President Franklin Piece (in office 1853 to 1857) had a sad personal life. His wife, Jane, was still angry at him after he accepted the 1852 Democratic Party nomination for president behind her back. Things got much worse after they watched their last surviving child die in from of their eyes in a railroad accident. Jane told her husband it was “God’s will” because now he could devote all of his time to the presidency. Jane Piece had a mental breakdown. She retired to the second floor of the White House and stayed there. She spent her days grieving and writing letters to her dead son. In the meantime, Franklin directed his presidency toward pleasing the interests of slaveowners. The policy of most northern politicians was to resist adding any more slave states in the areas that had been won for the U.S. from the Mexican War. Senator Stephen Douglas tried to break that policy with his Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. It allowed the people of Kansas to vote if they wanted slavery in their territory, which would become a state. Men on both sides flooded into the state and started killing each other in what would be a preview of the Civil War. Men called “filibusters” called for the U.S. to take control of Central and South American countries and make them into new slave states. Cuba was the big prize. A proposal called the Ostend Manifesto called for the U.S. to buy Cuba from Spain for up to $120 million, which was a staggering sum in those days. If Spain won’t sell it, the U.S. would take by force. This plan went nowhere. The most successful filibuster was William Walker. He led a rebellion in Nicaragua in 1855 and installed himself as dictator. Franklin Piece was open to the idea of making Nicaragua a state, but Walker was deposed and later executed. It was this backdrop that greeted Democrats when they held their convention to nominate a presidential candidate in 1856. Piece wanted the nomination, but Democrats dropped him. It was highly unusual to deny an incumbent, elected president the nomination. Instead they nominated James Buchanan James Buchanan had been running for president since the 1840s. He had an impressive resume of jobs held which is shown on this token. This led to Democrats to claim that the crisis over slavery, which was threatening the Union “demanded his election.” On the lighter side, Buchanan Democrats issued this rebus token when spelled out his name with symbols, “buck – cannon.” Most Buchanan pieces are not very popular and bring modest prices, this one is the exception. It is rare and worth few thousand dollars. The newly formed Republican Party nominated John C. Fremont. Fremont had made a name for himself as an exporter. He was a strong abolitionist although his campaign presented that position in a subtle way. The word “free” was repeatedly mentioned on his tokens. His exploits as an explorer are presented on this handsome piece with Fremont conducting a survey in the foreground and the U.S. Capitol in the background. There was a third party candidate in the race, former president Millard Filmore. Filmore had been the vice president under Zachary Taylor who died in office. He hoped to get back in the White House, but he had been a member of the Whig Party, which had almost completely dissolved. Filmore hung his hopes on running as the candidate for the American or “Know Nothing” Party. They stood against immigrates and Catholics and wanted to limit the civil rights of both groups. Filmore’s personal views did not match the xenophobic, Know Nothing agenda, but they gave him the chance to become president once more. Here is a subtle presentation of the Know Nothing platform on this token. And here is a more direct one. This piece is very scarce and never seems to come nice. I have seen only two or three of them offered during my time as a collector. This piece summed up the hopes, dreams and aspirations of every candidate. Everyone knew that the Union was in trouble, and any politician who aspired to be president was groping for a solution. In the general election, Buchanan won with 174 electoral votes to 114 for Fremont. Filmore won only Maryland with 8 electoral votes. Fremont captured all of the northern states. Buchanan took all of the Southern states plus those on the border. The results were a sign of what was to come.
Great write up as usual and fascinating reading. Auto-correct was nice enough to change Pierce to piece for you.
