Franklin Pierce
14th President of the United States (1853-1857)
Franklin Pierce was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, in 1804. He was the son of Benjamin Pierce, a Revolutionary War hero and New Hampshire governor. Pierce attended Bowdoin College, where he was classmates with future president Nathaniel Hawthorne, who became a lifelong friend.
Franklin Pierce served as the 14th president of the United States from 1853 to 1857. His presidency is often remembered for the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which intensified sectional tensions leading up to the Civil War. Pierce sought to expand the country through the Gadsden Purchase and advocated for stronger enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act.
Pierce believed in the principle of Manifest Destiny, the belief that the U.S. was destined to expand westward. His administration was supportive of the expansion of slavery into new territories, a stance that caused further polarization between North and South.
While his presidency is often considered ineffective, Pierce's legacy is shaped by his attempt to hold the Union together amidst growing sectional divisions. His policies and actions contributed to the intensifying tensions that eventually led to the American Civil War.
Pierce's later years were marked by personal tragedy, including the death of his son in a train accident. He passed away in 1869 and is often ranked poorly among U.S. presidents due to his inability to prevent the Civil War.