Franklin Pierce, 1804-1869

Franklin Pierce was born on November 23, 1804, in a log cabin.  His family lived on a farm in Hillsborough New Hampshire. He had five sisters and  two older brothers.  His  fathers  name  was  Benjamin Pierce.  Benjamin Pierce was a farmer that fought in the Revolutionary war.  He was the Governor of New Hampshire.  Benjamin and Franklin Pierce both liked politics.  Franklin begged to go to fight in the war of 1812 with his two older brothers, but his mother said he could not and sent him to a red brick school house, when he was eight years old.  When Franklin got older he went to a school called Francestown Academy.  Then Franklin went to Bowdoin college in Brunswick , Maine.  In the beginning, Franklin did not do well in college, but then he worked harder and did much better in college.  In 1824, he Graduated third in his class.  After college, he went to law school.  Two years later in 1827, he passed the bar exams and became a lawyer.  In 1828 Franklin Pierce was elected to the New Hampshire legislature.  He was only 24 years old.  Two years later at the age of 26, he was elected speaker of the house in New Hampshire went to Washington during the 1830s.  He became a congressman first, then a senator.  In 1834, Franklin Pierce married Jane Appleton Pierce.  Their first child was born in 1836, but he sadly died three days later.  They were both so sad that Franklin Pierce got sick.  In 1839, their second son was born.  His name was Franky.  In 1841, Franky died from typhus fever.  In 1841, their third son was born.  His name was Benny.  Franklin quit the senate and later joined the army.  He was a private, but they made him a general in the Mexican war.  After the war the Democrats nominated him for president.  His wife was not happy and she fainted when she heard about it.  Franklin Pierce won the election of 1852. He became the fourteenth president of the United States.  Then Franklin’s twelve-year-old son was killed in a train accident, on January 16, 1853.    
 
President Pierce started out his presidency in a very sad way.  His wife could not even to his inauguration.  Even so, President Pierce got some things accomplished.  In 1853, he bought land from Mexico that later became part of New Mexico and Arizona.  They wanted this so they could make a railroad all the way to the Pacific Ocean.  This was called the Gadsden Purchase.  There was a lot of fighting over slavery happening at this time.  The states in the North didn’t like slavery.  The states in the South wanted slavery.  Franklin Pierce believed that the states should have their own choice about slavery.  President Pierce signed the Kansas Nebraska act.  Which gave the new territory a choice.  The bill caused people to fight about slavery.  In 1856 200 men were killed.

   On March 3,1857 Franklin and Jane Pierce left the White House.  They were still very sad about Benny’s death, so they traveled to Europe for three years.  When they came back from their trip, they lived in Concord, New Hampshire.  He was very lonely the last few years he lived.  Jane died in 1863.  Franklin Pierce died on October 8,1869 when he was sixty-four.