Franklin Pierce Coloring Page
November 22 is Franklin Pierce’s birthday. So, in honor of the 14th President of the United States, today I am sharing this Franklin Pierce Coloring Page.
Pierce presided over our country during troubled times. He faced personal tragedy, losing his 11-year-old son in a train wreck just two short months before taking office. But he also faced national trials as tension between pro-slavery and abolitionist forces mounted.
He had hoped to appease both groups, believing that “While men inhabiting different parts of this vast continent cannot be expected to hold the same opinions, they can unite in a common objective and sustain common principles.” But he ended up pleasing neither and grossly underestimated how committed each side was to their beliefs.
In an insultingly unprecedented move, Pierce’s own Democratic party refused to run him for a second term, passing him over instead for a notoriously pro-slavery zealot, James Buchanan. As the Democratic party moved further and further to the left, its more conservative members abandoned it altogether and joined the newly formed, anti-slavery Republican party — a trend that continues today as the gap between both parties’ ideologies grows increasingly wider.
Yet Pierce loved our country: “I can express no better hope for my country,” he avowed, “than that the kind Providence which smiled upon our fathers may enable their children to preserve the blessings they have inherited.”
And, whether he always acted on the knowledge or not, Pierce recognized the futility of trusting in worldly wisdom: “But let not the foundation of our hope rest upon man’s wisdom. It will not be sufficient that sectional prejudices find no place in the public deliberations. It will not be sufficient that the rash counsels of human passion are rejected. It must be felt that there is no national security but in the nation’s humble, acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling providence.”
I agree with that last quote 100%. My hope is not in human institutions or political parties or social reforms. It is in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. And I am likewise persuaded that a humble dependence upon God and a heartfelt acknowledgement of His sovereignty is not only the best source of national security, but of personal peace, as well.
More American Heritage Printables
Want more fun printables for folks who love America and long for it to be great again? You can browse through all of our past patriotic posts by following this link: American Heritage Printables. And for more great quotes from our past commanders-in-chief, check out this President’s Day post.
Or maybe you’d prefer a bound volume. If so, check out my devotional journals. The one in the center of the lineup below, God Bless America, was made just for patriotic citizens like you.
Packed with inspiring thoughts from our founding fathers and other great Americans, this journal will inspire you to think deeply about what it means to be a citizen of this great country. What is our responsibility to the rest of the world? How do we ensure the guiding principles on which our nation was established are never forgotten? Consider how you feel about these matters and use the space provided to write down your thoughts.
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