The Tragic Life of Franklin Pierce
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2024
- Here's the story of a President who consistently ranks as one of the worst. Does Franklin Pierce really deserve that ranking?
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I feel sorry for him. He witnessed his surviving child die in a train wreck. That would have devastated anyone, including the best Presidents.
Yeah I agree. :)
Okay, Millard
@@John Harris, Exactly! Lincoln was a "rat" and has been glorified by the immoral and illogical writers et.al. The government schools were prejudiced in favor of Lincoln as well as Wilson and FDR. The masses have been deceived.
John Harris totally... lincoln caused the civil war... by southern states getting triggered and splitting from the union...
You must love revisionist history
Lincoln and Coolidge would also lose a son in office
I feel as if a really good movie could come out of the story of Pierce's life. A tragic and dramatic story to be sure.
yea it would definitely be interesting but they would never do it since he was pro-slavery, but I guess you never know
But it would be a sad movie
@@warrenblanco1673thats the point
The problem would be nobody would like the movies main character...
Wow, he lost 3 sons at the age of 11 or younger? No wonder he drank so much. Poor guy..........
Franklin rushed to put his coat over the boy's decapitated body so Jane didn't see it, but he couldn't do it quickly enough. He had previously promised her that he would not run for or accept the nomination. In short, she never really forgave him.
:(
Even though i don’t like Franklin pierce I feel bad for him
He lost his entire family
Acept his daughter
Your fairness and looking at how life events effect a person is something many historians could benefit from.
Here's the story of a President who consistently ranks as one of the worst. Does Franklin Pierce really deserve that ranking?
Hey, I just realized that's my 100th video. Geez, that's a lot of time of my life making these things.
Mr. Beat's Social Studies Channel Congratulations on 100 videos! I would say it is time well spent. Also, the plug is much appreciated.
The Worsh Ahts I would agree :) You bet, I just realized I didn't ask permission this time, but I assumed you'd be cool with it. I'm glad you are!
Mr. Beat I think so watch top 10 worst presidents
No
Pierce went through a tragic experience, he lost his surviving son in a train wreck, it deeply affected him & his wife.
Yeah that is true.
I agree
So scary!
One other achievement in his Presidency: Pierce's administration was the one that negotiated (with the Kingdom of Hawaii) the renting of Pearl Harbor for our Navy's use.
That turned out well..
@@fredjohnson3183 for America yeah
@@thecreepnextdoor7560 let's be honest here, *both.
Losing 3 sons is frightening, nevertheless being a “doughface” is puzzling. Volunteering for during the Mexcan War, and then supporting the Union during the Civil War is worthy of admiration.
The closing, a knowledged overview of his conflicted and tragic life was very fair. Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and the 29th President , Warren Harding were perhaps worse .
Thank you for the post 👍
Buchanan undoubtedly is the worst president, imo
@@JaceFincham totally agree, he catalyzed the civil war by his weakness.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 James Buchanan sucks
Warren Harding is underrated. Yeah there were a lot of scandals, that's never good. However his inaction when it came to dealing with the national recession counter-intuitively actually allow the country to make a speedy recovery!
28th president Woodrow Wilson as well.
Your illumination of Franklin Pierce was brilliant! Profusely visualized, you painted a picture of a tortured soul. With what he faced, who might have done better? Thank you for rendering him a soul.
Franklin Pierce was a distant relative of Barbara Pierce, who married President George HW Bush, and the mother of President George W Bush and Jeb Bush
Holy cow!!
@@theodoreroosevelt4260 It gets more interesting. Bush family crony Andrew Card (deputy Chief of Staff and Secretary of Transportation under Poppy Bush's administration, Chief of Staff under Dubya's administration) was named President of Franklin Pierce University in 2015 due to Barbara Bush's influence. He resigned in August 2016.
@@realniggashit3 wow so that means that George W Bush and Jeb Bush are descendent of 2 US presidents!
And George W Bush himself was President
@@theodoreroosevelt4260 Yeah they are. George HW Bush's father was Senator Prescott Bush. He married Dorothy Walker from the prominent Walker family based in St Louis. George HW Bush is named after Dorothy Walker's father George Herbert Walker.
The music soundtrack is distractingly loud,
It's entirely inappropriate. How could he not realize that?
Dylan Farina Are you high?
That’s the point, I don’t really know tho
Though an inept leader and President how can one NOT Feel bad for the horrific personal tragedies he incurred. It is terrible what the poor guy went through.
Another terrific video. Thank you for covering so much of our former presidents that we do not get taught in school.
M - Major
R - Respect
B - Brilliant
E - Education
A - Amazingly
T - Terrific
Mrbomjam, the vast majority of Presidents were racist.
+Mr. Beat's Social Studies Channel nice
It is also important to remember that when racial segregation was practiced in the South, and in other parts of the United States, they were not acting in defiance of the law. On at least seven separate occasions, spanning a time period of nearly 60 years, the United States Supreme Court held, either explicitly or by necessary implication, that “separate but equal” was the correct rule of law. See Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896); Cumming v. Board of Education, 175 U.S. 528 (1899); Berea College v. Kentucky, 211 U.S. 45 (1908); Gong Lum v. Rice, 275 U.S. 78 (1927); Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, 305 U.S. 337 (1938); Sipuel v. Board of Regents, 332 U.S. 631 (1948); Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950).
These decisions were based on the language of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Although there was no change in its text, the Supreme Court reversed course, deciding Brown v. Board of Education, which many in the South and elsewhere, saw as a betrayal. After all, if you cannot rely on the United States Supreme Court to tell you what the Constitution means, then upon whom can you rely?
@@kevinbroughton7086 Who are you calling a tard?
No surprise there😒
Yup thats kinds how it went back then.
Fun Fact: Franklin Pierce got arrested for running over a old lady with his horse
Wouldn't be surprised if it was because he was drunk
When?
fun fact: it is fake, no sufficient evidence
@@dddaavvviiiddd6800 Franklin, rank Abraham Lincolns attractiveness on a scale of 1 to 10
@@KanyewestbiggestfansBiggestfan 5
I loved the "WAIT! That's a log cabin and the Oh! That's what he looks like.
Increasing prosperity has always prompted remodels & additions to homes.
Excellent video! I'm one of the few Pierce fans out there. Got his 1852 campaign medal worn around my neck. Thank you for making this. I hope history will be kind to Frank in the years to come.
Thank you sir. I hope so, too.
me too
wrestlingluva I'm sorry but why are you a Pierce fan?
@@taylorbeckett9686 Because he can be in this free nation.
Same, I'm a huge fan of pierce
Yes, you could surly say Franklin Pierce suffered a very tragic family life, losing 3 children is beyond devastating.
Like Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln.
@@wholeNwon I agree!
@@wholeNwon I believe Jack and jackie kennedy lost a child while Jack was president
@@cheneethompson5756 Of course, and he is buried with them.
@@wholeNwon yes
So sad
The lincolns lost three sons
The only one to have a long life was the first of their four
I'M SORRY OKAY!? IT WAS JEFFERSON DAVIS AND ANDREW JOHNSON'S FAULT. I WAS THE BEST FRIEND OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN!
Franklin Pierce noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop.
Did u seriously take the time to change your profile just for that joke 😂
We also hated Andrew so we have the same feelings for him.
If I didn’t die I would’ve beaten you in a re-election
Zachary Taylor indeed, as would I have. Tis a good evening though here, upon this meeting of this nation’s former presidents.
It's a tragic story, and I guess he was a product of his time, but I find it really hard to look past the fact that he was pro-slavery.
The Democratic Party in the years leading up to the Civil War relied on Southern support to win the presidency. Polk, Pierce and Buchanan were competent politicians who never would have gotten elected had they opposed slavery. We should not use contemporary standards to judge men of that era. Even Lincoln didn't call for freeing any slaves until the second year of the Civil War.
So was Washington
As well as all the founding fathers
i feel bad for him but im disapointed that he supported slavery and that makes it hard to feel bad for him even more
I can look past his support for slavery simply because everyone owned slaves at the time. It's incredibly hard to break out of a societal norm alone. We can only really judge people by their own times. If he was around today it's very likely he would not support slavery.
Great video on Mr Pierce, however Bowdoin College is pronounced “BOH-dun”, not “buh-DOYN”. I live in New Hampshire and have made the same mistake. We just happen to have weird town/institution names around here.
Bowdoin College is pronounced "bowed-in"
SmilingIbis lol thank you I got annoyed of this too
Beat can be good but he needs an editor to catch these mistakes.
And it’s Con-Kurd, not Con-Cord.
buh-DOYNE DOYNE!!!
Thanks
Interesting video, but that horribly repetitive music has got to go.
"Franklin and Jane survived, but their son died in front of them"
*Cheery, upbeat music continues*
Absolutely! The music made me stop watching.
this was 7 years ago
"Young and fierce was Franklin Pierce, the man without a chin..."
Next up follows a period spannin, 4 long years with James Buchanan, then the South start shootin cannons, and we got a civil war!
Norkeys A War! A War down South In Dixie!
@@ukassoproductions2490 Up to bat comes old Abe Lincoln, there's a guy who's really thinking, kept the United States from shrinking, saved the ship of states from sinking.
@@Norkeys Andrew Johnson's next,
he had some slight defects,
congress each would impeach,
and so the country now elects
@@ukassoproductions2490 Ulysses Simpson Grant, who would scream and rave and rant. While drinking whiskey all the risky cause he'd spill it on his pants!
i joined ancestry a few years ago and found a document signed by president pierce granting land to my 3x greatgrandfather in mississippi. It is interesting finding information about that president.
"After the Presidency, there is nothing else to do but get drunk!" - Actual quote of Franklin Pierce in 1857, upon not being renominated
Honestly, he is a tragic yet heroic figure. agreed the 1850s would have challenged ANY president - past or present - with the condition the US was in.
I agree he was in a difficult situation. He was still better than Buchanan
Wow... thanks Mr Beat for making this video 10 years ago. I never knew this about him. I can't imagine losing one child... let alone 3. I feel sorry for both of them.... especially her.
Mr Beat: “Their last surviving son was killed in a train accident”
The music: *is happy and upbeat
He had such a hard life and poor luck
4:03 I think his riding accident may have been due to him unaccountably riding a horse that had a smaller head than he did.
Imagine accomplishing everything in life you could ever want just to lose what means the most to you and then have the microscope on you and you have to keep it together
What's with the music, trying to be cool man .its just distracting.
Nice video Mr.Beat It was berry educational thank you
Well thank you berry much!
@@iammrbeat very not berry
Cool
Nicely done! Thanks for the history lesson!
Young and fierce was Franklin Pierce, the man without a chin.
Are you gonna re-make this and the James K. Polk one now that you’re doing the longer documentary?
I live in his old house. Not the homestead but the one down the road that he and his wife lived in.
Holy crap that's awesome
Normally during the 1800's and before, it was common to lose children by the time they are 2 yrs old. There was no such thing as post-natal care back then.
Why Pierce was so depress?
1. All of his child died before he came president
2. His wife was so unhappy
3. His vice president died
4. He was weak leader
5. He was bad president
6. He was drunk
7. He had no chin
His wife also died in 1863.
I do feel bad for Pierce, but Lincoln and others suffered similar tragedy as well. I read that due to their son's death, Pierce's wife Jane Pierce was just as much of a mother in mourning as Mary Lincoln.
JFK lost a son when he was president as well
Only 1 of McKinleys children made it past 18
@@AutisticHelpWithCodes: What? Neither of McKinley’s children survived past the age of five.
Mary did have a son that lived to be in his 80s.
I think it's significant that the Pierce's saw their son's blighted body right in front of them.
I’m almost certain that Mr. Beat would have been better than my actual US History teacher
The county where Tacoma WA is located is Pierce County, named for Franklin. There is even a school district and high school name Franklin Pierce in East Pierce County.
There was a survey that ranked JFK as the best looking president, Franklin Pierce No. 2. Perhaps his low ranking as a president is for signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise and forced everyone to take a side on the slavery issue. The Whig Party had tried to avoid the issue by making it a question of state's rights.
JFK was a cutie pie!
With all due respect to the president of the United States there haven’t been many attractive guys among them. You could make a case for JFK and Franklin but even then they’re not exceptionally attractive.
Your background music is worse than Pierce was a president.
Yeah, I had to mute the video and read the generated captions.
"Their son died right in front of them."
*Upbeat music plays*
Good video I was previously aware of Pres. Pierce’s background and I don’t think much of doughfaces or weak leaders. In Pierce’s defense, Buchanan was not much of an improvement either. Lincoln followed Buchanan. Thank God for Lincoln.
And 700,000 died for a "unity" that we still don't have.
Question for those who think Franklin Pierce was one of the worst Presidents: If you became President in 1853, what would you have done differently? How do you think your decisions would have turned out?
For caving in and supporting the Kansas-Nebraska act? He should have shown backbone and real leadership. Imagine how the course of American history would be different.
But you're also kind of right, considering the debilitating circumstances he faced going in while in that tense a political climate, any President would be bound to fuck up.
Done what zach taylor did and took a fucking stand
Scott Aznavourian That’s right!
Actually tried to do something independently and show backbone against Congress. Only presidents worse than him were Andy Johnson and Doughface Buchanan.
Moondog Surf I would become Winfield Scott and when elected, I would isolate VP Graham, join the Free Soil Party, end the expansion of slavery, then join the new Republican Party, choose Fremont as my Running mate, secretly promote Millard Fillmore’s candidacy in the south so that Buchanan and Fillmore divide the electorate in the south so badly that I win the college, then I would declare Marshall law in South Carolina until they allowed voting, then when the south seceded I beat them (staying in office as long as necessary), then I would end slavery, and issue the 14th and 15th amendments, appoint Sherman Governor of Georgia when they are re admitted, then I would force Virginia to allow West Virginia out, but name West Virginia the state of Webster, as an insult to the stupid concepts the south held, then I would issue reconstruction, and promote Fremont, Charles Sumner, or Henry Wilson as my successor (just promote not appoint)
That's Bo-din college, Bowdoin - it's where J L Chamberlain taught.
Who had a truly remarkable life.
Who?
@@The_-_- Jeff Daniels character in Gettysburg
Bobby Brown lived a pretty tragic life too, and I was gonna say Caroline Kennedy did too, but Arabella died before she was born. (Okay, Caroline still lived a pretty tragic life!)
Jeez, Franklin and Jane saw their son almost get decapitated right in front of their eyes.
I feel bad for him seeing everyone he cared about even his own children die in front of his own eyes.
Wow Mr. Beat your pronunciation of New England names and places makes me wince!
Houston, TX has a Pierce St.! And your music is quite catchy!
That music is so grating. Can't watch.
He made this 6 years ago.
NH state capitol is pronounced like the word "Conquered"
Regardless of how bad presidents were. I find that all of them had incredibly successful lives. Really interesting to hear about.
Franklin Pierce didn't seem to like his life, but he was a former President, and I first heard of him when I was a kid.
It’s a bit much when you survive war, lose three sons, struggle with alcohol, and have a wife grow more distant from your life. Poor soul.
Hollywood should do a biopic of his life with Christian Bale assuming the role.
No joke, I’d watch that
Pierce's story would truly make an INCREDIBLE & TRAGIC movie IF they research the facts, and not buy into the lies or misconceptions about Pierce. He really was a much better person than most people fully realize. You couldn't be a jerk or idiot (until Trump did) and still make it to the Presidency without some redeeming attributes! Pierce had many outstanding qualities during his life.
@@MatthewThomas-yi1zk His story on film could be quite compelling if handled properly by the right director. We've had too many movies about Lincoln, Kennedy, Nixon, Washington, and a couple others. It's about time Hollywood took a crack at the more obscure and possibly, more interesting people of US history.
He deserves his rankings(though I personally put him at 6 or 7th worst versus 3, where most people put him), but still a very tragic story, especially since he had to see two sons die of disease at a young age too, and then his third son getting decapitated in front of him.
Great video,a lot I didn't know about Pierce. Thanks!😊👍
Thanks Zachary!
@@iammrbeat You're very welcome,prayers to you and your family,stay safe!🙏😊👍✌
I'm truly sorry for you my good friend pirece
John Kennedy would have pushed for civil rights legislation , but he assumed the country would never accept it and it would fail. Lincoln faced the same dilemma regarding emancipation. Franklin Pierce seemed totally comfortable with slavery.
Franklin Pierce did NOT approve of slavery! He was between a rock and a hard place as President trying to keep the North & the South from dissolving the Union under his presidency. What would you have done different, or could have done different?? It was Stephen Douglas and the rest of the Democratic Party that rammed the Kansas-Nebraskan Act down Pierce's throat despite him having reservations about it. He despised Abolitionists NOT because he supported slavery, but because he feared their hell-bent actions would cause the Union to fall apart. He also DID NOT drink for several years BEFORE or during his Presidency, he only took it up again after the death of his wife in Dec. 1863 and after his best friend Nathaniel Hawthorne died in May of 1864 when they were on a trip together in hopes of improving Hawthorne's bad health. He wasn't even allowed to be a pall bearer at Hawthorne's funeral because of the political animosity towards Pierce DESPITE Pierce being a truly devoted and loyal friend to Hawthorne all his life!! The poor guy couldn't win! And despite the snub, Pierce still generously gave college money to Hawthorne's kids since H left the family in dire financial straights! Pierce was a dignified, loyal, generous, kind, and respectable human being who yes, made mistakes like ALL Presidents did, but he cared for his friends & family immensely...but he isn't recognized for many of the good things he actually accomplished in life...just the bad!! And there have been plenty of worse Presidents than Pierce like...Trump, Nixon, Tyler, Jackson, George W. Bush, Andy Johnson, Harding, Buchanan, Hoover, Benj. Harrison etcetera. Pierce deserves a little higher approval rating than what some so-called eminent historians who really HAVEN'T studied Pierce thoroughly, have rated him. He should at least be number 8 or 9 instead of number 3 or 4!
When I was 23 I read a bio of Franklin. I couldn't understand why he gave up. When I lost a child it all made sense. He lost all 3. As close to impossible to recover from that. So sad.
The story is always the same, isn't it? Somebody who spends their whole life drinking or doing drugs, suddenly stops doing them and then that's not good enough. Now they have to stop everybody from being able to drink or do drugs. Prohibitionists never change.
It was very easy to become an alcoholic in those days.
There were only two types of beverages most people had access to. Contaminated water and alcohol.
That is truer than you might think my friend!!
Bad Luck Brian, the President
I think he probably somewhat diserves to be ranked so bad, since he hated the abolitionist movement (A. K. A. he supported slavery) Although just as you said Pierce had a very tragic life and manged to somehow cope although he drunk too much alchohol
What's with everyone talking about the music? I think it's fine.
Nope.
I just want to hug President Pierce. Poor guy 😢
If Franklin Pierce were around today, well, believe me, he would be great compared to what we have had in recent years.
Anyone would be.
If Pierce were to be somehow be brought into the modern day, he would struggle with evolving his ideas past the restrictions of the party of his day. The environment today would be alien to him now. The problems he possessed in his day are some of the same things plaguing the parties today...inflexible partisanship. I would argue he belongs to the past, but hindsight being what it is...his rigidity would have made him a less effective president in any time period.
This is a very good video with the exception of the music
What were you thinking with that soundtrack?? It sounds psychotic.
It's false that Pierce had no military experience before the Mexican War. As a colonel, he was a senior officer in the New Hampshire Militia. He was also part of a group of military and academic leaders, including the faculty of Norwich University, which tried to re-energize the militia in the 1830s, 40s, and 50s following years of relative militia inactivity after the War of 1812.
Good on you for correcting him.
Benjamin was so cute! Gosh darn it!
Today I live near you Mr Beat in Piper, but I grew up in New Hampshire and your pronunciation of New England places it's painful, please think about trying them. 'Bow-den' and 'Con-curd'. The former is really kinda important because Joshua Chamberland taught there when he wasn't winning little round top or being governor of Maine.
I have always been interested in this guy. He had talent but did not know how to use it optimally.
5:31 bruh I can’t take this serious moment seriously when there’s this upbeat music playing
There’s one part you didn’t tell us.. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s death! Franklin Pierce and Nathaniel Hawthorne were were at a hotel, and went to bed. However, Nathaniel Hawthorne didn’t wake up he was found dead… This is how Franklin Pierce was alone, kids are dead, wife is dead, and best friend and is dead. Here’s a tragedy. He died alone, and that’s why we don’t know his last words. But he was 64… HOW YOUNG!!!
You keep saying when the country was divided! This country has always been very divided.I feel it is even more divided now. Great video!
Isaac: It’s A Shame That All Of His Children Did Not Live To See There Father Become President…
I don't know if any President at the time was up to the challenge of keeping the country together. Every President had to walk a fine line between preserving the Union & dealing with the slavery issue. It's like dealing with Immigration today .
You are 100% correct!! Unless you lived in 1850's America...you would not have had the benefit of today's hindsight to make better decisions! You did the best you could with what you knew at the time.
Great video sir.
+congladiator Thanks!
I don't know if he would have resigned due to duress or the fact he was emotionally distressed, but he had no VP after King died, so the Speaker of the House would have been Pres.
Definitely didn’t like his politics, but can’t help but respect his strength. Kinda makes one wonder what kind of leader he would have been had his strength had the opportunity to be placed in service and not forced onto the awful events.
I'm related to Franklin pierce! When compared to Lincoln naturally hed pale by comparison! I think he is blamed somewhat unfairly! For the country heading into civil war! He clear had PTSD! Despite his not being the best of presidents I'm still happy to call him an ancestor!
How are you related to him? Certainly not direct ancestor because all if his children died as kids
Well it wasn't just him as Fillmore and Buchanan were also responsible
While you are at it, James Buchanan.
I'm almost positive Jane actually does *not* mean Appleton.
Thank you so much for this interesting information about a former president.
Why ever was Hawkeye on MASH ever named , at birth, Benjamin Franklin Pierce? Or was he named (as well?) after Ben Franklin?
Give the man a break. Everything he and his wife had been through. He is ok in my book. Not all of the united States presidents can be top notch.
His VP died a month in and he had no vp for the rest of his term.
November 22nd 1804: 😎
November 23rd 1804: 😩
Franklin sounds like the embodiment of “but at what cost?”
Narrator: Talks about children dying
The Beat: Yes this is a joyous occasion.
I really enjoyed the minimalist punk song as the outro
Ok thank you for making this videos for us thank you Mr. beat
*Upbeat music plays in the background*
"His 11-year-old son was nearly decapitated right in front of him"
Easily the best looking US President.
Interesting and informative but the background piano music is too loud and distracts from the narration, creating an annoying result.
Good thing I've learned from my past mistakes 😌
"He always held his head high through the pain, and that is something to admire." Oh, please, more like "passed out drunk."
Pierce was only drunk when he was a student attending Bowdoin College in Maine during the 1820's. There are no other records proving he was ever drunk when he was President (1853-1857) or between the years 1841 until 1863. He only took up drinking after the loss of his beloved wife in late 1863. He drank no more than nearly all other men in his era.