Talk:Franklin Pierce
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[edit] comments
From http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000333 -- Zoe
I removed this bit of text: [Pierce] reportedly ran down a pedestrial [sic] while drunk driving a horse carriage
I'd like to see a source on this before putting it back. -- RobLa
I've heard this account from numerous sources (Pierce's personal life after the death of his son is by all accounts, troubled). Not having access to an encyclopedia at the moment, it's in Richard Shenkman & Kurt Reiger's One-Night Stands with American History (Quill: New York, 1982) on page 87: "While president, Franklin Pierce was arrested after accidentally running down an old woman with his horse. He was released after the arresting officer discovered the identity of the prisoner." This fact might want to be moved from the "retirement" section. Perhaps a "personal life" section could be created, focusing also on his estrangement from his wife, both over the election and the loss of their son. Wencer 06:48, 9 November 2005 (UTC)
"first person under the age of fifty to be elected president"
This is incorrect; James K. Polk took office at the age of 49. - Luke stebbing 22:01, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)
There seems to be some silliness going on in the first paragraph.
"they watched as their 11-year-old son Benjamin ("Bennie") was crushed to death in the train disaster. Grief-stricken, Pierce entered the presidency nervously exhausted. In his inaugural address, he proclaimed an era of peace and prosperity at home and vigor in relations with other nations, saying that the United States might have to acquire additional possessions for the sake of its own security and would not be deterred by "any timid forebodings of evil."
Is lifted nearly verbatim from the whitehouse.gov biography
--- It is OK to lift text from whitehouse.gov for this biography as all text there is in the public domain. LarryQ
[edit] Pierce's siblings
"Pierce had six older and two younger siblings, four brothers and three sisters."
So, were there 7, 8, or 9 little Pierce's?
209.161.178.17 23:02, 20 December 2005 (UTC)Jane Giraldo
- I saw one website that said he had 4 brothers, 2 sisters and a half-sister. So that would make 8 little "Pierces", of which at least one was a "Pri..." oops, sorry. 0:) Wahkeenah 01:34, 21 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] when did the son die on the train?
it says "two months before taking office" at one point, and "on the way to the inauguration" at another point. I know almost nothing about Pierce and that's why I was reading the article, but obviously there's something wrong here. --Dbackeberg
[edit] GW BUSH?
What is the reference for his relationship with GW Bush?
- http://www.worldbook.com/features/presidents/html/bush_barbara.htm but it's disputed as an error, see http://www.bearhaven.com/family/cousin/barbara.html studerby 13:22, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Failed to Prevent Civil War?
"he did not do what was necessary to avoid the impending American Civil War"
This is pretty problematic... there is nothing close to historical consensus on Pierce's particular failing in this respect, and further there is a whole school of thought that argues the War was deterministically unavoidable.
