Franklin Pierce's strong support for the Compromise of 1850 appeared to indicate that he was not going to press the issue of slavery. With the country in precarious balance, almost every decision made during his administration -- buying Mexican territory for a southern railroad route, a potential invasion of Cuba -- was scrutinized and criticized for its bias toward pro-slavery forces. The Kansas-Nebraska Act effectively nullified the Missouri Compromise, leading to a race to settle Kansas that resulted in a prelude to the Civil War. Learn more with this biography from American Experience: "The Presidents."