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	Franklin Pierce- 14th President Party: Democrat Term: March 4, 1853 - March 3, 1857 Age at Inauguration: 48 Life Span: Nov 23, 1804 - October 8, 1869 [64] Spouse: Jane Appleton - Age at Marriage: 29 Vice President: William King
Franklin Pierce resigned his senate seat after claiming his wife was nagging him about not being home enough At the Democratic national convention he was nominated as a Dark Horse candidate on the thirty-fifth ballot, and won the nomination on the forty-ninth When Mrs. Pierce was told of the nomination she fainted When nominated for President he refused to campaign and made no speeches Once elected he made no cabinet changes and expressed little or no interest in the presidency As president-elect he took his family for a train trip through New England where they were involved in a tragic derailment that claimed the life of their son, Benjamin, age 11 It was the third loss of a child for the Pierces' His Vice president, William King, died before assuming office Vice President Death in Office Pierce was the first president refused nomination for re-election by his party James Buchanan was nominated as an alternative to Pierce and won the endorsement on the seventeenth ballot