U.S. Presidents / Franklin Pierce

Franklin Pierce

1804 - 1869

Franklin Pierce

The storm of frenzy and faction must inevitably dash itself in vain against the unshaken rock of the Constitution. I shall never doubt it.  Third Annual Message

Overview

Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States, came to office during a period of growing tension between the North and South. A politician of limited ability, Pierce was behind one of the most crucial pieces of legislation in American history. Although he did not author the Kansas-Nebraska Act, he did encourage its passage by Congress. And that piece of legislation set the nation on its path to civil war.

Fast Facts

Hillsborough (now Hillsboro), New Hampshire
Bowdoin College (graduated 1824)
Episcopalian
Lawyer, Public Official
Democrat
"Young Hickory of the Granite Hills"
November 19, 1834, to Jane Means Appleton (1806–1863)
Franklin (1836); Frank Robert (1839–1843); Benjamin (1841–1853)
14
Old North Cemetery, Concord, New Hampshire
Jean H. Baker

Chicago Style

Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. “Franklin Pierce.” Accessed October 25, 2024. https://millercenter.org/president/pierce.

Professor of History

Jean H. Baker

Professor Baker is the Bennett-Harwood Professor of History at Goucher College.