Where the Streets All Have Names: Pierce Street

President Franklin Pierce (Photo by Mathew Benjamin Brady, Library of Congress)

The most western north to south street in Edgewater, “P Street” was renamed after Franklin Pierce in the early 1900s to reflect the new U.S. Senators and Supreme Court Justices alphabet naming system.

Pierce was born on November 23, 1804, in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, to Benjamin Pierce and Anna Kendrick Pierce. His father was a veteran of the American Revolution and a prominent politician in New Hampshire.

Educated at Bowdoin College in Maine, Pierce then went on to study law at Northampton Law School in Massachusetts. He was admitted to the bar in 1827 and began practicing law in Hillsborough shortly after.

Pierce’s political career began when he was elected to the New Hampshire State Legislature, where he would serve for 4 years. He went on to be elected to represent New Hampshire in both the House of Representatives from 1833-1837, then the Senate from 1837-1842.

Pierce was a member of the Democratic Party and was a well known for his advocacy of states’ rights as well as his opposition to the abolition of slavery. In 1846, he was appointed as a brigadier general in the Mexican-American War and saw action in several battles.

Pierce was nominated as the Democratic Party’s candidate for President of the United States in 1852. He beat out Whig Party candidate, General Winfield Scott to become the 14th President of the United States.

As president, Pierce aggressively pursued a policy of expansionism. He signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, which allowed for the expansion of slavery into new territories.

Pierce’s presidency also saw growing tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery. The controversial Fugitive Slave Act, which required the return of escaped slaves to their owners, was signed into law by Pierce and caused widespread protests in the North.

Pierce left office in 1857 and retired from politics, returning to his law practice in New Hampshire. He remained active an active figure in public affairs and was a vocal opponent of Abraham Lincoln’s policies during the American Civil War.

Franklin Pierce died on October 8, 1869, in Concord, New Hampshire. He is remembered as a controversial and divisive President whose policies and actions contributed to the growing tensions that would eventually lead to the outbreak of the Civil War.