The 14th President of the United States is about to emerge from the fog of history. Defamed, dismissed, and almost forgotten, Franklin Pierce will find a new scholarly examination in the first biography since 1931. This new work will cast aside the myth and mist of one of the most polemic, and perhaps important, Presidents in U.S. history. He served at the tuning point of Americas journey in the 1850s. This book will give us insight into how we got to be where we are today.
(PRWEB) June 23, 2004 -- Franklin Pierce served as United States President at a turning point in American history. Now, the first new biography of Pierce in almost a century is about to be published, casting a new light on one of our most controversial Presidents. Franklin Pierce: New Hampshires Favorite Son, Vol. I by historian Peter A. Wallner, examines Franklin Pierces (1804-1869) life up to his inauguration as President of the United States in 1853, examining new material, documents, and accounts about Pierces rise to power. The result is a dramatically different picture of who Pierce was and how he came to be elected President. Two thousand and four marks the 200th anniversary of Pierces birth.
Franklin Pierce is our least known, least studied, and, therefore, our most misunderstood former President," Wallner said of why he chose his subject. Pierces three decades on the political stage saw him actively engaged in decision-making on every major issue of the pre-Civil War period from the rise of democracy and common man in politics to westward expansion and immigration. It seemed to me that a more thorough study of Pierce's life and career would only add to our understanding of the forces at work in New Hampshire and the United States at this crucial time in our history."
To write this groundbreaking new look at Pierce, Wallner left his job as a headmaster at a private Pennsylvania school to move to New Hampshire to begin the task of researching Pierce. Wallner knew that, despite Pierces pivotal role in American history, the 14th US President had remained ignored for generations. It had been decades since anyone had brought together public and private collections of information about Pierce.
Wallner first became interested in Pierce in graduate school, where his advisor was a biographer of James Buchanan who had, in turn, studied under Roy F. Nichols. It was Nichols 1931 biography that was the only modern scholarly work up to that time to examine Pierces life. But, Nichols use of the then-emerging technique of psychological analysis lead him to many conclusions about Pierces character and motivations that Wallner now disputes.
The Nichols biography painted Pierce as hobbled by personal tragedy and fearing confrontation. It pointed to a fiery exchange with Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina over abolitionism as a breaking point for a young Pierce leaving him fearful of confronting Southern demands. Nichols went on to explain that the loss of his three children, and a difficult relationship with his wife Jane, made Pierce a weakened and indecisive politician. But, new research by Wallner shows that just the opposite was true. Pierce was considered by his contemporaries as a man of strong beliefs, great oratorical skills, personal charisma and persuasion, and never one to run from a fight.
Wallners extensive research led him to conclude that Pierce was not scathed by the 1836 exchange with Calhoun, and that his convictions from his earliest writings to his last days stayed unchanged. What Wallner uncovered was a Franklin Pierce who was influenced by his home states contentious political climate and by his father, Revolutionary War hero Benjamin Pierce, to have a strong belief in the Constitution and an aversion to the introduction of moral issues into the political process. Pierce became his fathers favorite son, the champion of the common man, and New Hampshire's favorite son.
Growing up with his nation, the personal story of Pierce's life as told by Wallner can be described as exciting, triumphant, and tragic. Wallner says that Pierce established and maintained intimate friendships with many of the leading figures of the time including Daniel Webster, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jefferson Davis, and Robert E. Lee."
What may be most surprising about Wallners book is its revelations of Pierces public and personal views of slavery. Pierces critics have always accused him of going over the top to protect the rights of slave-holders in the South. But, Wallner found letters and speeches where Pierce made no secret that he saw slavery as a stain on the nation, and that he wished it had never existed. But, he also saw it as the political third rail of the 19th century, and knew that if the framers of the Constitution could not deal with it, neither could his generation. It was Pierces liberal tolerance that Wallner says led him to clash from the beginning of his political career with Abolitionists. While Pierce feared the conflict that their anti-slavery beliefs could cause, he could not support the anti- immigrant, anti-Catholic, and prohibitionist beliefs that also followed the movement. As a young man, he saw the violent conflict and confrontation that Abolitionism brought to New Hampshire in the 1830s.
Peter Wallners biography of Pierce, Franklin Pierce: New Hampshires Favorite Son, Vol. I will be published this June. The book is available at bookstores and on sale through the publisher at www.plaidswede.com and www.nhbooksellers.com. Volume II is planned for publication by 2008.
Contact Info - George Geers-Plaidswede Publishing
603 226-1020
Author Peter A. Wallner
603 224-6429
Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire's Favorite Son, Vol. I
By Peter A. Wallner
ISBN 0-9755216-1-6
Plaidswede Publishing
$29.95
Critical Reviews
Michael J. Connolly, from the Franklin Pierce College Department of History, asks: "How can you have an original book today on Pierce unless it is positive?" The stubborn, scheming, and pragmatic personality of Pierce emerges from Wallner's biography. The near-forgotten President learned from his father the sacrifices of the Revolutionary War, and from Andrew Jackson he found the popular side of democracy. Instead of the bumbling footnote to history Pierce is often portrayed, we see Pierce as a political boss, masterful orator, and skilled attorney. He fights for personal and religious freedoms, and works behind the scenes to build consensus for his views. Pierce, in Wallners analysis, inspires loyalty and confidence in those he works with, and goes as far as to stage his own nomination to the Democratic Partys candidacy for President in 1852 as the mastermind of a bold and brilliant plan. Yet, the seeds of his destruction follow him though his career, as the issue of slavery follows him to the White House.
Pierces vital role in our nations history is nearly forgotten, and his life is often overlooked or misunderstood," says Jayme H. Simoes, Pierce Bicentennial Commission Chair. Yet, his life paralleled the founding of this nation, and he served as President at a turning point in American history. This important biography finally introduces us to Pierce the man, and give us the context we lacked to understand the enigma of Franklin Pierce."
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