Focusing on the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska established by Congress in 1854, this commercially published map also reflects U.S. interest in western expansion and the construction of a transcontinental railroad.

This dramatic print shows a violent incident that occurred in Congress on May 22, 1856, which inflamed sectional passion. The artist recreates the severe beating of Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston S. Brooks of South Carolina.

Search PPOC using the subject heading "Pierce, Franklin,--1804-1869 " to find digital images related to Pierce such as prints, photographs, and political cartoons. Search all text fields in PPOC using the phrase "Franklin Pierce" to locate additional images.

This guide contains approximately 400 items relating to presidential inaugurations, including Pierce's inauguration on March 4, 1853,

On May 30, 1854, President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act into law.

Franklin Pierce, fourteenth president of the United States, was born on November 23, 1804, in Hillsboro, New Hampshire. Like his predecessor James K. Polk, Pierce was a little-known figure retired from national politics when the Democratic Party summoned him to be its candidate for president.

U.S. Minister to Mexico James Gadsden, and three envoys of the President of Mexico General Antonio López de Santa Anna Pérez de Lebrón, signed the Gadsden Purchase, or Gadsden Treaty, in Mexico City on December 30, 1853. Santa Anna needed money to help defray expenses caused by the Mexican War and ongoing rebellions, so he sold land to the United States.