Pierced in 1852

Part 14 of My Presidential Review Series

We now move on to Franklin Pierce. Pierce was the last president to run against the Whig party when it was a major party. His election marked the last nail in the coffin for a party bitterly and fatally divided over the slavery issue. During the campaign, there was a rather clever Democratic slogan, "We Polked you in 1844; we shall Pierce you in 1852!" Pierce is considered to be the most handsome president of all time. His Secretary of War was Jefferson Davis, who streamlined the army that would later, ironically, crush the rebellion Davis was the head of. Because of his terrible performance, he was denied renomination in 1856. Pierce served March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1857.

In 1853, the Gadsden Purchase was negotiated with Mexico, which bought a 45,535 sq. mile strip for the purpose of building a railroad, at a price of $10 million. The purchase completed the outline of the 48 contiguous states. U.S. Minister to Mexico James Gadsden negotiated the purchase.

Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois wrote up the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise, created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and allowed them to choose whether or not they wanted slavery. The bill reopened the bitter debate over slavery that led to Civil War. In February 1854, those opposed to the bill met in Ripon, Wisconsin, a gathering that gave birth to a new force - the Republican Party. Pierce supported the bill, and lobbied for its passage. Popular sovereignty didn't matter in Nebraska, as the population was overwhelmingly opposed to slavery, but in Kansas the debate over the matter was severely bitter. Northern abolitionists and slaveholders from Missouri poured into the state, hoping to influence the election. Several bloody encounters followed, each side trying to get Kansas on their side. Over 200 people died in the event known as Bleeding Kansas.

Pierce hoped to extend U.S territory by annexing Cuba. As such, he authorized Secretary of State William L. Marcy to negotiate the purchase of the island from Spain, who in turn instructed U.S. Minister to Spain Pierre Soule to purchase it, and if he failed to do so, detach Cuba from Spanish dominion. Soule met with John Y. Mason and James Buchanan to draw up the Ostend Manifesto. It urged the U.S. to offer up to $120 million for Cuba, and if Spain refused to sell, that the U.S. would be justified in taking Cuba from Spain. The document was only meant to be seen by Pierce and War Secretary Davis, but it was somehow leaked and printed in the New York Herald. That Pierce would even consider going to war over Cuba drew harsh criticism, and, as such, Pierce and Marcy formally repudiated the manifesto. Soule felt betrayed and resigned in protest. Though discredited by its blatant disregard for international law, the Ostend Manifesto contained one sentence that seems eerily prophetic in light of the Cuban Missile Crisis: "the Union can never enjoy repose, nor possess reliable security, as long as Cuba is not embraced within its boundaries."

In 1855 William Walker, a proslavery soldier, led a band of adventurers to Nicaragua to topple the government there. His revolt succeeded and Walker became president in 1856. Pierce recognized the new government.

Pierce died on October 8, 1869.

Pierce was one of the more incompetent presidents we had. His support of the Kansas-Nebraska bill was shortsighted, as it would obviously reopen the bitter debate on slavery with renewed vigor and bitterness. What's more, he failed to maintain order in Bleeding Kansas when the inevitable violence started, which resulted in the death of over 200 individuals. The only reason Pierce repudiated the Ostend Manifesto, a document that supported blatant aggression if the Spanish would not sell; something I don't think was very likely, was that public opinion turned on him. His party was very justified in denying him renomination.

Overall Ranking: 37

"We have to maintain inviolate the great doctrine of the inherent right of popular self-government;...to render cheerful obedience to the laws of the land, to unite in enforcing their execution, and to frown indignantly on all combinations to resist them;...to preserve sacred from all touch of usurpation, as the very palladium of our political salvation, the reserved rights and powers of the several States and of the people."

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