Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Franklin Pierce" in English language version.
Franklin Pierce LL.D. dartmouth.
Attractive, polished, and outgoing, he was remembered by classmates more for his social skills than his scholarship... he married Jane Means Appleton, the daughter of Bowdoin College's president... Jane was a frail, somewhat sickly, and erratic woman who suffered from bouts of tuberculosis and deep depression... the two enjoyed a successful, if at time difficult, marriage.
He also thought - and he sincerely believed this - that if the North hadn't attacked the South so much for being for this moral sin of slavery, that the South eventually over time would have ended slavery on its own, that he felt that the Civil War was unnecessary. And he always said that, and he never took that back, even at the height of the war itself. He always believed the Civil War was unnecessary, and it was brought upon the nation by fanatics on both sides.
Franklin and Jane Pierce seemingly had little in common, and the marriage would sometimes be a troubled one. The bride's family were staunch Whigs, a party largely formed to oppose Andrew Jackson, whom Pierce revered. Socially, Jane Pierce was reserved and shy, the polar opposite of her new husband. Above all, she was a committed devotee of the temperance movement. She detested Washington and usually refused to live there, even after Franklin Pierce became a U.S. Senator in 1837.
Within the student body, Pierce's influence was widespread. Besides heading the Athenian Society, he also formed the only military company in the history of the college. "Captain" Pierce, in an attempt to provide recreation and instruction for his fellow students, led the Bowdoin Cadets in their daily drills on the grounds in front of the President's house. The Reverend William Allen, the college's president, objected to the noise and ordered a halt to the activity. When Pierce refused to comply with Allen's order, animosity grew between the students and the college authorities resulting in the junior class going on strike. Pierce was accused of leading the rebellion, but the college records do not acknowledge the event. Pierce's father took note of his son's role, however, and in a rare letter, admonished him about his behavior. In later years, classmates fondly recalled the strike and Pierce's key role.
When was the last time, if ever, that a sitting president was not nominated by his party for a second term? It only happened once to an elected president. That was Franklin Pierce... Four other presidents were denied the nomination of their party, but none of these were elected in their own right. They were: John Tyler, Whig, 1844... Millard Fillmore, Whig, 1852... Andrew Johnson, Democrat, 1868... Chester Arthur, Republican, 1884.
Within the student body, Pierce's influence was widespread. Besides heading the Athenian Society, he also formed the only military company in the history of the college. "Captain" Pierce, in an attempt to provide recreation and instruction for his fellow students, led the Bowdoin Cadets in their daily drills on the grounds in front of the President's house. The Reverend William Allen, the college's president, objected to the noise and ordered a halt to the activity. When Pierce refused to comply with Allen's order, animosity grew between the students and the college authorities resulting in the junior class going on strike. Pierce was accused of leading the rebellion, but the college records do not acknowledge the event. Pierce's father took note of his son's role, however, and in a rare letter, admonished him about his behavior. In later years, classmates fondly recalled the strike and Pierce's key role.
Franklin and Jane Pierce seemingly had little in common, and the marriage would sometimes be a troubled one. The bride's family were staunch Whigs, a party largely formed to oppose Andrew Jackson, whom Pierce revered. Socially, Jane Pierce was reserved and shy, the polar opposite of her new husband. Above all, she was a committed devotee of the temperance movement. She detested Washington and usually refused to live there, even after Franklin Pierce became a U.S. Senator in 1837.
