Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Life of Franklin Pierce Nathaniel Hawthorne

Franklin Pierce (1804 - 1869) was the 14th President of the United States (1853-1857). Pierce was a northern Democrat who saw the abolitionist movement as a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation. His polarizing actions in championing and signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act failed to stem intersectional conflict, setting the stage for Southern secession. Novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne remained lifelong friends with Pierce. He wrote a glowing biography, The Life of Franklin Pierce, in support of Pierce's 1852 presidential campaign.