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Volume CXXXIII, Number 4 |
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Fessenden & Hyde
KID WONGSRICHANALAI
Staff Writer
As William Pitt Fessenden, Bowdoin class of 1823, prepared
to depart his beloved state of Maine for the United States House of Representatives
in 1841, another Bowdoin graduate was winding down his stay in the District
of Columbia. Franklin Pierce, Bowdoin class of 1824 and son to the Revolutionary
War General Benjamin Pierce, had enjoyed a pleasant life after graduating
from Bowdoin.
Pierce married Jane Means Appleton, daughter of former Bowdoin
president Jesse Appleton in 1834. It was a strange and tragic love affair
for both of them since Jane Appleton suffered from both physical and psychological
problems. In addition to this the future president's wife also had an
extreme aversion to politics and politicians. Their marriage was not helped
by the fact that their first two children died while they were relatively
young. But whatever the tragedies and issues, Jane Appleton stayed with
Franklin Pierce until her dying day.
Pierce served two terms in the House of Representatives,
arriving in time to witness President Andrew Jackson's war on the Bank
of the United States. His time in the House was spent dealing with committees,
boundary disputes, the independence of Texas, and in time, the rise of
the abolitionist sentiment. In 1837 Pierce became a Senator and with his
personal hatred for the abolitionist cause guiding him, he began an unimpressive
career in the Senate. It was here that he stayed until his resignation
in 1842, a year after William Pitt Fessenden came to Washington.
Fessenden was not new to the District of Columbia. He had
been there before but for good measure, his father, General Samuel Fessenden
rode with him to the nation's capital in May of 1841. After his election,
rumors began to grow that Fessenden was an abolitionist. This was probably
due to his father's influence that Samuel Fessenden was the leader of
the abolitionist movement in the state of Maine. Young Pitt, however,
publicly proclaimed that, "I am not and never have been a member
of any Abolition Society." Fessenden was certainly no southern sympathizer
but he also believed, like Lincoln, that radical abolitionism was not
the way to go.
In the election of 1840, the Whigs had successfully placed
one of their own in power. William Henry Harrison, a well-known soldier
and the Whig candidate had won the White House. Things were looking up
for the disorganized and divided party, until their president-elect fell
ill and died a month into his first term. The vice-president, Virginian
John Tyler was thus placed in President Harrison's vacated chair. While
Tyler had proclaimed himself a Whig, he was really more of a Democrat,
and thus the break that the Whig leaders had hoped for was denied them
once again.
Fessenden served on the House Committee on Naval Affairs
and began to flex his financial muscles. He spoke in favor of a bill that
would increase national security. The border dispute between Maine and
Great Britain was still in the air, and Fessenden certainly did not want
to be unprepared should the empire turn its guns on young America once
again. Knowing when to save, as well as spend, Fessenden voted against
a bill that would have given a substantial sum of money to the defense
of Portland harbor forts. Fessenden argued that there had been no request
for such money and giving the money away would be a simple waste. Obviously
his friends in Maine did not see eye to eye with him and a few questioned
his intentions.
For the rest of his time in Washington, Fessenden felt more
and more disgusted with life in the capital city. Whigs bickered amongst
themselves, fought the President and basically spelled their own doom.
Fessenden was disappointed in his party members and was further disgusted
by the actions of southern politicians, especially Virginians. He considered
them to be spoiled, "selfish, hair-splitting, senseless animals."
And he considered the President, "the weakest of the lot."
In 1843 Fessenden left Washington to return home to his
beloved Portland. A year earlier, Franklin Pierce had retired from the
Senate and returned to a life of practicing law as well. There would be
a long lull in the life of Pitt Fessenden, but Pierce would see action
soon enough as the United States prepared to go to war with Mexico.
Elsewhere, across the Atlantic Ocean two American tourists,
having a grand time in the countries of Europe, had an unexpected delay
in Florence, Italy. It was here in 1841, while Fessenden and Pierce were
winding down their early political careers, that Thomas Worchester Hyde
was born.
Next Week: Mr. Pierce goes to Mexico.
To view a full version of the entire series (including source
citations) please visit my website. (This site includes the Chamberlain
and Howard Series and is updated weekly during the school year) at: http://www.bowdoin.edu/~kwongsri
Also, please send comments and ideas to: kwongsri@bowdoin.edu