t mention a rather funny story about how he got nominated, though. Back when he was a Bowdoin student, Pierce became very close drinking friends with another notable Polar Bear- Nathanial Hawethorne. When Pierce decided to run for the Democratic nomination, he was met with a dilemma…nobody had heard of him! His old friend- then the most influential writer in the country-set about to fix that. He wrote a short and greatly embellished biography about Pierce and had it published nationwide. It exaggerated his involvement in the Mexican-American war and made him out to look like a hero. Basically, it was the equivalent of having someone like Kanye West endorse your candidacy- if Kanye West were also considered to be the preeminent scholar of his day.

I honestly don’t know how much of the story’s true, but it makes a great tale.

By: Aemi

Aemi — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 15:59:18 +0000

Assuming I’m remembering right, the poor guy also had a great deal more personal tragedy than the average president. The whole watching-your-kid-get-decapitated-by-a-train thing, well… I vote we give Pierce some slack. Plus he had the best slogan. “We Polked you in [year], as we will Pierce you in [different year]!”

["enty-two esteemed."]

By: David C.

David C. — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 15:23:38 +0000

It’s well worth reminding ourselves that Franklin Pierce wasn’t all bad, despite the lumps his reputation has taken over the years.