Video: 'Judging the Franklin Pierce presidency, one of the worst'

(Friday, November 23, 1804) — Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States (1853–1857), was born today in a log cabin in Hillsborough, New Hampshire.

As president, Pierce sought to implement neutral standards in the civil service while trying to appease various factions within his Democratic Party through patronage. However, this effort largely backfired, alienating many party members.

Video: 'Franklin Pierce: The Saddest President'

An advocate of Young America expansionism, Pierce signed the Gadsden Purchase, securing land from Mexico, and made an unsuccessful attempt to acquire Cuba from Spain.

Though his administration achieved foreign policy successes, including trade treaties with Britain and Japan, as well as internal Cabinet reforms aimed at improving accountability, these accomplishments were overshadowed by growing domestic political strife.

Pierce’s support for the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which effectively nullified the Missouri Compromise, led to a sharp decline in his popularity in the North. The act, which inflamed tensions over the expansion of slavery, sparked violent conflict in the West, though Pierce remained supported by many in the South.

Video: 'The Tragic Life of Franklin Pierce'

Further controversy arose when several of Pierce’s diplomats issued the Ostend Manifesto, calling for the annexation of Cuba, a move widely criticized at the time.

Although Pierce expected to secure the Democratic nomination for re-election in 1856, the party turned away from him, and his bid for a second term failed.

His legacy was tarnished even further during the Civil War, when he became a vocal critic of President Abraham Lincoln, deepening his unpopularity in the North.