FRANKLIN PIERCE
1853 - 1857
Arizona Timeline
1853 - Signing of the Gadsden Purchase, which extends the boundaries of Arizona from the Gila River to the present boundary.
1854 - Lt. Amiel Whipple and Lt. Joseph Ives travel the southwest area of Mohave County on his expedition to map the Colorado River.
1854 - Copper is discovered in Arizona, mined and commercially sold.
1856 - Citizens living in the area of western New Mexico petition Congress to create a separate Territory of Arizona.
Franklin Pierce was born in
1804 at Hillsboro, New
Hampshire, the son of Governor
Benjamin Pierce. He served in
the New Hampshire House of
Representatives and in the federal
house and Senate. He resigned
the Senate in 1842 to practice law.
He was a brigadier general during
the Mexican War.
Jane Appleton Pierce was born
in 1806. After her father's death,
the family moved to Amherst,
New Hampshire, where she met
Franklin Pierce. They did not
marry until Jane was 28. they had
three sons; the first two died in
infancy.
President Franklin Pierce was opposed to anti- slavery tendencies in the Democratic Party, which worked in his favor to gain the Party's nomination. In
1852, he won election over General Winfield Scott. As president, he followed a course of appeasing the South. Due to the failure of his foreign and
domestic policies, he was not nominated for a second term. He died on October 6, 1869.
Jane Pierce was not in favor of her husband becoming president. Neither she nor her son, Benjamin, looked forward to living in Washington. On a train
journey in January, 1853, the Pierce's car was derailed and Benny was killed before their eyes. Jane did not attend Pierce's inauguration on March 4, and
there was no inaugural ball. She was only able to meet her White House obligations with the help of her friend, Abigail Kent Means. Jane Pierce died in
1863 and was buried near Benny's grave.
