they also took the little writing desk and chair that belonged to franklin pierce. this room would have been used as the guest room. however, the bed that's in this room is a small bed, and we think this belonged to benny pierce. it's been refinished and lengthened so it fits in a doubt. this is the master bedroom of the pierce manse and the room franklin and jane would have used. this is the room where their second son frankie died of typhus when he was 4 years old. this was a blow to jane and franklin. he was the apple of their eye, quite an interesting little character, according to her letters. and they were devastated by his death and jane was in mourning quite a long time over frankie's death. >> i think a big house especially with only one child now was too much for jane to take care of. i don't think she was interested in housekeeping particularly. i think she just wasn't capable of taking care of a house. pierce went off to fight in the mexican war in 1847 and they sold the house when he came back in 1848 and then they lived in a boarding house again in conc

i read that franklin pierce had a drinking problem. don't know whether it was during his presidency or after or what? but if so, how much of an influence did the loss of his children and his wife's supposed frequent illnesses contribute to the drinking problem, if that's true? >> thank you. >> well, we can't answer that truly, can we? after he left the senate and came back to live in concord, he gave up alcohol. when he went down to the mexican war, we hear that he probably took to alcohol again. it wasn't a new thing. andfranklin always drank his father had been a tavern keeper. and he spent a lot of time with his father, so that's probably where he took up the drinking habit. after the mexican war, he didn't let jane see him drink but i think he kept on drinking. so i think it got heavier at his most unhappy times. but i don't think that it was as a result particularly of circumstances. i think he'd been drinking anyway. >> this unhappy white house was doomed to be a one-term pregnancy. -- presidency. can you tell us any more about w

. >> our conversation on jane pierce, wife of the 14th president franklin pierce is now able on a websiteirst lady. tune in monday for our next program on first ladies mary todd lincoln. >> one of the questions i'm asked about is why did we do this. the shorter answer is that the shipment was so important about our national heritage but to naval history around the world that it needs to be preserved in the story would be passed on to future generations. that's the short answer. the more complex answer is what position the monitor still has yet unfulfilled and what facilities like the mariner's museum and education from the outreach efforts, what those things are continuing to do today to help us understand our relationship with the sea in a relationship with america and pass. spent to we are currently in what's called the clean lab are what you expect in a normal conservation lab. so this is where final figures and artifacts are carried out. this includes chemical coating, constructing support mounts for objects, you know, doing additional cleaning in a dry and stable and private. the ult

it came again and henry clay was ted, who did they have but james buchanan and phil more and franklin pierce all of those as buchanan said there is nothing i can do. they have a perfect right to secede. he should have done what andrew jackson did, threatened them i will make a frog pond to dispatch the shoulder -- soldiers there but then all of a sudden they found abraham lincoln. it is incredible he had two years' experience in the house of representatives he served in illinois and of course. who knew that this man would have the talent, the leadership, he would have to do hard things. he did many unconstitutional things then went to the congress and said nothing i have done the you can give me the authority to do because it has to be done. in order to save the union. if to save the union to free the slaves i will do that. i will do whatever it takes to save the union. that is why eyes title the new book henry clay and the compromise that saved the union. thank you very much. [applause] if you have any questions shall be glad to attempt to resolve. a if you would use the microphone so every

died in the famous willard hotel just very shortly after the inauguration of their successor, franklin pierce. tweets about the barbara bush connection, telling us her name was actually per se. weekpierce. was thanks to both of our guests for being here. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> next week, first ladies features and jayne pearce, the wife of franklin pierce. jane per se's time in the white house was defined by her grief over the deaths of her three sons, the last killed while sitting with his parents at a train derailment. we'll see how that affected her life and her husband's presidency. harriet lane was a frequent hostess, a fashion trendsetter, and a strong lobbyist for native american rights. on more on jane pierce and , live monday at 9:00 p.m. eastern. our website has more about the first ladies, including a special section, welcome to the white house. it chronicles life in the executive mansion during the tenure of the to the first ladies. we are offering a special edition of the book, first ladie

franklin pierce before he became president, told her husband that he would much rather talk politics with sarah polk then with james polk. and yet, the women of the time excepted her. she was very highest, very religious. a strict presbyterian. she did not allowed to go white house. she got rid of hard liquor. but they had wine and brandy with the frequent dinners they had. was b very much a woman who knew what she wanted and that her rules out and everyone had to play according to those rules. she was respected for it. she was very popular. >> to introduce you to the polks, we will take you to the polk ancestral home. the house they lived in together no longer exist. but this historic site contains much of the history of the family. we will take you there next. >> this is theug an irediblpiece of history. it was a gift from president polk to his wife, sarah. ith heon day hisugation. it is gilt paper with bone styles and lithographic images of the fst1 presidents from washington all the way through james k polk. she carried it with her all the spring of f1845. the dearatof indepnce.

came again and hep ri clay was dead, and who did they have but james buchanan and philmore, and franklin pierce, all of those biggies. [laughter] as buchanan said, there is nothing i can do. they have a perfect right to secede. he should have done what an dry jackson did, threaten. i'll make a frog pond of your state and dispatch the soldiers, and then all of the sudden, they found abraham lincoln. it's incredible, two years experience in the house of representatives. he served in illinois, of course. who knew that this man would have the talent, would have the leadership, would have to do hard things, he did many unconstitutional things, and then went to the congress and said nothing i have done that you can't give me the authority to do because it had to be done in order to save the union, if to save the union, i have to free the slaves, i'll do that. if to save the union, i'll do that. i will do whatever it takes to save the union, and that's why i titled this new book, "henry clay: the compromise that savedded the union." so thank you very much. [applause] if you have any questions, i'll be

by the time her husband, franklin pierce, is elected, two of their three boys are dead. and their last remaining son, 12-year-old benny, dies in a train derailment before president pierce is inaugurated. then harriet lane, the adopted niece of james buchanan. although president buchanan is ranked by most historians as a failure, harriet's tenure as official white house hostess is wildly popular. after years of schooling and entertaining while her uncle served as a u.s. ambassador to great britain only 27 when she comes to live at 1600 pennsylvania avenue to become first lady. jane pierce and harriet lane. on "first ladies" live monday night at 9:00 a.m. on c-span and c-span 3 and c-span radio nd c-span.org. our web site has more about the first ladies including a special section welcome to the white house. produced by our partner the white house historical association. which chronicles life in the executive mansion during the tenure of each of the first ladies. and with the association we're offering a special edition of the book first ladies of the united states of ameri

>> captain benjamin franklin pierce. who are you, sarge? >> reporter: american constiousness shaped by "mash" than any reality. only about a third of those served during the korean conflict are still alive making it almost certain the forgotten war will stay that way. tom foreman, cnn, washington. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. has the best pickup coverage in america. with a new 2 year, 24,000 mile scheduled maintenance program, a 3 year, 36,000 mile, bumper-to-bumper warranty, and the 5 year, 100,000 mile, powertrain limited warranty. we've got you covered eight ways to sunday. come to think of it, sunday, too. right now, chevy truck owners can trade up to a silverado all star edition and get a total value of $7,500. the dependable, reliable chevy silver

>> captain benjamin franklin pierce, who are you, ser kbrks? >> more about the tv show m.a.s.h.n any american reality. only a third are still alive, making it almost certain the forgotten war will stay that way. tom foreman, cnn, washington. >> we'll be right back. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. has the best pickup coverage in america. with a new 2 year, 24,000 mile scheduled maintenance program, a 3 year, 36,000 mile, bumper-to-bumper warranty, and the 5 year, 100,000 mile, powertrain limited warranty. we've got you covered eight ways to sunday. come to think of it, sunday, too. right now, chevy truck owners can trade up to a silverado all star edition and get a total value of $7,500. the dependable, reliable chevy silverado. how old is the oldest person you've known? we gave people a sticker

. >> our conversation on jane pierce, wife of the 14th president franklin pierce is on our website forfirst ladies." .washington journal" continues host: we are back with senator ben cardin, democrat of ireland on the senate foreign affairs committee, -- democrat of maryland on the senate foreign affairs committee. let's begin with the situation in boston. when did you find out and what was your reaction? guest: i happen to be walking past a television monitor and saw the breaking news and was shocked and i knew right away this was a terrorist episode. i saw the damage that was done in knew that a lot of people would be hurt had it is just -- hurt. it is just traffic. we were briefed on it. the law enforcement is doing their work, and i think they minimized the damage and have also conducted the investigation the way it needed to be to preserve evidence and follow every lead. host: what did you find out in the briefing? what stood out? guest: the damage that was done , the people that lost their suffering -- our prayers go out to the families of the victims. it was horrific and it happ

. >> our conversation on jane pierce, wife of franklin pierce, is now available on our website, c-span.org/firstladies. and tune in monday for our next program on first lady mary todd lincoln. >> an i understand pent investigation released a report this week that said the u.s. for toured suspected terrorists in the aftermath of the september 11 attacks. the report also criticizes the indefinite detention of prisoners at guantanamo bay. the two-year investigation was conducted by a task force made up of former members of congress and former officials from the departments of state and homeland security. members of the task force discussed their findings on wednesday at the national press lub. >> thank you, jim, and thank you for your leadership on the task force, and i want to express my thanks to the constitution project, but also to all of my fellow task force members, what they brought to the table in terms of experience, wisdom, public service, really made a difference in the development of this project and important eport. there's more than 24 findings and recommendations. we can't cove

some ways.asted in >> our conversation on jane pierce, wife of the 14 president franklin pierce is not a valid but -- is now available on c- span.org. our in next monday for program on mary todd lincoln. >> this documentary comes from zachary cohen of the adele davis academy in sandy springs, georgia. his message to the president looks at funding for education. it is a second prize-winning video in this year's c-span studentcam competition. >> this is a jewish spinning top. when a dreidel is falling, we have two options of -- pick it back up or just leave it there. >> what is the most important issue for the president? is it the economy, foreign affairs? what about healthcare? those are very important issues but don't you think there is one central issue that can solve all our other problems and we should tackle the first? , what mighthinking the big issue be? want to think about it, it is simple. jnowjjkknowledgee kids the they need to solve these problems? public-school education in this country has taken a backseat to other concerns. that hurt us badly at the nation. one of the thin