Please join us during Art 'Round Town for our current exhibit "First in the Nation: New Hampshire Primaries – 1920-2020" in the third-floor Randall Gallery.

Both scholars and the public remember Franklin Pierce, the only person from New Hampshire elected to the American Presidency, as one of the nation’s worst chief executives, largely because he exacerbated the sectional crisis that led to the Civil War. Pierce is often portrayed as a political lightweight without strong opinions who often served the interests of others. Such an image does not recognize the political principles that guided him throughout much of his career. This talk will focus on Pierce’s political ideas, particularly his commitment to the Union, which his actions, ironically, did so much to tear asunder.

Hugh Dubrulle received his BA in History from Pomona College and his MA and PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has taught courses on modern Europe and military history in the History Department at Saint Anselm College for over twenty years. Dubrulle is the author of Ambivalent Nation: How Britain Imagined the American Civil War (LSU Press, 2018). He he is currently working on a book about the experience of Civil War soldiering in the 5th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry.

For more information and to sign up, please click on the link below.

https://portsmouthathenaeum.org/event/2024-lecture-series-the-paradox-of-franklin-pierces-politics-with-hugh-dubrelle/

Please note, the original presenters Paula Fortner and Phyllis Gagnon were regrettably unable to present the lecture on Franklin Pierce. Happily, St. Anselm College Prof. Hugh Dubrulle has accepted our invitation to deliver his own lecture that evening on the 14th President. We apologize for any inconvenience.