A Selection of Campaign Tokens from the 1852 Presidential Election
BillJones
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Franklin Pierce is a little known former president today except in New Hampshire where he is “a favorite son” as that state’s only president. There are meeting rooms in hotels that are named for him as well as a historic site. So far as the rest of nation is concerned, historians rate him as one of the worst presidents for reasons that will become obvious later.
Franklin was “a political boy wonder” when he was in his 20s. He was elected to the New Hampshire State Legislature when he was 24 and became that body’s speaker when he was 26. He won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives when he was 28 and moved up to the Senate when he was 32. He was considered to be a competent Senator although below the elite names such as Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun and Daniel Webster. He generally supported the Democratic Party on the major issues of the day.
Frank enjoyed the social life in Washington and was well liked. He enjoyed a good night out with the boys, and in more modern terms, his friends might have called him “a good drinking buddy.” People liked him, and he was described as compliant and easy going.
Frank’s wife, Jane, was the daughter of Congregationalist minister. She was shy and introverted and didn’t care for Frank’s drinking and his circle of Washington friends. She finally forced him to resign his Senate seat in 1842. The couple moved back Concord, New Hampshire, where Frank practiced law and was active in state politics. Pierce supported James K. Polk for president in 1844, and was rewarded with an appointment to be the U.S. district attorney for the state.
Frank enlisted as private in the volunteers who went off to fight the Mexican War in May 1846, When the war broke out, he was rapidly rose to the rank of brigadier general, but his tour of duty was not a pleasant one. Early in the campaign his horse bolted and drove his groin into the pommel of his saddle resulting in a painful injury. Later he wrenched his knee twice and also passed out from the heat on two occasions. His political opponents would make note of this when he ran for president.
Frank was bored with the quiet life in New Hampshire and longed to get back to Washington. Without telling his wife, he made it known to his friends in 1852 that he would be available for the presidential nomination if the opportunity were to arise.
There were four leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1852. Lewis Cass of Michigan, who had lost in 1848, once more threw his hat into the ring. James Buchanan of Pennsylvania was popular in the South and his home state. Stephen Douglas of Illinois was popular with those who wanted to expand the nation and the railroad interests. Finally William Marcy of New York was popular in his powerful, all important state.
The convention was dead locked for 48 ballots. Each of the leading contenders polled the most votes at one time or another, but none of them were able to get the two-thirds majority that was requited for the nomination. In the end, dark horse candidate, Franklin Pierce, who had not received a vote until the 35th ballot came away with the prize on the 49th polling of the delegates.
Normally a political convention bloodbath like that would have posed grave problems for the Democrats, but the Whigs were in even worse shape. The Whig Party had never been cohesive unit. The only issue that united them was a hatred for Andrew Jackson, and he had been dead for seven years. Now the party was coming apart at the seams over the slavery issue. The “Cotton Whigs” of the South favored the continuation and spread of slavery to new territories. The “Conscience Whigs” who were mostly in the North were at least opposed to expanding slave territory, and beyond that a growing number favored emancipation.
The Whigs nominated General Winfield Scott for president. Scott had been the co-hero of the Mexican War along with Zachary Taylor and had been the party’s runner up to Taylor for the nomination in 1848. At six feet, five inches tall, Scott was an imposing figure who had a long and impressive military record. Unfortunately, he had crumbing party behind him, and he was known to be a spit and polish military man which earned him the less than positive nick name, “Old fuss and feathers.” Had Scott been 10 years younger and 75 to 100 pounds lighter, the Civil War might have been or shorter duration, but I’ll explain that later if there is interest.
Winfield Scott’s campaign tokens emphasized his military credentials. Some of them listed the battles he had won during the Mexican War. Another piece recalled the fact that he had been wounded in action at Lundy’s Lane during the War of 1812.
Wounded at Lundys' Lane ...
Here is a white metal piece, with some tin pest for good measure, that was issued during the 1852 campaign. This is largest of the Scott campaign pieces, which is listed as WS-1852-1 in DeWitt/Sullivan. The dies were cut by a die sinker named Leonard, and perhaps someone could help me with his first name. He tried to get a job at the U.S. mint, but for reasons that might seem obvious, his talents were not up to it.
And here is a restrike that was made in the 1860s for collectors in bronze. It’s much nicer, of course, but it was made after the election. The mintage was only 25 pieces for this piece.
The Franklin Pierce campaign did not issue very many varieties of tokens, but fortunately for a collectors a couple of them are fairly common. Here is corresponding piece that Leonard made for Piece. This is an original 1852 issue and it is quite rare with probably less than 10 known.
You will note that it refers to “General F. Pierce.” This was an attempt to get some political mileage from Pierce’s service in the Mexican War. In the 19th century military experience was big plus for a presidential campaign.
Unfortunately Pierce’s opponents jumped his drinking problems and his war record. One slogan referred to him as “The general who never lost a bottle.”
Louisville newspaper went into more detail:
“Pierce tumbled from his horse just as he was getting ready for one fight … fainted and fell in the opening of the second … got sick and had to go to bed on the eve of the third, and came pretty near to getting into a fourth, missing it only by an hour.”
Here are the two most common Franklin Pierce medals. Both of these pieces are fairly common.
Despite the mismatch in qualifications, Franklin Pierce easily won the 1852 presidential election. Not long after that the Whig Party essentially disintegrated. The Republican Party would arise from many of its ashes.
To be continued if you like. I know that this was long.
Comments
"Without telling his wife, he made it known to his friends in 1852 that he would be available for the presidential nomination if the opportunity were to arise."
"Oh, hey. honey, by the way, the guys nominated me for president the other day. Just thought you'd like to know."
Great series, great stories, great pics, great stuff.
A little less than two months before Pierce took the Oath of Office, Franklin, Jane and their only surviving child, Bennie were preparing to take a train from Andover, Massachusetts to Concord, New Hampshire to attend the funeral of a friend. Minutes before departure, their passenger car broke loose and rolled down an embankment. Their son, Bennie, was killed before their very eyes. He was the only fatality on the train.
The event shattered Jane Pierce's fragile mental condition. She said that Bennie's death was God's will because it would now free Franklin from family responsibilities and allow him to concentrate on the presidency. She suffered a mental collapse and spent the first two years of Franklin's term on the second floor of the White House.
The next post were cover Franklin Pierce's efforts to make the slave holders happy.
“The general who never lost a bottle.”
Love it!
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Great historical pieces and information Bill... Thanks, I really enjoy your posts that cover historical figures and events. Cheers, RickO
Franklin Pierce owed a great deal to the slaving holding South for his presidency, and he seemed to have a special place in his spirit for the Southern Cause as his later statements would indicate. Here is a list of the pro-southern actions and positions he took during his presidency.
The Kansas – Nebraska Act 1854 – Pierce signed this bill which allowed the citizens of the Kansas and Nebraska territories decide if they wanted slavery in their states when they joined the Union. There was no chance of slavery in Nebraska, but pro slavery forces poured into Kansas from neighboring Missouri to pass pro-slavery legislation. The result was a mini civil war that would pre-stage the tragic events that would follow.
The Ostend Manifesto – Slave holders had long wanted to take Cuba and make it into a slaving holding state as a part of The United States. In secret negotiations, Pierce instructed his secretary of state to purchase Cuba from Spain. If those negotiations failed, Pierce believed that it would right for The United States to take the island by force. Word of this plan leaked out to the press, Pierce was forced to give up on the project.
Nicaragua – William Walker was the most successful of a group of “filibusters” who advocated extending U.S. territory into South America. The goal was to make these countries slave holding states. Walker with a group of “adventurers” took control of Nicaragua, and Walker set himself up as a president / dictator. Pierce gave diplomatic recognition to Walker’s government, with an eye toward making Nicaragua a state at some time in the future. Ultimately the Nicaraguans overthrew Walker and executed him ending the adventure.
Pierce’s role in the Kansas – Nebraska Act plus his inability to put down the violence there made him unacceptable to the members of his own Democratic Party. Despite that fact that he wanted the nomination for a second term, the Democrats at the 1856 convention refused to give it to him. It is highly unusual for a sitting president to be denied a second nomination, when he wanted it, no matter how bad his first administration was.
After he failed to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 1856, it was reported that he said, "Well I guess there's nothing else to do but to go get drunk."
Postscript
After his presidency Pierce took his wife to Europe and the Bahamas in an effort to lift her from her depressed state. Nothing worked. Jane died of tuberculosis in 1863.
As the Civil War approached, Pierce spoke out in favor of the South and warned the Federal Government not to curb slavery. He denounced Lincoln for fighting the war and yet supported maintaining the Union and opposed secession.
On July 4, 1863, Pierce gave an address in which he denounced the Civil War as “fearful, fruitless, fatal civil war … prosecuted … upon the theory of emancipation, devastation and subjugation … How futile are all our efforts to maintain the Union by force of arms.” Pierce was voicing the position of the copperheads, and he became a very unpopular figure in his native New England. He was denounced as a traitor and his former friends and neighbors abandoned him. On the night of Lincoln’s assassination, an angry mob threatened his home.
By the end of war, he was drinking heavily. By 1869 he had developed cirrhosis of liver and died in October.
Historians rate Franklin Pierce as the second worst president. He would have been the worst had he been in office when the Union dissolved.
Here are some additional 1852 Winfield Scott tokens. This is the most common variety. The size and the reverse resembled a $10 gold piece, which was one of the ways token makers used draw attention their products.
This is another common Scott token.
Have heard from dealers that it is very hard get these political tokens these days, even the common ones. The mintages on these pieces were low, and many pieces were discarded after the elections. In the 1990s when I started collecting these pieces, there more tokens than collectors. Now the situation has reversed.
In addition the pieces in white metal have not stood up well. White metal is easily scratched and did not stand up well to any sort of use in circulation or as a pocket piece. In addition white metal is suseptable to "tin pest" when can result in corrosion.