17. Franklin Pierce –IQ score: 134.78
Franklin Pierce, America’s 14th president (1853–1857), rose to prominence thanks to his family’s Revolutionary War fame in New Hampshire. While he pushed for government accountability and railroad expansion, his presidency is largely remembered for the disastrous Kansas-Nebraska Act.
This law, which let territories decide on slavery, ignited violent clashes and deepened divisions, ultimately fueling the path to the Civil War. Historians often rank him among the nation’s worst presidents.
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