Historian and biographer Peter A. Wallner notes that:[189]

History has accorded to the Pierce administration a share of the blame for policies that incited the slavery issue, hastened the collapse of the second party system, and brought on the Civil War.  ... It is both an inaccurate and unfair judgment. Pierce was always a nationalist attempting to find a middle ground to keep the Union together.  ... The alternative to attempting to steer a moderate course was the breakup of the Union, the Civil War and the deaths of more than six hundred thousand Americans.  Pierce should not be blamed for attempting throughout his political career to avoid this fate.
See also
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New Hampshire portal
List of deaths through alcohol
New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 80: Franklin Pierce 1804–1869
Notes
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^ Vice President King died in office. 