Winfield Scott was likely more popular to the general public, but Franklin Pierce was a war hero too, albeit a lower ranked one. When the elections came, the Democrats nominated Pierce and threw the full support of the party behind him. The Whigs nominated Scott, but disagreements in the party undermined support for Scott. Scott was also a terrible public speaker and his public appearances suffered as a result. Lastly, though Pierce was a democrat, he was from the North and it seemed he could be a compromise candidate, uniting the nation. Pierce won handily, but his Presidency was largely a failure.