Franklin Pierce A seated view CDV of the 14th U.S. President, serving from 1853 to 1857. A New Hampshire Democrat, his presidency was dominated by increasing sectional tensions over slavery. He signed the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise and led to violent conflict in the Kansas territory, known as Bleeding Kansas. Pierce's policies accelerated the divisions that led to the Civil War, and his inability to handle the ensuing crisis resulted in the Democratic Party denying him a second nomination. Back marked E. Anthony from Bardy’s National Portrait Gallery.