Up for auction "Franklin Pierce" Piece Of Wood From Near His House Encapsulated. This item is certified authentic by Todd
Mueller Autographs and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity.
ES-5060E
Franklin Pierce (November 23,
1804 – October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United
States (1853–1857), a northern Democrat who
saw the abolitionist movement as
a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation. He alienated anti-slavery
groups by supporting and signing the Kansas–Nebraska Act and
enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act, yet he
failed to stem conflict between North and South, setting the stage for
Southern secession and
the American Civil War. Pierce
was born in New Hampshire; he served
in the U.S. House
of Representatives and Senate until his
resignation in 1842. His private law practice was a success, and he was
appointed New Hampshire's U.S. Attorney in 1845. He took part in
the Mexican–American War as
a brigadier general in
the Army. He was seen by Democrats as a compromise candidate uniting northern
and southern interests and was nominated as the party's candidate for president
on the 49th ballot at the 1852
Democratic National Convention. He and running mate William R. King easily defeated the Whig Party ticket
of Winfield Scott and William A. Graham in
the 1852
presidential election. As president, Pierce simultaneously attempted
to enforce neutral standards for civil service while also satisfying the
diverse elements of the Democratic Party with patronage, an effort which
largely failed and turned many in his party against him. He was a Young America expansionist
who signed the Gadsden Purchase of
land from Mexico and led a failed attempt to acquire Cuba from
Spain. He signed trade treaties with Britain and Japan, while his Cabinet
reformed their departments and improved accountability, but these successes
were overshadowed by political strife during his presidency. His popularity
declined sharply in the Northern states after
he supported the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which nullified the Missouri Compromise, while
many whites in the South continued to support him. Passage of the act led
to violent conflict over
the expansion of slavery in the American West. Pierce's administration was
further damaged when several of his diplomats issued the Ostend Manifesto calling for the annexation of Cuba, a
document which was roundly criticized. He fully expected to be renominated by
the Democrats in the 1856
presidential election, but was abandoned by his party and his bid
failed. His reputation in the North suffered further during the American Civil War as
he became a vocal critic of President Abraham Lincoln. Pierce was popular and outgoing, but his
family life was a grim affair, with his wife Jane suffering from illness and depression for much of
her life.[1] All of their children died young, their last
son being gruesomely killed in a train accident while the family was traveling
shortly before Pierce's inauguration. He was a heavy drinker for much of his
life, and he died of cirrhosis of the liver in
1869. Historians and scholars generally rank Pierce as one of the worst and least memorable U.S. Presidents.