President Franklin Pierce: Insane Case Analysis

In May 1854, President Franklin Pierce wrote the bill entitled “An act making a grant to the public lands to the several States for the benefit of the indigent insane persons.” The bill was addressed to the Senate of the United States. The document was written in response to a petition that requested that the Federal Government provide ten million acres of land. The land would be sold in order to build establishments that would provide care for the mentally disabled. President Pierce ultimately vetoed the petition, stating that it shouldn’t be the Federal Government’s responsibility to care for the indigent insane. He felt as if the responsibility should remain with the states. He feared that if the federal government stepped in to care for