Franklin PIERCE was the 14th President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was the successor to Millard Fillmore, who had been President from 1850 to 1853. PIERCE was a Democrat from New Hampshire and was known for his strong support of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed for the expansion of slavery into the western territories. He is generally considered to have been a mediocre president, and his presidency was marred by the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the subsequent violence in 'Bleeding Kansas'.