Abraham Lincoln visited Dover New Hampshire on March 2nd, 1860 at the age of 51. Born on February 12th, 1809, Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 4th, 1861 until his death on April 15th, 1865. He is proclaimed to be the most successful President in the history of the United States. He was an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery, and led the defeat of the secessionist Confederate States of America during the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865. In the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, he promoted the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865 to abolish slavery.

Franklin Pierce visited Dover New Hampshire on June 23rd, 1857 at age 52. He visited Dover three months after his term ended with Virginia Senator James Mason. Pierce served in the U.S. House of Representatives and was a U.S. Senator between March 4th, 1837 and February 28th, 1842. He served as the 14th President of the United States between March 4th, 1853 and March 4th, 1857. To date he is the only president from New Hampshire. He was a Democrat and a “doughface”, which was a Northerner with Southern sympathies. He was a dark horse candidate who was nominated unexpectedly on the 49th ballot at the 1852 Democratic National Convention. He won the election against Winfield Scott by 50 to 44% in the popular vote and 254 to 42 in the electoral vote.