Fillmore, Millard (1800-1874), the second vice president of the United States to inherit the nation’s highest office, became president when Zachary Taylor died. During Fillmore’s 32 months in office as president, his most important action was his approval of the Compromise of 1850. This series of laws helped delay the American Civil War for more than 10 years.
A self-made man, Fillmore had been a poor boy who was once a clothmaker’s apprentice. He studied law, then won election to the New York state legislature and to Congress. He became known nationally only after the Whig Party chose him to be Taylor’s vice presidential running mate in 1848.
As vice president, Fillmore presided coolly over the heated Senate debates between slavery and antislavery forces. The Compromise of 1850, which he helped achieve, had been opposed by President Taylor because of its concessions to the South. But when Taylor died, Fillmore urged passage of the compromise and quickly signed it into law. Fillmore personally did not approve of slavery. But he loved the Union and preferred compromise to the risk of war.
Fillmore faithfully enforced the compromise, including its provision for the return of runaway slaves. This policy lost him the support of most Northerners, and he was not nominated for president in 1852.
A conservative dresser, Fillmore always wore a dark frock coat and a high-collared shirt with a black silk neckcloth tied in a bow in front. He had kindly blue eyes and a gracious, courteous manner. People admired his modesty. When Oxford University in England offered him an honorary degree, Fillmore replied that he had done nothing to deserve the honor and would not accept the degree.
Early life
Millard Fillmore was born in Locke, New York, on Jan. 7, 1800. He was the second child in a family of three girls and six boys. His parents, Nathaniel and Phoebe Millard Fillmore, had moved to the frontier from Bennington, Vermont. The elder Fillmore had hoped to improve his fortune, but he lost his farm through a faulty title. He then moved to another part of Cayuga County, where he rented a heavily wooded piece of land. Millard helped his father clear timber and work the farm.
Education.
Millard attended school for only short periods, but he learned reading, spelling, arithmetic, and geography. His father owned two books, the Bible and a hymnbook.
At the age of 14, Millard was apprenticed to a clothmaker. His master treated Millard so badly that the boy once threatened him with an ax. He found a new master, but he bought his freedom from the apprenticeship in 1819 for $30. In the same year, he also purchased the first book he had ever owned, a dictionary. Fillmore decided to become a lawyer. He taught school while he studied with a local judge. In 1823, he opened a law office in East Aurora, New York.
Fillmore’s family.
Millard Fillmore met Abigail Powers (March 13, 1798–March 30, 1853) in 1819, when they attended the same school. He was then 19 years old, and she was 21. They fell in love and were married in 1826. Mrs. Fillmore was a teacher, and she continued to teach until 1828. The couple had two children, Millard Powers Fillmore (1828-1889) and Mary Abigail Fillmore (1832-1854). In 1830, the family moved to Buffalo, New York.
Political and public career
Fillmore won election to the New York House of Representatives in 1828 with the help of Thurlow Weed, an Albany publisher who helped form the Whig Party. Fillmore was twice reelected.
Congressman.
In 1832, Fillmore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served from 1833 to 1835 and from 1837 to 1843. He generally favored the nationalistic policies of Henry Clay. As chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Fillmore was the chief author of the tariff of 1842, which raised duties on manufactured goods. He ran for governor of New York in 1844 but was defeated and returned to his law practice. In 1846, he became the first chancellor of the University of Buffalo. The next year, he was elected comptroller of New York.
Vice president.
The Whigs nominated Fillmore for vice president in 1848 on a ticket headed by General Zachary Taylor, the hero of the Mexican War. The Democrats nominated Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan for president and former Congressman William O. Butler of Kentucky for vice president. During the campaign, the Democrats split over the slavery issue, and many voted for the Free Soil ticket (see Free Soil Party ). Taylor and Fillmore won the election by a margin of 36 electoral votes.
Fillmore presided over the Senate debate on the Compromise of 1850 (see Compromise of 1850 ). Before the issue was settled, President Taylor died on July 9, 1850. Fillmore was sworn in as the new president the next day.
Fillmore’s administration (1850-1853)
Accomplishments.
After becoming president, Fillmore came forth strongly in favor of compromise on slavery. As his first act, he replaced Taylor’s Cabinet with men who had led the fight for compromise.
In September, Congress passed the series of laws that made up the Compromise of 1850. Fillmore promptly signed them. The compromise admitted California as a free state and organized territorial governments for Utah and New Mexico. These territories could decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. The compromise also settled a Texas boundary dispute, abolished the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and established a stricter fugitive slave law (see Fugitive slave laws ).
Also during Fillmore’s administration, Congress reduced the basic postal rate from 5 to 3 cents. Later in 1852, the president sent Commodore Matthew C. Perry on an expedition to the Far East. Two years later, after Fillmore had left the presidency, this voyage resulted in the first trade treaty with Japan.
Life in the White House.
Abigail Fillmore found her responsibilities as First Lady a heavy burden on her health. Her 18-year-old daughter, Mary, took over many official tasks. Mrs. Fillmore arranged for the purchase of the first cooking stove in the White House. She also set up the first White House library. When the Library of Congress burned in 1851, Fillmore and his Cabinet helped fight the blaze.
Election of 1852.
When the Whigs met to nominate a presidential candidate in 1852, they were divided between friends and foes of the Compromise of 1850. Southerners supported Fillmore. But most Northerners rejected him, and a small group of pro-Compromise delegates from New England supported Secretary of State Daniel Webster. General Winfield Scott, an antislavery candidate, was finally nominated. He lost the election.
Later years
Mrs. Fillmore died less than a month after her husband left office. She was buried in Washington, D.C.
Fillmore returned to Buffalo and resumed his law practice. The Know-Nothing and the Whig parties nominated him for president in 1856. But the Republicans, who nominated General John C. Fremont, cut into his support. Democrat James Buchanan won. Fillmore ran third, carrying only Maryland.
In 1858, Fillmore married Mrs. Caroline Carmichael McIntosh (Oct. 21, 1813–Aug. 11, 1881), a widow. During the Civil War, he opposed many of Abraham Lincoln’s policies. After the war, he favored the Reconstruction program of President Andrew Johnson. Fillmore died on March 8, 1874, and was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo.
