Franklin Pierce
#13,288 Most Popular
About
The 14th President of the United States, he faced criticism for being a "doughface," meaning a Northerner who sympathized with the South. His enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act did little to dispel this reputation, and he is often ranked among the country's worst presidents.
Before Fame
He had a successful private law practice in New Hampshire that led to many professional opportunities, most of which he turned down.
Trivia
He was well-liked personally, but severely unpopular as president as his later support for the Confederacy was a death knell to his reputation.
Family Life
He fathered three sons with his wife, Jane Means Appleton, none of whom reached adolescence or lived to see their father become president.
Associated With
He was friends with two of America's greatest writers: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
