Pierce vetoed funding for internal improvements , called for a lower tariff , and vigorously enforced the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 . Influenced by the Young America expansionist movement , the Pierce administration completed the Gadsden land purchase from Mexico , clashed with Britain in Central America , and led a failed attempt to acquire Cuba from Spain . Pierce 's administration was severely criticized after several of his diplomats issued the Ostend Manifesto , which called for the annexation of Cuba , by force if necessary . His popularity in the Northern free states declined sharply after he supported the 1854 Kansas – Nebraska Act , which nullified the Missouri Compromise . Passage of the act led directly to a long and violent conflict over the expansion of slavery in the American West . In the wake of the Kansas – Nebraska Act , the Whig Party was destroyed and the Democratic Party was severely weakened . With the destruction of the Whigs , two new major parties emerged in the nativist American Party and the anti-slavery Republican Party . Pierce actively sought renomination at the 1856 Democratic National Convention , but he was defeated by James Buchanan , who had served as Pierce 's ambassador to Britain . Buchanan went on to win the 1856 presidential election , defeating the nominees of the American Party and the Republican Party . Pierce is viewed by presidential historians as an inept chief executive , whose failure to stem the nation 's inter – sectional conflict accelerated the course towards civil war . He is generally ranked as one of the worst presidents of all time
1856 Democratic National Convention
1856 Democratic National Convention
Presidency of Franklin Pierce