Other Interesting Facts and Trivia:
- Franklin Pierce grew up in a family with eight children.
- He started college in Maine when he was 15 and graduated fifth in his class.
- When Pierce took office, he undid part of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that made slavery illegal in Kansas and Nebraska. He thought citizens should be able to decide for themselves. Violent fighting broke out between proslavery and antislavery supporters in what came to be called "Bleeding Kansas."
- All of Pierce's children predeceased him by the time he took office.
- Pierce is the only president that didn't use a Bible at his inauguration. He placed his hand on a law book instead.
- Pierce was the first president to have a Christmas tree in the White House, however Benjamin Harrison had the first official White House Christmas tree in 1889. |
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