Fillmore remained on the fringes of that conflict by generally supporting the congressional Whig position, but his chief achievement as Ways and Means chairman was the Tariff of 1842. Fillmore refused to change the American policy of remaining neutral. When order had been restored, John A. Collier, a New Yorker who opposed Weed, addressed the convention. Kossuth was feted by Congress, and Fillmore allowed a White House meeting after he had received word that Kossuth would not try to politicize it. Many Southerners, including Whigs, supported the filibusters, and Fillmore's response helped to divide his party as the 1852 election approached. His siblings were Olive, Cyrus, Almon, Calvin, Julia, Darius, Charles, and Phoebe. Some urged Fillmore to run for vice president with Clay, the consensus Whig choice for president in 1844. He persuaded Fillmore to support an uncommitted ticket but did not tell the Buffalonian of his hopes for Seward. Fillmore sought the Whig nomination to a full term in 1852 but was passed over by the party in favor of Winfield Scott. The ongoing sectional conflict had already excited much discussion when on January 21, 1850, President Taylor sent a special message to Congress that urged the admission of California immediately and New Mexico later and for the Supreme Court to settle the boundary dispute whereby the state of Texas claimed much of what is now the state of New Mexico. [132][133], Despite Fillmore's zeal in the war effort, he gave a speech in early 1864 calling for magnanimity towards the South after the war and counted its heavy cost, both in finances and in blood. Fillmore retained many supporters, planned an ostensibly nonpolitical national tour, and privately rallied disaffected Whig politicians to preserve the Union and to back him in a run for president. [136] Fillmore supported President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies since he felt that the nation needed to be reconciled as quickly as possible. All pretense at friendship between Fillmore and Weed vanished in November 1849 when they happened to meet in New York City and exchanged accusations. [158] There are a number of remembrances of Fillmore; his East Aurora house still stands, and sites honor him at his birthplace and boyhood home, where a replica log cabin was dedicated in 1963 by the Millard Fillmore Memorial Association. A similar plan was adopted by Congress in 1864. Although Fillmore worked to gain support among German-Americans, a major constituency, he was hurt among immigrants by the fact that in New York City, Whigs had supported a nativist candidate in the mayoral election earlier in 1844, and Fillmore and his party were tarred with that brush. Taylor's uncertain political views gave others pause: his career in the Army had prevented him from ever casting a ballot for president though he stated that he was a Whig supporter. [109] He was bereaved again on July 26, 1854, when his only daughter, Mary, died of cholera. [94], A longtime supporter of national infrastructure development, Fillmore signed bills to subsidize the Illinois Central railroad from Chicago to Mobile, and for a canal at Sault Ste. Buffalo was legally a village when Fillmore arrived, and although the bill to incorporate it as a city passed the legislature after he had left the Assembly, Fillmore helped draft the city charter. Close. Government money had been held in so-called "pet banks" since Jackson had withdrawn it from the Second Bank. Hall later became Fillmore's partner in Buffalo and his postmaster general during Fillmore's presidency. Southern proslavery forces in the party mistrusted his compromise policies. [28] He proved effective anyway by promoting legislation to provide court witnesses the option of taking a non-religious oath and, in 1830, abolishing imprisonment for debt. This is a web preview of the "The Handy Presidents Answer Book" app. Fillmore, Seward and Weed had met and come to a general agreement on how to divide federal jobs in New York. He eventually suffered a stroke in 1874, which would soon lead to his death. Fillmore interceded with the editor and assured him that Taylor was loyal to the party. Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800-March 8, 1874) served as America's 13th president from July 1850 to March 1853 having taken over after the death of his predecessor, Zachary Taylor. [144] Anna Prior, writing in The Wall Street Journal in 2010, said that Fillmore's very name connotes mediocrity. 13, 1806, d. Jan. 17, 1830, Darius Ingraham Fillmore, b. Nov. 16, 1814, d. Mar. What he consumed likely gave him gastroenteritis, and he died on July 9. [50], Fillmore hoped to gain the endorsement of the New York delegation to the national convention, but Weed wanted the vice presidency for Seward, with Fillmore as governor. Nathaniel Fillmore (1771-1863), a farmer, was Millard Fillmore's father. Fillmore was one of five "accidental" presidents. Cuba was a Spanish slave colony. [121] Scarry suggested that the events of 1856, including the conflict in Kansas Territory and the caning of Charles Sumner on the floor of the Senate, polarized the nation and made Fillmore's moderate stance obsolete. He aided Buffalo in becoming the third American city to have a permanent art gallery, with the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. Though her proposal did not pass, they became friends, met in person, and continued to correspond well after Fillmore's presidency. [116] In Rome, Fillmore had an audience with Pope PiusIX. [11], His father then placed him in the same trade at a mill in New Hope. It was common at that time to use the mother's maiden name. He had three sisters and five brothers. "[1], Over time Nathaniel became more successful in Sempronius, but during Millard's formative years, the family endured severe poverty. SIBLINGS Millard Fillmore was the second child in a family of nine. [43] Fillmore organized Western New York for the Harrison campaign, and the national ticket was elected, and Fillmore easily gained a fourth term in the House. Franklin Pierce was that man. Any assessment of a President who served a century and a half ago must be refracted through a consideration of the interesting times in which he lived. Weed's attempts to boost Fillmore as a gubernatorial candidate caused the latter to write, "I am not willing to be treacherously killed by this pretended kindness do not suppose for a minute that I think they desire my nomination for governor. He suffered a stroke in February 1874, and died on March 8, 1874, at the age of 74 after suffering a second stroke. [d] Minor party candidates took no electoral votes,[74] but the strength of the burgeoning anti-slavery movement was shown by the vote for Van Buren, who won no states but earned 291,501 votes (10.1%) and finished second in New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts. [81] On January 29, Clay introduced his "Omnibus Bill",[h] which would give victories to both North and South by admitting California as a free state, organizing territorial governments in New Mexico and Utah, and banning the slave trade in the District of Columbia. Without the votes of much of the South and also of Northerners who depended on peaceful intersectional trade, Scott was easily beaten by Pierce in November. [141] According to biographer Scarry: "No president of the United States has suffered as much ridicule as Millard Fillmore. Collier warned of a fatal breach in the party and said that only one thing could prevent it: the nomination of Fillmore for vice president, whom he depicted incorrectly as a strong Clay supporter. [145][163], According to the assessment of Fillmore by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia:[164]. [160] At the university that he helped to found, now the University at Buffalo, Millard Fillmore Academic Center and Millard Fillmore College bear his name. [100], Fillmore was a staunch opponent of European influence in Hawaii. [48], Out of office, Fillmore continued his law practice and made long-neglected repairs to his Buffalo home. Fearing that Taylor would be a party apostate like Tyler, Weed in late August scheduled a rally in Albany aimed at electing an uncommitted slate of presidential electors. Millard Fillmore met the mother of his children when he started his formal education. Fillmore was angered when President Polk vetoed a river and harbors bill that would have benefited Buffalo,[57] and he wrote, "May God save the country for it is evident the people will not. Fillmore's constant attention to Mexico avoided a resumption of the MexicanAmerican War and laid the groundwork for the Gadsden Treaty during Pierce's presidency. [52], Putting a good face on his defeat, Fillmore met and publicly appeared with Frelinghuysen and quietly spurned Weed's offer to get him nominated as governor at the state convention. Each bill passed the Senate with the support of the section that wanted it, with a few members who were determined to see all the bills passed. Believing that government funds should be lent to develop the country, Fillmore felt it would lock the nation's limited supply of gold money away from commerce. Smith suggested that the Whigs might have done much better with Fillmore. [148] Steven G. Calabresi and Christopher S. Yoo, in their study of presidential power, deemed Fillmore "a faithful executor of the laws of the United States for good and for ill". His friend Judge Hall assured him it would be proper for him to practice law in the higher courts of New York, and Fillmore so intended. [111], Such a comeback could not be under the auspices of the Whig Party, with its remnants divided by the KansasNebraska legislation, which passed with the support of Pierce. After acknowledging the letter and spending a sleepless night,[84] Fillmore went to the House of Representatives, where, at a joint session of Congress, he took the oath as president from William Cranch, the chief judge of the federal court for the District of Columbia, who had also sworn in President Tyler. Nevins stated about Fillmore that "by no spoken or written word had he indicated a subscription to American tenets. At the time, Congress convened its annual session in December and so Fillmore had to wait more than a year after his election to take his seat. Party leaders proposed a deal to Fillmore and Webster: if the latter could increase his vote total over the next several ballots, enough Fillmore supporters would go along to put him over the top. His biographer, Paul Finkelman, suggested that after being under others' thumbs all his life, Fillmore enjoyed the independence of his East Aurora practice. Marie. [80], Fillmore presided[g] over some of the most momentous and passionate debates in American history as the Senate debated whether to allow slavery in the territories. Fillmore appointed his old law partner, Nathan Hall, as Postmaster General, a cabinet position that controlled many patronage appointments. Fillmore's political career encompassed the tortuous course toward the two-party system that we know today. In addition to his legal practice Fillmore helped found the Buffalo High School Association, joined the lyceum, attended the local Unitarian church, and became a leading citizen of Buffalo. When, as President, Fillmore sided with proslavery elements in ordering enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law, he all but guaranteed that he would be the last Whig President. He was a rival for the state party leadership with the editor Thurlow Weed and his protg, William H. Seward. [64], Weed had wanted the vice-presidential nomination for Seward, who attracted few delegate votes, and Collier had acted to frustrate them in more ways than one, since with the New Yorker Fillmore as vice president, under the political customs of the time, no one from that state could be named to the Cabinet. Abigail Fillmore was the wife of Millard Fillmore and the first of the First Ladies to hold a job after marriage. Fillmore applied pressure to get Northern Whigs, including New Yorkers, to abstain, rather than to oppose the bill. [10] Fillmore was relegated to menial labor, and unhappy at not learning any skills, he left Hungerford's employ. Abigail Powers. On the 48th ballot, Webster delegates began to defect to Scott, and the general gained the nomination on the 53rd ballot. [107] The Fillmores had planned a tour of the South after they had left the White House, but Abigail caught a cold at President Pierce's inauguration, developed pneumonia, and died in Washington on March 30, 1853. [77], Through 1849, slavery was an unresolved issue in the territories. [31][32], In 1832 Fillmore ran successfully for the U.S. House of Representatives. Birthday: November 24, 1784 ( Sagittarius) Born In: Barboursville, Virginia, United States 71 30 Presidents #44 Leaders #124 Quick Facts Died At Age: 65 Family: Spouse/Ex-: Margaret Smith father: Richard Taylor mother: Sarah Dabney (Strother) Taylor siblings: Joseph Pannell Taylor Historians consistently rank Fillmore among the worst presidents in American history, largely for his policies regarding slavery. [54] He was not friendly to immigrants and blamed his defeat on "foreign Catholics". Abbie was highly-educated and musically talented. The convention was deadlocked until Saturday, June 19, when a total of 46 ballots had been taken, and the delegates adjourned until Monday. [33] Weed had joined the Whigs before Fillmore and became a power within the party, and Weed's anti-slavery views were stronger than those of Fillmore, who disliked slavery but considered the federal government powerless over it. President Millard Fillmore. [63], Despite Weed's efforts, Taylor was nominated on the fourth ballot, to the anger of Clay's supporters and of Conscience Whigs from the Northeast. [27], Many Anti-Masons were opposed to the presidential candidacy of General Andrew Jackson, who was a Mason. Millard Powers Fillmore. As a youngster, Abigail's. Enjoying the holidays with his family on an early Christmas Eve morn, 1851, he heard the Washington, D.C. fire chiefs call "Fire! [12] In 1819 he took advantage of idle time at the mill to enroll at a new academy in the town, where he met a classmate, Abigail Powers, and fell in love with her. [87] Fillmore received another letter after he had become president. [49] Seeking to return to Washington, Fillmore wanted the vice presidency. According to the historian Smith, "They generously supported almost every conceivable cause. He eloquently described the grief of the Clay supporters, frustrated again in their battle to make Clay president. [44], At the urging of Clay, Harrison quickly called a special session of Congress. [155] Fred I. Greenstein and Dale Anderson praised Fillmore for his resoluteness in his early months in office and noted that Fillmore "is typically described as stolid, bland, and conventional, but such terms underestimate the forcefulness evinced by his handling of the Texas-New Mexico border crisis, his decision to replace Taylor's entire cabinet, and his effectiveness in advancing the Compromise of 1850. Updated on March 18, 2018. Van Buren, faced with the economic Panic of 1837, which was caused partly by the lack of confidence in private banknote issues after Jackson had instructed the government to accept only gold or silver, called a special session of Congress. [17] Refusing to pledge not to do so again, Fillmore gave up his clerkship. Fillmore's second choice, George Edmund Badger, asked for his name to be withdrawn. Many features only work on your mobile device. He had three sisters and five brothers. Fillmore had stated that a convention had the right to draft anyone for political service, and Weed got the convention to choose Fillmore, who had broad support, despite his reluctance. [105], The final months of Fillmore's term were uneventful. The party's perennial candidates, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, both wanted the nomination and amassed support from congressional colleagues. The Continentals trained to defend the Buffalo area in the event of a Confederate attack. He did so even though some prosecutions or attempts to return slaves ended badly for the government, with acquittals and the slave taken from federal custody and freed by a Boston mob. Delegates did not know what Collier had said was false or at least greatly exaggerated and there was a large reaction in Fillmore's favor. Abigail's brother Cyrus taught school in Sempronius from 1801 to 1803 in a double-log house built . The Anti-Masonic presidential candidate, William Wirt, a former attorney general, won only Vermont, and President Jackson easily gained re-election. Democrats, led by their presidential candidate, Vice President Martin Van Buren, were victorious nationwide and in Van Buren's home state of New York, but Western New York voted Whig and sent Fillmore back to Washington.[40]. [124], The historian Allan Nevins wrote that Fillmore was not a Know Nothing or a nativist, offering as support that Fillmore was out of the country when the nomination came and had not been consulted about running. [18] Nathaniel again moved the family, and Millard accompanied it west to East Aurora, in Erie County, near Buffalo,[19] where Nathaniel purchased a farm that became prosperous. [e][76], Fillmore had spent the four months between the election and the swearing-in being feted by the New York Whigs and winding up affairs in the comptroller's office. [53], The Democrats nominated Senator Silas Wright as their gubernatorial candidate and former Tennessee Governor James K. Polk for president. [21] In 1823 he was admitted to the bar, declined offers from Buffalo law firms, and returned to East Aurora to establish a practice as the town's only resident lawyer. [82], July 4, 1850 was a very hot day in Washington, and President Taylor, who attended the Fourth of July ceremonies to lay the cornerstone of the Washington Monument, refreshed himself, likely with cold milk and cherries. Fillmore is one of only four US president who were never elected to be President. Weed and Seward backed Scott. [110], The former president ended his seclusion in early 1854, as a debate over Senator Douglas's KansasNebraska Bill embroiled the nation. He fulfilled his "big brother" role with dedication, and was a great help to his parents and siblings throughout his life. The President quickly agreed, but Webster did not do so until Monday morning. Zachery Taylor won the 1848 presidential election defeating Lewis Cass. [130] He decried Buchanan's inaction as states left the Union and wrote that although the federal government could not coerce a state, those advocating secession should simply be regarded as traitors. "[58] At the time, New York governors served a two-year term, and Fillmore could have had the Whig nomination in 1846 had he wanted it.