Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 ??October 8, 1869) was the 14th President of the United States (1853??7). 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?ebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act failed to stem intersectional conflict, setting the stage for Southern secession.