How long was franklin pierce president

Pierce assumed his position in the White House in a period of relative calm in , but he had been beset with a personal tragedy before his inauguration. His wife refused to come to Washington and the new president was ill-prepared to deal with a series of national crises that were stepping stones to the Civil War. Back home in New Hampshire, Pierce was a high-profile attorney and a political operator of sorts. Pierce was able to grab the nomination as a compromise candidate who was seen as a pro-slavery Northerner.

Inauguration Date March 4, Date Ended March 4, President Number Holt and David Herbert …. Featured Insights. Political scientist Stephen Skowronek places presidents such as Pierce in a larger context.

Speeches View His Speeches. March 4, Inaugural Address transcript icon. January 24, Message Regarding Disturbances in Kansas transcript icon. Although Pierce sought re-election, the Democratic Party voted to nominate James Buchanan instead, who went on to become the 15th President of the United States. Following his presidency, Pierce returned to Concord, New Hampshire. During the Civil War, he publicly spoke out against the war.

Pierce's health began to decline in mid, and he died from severe cirrhosis of the liver on October 8 of that year. Pierce married Jane Means Appleton in Appleton was a religious woman who supported the temperance movement. The couple had three sons together, who all died in childhood.

Franklin Jr. Their last son, Benjamin, died at the age of 11 in an accident while accompanying his parents on a train from Boston. The accident occurred a few weeks after Pierce was elected president and caused him and his wife to suffer from severe depression afterward. Every year in office, the president of the United States addresses Congress on the present state of affairs as well as the administration's goals for the coming year.

Ballotpedia features , encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers.

Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. Share this page Follow Ballotpedia. What's on your ballot? Jump to: navigation , search. This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Franklin Pierce, the 14th U. President, was born on November 23, , in Hillsboro, New Hampshire.

His father, Benjamin, was an American Revolutionary War hero who held some political prowess in the family's rural town. His mother, Anna Kendrick Pierce, had eight children, whose education she made her top priority. At the age of 12, Pierce left the public school system to attend private academies. When he turned 15, he enrolled at Bowdoin College in Maine, where he excelled at public speaking.

In , Pierce graduated fifth in his class. Within two years, he was selected as its Speaker of the House, with the aid of his father, who had by then been elected governor. In the s, Pierce was sent to Washington, D. Despite his rapid ascent in the world of politics, Pierce soon found his life in Washington both tedious and lonesome.

After developing a dependency on alcohol, he decided it was time to settle down. In , he married a shy religious woman named Jane Means Appleton, who supported the temperance movement. Jane disliked the Washington lifestyle even more than her husband did. Nevertheless, a year after the couple's first of three sons were born, Pierce accepted his election to the U. In , under his wife's persistent urging, Pierce finally agreed to resign from the Senate.