Franklin Pierce visited Dover New Hampshire on June 23rd, 1857 at age 52. He visited Dover three months after his term ended with Virginia Senator James Mason. Pierce served in the U.S. House of Representatives and was a U.S. Senator between March 4th, 1837 and February 28th, 1842. He served as the 14th President of the United States between March 4th, 1853 and March 4th, 1857. To date he is the only president from New Hampshire. He was a Democrat and a “doughface”, which was a Northerner with Southern sympathies. He was a dark horse candidate who was nominated unexpectedly on the 49th ballot at the 1852 Democratic National Convention. He won the election against Winfield Scott by 50 to 44% in the popular vote and 254 to 42 in the electoral vote.

Pierce’s good looks and inoffensive personality caused him to make many friends, however he suffered a tragedy in his personal life which led him to make widely criticized decisions which subsequently gave him the reputation as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. These decisions included repelling the Missouri Compromise in favor of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He was not re-nominated at the 1856 presidential election and was replaced by President James Buchanan, another doughface who scored even worse on popularity out of all U.S. Presidents.

Below is the transcript of the visit that took place on the American House balcony in Franklin Square:

Franklin Pierce – “Fellow citizens of New Hampshire: It is a great honor to speak to you about certain conditions in our Union these days. On the rostrum with me today is my friend, the Senator from Virginia and former Minister to France during my Administration, James M. Mason. Please allow him to say a few words.”

James Mason – <>“My countrymen - thank you for your warm welcome. I will take just a few moments of your time. I am anxious to see the beautiful scenery of your White Mountains and we are scheduled on the 11 o’clock Cochecho Rail to take us there. Although my home is in the warm and sunny South and yours is in the cold North, I know that here are hearts that beat warm in the love of the Union, both North and South. We all have a common interest in perpetuating this Union; we are all members of one great and glorious Republic of freeman. Join with the Democrats to keep our Nation whole!”

Franklin Pierce – “Since returning to my native New Hampshire, many kind well-wishers have praised the principles which guided me in Office. Whatever differences of opinion there may be in regard to some measures of my administration, none will deny that it was distinguished for industry, economy, and a marked and successful foreign policy, as well as fidelity to the great fundamental principle that lies at the base of this Government – the right of the people to govern themselves. I am here today to offer my opinions about our most recent Presidential election and the direction of our country. I want to stress how important it is to stand together as one Nation, rather than as a land split apart by sectional differences. Our Union is being divided into geographical partitions by individuals who pretend to seek only to prevent the spread of slavery, but who are, in actuality, inflamed with a desire to change the domestic institutions of our existing States. They endeavor to prepare the people of the United States for civil war by doing everything in their power to deride the Constitution and the laws of moral authority. They undermine the fabric of the Union by their appeals to passion and sectional prejudice, by indoctrinating people with reciprocal hatred, and by provoking them to stand face to face as enemies, rather than shoulder to shoulder as friends. We are a land of laws. Those who challenge the people’s Constitution are rousing our Nation into war. Our Union is protected by a Constitution that allows change – unwise laws can be altered through legislation. Any military confrontation is wholly out of place because our existing legal institutions can afford prompt and more efficacious means for the redress of any wrongs. Let us not sit back and let others destroy the Union by dividing the Country into separate entities. The people of the United States, by their recent election of President Buchanan, have sanctioned and announced their support for a united nation as he has promised. If the laws of this land need change, it must be done through legislation and the courts, never creating sectional differences or waging war.”