Little Known Facts About President Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce was a Democrat and the 14^th President of the United States from 1853-1857. His place in American history is so obscure that when people talk about obscure Presidents, Pierce is often not mentioned.

Despite his relative absence from US History text books, I am a proud Franklin Pierce fanatic. In fact, I had an article published on Pierce in 2005 with the St Croix Review. If you've always wanted to learn about some little known facts about Franklin Pierce, here's a list you're sure to find helpful as well as fascinating.

Franklin Pierce Facts: Pierce had no middle name. Middle names were not very common in people born before the 1800's (Pierce was born in 1804.)

Franklin Pierce Facts: Pierce gets a mention in Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs. Grant recalls General Pierce from the Mexican War as 'a true gentleman and a man of courage...I knew him more intimately than I did any other of the volunteer generals.' Pierce died in 1869 during Grant's presidency.

Franklin Pierce Facts: Pierce became friends with author Nathanial Hawthorne while students at Bowdoin College in Maine. Hawthorne would go on to write the official Franklin Pierce campaign biography, and in 1853, Pierce appointed him as United States consul in Liverpool, England.

Franklin Pierce Facts: Pierce's son Bennie, age 14, died in a train accident while the family was on their way to Washington to his inauguration in February 1853. Pierce's wife Jane was emotionally devastated by Bennie's death and would spend time writing tearful letters to her dead son while she lived in the White House.

Franklin Pierce Facts: Pierce was the first president to put a Christmas tree in the White House. He did so in an attempt to cheer up his wife who was still mourning over the death of their son Bennie.

Franklin Pierce Facts: Pierce is an ancestor of former President George W. Bush. Bush's mother, Barbara Pierce Bush, is the fourth cousin, four times removed to Franklin Pierce.

Franklin Pierce Facts: While serving as President, Franklin Pierce was arrested for running over a woman with his horse. Charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.

Franklin Pierce Facts: Pierce had two nicknames: Handsome Frank, due to his looks and Young Hickory of the Granite Hills due to his New Hampshire heritage and strong support of Andrew Jackson (aka...Old Hickory.)

Franklin Pierce Facts: Because of his religious beliefs, Franklin Pierce affirmed the oath of office. He is still the only president to do so.

Sources:

Wallner, Peter (2004). Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire's Favorite Son. Concord, New Hampshire: Plaidswede Publishing

Personal communication with Peter Wallner

http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/fpierce.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Hawthorne

http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=42

http://www.mindspring.com/~dbholzel/pierce/pierce.html