Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce
Mathew Benjamin Brady / Adam Cuerden · Public domain · source
Name	Franklin Pierce
Birth date	November 23, 1804
Birth place	Hillsborough, New Hampshire
Death date	October 8, 1869
Death place	Concord, New Hampshire
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Jane Means Appleton Pierce
Children	Franklin Pierce Jr., Frank Robert Pierce, Benjamin Pierce

Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857, and is known for his role in the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Gadsden Purchase. He was a member of the Democratic Party and a strong supporter of the Compromise of 1850 and the Missouri Compromise. Pierce's presidency was marked by significant events, including the Ostend Manifesto and the Bleeding Kansas crisis, which involved John Brown, Charles Robinson, and David Atchison. He was also a contemporary of notable figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and Jefferson Davis.

● Early life and education

Franklin Pierce was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, to Benjamin Pierce and Anna Kendrick Pierce, and grew up in a family that valued Bowdoin College and the United States Military Academy. He attended Hillsborough Center School and later graduated from Bowdoin College in 1824, where he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and friends with Nathan Clifford, Jonathan Cilley, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. After college, Pierce studied law at Northampton Law School and was admitted to the New Hampshire Bar Association in 1827, allowing him to practice law in Concord, New Hampshire, and interact with prominent lawyers such as Levi Woodbury and Jeremiah Mason.

● Career

Pierce began his career in politics as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1829 to 1833, where he worked alongside Isaac Hill and John W. Weeks. He later served in the United States House of Representatives from 1833 to 1837, representing New Hampshire's at-large congressional district and working with John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun, and Martin Van Buren. Pierce then served in the United States Senate from 1837 to 1842, where he was a strong supporter of the Democratic Party and worked with James K. Polk, George M. Dallas, and Robert J. Walker. During the Mexican-American War, Pierce served as a brigadier general in the United States Army, fighting in the Battle of Contreras and the Battle of Churubusco alongside Winfield Scott, Zachary Taylor, and James Buchanan.

● Presidency

Pierce was elected as the 14th President of the United States in 1852, defeating Winfield Scott and John P. Hale in the 1852 United States presidential election. During his presidency, Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act into law, which allowed new states to decide whether to allow slavery and led to the Bleeding Kansas crisis, involving John Brown, Charles Robinson, and David Atchison. He also oversaw the Gadsden Purchase, which added land to the United States and was negotiated by James Gadsden and Antonio López de Santa Anna. Pierce's presidency was marked by significant events, including the Ostend Manifesto and the Villard de Honnecourt affair, which involved Pierre Soulé, John Y. Mason, and James Buchanan.

● Personal life

Pierce married Jane Means Appleton Pierce in 1834, and they had three children together, including Franklin Pierce Jr., Frank Robert Pierce, and Benjamin Pierce. He was a close friend of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and was known for his strong support of the Democratic Party and the Compromise of 1850. Pierce was also a member of the Episcopal Church and attended St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., where he interacted with William Thomas Hamilton and Philip Barton Key II.

● Legacy

Pierce's legacy is complex and has been the subject of much debate among historians, including Allan Nevins, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., and David Herbert Donald. He is often remembered for his role in the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Gadsden Purchase, as well as his support of the Compromise of 1850 and the Missouri Compromise. Pierce's presidency was marked by significant events, including the Ostend Manifesto and the Bleeding Kansas crisis, which involved John Brown, Charles Robinson, and David Atchison. He is also remembered for his relationships with notable figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and Jefferson Davis, and his interactions with institutions such as the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Category:Presidents of the United States