Jane Appleton Pierce was married to Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth President of the United States. According to history books, there are several ways Franklin and Jane became husband and wife. The primary assumption is they met through a family member or a friend at Bowdoin University. Franklin is known to be a handsome, articulate politician with the love of alcohol. He reveled in the hustle and bustle of Washington. Jane was a petite, shy religious woman. And as a middle child, she preferred the quiet life in New Hampshire. Also, Jane's life was full of tragedies that would keep her in mourning for the better part of Franklin's political career.

Jane was prone to depression and anxiety, she complained constantly about colds and ill health. She was quite small and ate very little, there is a small chance Jane was anorexic. However, at that time the common cause for her illness would be considered consumption or maybe even tuberculosis. Jane gave birth to the first of three sons in 1836, and he died two days later. Their second son came in 1839, Frank Robert. During that time Franklin had gone from being a Democratic Congressman from New Hampshire to Senator in the United States.

When Franklin was elected to the Senate, he was the youngest Senator of his time. He eagerly moved to Washington DC and Jane relented for a few years before coming down from New Hampshire to be with her husband. Jane blamed politics and the people in Washington DC for her husband's excessive drinking. Franklin took great pleasure in the activity of politics, he was a caring, compassionate man yet his wife showed no joy in his happiness and his mixed feelings of politics and family gave him more reason to turn to alcoholic consumption. She despised being a political wife and avoided most social duties by using her poor health. Jane developed a hacking cough and her use of paregoric, (opium flavored with camphor, aniseed, and benzoic acid). During this time, however, Jane gave birth to their third son, Benjamin.

In 1842 Jane was able to persuade Franklin to resign his seat in the Senate and leave Washington. They returned to New Hampshire with their two young sons, Frank Robert and Benjamin. They moved to Concord, where Franklin purchased their first home and Jane was happy to begin her life as wife and mother in their home together. Unfortunately, a year later Frank Robert died and sent Jane back into the depths of depression and another bout of health issues.

One year after her second son's death, Jane's mother passed away. Franklin stayed committed to his wife and son, Benjamin, declining several offers of political positions. Even the offer to be appointed Attorney General of New Hampshire, by President Polk. His response to a letter from him to the President said, "When I resigned my seat in the Senate in 1842, I did it with a fixed purpose never again to be voluntarily separated from my family for any considerable length of time except at the call of my country in time of war."

Then in 1847 war did break out on the Mexican border, and like his father and two older brothers, Revolutionary War heroes, Franklin joined as a private and was sent to Mexico. Jane was devasted when Franklin volunteered, and he hired a woman to stay with his family while away. Eventually, Jane left her home in Concord to stay with her sister, Mary. Once Jane received news of Franklin's injury and his return home Jane's mood changed and she was proud and excited for his return. Franklin was dubbed a hero in the war and was promoted to general. Even though rumor of his fall from temperance surrounded his time away, his exploits as a war hero overshadowed them. What Jane did not expect from her husband's bravery was a role in Washington once again.

The four years after the war ended Franklin divulged in heavy drinking while faithfully promoting temperance. The powers that be in Washington kept a watchful eye on him. Jane's health was improving, and he stayed in politics by being a leader in the local Democratic Party.

In 1852 Franklin was asked by former colleagues if he would be a candidate for President at the Democratic Convention. His close friend, Nathan Hawthorne did most of the persuading. Franklin kept the details from Jane until a week before the convention. He did not attend the convention and convinced Jane his name on the ballot was just a formality of political shenanigans and he would never be nominated. When Jane heard the news that her husband had won, she fainted. Jane felt betrayed by Franklin. However, Franklin had mixed feelings about the nomination, knowing full well his wife's health would be adversely affected.

Jane refused to participate in campaigning with Franklin, yet he won, and she was needed to represent him in the White House. They traveled from New Hampshire to Washington by train two days before the inauguration. This is when the most tragic event happened in their lives. The train ran off the tracks and threw the passengers in all different directions, their only son, Benjamin was killed in the accident as they witnessed his decapitation. Jane went into complete mourning for two whole years. The White House was shrouded with black. The social events the Washingtonians were accustomed to, were gone, and they lost their patience with the First Lady.

Jane seldom left her room and when she did, she was seen carrying her son's bible. She wrote letters to him daily. The press in those days did not cover the personalities and daily activities of the First Lady as they do now. She was an absent spouse and support for the President that was dealing with his grief as well as the issues of the nation. The couple was stanch abolitionists yet there was no effort on Franklin's part to divert the looming Civil War that was in the making.

If there was a First Lady that could be considered ineffective, it is Jane Appleton Pierce. However, it's based on the circumstances of her life that caused her ineffectiveness. Years after they left the White House and traveled the world as ambassador's Jane was a different woman, a caring loving attentive wife without the stress and interference politics.