Millard Fillmore

By: Chris Berger

Early Life
• Millard Fillmore was born in Locke Township, New York January 7th, 1800.
His parents were Nathaniel and Phoebe Fillmore. The family lived in extreme
poverty on a farm between Syracuse and Ithaca. Millard was the 2nd of 8
children and the oldest son.

• Nathaniel Fillmore sent Millard on an apprenticeship with a cloth maker.

Here, the family would be paid and have less people to feed. Fillmore did not
like cloth making so he took his earnings and bought books. He quickly paid
his way out of the apprenticeship and headed back home.

• He attended the local school and read whatever he could get his hands on.
His teacher Abigail was the first to encourage him to be more than a farmer.
He would later go on to marry Abigail Powers.

• Nathaniel Fillmore pictured.

Early Life Cont.
• Nathaniel Fillmore then arranged a clerkship for Millard
with a local judge so he could study law. Fillmore was able
to teach while studying in order support himself. He then
proposed to Abigail Powers in 1819 and she accepted.
• By this point, Fillmore's family had moved from the
farmlands to East Aurora. Millard followed his family while
teaching and clerking. He gained admission to the New York
bar in 1823.
• By 1826, he opened his own law practice and Abigail, his
wife, advised and counseled him to great success. In 1828,
Abigail and Millard had a son, Millard, and four years later a
daughter, Mary.
• Abigail Powers pictured.
Entry to the Political Arena
• In Fillmore's era, the Masonic Party, led by Andrew Jackson, was under
fire from William Morgan. The Masonic Party was very suspect after
Morgan disappeared and was never seen again. This was because
Morgan spoke out against the parties values. Next, the Anti-Masonic
Party rose to balance out political influence. Buffalo was a hotbed for
the Anti-Masonic Party so Fillmore joined them.
• In 1829, Fillmore began his first of three terms in the state assembly.
His main concern was to keep those in debt out of prison because he
remembered what poverty was like.
• Fillmore gained favor with citizens and was then elected to the US
House of Representatives in 1832.
• By 1843, the Whig and the Anti-Masonic Party had joined forces.
• Fillmore was re-elected to Congress three times between 1837 and
1843. During his last term in congress, Fillmore was named head of the
Ways and Means Committee which handled taxes and financial issues.
Political Life Cont.
• In 1843, Millard left the house in hopes of receiving the
vice president nomination from the Whig Party. Thurlow
Weed, a leader of the Whig Party, insisted that Fillmore
run for governor of NY instead. He lost this race for
governor and was now jobless.
• In 1847, he was elected comptroller of New York. His
margin of victory was so large that he became the Whig
Party’s leading candidate for the 1848 election.
• The Whig’s selected Mexican-American War hero
Zachary Taylor as there presidential nominee and Millard
Fillmore as his running mate. 16 months after taking
office, Zachary Taylor passed away due to illness and
Fillmore became president.
• Fillmore didn’t support slavery but supported the
Compromise of 1850.He believed a compromise would
be the only thing that could hold our nation together.
• The compromise made everyone unhappy and this is
where the Whig Party began to crumble. Fillmore
attempted to not run for a second term but his name
was placed in the running.
Quotations from Fillmore on Slavery

• “regarded slavery as an evil, but one with which the National Government had
nothing to do.”
• Under the Constitution he said “the whole power over that question was vested in
the several states where the institution was tolerated. If they regarded it as a
blessing, they had a constitutional right to enjoy it; and if they regarded it as an
evil, they had the power and knew best how to apply the remedy.”
Background Info:1848 Presidential Election
-James Polk was President from 1845 to 1849. He led us into the Mexican American War
which allowed United States to gain control of what is now the southwest. Polk promised
he would only serve one term as president and he stayed true to his word.
-Mexican American War heroes Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott were at the top of the
list for the Whig Party presidential nomination.
-Zachary Taylor ended up winning the nomination despite the fact that he was a
slaveowner. He was chosen over the likes of not only Winfield Scott but Henry Clay and
Daniel Webster. The Whig Party wanted his running mate to be someone who better
exemplified the views of the Whig Party.
-They chose Millard Fillmore to be Zachary Taylors running mate.
The 1848 Presidential Election

-The most pressing issue during the election was whether or not slavery was to be allowed in the annexed
territory from Mexico.
-Lewis Cass of the Democratic party ran with William O. Butler who was an Major General from Kentucky.
They received 127 electoral votes and 42% of the popular vote. The Democrats were the favorite in this
election unless Zachary Taylor accepted the nomination from the Whig Party.
-Martin Van Buren broke away from the Democratic party and was the presidential nominee of the Free-
Soil Party, which argued strongly against the expansion of slavery into the new territories. His running mate
was Charles F. Adams, who was a former Massachusetts State Senator.
-Zachary Taylor and his running mate Millard Fillmore represented the Whig Party. They received 163
electoral votes and 47.3% of the popular vote.
-On 4th of July at the White House, President Zachary Taylor likely had eaten something that was
contaminated with cholera. Five days later he passed away and Millard Fillmore is made President.
Candidate Party Electoral Votes Popular Votes
Zachary Taylor Whig 163 1,360,099 Lewis
Cass Democratic 127 1,220,544 Martin Van Buren Free
Soil 0 291,501
 The Campaigns

• Presidential candidates didn’t start

campaigning for office until the 20th
century.
• The Whig party received backing from
Abraham Lincoln and Rutherford B. Hayes.
Both the Whigs and the Democrats didn’t
mention the slavery-expansion in their
initial statements. The Free Soil Party was
lead by former President Martin Van Buren
and consisted of abolitionists and Whigs
who opposed slavery.
• Its important to note that Millard Fillmore
was chosen for Vice President by the Whig
Party.
• This is a song written by and supportive of
the Whig party.
 This was part of an
African-American
Pamphlet Collection
that was a first hand
account on slavery
and the possibility of
freedom. It was
brought up in the
1848 election by the
Free Soil Party.
Millard Fillmore: A Second
Term?
• Millard Fillmore showed little to no interest in serving a
second term as President.
• He planted an article in a newspaper saying that he was
retiring from office. Before this he had made no statement
to the public regarding his second term.
• An interesting fact about Fillmore's time as Vice president is
that he played no role. President Taylor completely shut
him out from any and all decision making.

• Pictured is Zachary Taylor.

Fillmore as President
• Fillmore was set on passing the Compromise of 1850 once he was in office. Stephen
Douglas who was part of the opposing party at the time was responsible for
partitioning new American territories while in the House.
• Together, they turned the compromise into 5 separate bills that appealed to both sides.
Texas settled its border dispute with New Mexico; California was admitted as a free
state; and Mexico and Utah were given territorial status.
• The Fugitive Slave Act was then passed and slave trading was made illegal in the
district of Columbia.
• Fillmore hoped that the passage of these acts would show that the parties worked
together and were united.
• In 1851, he vigorously enforced the Fugitive Slave Act in order to keep the south from
secession. Then the North felt the South was being favored ,so Fillmore ordered forts
to be strengthened in South Carolina to prevent secession.
Foreign Affairs
• President Millard Fillmore had a lot on his plate with the slavery debate on home soil, but he also had plans to
expand trade for America.
• Fillmore ordered a trade mission to Japan with Commodore Matthew Perry. Japan wouldn’t open for trade until
after Fillmore’s presidency.
• He protected the Hawaiian Islands from the British and French.
• President Taylor had signed in a treaty preventing both the British and US from claiming more territories in Central
America. Fillmore sent war ships in order to protect American ships from British attacks.
• In South America, a Venezuelan man recruited an army of Americans to invade Cuba. Fillmore attempted to stop
this invasion and the ensuing army was slaughtered by the Spanish. The North criticized Fillmore because of his
subsequent apology to the Spanish while the South criticized the president for not supporting the invasion.
• Fillmore didn’t help much with the freeing of Eastern European people from their repressive imperial governments.
He received a lot of criticism for this on American soil and the blame was placed on him.
Women, African Americans
and Immigration
• By the time Fillmore became president, nearly three million people
emigrated to America. Also, nearly 100,000 Americans left for
California when they heard golf was found there. With all of the
economic activity in California, San Francisco developed with nearly
25,000 people in it.
• Fillmore appointed the Mormon leader Brigham Young to govern
Utah, where the Mormons resided.
• During Fillmore's administration, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published
and offered a new perspective on the idea of slavery. This enraged
Northerners bringing more heat on Fillmore.
• The Underground Railroad was at its peak late in Fillmore’s
presidency.
End of the Presidency
• Fillmore's wife Abigail was very sick at the
time of the inauguration and due to cold
temperatures, she got pneumonia the
following day and died 2 weeks later.
• After the death of his wife, Fillmore also
lost his daughter, Mary.
• In an attempt to return to some normalcy
after leaving office, he ran for president in
1856 for the Know Nothing Party and
failed miserably.
• Fillmore then moved to Buffalo where he
remarried a wealthy widow named
Caroline McIntosh and continued his
philanthropic work.
• He played an important role in organizing
enlistment and war-financing drives
during the Civil War.
• Pictured: Abigail Powers tombstone, the Know-
Nothing party which was anti-religious and anti-
immigration, Caroline McIntosh.
Millard Fillmore Death
• On February 13, 1874, Fillmore suffered a
stroke, then another on February 26th.
• Millard Fillmore died at his residence at
11:10 p.m. on March 8th. He was conscious
until the time of of death.
• His final words to his physician were “the
nourishment was palatable”.
• He died quick and painlessly according to his
obituary.
• His cause of death was a stroke, likely from
old age.
• He died leaving behind one son and his wife,
Caroline Mcintosh.
Millard Fillmore Funeral
• Fillmore was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo NY.
• Some of the notables at the funeral were Senator Roscoe
Conklin & Hanibal Hamlin who eulogized Fillmore.
• There are several accounts saying that on the day of the
funeral, Washington and “the houses” were adjourned that
day in order to honor Fillmore.
• The weather was described as being windy with sand and
dust blowing around; very spring-like.
• There are several statues around the Unites states of
Millard Fillmore.
 Statues and Monuments

Located at Buffalo City Hall Located in South Dakota.

The Millard Fillmore house was built by Fillmore for him after his
presidency. It is now a historic landmark in East Aurora, New York.

Millard Fillmore's statues haven been erected mostly in Buffalo, New York. Most of the statues acknowledge Fillmore’s time as president.
 Legacy
• Millard Fillmore was most well known for his philanthropy and education. His legacy is all around
my hometown of Buffalo, New York.
• There is a hospital in Western New York called Millard Fillmore Suburban hospital that is known
for their excellence in stroke care and research.

• He helped found the University of Buffalo and became

their first chancellor.
• There is some disagreement in Buffalo about naming all
of these buildings after Fillmore because of his support of
slavery.
• Fillmore was best known for keeping America out of a
Civil War for a number of years.
• He is also responsible for the decline of the Whig party
and being a very “average” president.
Other Facts
• In a time where almost every man drank, smoke or gambled, Fillmore did not.
• When Fillmore was president, the White House was in poor condition. There was a story of
springs stabbing guests as they sat on the couches of the White House.
• The Fillmore’s didn’t have many gatherings at the White House as they preferred a more quiet
life.
• When Fillmore married Caroline McIntosh, the rich widow from Albany, he was forced to sign a
prenuptial agreement.
Bibliography

• Caroline Carmichael McIntosh Fillmore, www.buffaloah.com/a/forestL/fillmoreC/index.html.

• Freidel, Frank. “Millard Fillmore.” The White House, The United States Government,
www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/millard-fillmore/.
• “Millard Fillmore.” Miller Center, 28 Feb. 2019, millercenter.org/president/fillmore.
• “Millard Fillmore, 12th Vice President (1849-1850).” U.S. Senate: Millard Fillmore, 12th Vice President (1849-
1850), 9 May 2017, www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Millard_Fillmore.htm.
• “Obituary.” Obituary, www.millardfillmore.org/p/obituary.html.