Reading a book on every single president for this project is hard enough, but it's especially hard with the more obscure presidents.
I had thought that it had gotten about as bad as it could get when the only book I could find on Harrison was a biography from the 1930's with stilted and let's say politically incorrect language regarding Native Americans. However, this Pierce book took it to another level.
The Harrison book, racial epitaphs used by the author aside, was written by at least a decent historian. It was difficult to read because it tried way too hard to cover every aspect of Harrison's life preceding the presidency in sequential order. This includes periods of his life that might be interesting to Harrisonphiles, but not to casual readers like myself.
The Pierce book on the other hand was hard to read because it just wasn't very well written or put together. The author is well regarded for his writings on the history of American political parties and for covering politics in the 1800's, but the fact that his profile on Wikipedia omits this biography is probably a bad sign.
The fact that this book was written in the 1920's also might make this book hard to relate to as well as the fact that it was nearly 500 pages long with small print.
However, there were a few lines that made it an interesting look at an earlier period of history.
My favorite line referenced how far technology had come since the mid 1800's and marveled that a telegraph from Alaska to the East cost now (1920's) could take as little as a few hours, whereas a message from the midwest to the East Coast in Pierces time could take as long as a month.
Jefferson may have shuddered to think that God was just, but I shudder to think that the worst presidential biographies may be still ahead of me. Although books on Jefferson, Lincoln and FDR routinely make the best seller list, there's just not that many people out there that really want to dig into Chester Arthur or Rutherford B. Hayes.
Showing posts with label Franklin Pierce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Franklin Pierce. Show all posts
5/11/10
Franklin Pierce: God complex
Many politicians that reach high levels have something inside them that convinces them they're fighting for a higher cause and that their enemies are on the side of evil.
Franklin Pierce was no exception.
An obscure politician from New Hampshire that had the right combination of being able to bring home Northern votes as well as a suitable party loyalty to the Democrats and their Southern power base. Beyond being in the right place at the right time, I wouldn't call Pierce a masterful politician, but he sure thought he was imbued with a God given sense of purpose that propelled him to the highest office.
Tragedy struck his family when his son died in a railway accident a few months before his inauguration. Looking at the glass as being half full though, his wife convinced him that God took his son away from him so he wouldn't be distracted from his quest to rescue America from the evil doers. When his wife suffered from 'melancholia' (depression) and became a recluse, I suppose he saw that as a way to let him focus on his work as well.
Like the football player who thanks God for helping them make a touchdown, Pierce seemed to think that God took a personal interest in his political well being.
Franklin Pierce was no exception.
An obscure politician from New Hampshire that had the right combination of being able to bring home Northern votes as well as a suitable party loyalty to the Democrats and their Southern power base. Beyond being in the right place at the right time, I wouldn't call Pierce a masterful politician, but he sure thought he was imbued with a God given sense of purpose that propelled him to the highest office.
Tragedy struck his family when his son died in a railway accident a few months before his inauguration. Looking at the glass as being half full though, his wife convinced him that God took his son away from him so he wouldn't be distracted from his quest to rescue America from the evil doers. When his wife suffered from 'melancholia' (depression) and became a recluse, I suppose he saw that as a way to let him focus on his work as well.
Like the football player who thanks God for helping them make a touchdown, Pierce seemed to think that God took a personal interest in his political well being.
5/2/10
Franklin Pierce: "We POLKed you in 1844, we shall Pierce you in 1853"
Millard Fillmore was a decent president that just happened to take over after a sitting president died in office and didn't really have any popular mandate for enforcing his policy. The nation was in that tense period between the Spanish American War and the Civil War and needed a steady hand to guide the ship of state.
While Fillmore didn't do anything extraordinary or horrible during his presidency, Pierce seemed to do everything he could to stir resentment in the North and destroy the fragile peace that existed between the North and the South.
Pierce's campaign slogan was "We POLKed you in 1844, we shall Pierce you in 1853" and he seemed to do just that.
Though he was from New Hampshire, Pierce consistently sided with the concerns of the slave holding aristocracy in the South. While Fillmore can be faulted for avoiding the explosive issue of slavery, Pierce put it in every one's faces, enforcing the Fugitive Slave act in Boston with Federal Marshalls. He worked hard to make sure that Haiti did not receive official diplomatic recognition by the United States to avoid the impression that it was acceptable for slaves to revolt. He refused to send Federal troops in to the territory of Kansas to help the abolitionists that settled there from being targeted by Southern death squads.
All of these things continued to embolden the South and embitter the North, making it more clear to each side that their real enemies were now internal instead of the external enemies they faced up until the 1840's. Pierce goes to show that sometimes it's better for a President to do nothing than something.
While Fillmore didn't do anything extraordinary or horrible during his presidency, Pierce seemed to do everything he could to stir resentment in the North and destroy the fragile peace that existed between the North and the South.
Pierce's campaign slogan was "We POLKed you in 1844, we shall Pierce you in 1853" and he seemed to do just that.
Though he was from New Hampshire, Pierce consistently sided with the concerns of the slave holding aristocracy in the South. While Fillmore can be faulted for avoiding the explosive issue of slavery, Pierce put it in every one's faces, enforcing the Fugitive Slave act in Boston with Federal Marshalls. He worked hard to make sure that Haiti did not receive official diplomatic recognition by the United States to avoid the impression that it was acceptable for slaves to revolt. He refused to send Federal troops in to the territory of Kansas to help the abolitionists that settled there from being targeted by Southern death squads.
All of these things continued to embolden the South and embitter the North, making it more clear to each side that their real enemies were now internal instead of the external enemies they faced up until the 1840's. Pierce goes to show that sometimes it's better for a President to do nothing than something.
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