Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 - October 8, 1869) was the 14th President of the United States (1853-1857). He was a Democrat and a "doughface" (a Northerner with Southern sympathies) who served in the House of Representatives and the Senate. He t
Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 - October 8, 1869) was the 14th President of the United States (1853-1857). He was a Democrat and a "doughface" (a Northerner with Southern sympathies) who served in the House of Representatives and the Senate. He took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army. His private law practice in his home state, New Hampshire, was so successful that he was offered several important positions, which he turned down. In the 1852 presidential election, Pierce and his running mate William King won by a 50 percent to 44 percent margin in the popular vote and 254 to 42 in the electoral vote. As president, he made many divisive decisions which were widely criticized and earned him a reputation as one of the worst presidents in history. His popularity in the Northern states declined sharply after he supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which replaced the Missouri Compromise and renewed debate over the expansion of slavery in the American West. Pierce's credibility was further damaged when several of his diplomats issued the Ostend Manifesto. Abandoned by his party, he was not renominated to run in the 1856 presidential election. His reputation was destroyed during the Civil War when he declared support for the Confederacy. He suffered great tragedy in his personal life; all of his children died young. He died in 1869, at the age of 64, from cirrhosis of the liver. President Grant, who later defended Pierce's service in the Mexican War, declared a day of national mourning.
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