Franklin Pierce was born on November 23, 1804, to Benjamin and Anna Kendrick Pierce in Hillsborough, New Hampshire. His father was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and served as governor of New Hampshire from 1827 to 1828. His mother was a strong and loving woman who raised her children with strict discipline. Pierce was the fifth of eight children and was very close to his siblings.
Pierce’s father died when he was eight years old, leaving his mother to raise the family on her own. Despite the challenges, she instilled in her children the importance of education and hard work. Pierce attended public schools in Hillsborough and then went on to study at Bowdoin College in Maine. He graduated in 1824 and then returned to New Hampshire to study law.
In 1829, Pierce married Jane Means Appleton, the daughter of a prominent Maine family. The couple had three children, all of whom died in childhood. Pierce’s wife died in 1853, just before he was elected president.
Pierce was a successful lawyer and politician before being elected president. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1833 to 1837 and the U.S. Senate from 1837 to 1842. He then served as ambassador to Mexico from 1842 to 1845. After returning to the United States, he was nominated by the Democratic Party to run for president in 1852.
Pierce won the election and took office in 1853. He was a popular president at first, but his popularity quickly declined when he took a pro-slavery stance during the debate over the expansion of slavery into new territories. In 1854, he signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed for the expansion of slavery into those territories. The act led to violence and conflict, which further damaged Pierce’s presidency. He did not run for reelection in 1856 and retired from public life after leaving office.