Franklin+Pierce

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=(Franklin Pierce)=

=__Biographical Information:__=

__Biographical Sketch:__
Franklin Pierce was the son of Benjamin Pierce, who led the local militia to victories in the American Revolution. This gave Franklin influence in local politics. Franklin attended local schools until age of twelve, when he was sent to private academies. At age 15, he went to Bowdoin College in Maine. After he became focused on his social life, his schoolwork was a second priority. He then began to apply himself and graduated fifth in his class in 1824.

=__Political Experience__=
 * (1832) United States House of Representatives
 * (1832) Was elected as a Democrat
 * (1829) Served as a Speaker in the State House
 * (1836) Elected by New Hampshire General Court as a Democrat to the United State Senate, serving from March 4, 1837 to February 28, 1842
 * (1845-1847) United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire

=__Presidential Administration__=

Secretary of the Navy: James C. Dobbin (1853-1857)
=__Domestic Affairs__= In 1848, there was a debate on whether each new territory or state should permit the practice. In January 1854, Stephen Douglass introduced legislation that established popular sovereignty. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 banned slavery but southerners wanted to overturn it. In 1856, the Bloodshed in Kansas happened in Lawrence. He helped settle the Kansas-Nebraska Act while in office. He considered his presidency as a work in progress. He wanted a second chance to fix his shortcomings, but the poor handling of foreign and domestic affairs did not help him win support from the Democratic Party.

=__Foreign Affairs__= Franklin Pierce believed that foreign policy was a change from the domestic conflicts over slavery. Pierce was convinced by Jefferson Davis to send Senator James Gadsden to negotiate the Gadsden Purchase with Mexico. The U.S paid Mexico $15 million dollars to secure the land. He also attempted to acquire Cuba. Pierce expelled the British ambassador to the U.S for his recruitment of former British immigrants as soldiers to fight in the Crimean War against Russia.

=__Famous Quotes__= " I believe that involuntary servitude, as it exists in different States of this Confederacy, is recognized by the constitution." March 4, 1853

" You have summoned me in my weakness. You must sustain me by your strength."

"We have nothing in our history or in our position to invite agression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace and amity with all nations."

" A Republic without parties is a complete anomaly. The histories of all poular governments show absurd is the idea of their attempting to exist without parties."

=__Interesting Facts__= Two months before Pierce took office, his eleven year old son Benjamin died in a train wreck.

Franklin Pierce was one of eight children.

He had problems with alcohol.

His nickname was "Old Hickory."

=__Presidential Timeline__= Include a chronological timeline of the most important historical and political events that occured during your president's administration.
 * (1853) On March 4, Franklin Pierce was inaugurated as the nation's 14th President.
 * (1853) On December 30, The Gadsden Purchase was negotiated by by James Gadsen. U.S acquires more than 29,600 square miles of new territory in southwest Arizona and New Mexico.
 * (1854) Fernando Wood wins the New York City mayoral race, becoming the first Tammany Hall to fill the position.
 * (1854) On May 30, the Kansas- Nebraska Act is signed into law after being introduced by President Pierce's rival, Senator Stephen Douglas

=__Images__=

=__Links__=
 * 1) http://home.att.net/~jamesg/pierce.html
 * 2) http://www.americanpresidents.org/
 * 3) http://shook11.wikispaces.com/Franklin+Pierce