Franklin Pierce, our nation’s 14th President, worked briefly as a country schoolteacher before he went into the field of politics.

While researching political figures who have also been educators, I’ve been surprised to learn how many residents of the White House fit the category. One of our former presidents who also worked as a teacher was Franklin Pierce, our 14th President. He served in the office from 1853 to 1857.

Franklin was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire. As a youngster, he was never known for his scholastic abilities or for his diligence as a student. He was much more social than he was academic. After his graduation from high school, Franklin enrolled at Bowdoin College in Maine. There he was a popular fellow who, frankly, completed the least amount of work necessary to squeak by in his courses. He spent his time and energy socializing and pursuing outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing. In fact, at one point, his academic standing in his class was dead last.

One winter break, Franklin accepted a position as a country schoolteacher, even though he was only a teenager himself. He taught 50 students in a one-room schoolhouse, for which he was paid $12 a month. According to an account published later by one of his students, “Two or three of the older boys thought they would try the mettle of the young New Hampshire collegian, but it took only one or two old-fashioned floggings to cure them of all delusive ideas.” When the father of one of these students, greatly dissatisfied with Franklin’s classroom management strategies, angrily stormed the classroom to complain. The future politician met the disgruntled parent with an amiable smile, heartily shook his hand, offered him a chair, and expressed how pleased he was to see him. The parent was so impressed with Franklin’s friendly demeanor that he forgot the purpose of his visit and actually became fast friends with the neophyte teacher.

Franklin’s experiences in the classroom led to a turning point in his academic life. He became more serious about his studies and steadily improved his grades. By the time he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1824, he had risen from the last in his class to third from the top.

To learn more about Franklin Pierce as a student and a teacher, see the book From Classroom to White House: The Presidents and First Ladies as Students and Teachers by James McMurtry Longo, available from amazon.