Bowdoin has a long history of impressive and impactful alumni, and we flaunt that history, with good reason. I felt a glimmer of pride at George Mitchell ’54’s speech last week, and I find it a beautiful coincidence that I developed a love for poetry at Longfellow’s alma mater. It’s important to recognize the rich history of the College and to honor those alumni who have made a positive influence. But what do we do with the history we don’t wish to market? 


I learned Franklin Pierce was an alumnus of the College sometime during my first year. Since then, all I’ve heard about him is that he wasn’t particularly impressive or well-liked. However, I didn’t really take this to mean much since I don’t usually assume the greatest things about our nation’s politicians. Not until a few days ago did I learn about the reason he wasn’t well-liked. 
“Did you know Franklin Pierce was an anti-abolitionist?” asked my housemate, Anthony, as we sat in the Pierce Reading room, on the second floor of the main library. 


I really didn’t have a clue about it. And a major reason for that is my own lack of research, but part of it is that no one really talks about it. Franklin Pierce was not just someone who had a problematic ideology; he was our nation’s president for four years and that problematic ideology guided his actions and the course of U.S. history. Although he claimed to be against slavery, he vehemently opposed the abolitionist movement and enforced the Fugitive Slave Act. It’s not pretty. While of course we have to understand any politician’s actions in the context of the society they lived in, there are certain policies that I can’t excuse in any context. Prolonging slavery and mandating the return of escaped slaves is beyond the logic of compassion, in any time period. 


So maybe that’s why we don’t talk about Franklin Pierce. It’s very obvious that his influence isn’t one most contemporary institutions would be proud of, particularly one that holds ideals like the Common Good so close to it’s heart. But whom is Bowdoin helping when it chooses to ignore Franklin Pierce’s harmful legacy? Who benefits from the illusion of a spotless history? If we don’t honestly address our past, progress becomes an illusion, too. 


Bowdoin College was founded as an elite institution that catered to the most privileged segment of New England society. Therefore, it is implicated in all of the inequality and ideology that elite institutions perpetuated for a very long time. Admitting women into the College in 1971 does not mean Bowdoin didn’t help institutionalize sexism; admitting John Russwurm in 1824 doesn’t mean Bowdoin didn’t help institutionalize racism in the decades prior. Let us never forget who this College was founded for. Let us never assume that progress will come to the College without us working towards it. 


I want more conversations about Franklin Pierce’s legacy. I want more conversations about the actions and products of Bowdoin that we aren’t so proud of. I want Bowdoin to recognize its complicity in the perpetuation of social attitudes that aren’t always healthy. If Bowdoin is to be an agent of progress, we have to be open with what we want to change about ourselves rather than working to create the illusion of a faultless institution.