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Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 – October 8, 1869) was an American politician who served as the 14th president of the United States from 1853 to 1857.
- Franklin Pierce’s Early Life and Career
- Franklin Pierce’s Road to The White House
- Franklin Pierce’s Presidency
- 'Bleeding Kansas'
- Franklin Pierce’s Post-Presidential Years
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Born on November 23, 1804, in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce was the son of Benjamin Pierce, a hero of the American Revolution who was twice elected governor of New Hampshire. The younger Pierce graduated from Bowdoin College in 1824 and began studying law; he was admitted to the bar in 1827. At the age of 24, he won election to the N...
Franklin Pierce served as an officer in the Mexican War (1846-1848) but stayed largely out of public life for the next decade. He did earn the respect of many in his party for keeping New Hampshire Democrats together behind Lewis Cass in the 1848 presidential election (despite a threat by the Free Soil Party) and for holding state Democrats to the ...
When Franklin Pierce took office, the nation was enjoying an era of great economic prosperity and relative tranquility. For the time being, at least, the Compromise of 1850 seemed to have resolved the various sectional conflicts–primarily over slavery–that had divided the country. “I fervently hope that the [slavery] question is at rest,” Pierce sa...
The greatest tensions of Franklin Pierce’s presidency–and, ultimately, his downfall–can be attributed to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, proposed by Senator Stephen Douglas in early 1854. The bill formally organized Kansas and Nebraska into territories, opening them to settlement and railroad building; it also repealed the ban on slavery in Kansas mandate...
In the end, Franklin Pierce’s belief in a limited role for the federal government, combined with his accommodation of and submission to powerful proslavery interests within the Democratic Party, had made him largely ineffective as a leader. By the time he left office, the nation had moved closer to civil war, and the situation would only grow worse...
Learn about Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, who served from 1853 to 1857. Find out about his early life, his role in the Mexican War, his controversial policies on slavery and foreign affairs, and his personal tragedies.
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Jun 21, 2024 · Franklin Pierce, 14th U.S. president (1853–57), whose failure to deal effectively with the slavery conflict in the decade preceding the American Civil War shaped the perception of him as a lesser president.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Learn about Pierce's life, policies, and legacy from the White House Historical Association. He was a New England Democrat who tried to appease the South on slavery, but failed to prevent the Civil War.
Apr 2, 2014 · Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, prompting a bloody conflict over Kansas' slavery status.
The presidency of Franklin Pierce began on March 4, 1853, when Franklin Pierce was inaugurated, and ended on March 4, 1857. Pierce, a Democrat from New Hampshire, took office as the 14th United States president after routing Whig Party nominee Winfield Scott in the 1852 presidential election. Seen by fellow Democrats as pleasant and ...
Franklin Pierce became president at a time of what seemed on the surface like domestic tranquility. The United States, by virtue of the Compromise of 1850, seem...
