This informative post will be published on Saturday in place of my regular one.  You are invited to participate with the opening question.

Brain Teaser Question

What bird do you associate with lifting weight?

(answer found at the end of this post)

Featured Facts

Hailing from the state of New Hampshire, America’s 14th President, Franklin Pierce, served his nation from 1853-1857.  

Here are some interesting facts about Franklin Pierce:

• Party:  Democratic
• Lifespan:  November 23, 1804 to October 8, 1869
• College:  Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine

Pierce’s nickname was “Young Hickory of Granite Hills.”  This recognized that he was a devoted supporter of President Andrew Jackson (nicknamed “Old Hickory”).

He served the federal government in a number of ways.  During his military service in the Mexican War (1846-1848), he rose to the rank of General.  He also served his state as a member of Congress in the House of Representatives and Senate.

At age 48, Pierce was elected to his nation’s highest office, and he was the youngest ever elected up to that time in American history.  The youngest person ever elected to the Presidency was John F. Kennedy who was 43.

His Presidency was dominated by issues related to the issue of slavery in the United States.  There were extreme sectional tensions over its expansion into new territories and states as America continued to expand westward.

Pierce supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.  This bill allowed popular sovereignty (not Congress) to decide the fate of slavery as new territories were recognized by Congress.  The upheaval and civil unrest turned Kansas into “Bloody Kansas.”

Due to his support for this divisive legislation, Pierce’s desire to serve another term as President was squashed when James Buchanan was nominated as the Democratic candidate in the election of 1856.

left:  america’s 14th president (1853-1857)  right:  home of franklin pierce in CONCORD, new hampshire.   (photographs courtesy of pinterest.)

Answer to Brain Teaser Question

A crane