Pierce Administration - Career
Career
After graduating from Bowdoin College, Pierce studied law under Levi Woodbury, who was secretary of the Treasury under presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, and practiced law for a few years. Pierce then joined the Democratic Party and served in the New Hampshire legislature from 1829 to 1833, the U.S. House of Representatives from 1833 to 1837, and the U.S. Senate from 1837 to 1842. Pierce, who was an alcoholic, resigned as senator in 1842 for the sake of his wife Jane, who hated politics, and also to avoid the social pressures to drink.
In 1842 the Pierces returned to New Hampshire, where Franklin opened a law practice in Concord and became involved in local politics. After declining President James Polk's invitation to serve as U.S. attorney general, Pierce served from 1846 to 1848 as brigadier general in the Mexican War (1846–48).
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