[USA] - 14th President of the USA Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce	Birth: 23 November 1804
	Died: 8 October 1869
	Party: Democrat
	Presidency: 1853 – 1857
	Vice President: William R. King
	Nickname: Handsome Frank

 

● Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was a network of collaborators that helped slaves escape to the North. For those following through the Underground Railroad, the North Star was an indicator for the slaves to head north.

 

 

The Underground Railroad consisted of conscious white people which most were believed to be ‘Quakers’. Also, there were ‘conductors’ who would lead the slaves from the south to the north.

 

 

Harriet Tubman was one of the most active conductors along the Underground Railroads who was a runaway slave herself. She led almost 300 slaves including her family by the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman was nicknamed ‘Moses of Her People’.

Later on, she would also help the Northern Union Army during the Civil War as a scout. Harriet Tubman would scout the unfamiliar terrain for the Union Army and even led armed assaults against the Federation Troops.

 

 

Harriet Tubman

 

● The Gadsden Purchase & Ostend Manifesto

Franklin Pierce’s administration negotiated terms to purchase the southern parts of Nex Mexico and Arizona with the Mexican government in 1853.

With a trade of 10 million dollars, the territory of present-day Arizona and New Mexico that included Tucson was admitted to the United States.

 

 

This deal was named the Gadsden Purchase. The amount of territory obtained by the Gadsden Purchase may be much less than the Louisiana Purchase or the Mexico Cession, however the Gadsden Purchase became the deal which drew the outline of the current United States of America border.

 

 

Franklin Pierce and his cabinet also attempted to purchase the island of Cuba from Spain. The Secretary of State William Marcy and the US minister to Spain Pierre Soule would meet with US ministers to Great Britain and France to consult strategies for the purchase of Cuba.

 

 

This was called the Ostend Manifesto of 1854. William Marcy and Pierre Soule were willing to declare war on Spain if they refused to the Ostend Manifesto which planned to offer a 120 million dollar trade for the Spain occupied Cuban island.

Eventually, the Ostend Manifesto was leaked to the public by the media and the secret plans became obsolete due to great oppositions by the congress and public.

 

 

● The Kansas-Nebraska Act

Construction of railroads would benefit any kind of region which would allow the increase of trades, means of transportation and lift the economy.

Senator Stephen Douglass eagerly hosted the construction of railroads throughout the whole nation. Stephen Douglass wanted to expand the route from Chicago to the west even further.

 

 Stephen Douglass

 

However, the southern slavery states tried to take advantage of the construction of railroads as they lacked political power in the senate. The congressmen from the southern states declared that they would only allow railroad construction for states that support slavery. This itself was like putting a knife on one’s own thought.

 

 

However, Stephen Douglas proposes the Kansas-Nebraska Act that would divide the previously un-defined Nebraska territory to two Nebraska in the north and Kansas in the south so he could satisfy the southern and continue on the railroad extensino. He suggested dividing the territory into two and let Nebraska and Kansas vote for their own preference of slavery.

 

 

This compromise would satisfy the southern states as the Kansas region seemed to favor slavery as it bordered close to the southern part of the US. However, the Kansas-Nebraska Act directly violated the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Both Kansas and Nebraska were north of the 36°30′ which was set by the Missouri Compromise.

The Missouri Compromise stated all territory north of 36°30′ to be free state. The Kansas-Nebraska Act caused great controversy and violence in Kansas that would be called ‘Bleeding Kansa’.

 

 

● Bleeding Kansas - Violence in Kansas   

Despite the great controversy of violating the Missouri Compromise, the senate passes the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Nobody knew that this act would become the prelude of the Civil War. Both anti-slavery supporters and pro-slavery supporters swarmed into Kansas for the vote of slavery or free state.

 

 

‘Free-Soilers’ who wanted to abolish slavery and proslavery gangs such as the Border Ruffians from Missouri were one of those that swarmed into Kansas.

The governor of Kansas attempted to stop these illegal non-state citizens; however, it couldn’t be prevented. Radical political supporters such as the Free-Soilers and the Border Ruffians caused violence in Kansas which became a ‘civil war’ within Kansas.

The series of incidents included radical abolitionist John Brown’s assault and these incidents were collectively named Bleeding Kansas as almost 200 people were killed during these incidents.

 

 

The violence wasn’t limited in Kansas and occurred even at the senate. Pro-slavery politician Preston Brooks from South Carolina assaulted Charles Sumner of Massachusetts after Charles Sumner delivered a deliberate speech against pro-slavery politicians.

 

 

● Railroads 

During the 1850s, the railroads were aggressively expanding in the United States. 21,000 miles (About 34,000km) of railroads were constructed only during the 1850’s.

As the United States expanded vastly and even connected the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, the establishment of the railroad infrastructure was crucial for the future of the Untied States.

 

 

● Levi’s and Blue Jeans

Levi Strauss was a German immigrant who traveled to San Francisco as a part of the Gold Rush. Levi Strauss had a good supply of a blue cotton textile that was called denim. Levi Strauss realized that the miners of the Gold Rush needed a good supply of working clothes.

 

 

Levi created ‘blue jeans’ out of the denim supply he had which was rigid enough for miners. Levi Strauss’s business would later become the current day famous Levi’s brand that distributes the iconic blue jeans of Levi Strauss and fashion worldwide.

 

 

● Whaling

Herman Melville published his famous novel Moby Dick in 1851.

Whaling was an important industry blubber which means the whale’s fat was important for the fabric industry, lubrication of machinery, candle wax and oil lamps that would light the dark before the invention of electricity.

 

 

Whales had these massive blubbers for buoyancy to float on the ocean and for energy and the unique long chain carbohydrate combinations fat was only produced by whales.

Commercial whaling was an important industry but a very dangerous occupation as well. Moby Dick describes the dangerous whaling which was also described as the Nantucket sleighride during these periods.