When he is remembered at all, Franklin Pierce is usually remembered for his alleged shortcomings. He was the only elected President to seek a second term and fail to secure his party's nomination. He was inaccurately painted by political opponents as a military coward and an alcoholic. And the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed during his administration is viewed by many as the overture to the Civil War.
All of this obscures the compelling story of a remarkably skillful state-level politician and able administrator. Pierce's Cabinet as President was the most stable in history, with no changes during all four years. He achieved marked diplomatic success with Great Britain and greatly improved the modernity and professionalism of the United States armed forces. He was a polite and intelligent man caught in the throes of a brutal sectional rift that no one President could have forestalled.
Wallner's two-volume biography of Pierce chronicles his rise from Hillsborough, NH as the son of a veteran of Bunker Hill through his Congressional and Presidential careers. It is a period in our history worth revisiting, and a man who deserves far better than his traditional cellar position in Presidential rankings.
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