Last week you were introduced to Millard Fillmore, one of the “unknown” presidents. Perhaps, while accomplished and self-disciplined — and dedicated to the nation — he is most recognizable (if recognized) as a placeholder in the presidency following General Zachary Taylor’s death. Truthfully, he is never on a list of “great presidents” or “near-great national leaders.”

Makes you feel a bit sad for him, doesn’t it? If becoming president of the United States was once the high-water mark for aspirations, what does it means if you were president and few remember you even served?

Perhaps Millard can take some solace in the fact that few remember his successor, Franklin Pierce.

What should you know about U.S. President #14?

Franklin Pierce was heir to a family legacy that witnessed his ancestors arriving with the early Puritans and his father, Benjamin, serving as a Revolutionary War leader and patriot. Not wealthy but raised in a well-respected New Hampshire family — Dad’s war service made him a local hero — Franklin enjoyed his childhood. By age 15, he enrolled at Bowdoin College and became a socially accomplished young man and acclaimed public speaker, but he had also gained a reputation as a somewhat unfocused scholar. By the time he graduated in 1824, he had become more self-disciplined and graduated near the top of his class. Pierce matured at Bowdoin and realized that he could be more than handsome and charming; he could be a leader.

Within five years, Pierce was serving in the New Hampshire legislature while his famous father was serving as governor. Two years later, Franklin was elected speaker of the House, and he and his father became supporters of another poor boy-turned-military hero and patriot’s candidacy for the presidency, Andrew Jackson. Jackson became the first frontier president in 1828, and just four years later, Franklin Pierce joined him in Washington, DC, as a member of the House of Representatives.

Life in DC was difficult for the young representative, and stories of his “partying” circulated throughout the city. Many believed that his marriage to Jane Appleton, whose father had been president of Bowdoin, would be his salvation, but theirs was a sad and troubled marriage — with cause. As a strong temperance leader, Jane despised the capital city and refused to live there, even after Franklin was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Pierce was an undistinguished senator, sponsoring no major bills and supporting without question the Jackson policies. Interestingly, the New Hampshire senator became best friends with Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis, and, perhaps influenced by Davis and other Southern senators’ perspective, he became a strong voice in favor of slavery’s legality and possible expansion.

By 1841, in an attempt to save his family, Pierce resigned from the Senate and returned home. He “cleaned up” his act, stopped drinking, opened a successful law practice, and became the most famous courtroom orator in New Hampshire. He stayed informed about national political movements and, when President James K. Polk asked for a declaration of war against Mexico, Pierce asked his old friend for a commission. Within months, Brigadier General Pierce, with over 2,000 men — many of whom he had recruited — was headed to Mexico to join Generals Taylor and Scott in the fight.

So, let’s be honest. While Pierce was an outstanding orator, a seasoned political leader, and a hardworking man, his lack of military experience dampened his aspirations as a combat “leader of men.” Wounded early in the fight by a fall from his horse that crushed his leg and left his men leaderless (after he blacked out from the pain), poor Franklin missed the major battles and had instead earned the nickname “Fainting Frank.” While he would use his military rank in future speeches, he would not spend much time talking about the specifics of his service in the Mexican War.

So, it was back to New Hampshire, where Pierce would become the leader of the state Democratic Party and an invited speaker at national Democratic events.

And then fate intervened with the 1852 Democratic National Convention. After 48 deadlocked ballots for the presidential candidate, the party knew they needed a compromise candidate. Remember, it’s 1852, and the issue of slavery was divisive and threatened to destroy the party. What were the Democrats to do?

On ballot 49, Franklin Pierce, a pro-slavery Northern Democrat, secured the nomination — to the surprise but relief of almost everyone in the halls — and the New Hampshire lawyer and politician would be the top name on his party’s ballot in the fall.

Wonders never cease…