Franklin Pierce had the distinction of being the only incumbent to be elected president who wanted to seek a second term in office, but who did not win his party's nomination for one. Some presidents came into office promising to hold the office for only one term. Others had become president upon the death of the elected president and were denied ( Read more... )

Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States and the only President from New Hampshire, was born on November 23, 1804 (220 years ago today.) Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" (a Northerner with Southern sympathies). Prior to becoming president, Pierce served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. He also fought in ( Read more... )

Probably no period of presidential transition was ever as sad or tragic as the one that occurred following the election of 1852. On January 6, 1853, just over two months after the election, the family of President-elect Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire were traveling from Boston by train. Tragedy struck when the rail car they were riding in ( Read more... )

Perhaps the most difficult presidential transition in history took place in 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was elected to succeed James Buchanan. It was a time when sectional strife and division rose to such a high level that it split the Democratic Party and caused many to worry that the president-elect would not live to see his inauguration.

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n the months leading up to the 1864 election, Abraham Lincoln thought he would be a one term president. The war was taking longer than everyone had expected, and the mounting casualties made the Democratic Party message of a negotiated peace sound more appealing. The Republican Party was split between the Radical Republicans and the moderates. Some ( Read more... )

In the time leading up to the 1864 election, Abraham Lincoln thought he would be a one term president. The war was taking longer than everyone had expected, and the mounting casualties made the Democratic Party message of a negotiated peace sound more appealing. The Republican Party was split between the Radical Republicans and the moderates. Some ( Read more... )

Alternate Presidents is a collection of 28 short stories edited by Mike Resnick, speculating on what history might have been like if the outcome of 28 presidential elections would have been different. This anthology was released on February 15, 1992. This book is a delight to read. Resnick, a Hugo Award winning science fiction writer, also ( Read more... )

It's almost a certainty that Franklin Pierce was an alcoholic. He died from cirrhosis of the liver, and he is quoted as saying "after being President, there's nothing left to do but get drunk." Whether this quote is authentic or apocryphal, the sentiment expressed in it appears to match Pierce's post-presidential life.

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Millard Fillmore was the second Vice-President to become President upon the death of the incumbent. He would turn out to be the last President from the Whig Party and despite his desire to hold on to the job and run for re-election, his party had ideas. The Compromise of 1850 that Fillmore had supported made him unpopular in the north, especially ( Read more... )

Perhaps the most difficult presidential transition in history took place in 1860, when Abraham Lincoln was elected to succeed James Buchanan. It was a time when sectional strife and division rose to such a high level that it split the Democratic Party and caused many to worry that the president-elect would not live to see his inauguration.


( Read more... )