Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. Born on November 23, 1804, in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, Pierce came from a political family; his father was a former governor of New Hampshire. Before becoming president, Pierce served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, and he also fought in the Mexican-American War as a brigadier general.
Pierce’s presidency is often noted for its association with the intensifying sectional conflict over slavery. He was a Northern Democrat who sympathized with Southern interests. His support of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed for the expansion of slavery into new territories, and his enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act alienated anti-slavery groups and further polarized the nation. These actions contributed to the rising tensions that eventually led to the Civil War.
After his presidency, Pierce returned to New Hampshire, where he lived out the rest of his life until his death on October 8, 1869.
