Mr. Wallner talked about his book Franklin Pierce: New Hampshire’s Favorite Son, published by Plaidswede Publishing during Pierce’s bicentennial year. Mr. Wallner said that Pierce may be the least-known, least-studied president (1853-1857). He is often blamed for the Kansas-Nebraska Act and for the coming of the Civil War as a result. He mentioned some of Pierce’s close friends such as Stephen A. Douglas, Daniel Webster, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Jefferson Davis (who was a member of Pierce’s cabinet). Other topics included anti-immigration, problems with Great Britain over Central America and Cuba, slavery, and the war with Mexico.