Episode
Was Franklin Pierce the Most Dejected President of the United States?
- Published
- Jul 28, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1648
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- https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VG5139791410.mp3?updated=1778671579
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Summary
Was Franklin Pierce the Saddest President of the United States? 19 Sep 2024 --- Franklin Pierce, who pronounced his surname as “purse”, is consistently ranked as one of the worst Presidents in American history. His administration, which occurred in the decade preceding the American Civil War, is cited as one in which the causes of that war were exacerbated by the President’s policies. Though a native of New Hampshire, Pierce generated considerable enmity from his fellow New Englanders, largely due to his stand against the abolitionists that demanded an end to slavery. His political skills were unequal to the challenges he faced in office, and his own Democratic Party refused to nominate him to run for a second term, an almost unheard of circumstance in American politics. His life was one of tragedy and melancholy. His wife’s family disapproved of him. It took eight years of courting before she could be persuaded to marry him. Jane Means Appleton, who eventually became his wife, was deeply religious, hated politics, despised Washington, and opposed the consumption of alcohol to the point she was active in temperance movements in antebellum New England. Pierce, on the other hand, thrived in political and legal maneuvers, drank to excess, and served in several posts in Washington. His views on religion can be surmised by his refusal to take the oath of office as President by swearing on a Bible. He affirmed his oath with his hand on a lawbook. Franklin Pierce entered the Presidency prone to bouts of depression, his wife having refused to accompany him to Washington. Throughout his four years in office, he drank to excess. His was a gloomy, unhappy White House. He may well have been one of the worst presidents in history. He may also have been the saddest, or at the very l…