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The Life of Gen. Franklin Pierce, Democratic candidate for president, 1852

1852

A campaign biography of Franklin Pierce published in 1852, while he was running for president. It is a book-length account written during his lifetime.

Shows how Pierce was presented to voters during his 1852 presidential campaign, before he took office in 1853.

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Front cover of a red cloth-bound book with library call number E 432 .L72 in white at the top left and a Library of Congress barcode label with the number 00005023701 near the bottom.
The Life of Gen. Franklin Pierce, Democratic candidate for president, 1852. Library of Congress.

About this source

What it is

This is a printed campaign biography of Franklin Pierce, the Democratic candidate for president in 1852. The book is held by the Library of Congress, and the catalogue record lists Pierce as its subject. The image in this archive shows only the front cover, a red cloth binding with a library call number and a barcode label. The facts do not name the author, so the writer is unknown from this record.

Why it matters

Campaign biographies were popular in American elections of the 1850s. They presented a candidate's life in the most favorable light for voters. This book shows how Pierce's supporters wanted the public to see him just before he won the presidency in 1852 and took office in 1853.

Look closer

  • What does the cover tell you about the book, and what does it not tell you?
  • Why might a campaign want to publish a life story of its candidate in a book?
  • What parts of Pierce's life would a friendly biography be likely to leave out?

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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