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Franklin Pierce 14th President of the United States

(March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1857) Nickname: "Young Hickory of the Granite Hills" Born: November 23, 1804, in Hillsborough (now Hillsboro), New Hampshire

Died: October 8, 1869, in Concord, New Hampshire

Father: General Benjamin Pierce

Mother: Ann Kendrick Pierce

Married: Jane Means Appleton (1806-1863), on November 10, 1834

Children: Franklin Pierce (1836); Frank Robert Pierce (1839-43); Benjamin Pierce (1841-53)

Religion: Episcopalian

Education: Graduated from Bowdoin College (1824)

Occupation: Lawyer, public official

Political Party: Democrat

Other Government Positions:

Served in New Hampshire Legislature, 1829-33

Member of U.S. House of Representatives, 1833-37

Unites States Senate, 1837-42

Presidential Salary: $25,000/year

Presidential Election Results: Year Popular Votes Electoral Votes 1852 Franklin Pierce 1,601,117 254 Winfield Scott 1,385,453 42

Vice President: William R. King (1853-57)

Cabinet:

Secretary of State William L. Marcy (1853-57) Secretary of the Treasury James Guthrie (1853-57) Secretary of War Jefferson Davis (1853-57) Attorney General Caleb Cushing (1853-57) Postmaster General James Campbell (1853-57) Secretary of the Navy James C. Dobbin (1853-57) Secretary of the Interior Robert McClelland (1853-57)

Supreme Court Appointments:

Associate Justice John Archibald Campbell (1853-61)

Notable Events:

Internet Biographies:

Historical Documents:

Other Internet Resources:

The Franklin Pierce Pages This site is a tongue-in-cheek "moving tribute to America’s most obscure (and best looking) president." The Pierce Manse The historic home of Franklin Pierce located in Concord, New Hampshire. Tourist information and historical context can be found at this web site.

Points of Interest:

Pierce was arrested while in office for running over an old woman with his horse, but his case was dropped due to insufficient evidence in 1853.

He defeated his old commanding officer from the Mexican War, Winfield Scott, when he was elected president.

Pierce was wounded during the Mexican War.

One of the Democratic party’s slogans during Pierce’s campaign for president was: "We Polked you in 1844; we shall Pierce you in 1852."

Polked you in 1844; we shall Pierce you in 1852." Benjamin, Pierce’s third and only surviving child, died in a railroad accident two months before his father’s inauguration.

Because of religious considerations Pierce affirmed rather than swore the Presidential oath of office.

Pierce gave his 3,319-word inaugural address from memory, without the aid of notes.

Pierce was the only President to have no turnover in his cabinet.

Pierce was the only elected President who sought but did not win his party’s nomination for a second term.

During his second year at Bowdoin College in Maine, Pierce had the lowest grades out of anyone in his class. He changed his study habits, and graduated third in his class. Among his class mates were Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Franklin Pierce was the first President to have a Christmas tree in the White House.

He installed the first central-heating system and the first bathroom with hot and cold water in the White House.

Pierce was an avid fisherman.

Pierce died of cirrhosis of the liver as a result of years of heavy drinking.

Previous President: Millard Fillmore | Next President: James Buchanan

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