Franklin Pierce: One Of The Worst Presidents Of All Time

Even though Franklin Pierce is considered one of the worst presidents of all time, he enjoyed a dazzling political career, with most of his better moments coming before his time as president. His abilities were shown at a young age when he entered Bowdoin College at age 15 and began to hone his public speaking skills. A large reason for Pierce’s natural ability was his father, Benjamin Pierce, who was a commander in the colonial revolution. Benjamin was also very involved in local politics and this is where young Franklin picked up the system and how things worked very quickly. Two years after his father was elected as a governor, Pierce was voted to the state legislature of New Hampshire. After this, because of his attractiveness (he is
The city wasn’t exactly the pleasantest place to live at the time and the standard boarding houses for the politicians did little to make things any better. This caused Franklin to do like many politicians of the time did, find his pleasure in alcohol. Pierce’s drinking and partying lifestyle was known to pretty much everyone else among the political group and became one of the hottest topics for their gossip. Making matters worse for Pierce was his wife Jane, who absolutely detested life in Washington, though that was not the only problem she posed to Franklin. They were complete opposites in nearly every way imaginable. They differed in political party, lifestyle and hobbies among others. (http://millercenter.org/president/pierce/essays/biography/2)
This led to him becoming its undisputed leader in the state of New Hampshire. With the presidential elections of 1852 on the horizon, the democrats were seeking someone who could appeal to both the North and the South in the wake of the growing debate of slavery. They wanted a pro-slavery northerner and Franklin Pierce was just that. After being nominated by his party, the man he would be running against was his old commander, Winfield Scott of the Whig Party. It is said by some that Franklin did not so much win the election as much as Scott destroyed his chances with long dreary speeches that did not motivate anyone to join his side. Pierce was very adamant about the right to own property, even if that property was another human being.