Franklin Pierce is another in a string of largely forgotten Presidents between Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. Like many of these men, he was a northerner who believed that the way to keep the nation together was to appease the southerners who wanted the "peculiar institution" of slavery to remain and who believed that slavery would eventually ( Read more... )

In almost all rankings of Presidents, James Buchanan comes in dead last and wins the title of "worst president ever." One might think that he would escape obscurity for that reason alone. Partisans of whatever party the president of the day doesn't belong to might argue that whoever the current incumbent happens to be is worse than Buchanan, but it ( Read more... )

On April 23, 1791 (229 years ago today) James Buchanan, Jr., the 15th President of the United States, was born in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania. Buchanan served as President from 1857 to 1861, just prior to the Civil War, and it was on his watch that a number of states began to secede from the Union. Although Buchanan said that he felt that it was illegal ( Read more... )

Historians and others have speculated as to the sexual orientation of James Buchanan, the only bachelor president, and about whether he and his "messmate" William Rufus King were lovers. The consensus of most historians is that the trail of evidence is too cold for any meaningful sort of conclusion on this question. While author Thomas Balcerski ( Read more... )

150 years ago today, on October 8, 1869, Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States, died at his home in Concord, New Hampshire, at the age of 64. He died from cirrhosis of the liver, the result of what was almost certainly Pierce's alcoholism. Pierce is quoted, truthfully or otherwise, as saying, when he lost his party's bid for ( Read more... )

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest ranking, how would you grade the performance of James Buchanan as President of the United States? You can go to this link to cast your vote. In almost all rankings of Presidents, James Buchanan comes in dead last and wins the title of "worst president ever." Partisans of whatever party the president ( Read more... )

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest ranking, how would you grade the performance of Franklin Pierce as President of the United States? You can go to this link to cast your vote. Franklin Pierce is another in a string of largely forgotten Presidents between Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln. Like many of these men, he was a northerner ( Read more... )

Today is the anniversary of the death of James Buchanan. He shuffled off this mortal coil on June 1, 1868 (151 years ago on this day.) Buchanan regularly ranks among the worst of the Presidents ratings done by historians and scholars. He is criticized for his weak and ineffective response to the coming of the secessionist crisis, his obsequiousness ( Read more... )

On April 23, 1791 (228 years ago today) James Buchanan, Jr., the 15th President of the United States, was born in Cove Gap, Pennsylvania. Buchanan served as President from 1857 to 1861, just prior to the Civil War, and it was on his watch that a number of states began to secede from the Union. Although Buchanan said that he felt that it was illegal ( Read more... )

In almost all rankings of Presidents, James Buchanan comes in dead last and wins the title of "worst president ever." Partisans of whatever party the president of the day doesn't belong to might argue that whoever the current incumbent happens to be is worse than Buchanan, but it's hard to imagine anyone being a worse president than one who ended ( Read more... )