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The Pierce cabinetOfficeNameTermPresidentFranklin Pierce1853–1857Vice PresidentWilliam R. King1853None1853–1857Secretary of StateWilliam L. Marcy1853–1857Secretary of the TreasuryJames Guthrie1853–1857Secretary of WarJefferson Davis1853–1857Attorney GeneralCaleb Cushing1853–1857Postmaster GeneralJames Campbell1853–1857Secretary of the NavyJames C. Dobbin1853–1857Secretary of the InteriorRobert McClelland1853–1857
Relations with Great Britain needed resolution, as American fishermen were upset at the British Royal Navy's increasing enforcement of Canadian territorial waters. Marcy completed a trade reciprocity agreement with British minister to Washington, John Crampton, which reduced the need for British coastline enforcement. Buchanan was sent as minister to London to pressure the British government, which was slow to support a new treaty. A favorable reciprocity treaty was ratified in August 1854, which Pierce saw as a first step towards the American annexation of Canada.[115][116] While the administration negotiated with Britain over the Canada–U.S. border, U.S. interests were also an issue in Central America, where the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty of 1850 had failed to keep Great Britain from expanding its influence in the region. Gaining the advantage over Britain in the region was a key part of Pierce's expansionist goals.