Presidents of the United States: Franklin Pierce, the man who opened the door to Civil War

Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of profiles taking a closer look at US presidents ahead of the 2024 presidential election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

Though Franklin Pierce came to the White House during a time of apparent peace, the undercurrents of conflict between the north and south over slavery were already growing stronger.

The US had attempted to deal with the subject through the Missouri Compromise of 1820, but tensions between the two halves of the country remained ready to combust.

Pierce, from New England and at the time the youngest man to hold the office, proclaimed an era of peace and prosperity were at hand when he was sworn in.

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Events were to prove him wrong.

Let’s take a closer look at the 14th president of the United States.

Early years

Pierce was born on November 23, 1804, in New Hampshire’s Hillsboro. His parents were Benjamin and Anna Pierce. His father was a governor.

Pierce went to Bowdoin College in Maine and studied law in Massachusetts. He was admitted to the bar and then married Jane Means Appleton in 1834.

Politics

Pierce entered politics in 1829 as a Democrat. He served in the New Hampshire legislature before becoming Speaker of the House. He was then elected to the House of Representatives and the Senate.

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Though Pierce was popular in Congress because of his good looks and fine oratory, he accomplished little of note. He then left politics for personal reasons and returned to New Hampshire where he resumed his practice.

Pierce next served as an officer in the Mexican-American War and rose to the rank of brigadier, but otherwise kept out of the public eye.

Then, in 1852, the Democrats were at a deadlock at their political convention. After 35 rounds of ballots, Pierce’s name was proposed as the candidate. Pierce, ever a moderate, was little known. Better still, he was amenable to all parties.

By round 48, the nomination was his. His wife Jane, however, was not pleased at all. Jane by all accounts disdained politics. So much so that Pierce had to reassure her that he was not seeking the nomination. Upon learning that her husband had obtained the nomination, Jane fainted.

Pierce easily defeated Whig Party nominee Winfield Scott – who incidentally had commanded Pierce during the war.

Tragedy struck the Pierces before he even took office. Months before the swearing-in, they lost their only surviving child – eleven-year-old Benny – in a train accident. Worse, both parents witnessed the tragedy. It was a blow from which neither of them, particularly Jane, would fully recover.

Pierce was sworn in sans an inaugural ball and the First Lady missing from his side.

Time in office

The issue of slavery hung over the entire nation – and the Pierce administration. Pierce attempted to stack his cabinet with people from both sides of the divide, but that did not help matters.

The appointment of Jefferson David – who would go on to become the president of the Confederacy – as Secretary of War drew howls of derision from those who were anti-slavery Pierce as president pushed for and signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act – which repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that had sought to keep slavery limited to the southern states.

This was one of the most important pieces of legislation, and consequential moments, in US history. The Act would set the stage for the rise of the Republican Party and Abraham Lincoln and set America inexorably on the path towards the Civil War. The resulting battle known as ‘Bleeding Kansas’ between pro and anti-slavery supporters would be a bloody prologue of what was to come.

By now a divisive figure, Pierce became the first sitting president seeking a second term who was denied by the party. The Democrats instead chose James Buchanan, who would win the presidency. Pierce toured Europe, then returned to New Hampshire and quietly retired from public life.

Now, slavery was Buchanan’s problem – and it would soon be up to Lincoln to solve the issue once and for all. Pierce, who had drunk heavily throughout his life, became an alcoholic and passed away in 1869.

Legacy

Historians do not view Pierce kindly. After all, it was under his auspices that the path to near ruin – Civil War – was laid. However, it is undeniable that events and pieces of legislation that would go down in history, occurred under his tenure.

Pierce should perhaps be viewed as a cautionary tale of what a leader should not be in times of strife.