PIER 



4664 



PIERCE 



in North America. It lies between the moun- 

 tains and the coastal plain proper (see COASTAL 

 PLAIN), the division from the plain being 

 sharply marked by what is known as the 

 fall line (which see). Along this line, streams 

 from the west leave the harder, rocky ground 

 adjacent to the mountains and cross the softer, 

 more easily trenched coa<tal plain. The por- 

 tion of the Piedmont plateau lying in New 

 .'ind is broad but less sharply marked 

 off from the coastal plain than the hilly region 

 farther south. It reaches its greatest breadth 

 in North Carolina, where it extends 300 miles 

 from the mountains. The underlying rocks 

 were once worn away almost to a plain by 

 -ion. but were lifted in a later upheaval. In 

 places the Piedmont region is very fertile. In 

 Virginia, especially, it is well adapted to the 

 raising of apples. 



PIER, a pillar or post supporting a heavy 

 weight, such as the end of a span of a bridge, 

 or the end of an arch or lintel. The term is 

 at present generally applied to the heavy 

 masonry supports of a bridge. It may also 

 11 a construction of covered piles extending 

 from land out into the waters of a bay or 

 harbor, for the purpose of forming a breakwater 



or a landing place for boats. A hit of thick- 

 ened wall between two large openings be- 

 comes a pier because of the support it gives. 



FOUR PIERS 



(a) The foundations of ^ivat ]ii-ili;vs : ( b ) 

 pier in cloister of Sainte Elne. near Perpignan, 

 Prance; (c) pier in the interior of Saint Peter's, 

 Rome; (d) the pier, used as a boat landing. 



In buildings, the pier has developed into the 

 column, with base, shaft and capital. See 

 COLUMN. 



THE STORY OF THE I4TH PRESIDENT- 



.IERCE, peerce, FRANKLIN (1804-1869), an 

 American statesman, fourteenth President of 

 the United States. Frank Pierce, as his friends 

 always called him, was a genial, handsome man, 

 and a man of character and ability. In political 

 matters he cannot be called great. There were 

 many among his contemporaries who must be 

 ranked higher than he men like Douglas, Cass, 

 and even Marcy. Yet if he was not a far- 

 sighted statesman, he was at least energetic 

 and capable, and he had the gift of selecting 

 able men as his aids. Like most Presidents 

 who have been chosen as the result of compro- 

 I'ieivi- was himself a compromiser. He 

 wanted to preserve the Union, and to accom- 

 plish that purpose he thought it necessary to 

 placate the South. He was a Northerner, with 

 Southern opinions. 



In dealing with foreign nations, and particu- 

 larly with England, he was less willing to com- 

 promise; indeed, his Presidency is noteworthy 

 for its vigorous diplomatic history, and for 

 its sure, sometimes overassertive insistence on 

 American rights. Some of the responsibility for 

 this foreign policy belongs to William L. 

 Marcy, Piercc's Secretary of State, but then- 

 is no question that much belongs to the 1V< -i- 

 dent. Pierce made grave mistakes during his 

 four years in office, but they were mistakes 

 which sprang from a kindly, sympathetic na- 

 ture. Altogether, though not a great states- 

 man, Pierce was personally one of the most at- 

 tractive men who have ever guided the des- 

 tinies of tin' I'niterl Slates. 



Franklin Pierce was born at Hillsborough. 

 N. H., on November 23, 1804. His father. 



