 |
Franklin Pierce
b. 23 Nov 1804, Hillsborough, New Hampshire
d. 8 Oct 1869, Concord, New Hampshire |
| Title: |
President of the United States |
| Term: |
4 Mar 1853 - 4 Mar 1857 |
| Chronology: |
9 Feb 1853,
the election to the office of the President of the United States is declared upon the ascertainment and counting of the electoral vote (cast 1 Dec 1852),
joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives, House Chamber, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [1] |
|
4 Mar 1853,
commencement of term |
|
4 Mar 1853,
made the affirmation of office as the President of the United States, inaugural ceremony as part of the special session of the Senate, East Portico, U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. [2] |
|
4 Mar 1857,
expiration of term |
| Biography: |
| Attended the academies of Hancock and Francestown, New Hampshire; prepared for college at Exeter and graduated from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, in 1824; studied law; admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Hillsborough in 1827; member, State general court (1829-1833), and served as speaker (1832-1833); elected as a Democrat to the 23rd and 24th Congresses (4 Mar 1833 - 4 Mar 1837); elected as a Democrat to the US Senate and served from 4 Mar 1837 to 28 Feb 28, 1842, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Pensions (26th Congress); resumed the practice of law in Concord; district attorney for New Hampshire; declined the appointment as Attorney General of the United States tendered by President James Polk; served in the Mexican War as a colonel and brigadier general; member of the New Hampshire State constitutional convention in 1850 and served as its president; elected President of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1852; sidestepped the antagonisms of the domestic scene by promoting the extension of U.S. territorial and commercial interests abroad; recognized the dubious regime set up in Nicaragua by an American adventurer (1855); gained limited access to Japanese ports as a result of Commodore Matthew Perry's expedition to Japan (1853-1854); acquired from Mexico almost 78,000 square km of territory to open the way for a southerly route to California (1853; the Gadsden Purchase); enacted the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) to stimulate migration to the Northwest; was unable to stop the struggle between proslavery and antislavery advocates in Kansas (1854-1859); was not a candidate for reelection in 1856; resumed the practice of law. |
| Biographical sources: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (2005). |
| Elections: |
| Candidate |
Electoral vote (1 Dec 1852) |
| Franklin Pierce |
254 |
| Winfield Scott |
42 |
| total number of electors appointed |
296 |
| number of votes for a majority |
149 |
|
| Source of electoral results: Senate Journal, 32nd Congress, 2nd Session, 181; Congressional Globe, 32nd Congress, 2nd Session, 549-550.
|
| |
| [1] |
Senate Journal, 32nd Congress, 2nd Session, 180-182; Congressional Globe, 32nd Congress, 2nd Session, 549-550. |
| [2] |
Senate Journal, 32nd Congress, 2nd Session, Appendix, 327-337; Congressional Globe, 32nd Congress, 3rd Session, 243-245. |
