Pierce Administration - Pierce's Advisers

Pierce's Advisers

Franklin Pierce was the first president who appointed a new cabinet after his election, and then retained each member during his entire administration. This was in light of the fact that Pierce's goal was to award all factions of the Democratic Party, who were often at odds with each other, with important positions. Once in place, the cabinet ran the executive branch with little interference from Pierce, who lapsed into a sort of paralysis in part due to the trauma of witnessing his child die in a train wreck shortly before his inauguration. For whatever reason, Pierce proved to be incapable of executive decision.

William L. Marcy, Pierce's secretary of state, was a Democrat who remained loyal to the party when the anti-slavery Democratic "Barnburners" of 1848 left to join the Free Soilers, a small rural party opposed to slavery. Marcy oversaw the efforts of U.S. diplomats to expand U.S. territory and...

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