Help celebrate Franklin Pierce’s 203rd birthday

Bow Editor — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:20:00 GMT

Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, said of his departure to fight in the Mexican War: “I will return with honor or not at all.”

Now the only U.S. president to ever hail from New Hampshire is back as a limited edition bobblehead issued by the New Hampshire Historical Society on the 150th anniversary of Pierce’s presidency.

To celebrate, the Society will throw an unveiling party on Nov. 23, which is Pierce’s 203rd birthday. Stop by the Society’s library, located at 30 Park St. in Concord, anytime between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. to enjoy a piece of birthday cake and to be one of the first to get a Franklin Pierce bobblehead going on sale that day. Admission to the event is free.

First available in January 2006, the Society’s series of historical bobbleheads has paid tribute to Revolutionary War hero General John Stark, statesman and orator Daniel Webster, New Hampshire’s Great Stone Face, Sarah Josepha Hale — the “Mother of Thanksgiving,” and Neil Tillotson, the New Hampshire inventor and entrepreneur who cast the first vote in every U.S. presidential election from 1960 to 2000.

Franklin Pierce (1804-1869) served his country during one of the most tumultuous periods of American history. Born in Hillsborough, at the age 48 Franklin Pierce was the youngest man yet elected president of the United States. In an early speech Pierce made clear that, in the face of turmoil, he would not abandon his fervent belief in the Constitution and his desire to preserve the Union, despite the consequences.

“Some men are so constituted that they do not incline to bow before a storm,” Pierce said.

The Pierce bobblehead is available exclusively through the New Hampshire Historical Society. The eight-inch figurine is a replica of a young Franklin Pierce, dressed in black, with an elegant head of hair that was the calling card of the man known as “Handsome Frank.”

The base is inscribed with a quote from the president who sought to hold his nation together: “The Union! Eternal Union!” The Franklin Pierce bobbleheads retail for $15.95 and are available at the Society’s library (30 Park St., Concord) and museum (6 Eagle Square, Concord), as well as online at nhhistory.org.

Release of the Piece bobblehead this year coincides with the publication of the second volume of Peter A. Wallner’s new biography of Pierce, “Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union.”

The biography offers a fresh and in-depth look at Pierce’s life from his first days as president until his death in 1869.

It includes many stories illuminating Pierce’s life in the White House and his relationships with his wife Jane and contemporary personalities including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jefferson Davis, Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. Copies of Wallner’s two-volume biography will be available for purchase, and the author will be on hand to sign books.

While at the library, plan to see New Hampshire: A Proven Primary Tradition, a new exhibition of the New Hampshire Historical Society and the New Hampshire Political Library.

The exhibition looks at the impact New Hampshire’s primary has on the national presidential nominating process and examines how the state’s political culture and traditions have shaped its first-in-the-nation role. The colorful retrospective adds to our appreciation for the New Hampshire primary and reinforces the importance of our own participation in the political process.

New Hampshire: A Proven Primary Tradition is sponsored by Rath, Young and Pignatelli, Boston Private Value Investors, the Mount Washington Resort, and BaileyDonovan, with the New Hampshire Union Leader and WMUR-TV as media sponsors. The exhibition is on view through May 24.

Founded in 1823, the New Hampshire Historical Society is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving, preserving and sharing New Hampshire history. The Society serves thousands of children and adults each year through its Museum of New Hampshire History, research library, educational programs, publications, and outreach programs.

The Society is not a statefunded agency. All of its programs and services are made possible by membership dues and contributions. For more information about the Society and the benefits of membership, visit nhhistory.org or call 228- 6688.

Concord News : Franklin Pierce

Help celebrate Franklin Pierce’s 203rd birthday