In late May, the Democrats nominated former New Hampshire senator Franklin Pierce, who had been out of federal politics for nearly a decade before 1852 but had a profile that had risen by his military service during the Mexican War. Many Southerners, including Whigs, supported the filibusters, and Fillmore's response helped to divide his party as the 1852 election approached. [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. [98], Fillmore oversaw two highly-competent Secretaries of State, Daniel Webster, and after the New Englander's 1852 death, Edward Everett. President Fillmore and the Whigs: Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States of America, taking office upon the sudden. Most contentious was the Fugitive Slave Bill, whose provisions were anathema to abolitionists. 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. During the American Civil War, Fillmore denounced secession and agreed that the Union must be maintained by force if necessary, but was critical of Abraham Lincoln's war policies. [1] Fillmore's 1828 election contrasted the victories of the Jacksonian Democrats (soon the Democrats), who swept the general into the White House and their party to a majority in Albany and so Fillmore was in the minority in the Assembly. The Fugitive Slave Act, expediting the return of escaped slaves to those who claimed ownership, was a controversial part of the compromise. Through the legislative process, various changes were made, including the setting of a boundary between New Mexico Territory and Texas, the state being given a payment to settle any claims. [59] With a united party at his back, Fillmore won by 38,000 votes, the largest margin that a Whig candidate for statewide office would ever achieve in New York. [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. Fillmore made public appearances opening railroads and visiting the grave of Senator Clay but met with politicians outside the public eye during the late winter and the spring of 1854. [68] There was a crisis among the Whigs when Taylor also accepted the presidential nomination of a group of dissident South Carolina Democrats. 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. Which is the most important river in Congo. Millard Fillmore, a member of the Whig party, was the 13th President of the United States (1850-1853) and the last President not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. Weed and Seward backed Scott. [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. Marie. Defeated in bids for the Whig nomination for vice president in 1844 and for New York governor the same year, Fillmore was elected Comptroller of New York in 1847, the first to hold that post by direct election. Upon becoming president in July 1850, Fillmore dismissed Taylor's cabinet and pushed Congress to pass the compromise. Delegates hung on his every word as he described himself as a Clay partisan; he had voted for Clay on each ballot. [106], Fillmore was the first president to return to private life without independent wealth or the possession of a landed estate. [141] According to biographer Scarry: "No president of the United States has suffered as much ridicule as Millard Fillmore. Since March 4 (which was then Inauguration Day) fell on a Sunday, the swearing-in was postponed to the following day. [88] Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas then stepped to the fore, with Clay's agreement, proposing to break the omnibus bill into individual bills that could be passed piecemeal. Buffalo's Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital officially closed its last remaining services at 6 a.m.. Horace Greeley wrote privately that "my own first choice has long been Millard Fillmore," and others thought Fillmore should try to win back the governor's mansion for the Whigs. [39] By 1836 Fillmore was confident enough of anti-Jackson unity that he accepted the Whig nomination for Congress. [48], Out of office, Fillmore continued his law practice and made long-neglected repairs to his Buffalo home. [54] He was not friendly to immigrants and blamed his defeat on "foreign Catholics". [87] Fillmore received another letter after he had become president. Fillmore, Seward and Weed had met and come to a general agreement on how to divide federal jobs in New York. [66][67], It was customary in the mid-19th century for a candidate for high office not to appear to seek it. There isn't that much written about Fillmore, who was relegated to the dust bin of history by his own political party in 1852 after serving less than three years as President. The Democrats nominated Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan for president, with General William O. Butler as his running mate, but it became a three-way fight since the Free Soil Party, which opposed the spread of slavery, chose ex-President Van Buren. The president-elect mistakenly thought that the vice president was a cabinet member, which was not true in the 19th century. To avoid that, Pius remained seated throughout the meeting. On January 1, 1855, he sent a letter for publication that warned against immigrant influence in American elections, and he soon joined the order. [37], Anti-Masonry was still strong in Western New York though it was petering out nationally. In foreign policy, he supported U.S. Navy expeditions to open trade in Japan, opposed French designs on Hawaii, and was embarrassed by Narciso Lpez's filibuster expeditions to Cuba. "[76] Despite his lack of influence, office-seekers pestered him, as did those with a house to lease or sell since there was no official vice-presidential residence at the time. [49] Seeking to return to Washington, Fillmore wanted the vice presidency. Tired of Washington life and the conflict that had revolved around Tyler, Fillmore sought to return to his life and law practice in Buffalo. In the immediate aftermath of Harrison's death, there was confusion about whether Tyler. [157], Fillmore, with his wife, Abigail, established the first White House library. The Senate took no action on the nomination of the New Orleans attorney Edward A. Bradford. 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. [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. [30] He was also active in the New York Militia and attained the rank of major as inspector of the 47th Brigade. France, under Emperor Napoleon III, sought to annex Hawaii but backed down after Fillmore issued a strongly-worded message warning that "the United States would not stand for any such action. After the second attempt in 1850, Lpez and some of his followers were indicted for breach of the Neutrality Act but were quickly acquitted by friendly Southern juries. 1800-1874. The Whigs were not cohesive enough to survive the slavery imbroglio, while parties like the Anti-Masonics and Know-Nothings were too extremist. He had three sisters and five brothers. He was a rival for the state party leadership with the editor Thurlow Weed and his protg, William H. Seward. In 1829, he began the first of three terms in the assembly, where he sponsored a substantial amount of legislation. "[125][126] However, Fillmore had sent a letter for publication in 1855 that explicitly denounced immigrant influence in elections[114] and Fillmore stated that the American Party was the "only hope of forming a truly national party, which shall ignore this constant and distracting agitation of slavery. After the vote, in which the Republican candidate, former Illinois Representative Abraham Lincoln, was elected, many sought out Fillmore's views, but he refused to take any part in the secession crisis that followed since he felt that he lacked influence. It was common at that time to use the mother's maiden name. [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. Thus, approaching the national convention in Baltimore, to be held in June 1852, the major candidates were Fillmore, Webster, and General Scott. He had opposed the annexation of Texas, spoke against the subsequent MexicanAmerican War, and saw the war as a contrivance to extend slavery's realm. They were concerned that American sailors cast away on the Japanese coast were imprisoned as criminals. [j] The American Party ticket narrowly lost in several southern states, and a change of fewer than 8,000 votes in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee would have thrown the election to the House of Representatives, where the sectional divide would have made the outcome uncertain. [97], Justice John McKinley's death in 1852 led to repeated fruitless attempts by the president to fill the vacancy. Did Millard Fillmore have any siblings? [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. Marriage: 5 February 1826. Historians consistently rank Fillmore among the worst presidents in American history, largely for his policies regarding slavery. Southerners complained bitterly about any leniency in its application, but its enforcement was highly offensive to many Northerners. That greatly increased Weed's influence in New York politics and diminished Fillmore's. Fillmore remained involved in civic interests in retirement, including as chancellor of the University of Buffalo, which he had helped found in 1846. [95], Fillmore appointed one justice to the Supreme Court of the United States and made four appointments to United States district courts, including that of his law partner and cabinet officer, Nathan Hall, to the federal district court in Buffalo. [117][118], Fillmore's allies were in full control of the American Party and arranged for him to get its presidential nomination while he was in Europe. [b] Nathaniel became sufficiently regarded that he was chosen to serve in local offices, including justice of the peace. [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. [71] Fillmore responded to one Alabamian in a widely published letter that slavery was an evil, but the federal government had no authority over it. Although some Northerners were unhappy at the Fugitive Slave Act, relief was widespread in the hope of settling the slavery question. He became prominent in the Buffalo area as an attorney and politician, and he was elected to the New York Assembly in 1828 and to the House of Representatives in 1832. 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. Perry and his ships reached Japan in July 1853, four months after the end of Fillmore's term. 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. With the Democrats split over the issue of slaverysome had left to form the anti-slavery Free Soil PartyTaylor and Fillmore took the White. Texas had attempted to assert its authority in New Mexico, and the state's governor, Peter H. Bell, had sent belligerent letters to President Taylor. [14] Appreciating his son's talents, Nathaniel followed his wife's advice and persuaded Judge Walter Wood, the Fillmores' landlord and the wealthiest person in the area, to allow Millard to be his law clerk for a trial period. Fillmore's supporters such as Collier, who had nominated him at the convention, were passed over for candidates backed by Weed, who was triumphant even in Buffalo. The Union Continentals guarded Lincoln's funeral train in Buffalo. No -Fillmore did not serve in the regular military. Fillmore was also successful as a lawyer. Accordingly, Fillmore's pro-Union stance mostly went unheard. [38] Fillmore spent his time out of office building his law practice and boosting the Whig Party, which gradually absorbed most of the Anti-Masons. [135], After the Lincoln assassination in April 1865, black ink was thrown on Fillmore's house because it was not draped in mourning like others. [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. Webster was far more unhappy at the outcome than was Fillmore, who refused the secretary's resignation. 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. A largely ignored vice president, he got Taylor's attention when he. Abigail Powers. Once war came, Fillmore supported Lincoln in his efforts to preserve the Union.