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Primary sourceBook1852

The Life of Gen. Frank Pierce of New Hampshire

David W. Bartlett · 1852

A 1852 campaign biography of Franklin Pierce written by David W. Bartlett. It was published while Pierce was seeking the presidency.

Presents Pierce's life as a New Hampshire politician to voters during his 1852 presidential campaign.

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Red cloth-bound book cover with a white rectangular library label at top left reading E, 432, .B29 in handwritten black ink. No title is visible on the cover.
David W. Bartlett, The Life of Gen. Frank Pierce of New Hampshire, 1852. Library of Congress.

About this source

What it is

This is a red cloth-bound book, a contemporary campaign biography of Franklin Pierce written by David W. Bartlett and dated 1852. The image shows only the cover, which carries a white library label with a call number written in ink. No title is visible on the cover itself, so the title is taken from the catalogue record. The copy is held by a library.

Why it matters

Pierce was a New Hampshire politician, and this book presents his career to readers in the year he ran for president. Bartlett, who was born in 1828, wrote during the campaign, when books like this helped shape how voters judged candidates.

Look closer

  • The cover shows no title. What does that suggest about how the book was meant to be found and sold?
  • Who would have bought a biography of a candidate in 1852, and why?
  • How might Bartlett's position as a writer in the campaign affect what he chose to say about Pierce?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Franklin Pierce on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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