Franklin Pierce is one of the lesser known US Presidents, given that little had happened during the years of his reign. He served as the 14th President, between the years of 1853 and 1857. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and he is known for being unsuccessful in preventing the setting of the stage in US politics that ultimately led to the American Civil War.
He was born in New Hampshire, where he served in the US House of Representatives and in the US Senate until he resigned from that position in 1842. He led a private law practice in New Hampshire that was widely successful, so much so that he got appointed US Attorney for his home state in 1845. He took part in the famous Mexican-American War as part of the US Army.