As a youngster, Abigail's. His rivalry with Seward, who was already known for anti-slavery views and statements, made Fillmore more acceptable in the South. [15] Wood agreed to employ young Fillmore and to supervise him as he read law. Fillmore's place in history has also suffered because "even those who give him high marks for his support of the compromise have done so almost grudgingly, probably because of his Know-Nothing candidacy in 1856. When order had been restored, John A. Collier, a New Yorker who opposed Weed, addressed the convention. 13, 1806, d. Jan. 17, 1830, Darius Ingraham Fillmore, b. Nov. 16, 1814, d. Mar. Though he had little formal schooling, he rose from poverty by diligent study to become a lawyer. Fillmore became a firm supporter, and they continued their close relationship until Webster's death late in Fillmore's presidency. He found that many of his supporters could not accept Webster and that his action would nominate Scott. Mary Abigail Fillmore Abbie was born on March 27, 1832, in Buffalo, New York. [140], Fillmore is ranked by historians and political scientists as one of the worst presidents of the United States. "[1], Fillmore considered his political career to have ended with his defeat in 1856. 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. Once war came, Fillmore supported Lincoln in his efforts to preserve the Union. Millard Fillmore, (born January 7, 1800, Locke township, New York, U.S.died March 8, 1874, Buffalo, New York), 13th president of the United States (1850-53), whose insistence on federal enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 alienated the North and led to the destruction of the Whig Party. Taylor was unenthusiastic about the bill, which languished in Congress. Millard Fillmore Middle Name: None Millard Fillmore, our 13th president, was the second president to assume the presidency following the death of his predecessor (Taylor) but the first. That resulted in riots against the Spanish in New Orleans, which caused their consul to flee. "[128] Among these were the Buffalo General Hospital, which he helped found.[129]. [106], Fillmore was the first president to return to private life without independent wealth or the possession of a landed estate. [108] The fact that he was in mourning limited his social activities, and he made ends meet on the income from his investments. 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. BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) One of the oldest hospitals in western New York has shut down. Seward, however, was hostile to slavery and made it clear in his actions as governor by refusing to return slaves claimed by Southerners. 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 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. [143] Fillmore's name has become a byword in popular culture for easily forgotten and inconsequential presidents. As one wag put it, the "Mormons" were the only remaining passengers on the omnibus bill. Fillmore looked over their shoulders and made all major decisions. [122], Buchanan won with 1,836,072 votes (45.3%) and 174 electoral votes to Frmont's 1,342,345 votes (33.1%) and 114 electoral votes. He carefully weighed the political pros and cons of meeting with Pius. Fillmore came to the notice of the influential Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster, who took the new representative under his wing. Fillmore is one of only four US president who were never elected to be President. [139] The U.S. Senate sent three of its members to honor its former president, including Lincoln's first vice president, Maine's Hannibal Hamlin. [48], Out of office, Fillmore continued his law practice and made long-neglected repairs to his Buffalo home. They were concerned that American sailors cast away on the Japanese coast were imprisoned as criminals. Updated on March 18, 2018. [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. His parents were Phoebe Millard and Nathaniel Fillmore,[1] and he was the second of eight children and the oldest son. 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. Parents and Siblings. Fillmore supported the leading Whig vice-presidential candidate from 1836, Francis Granger, but Weed preferred Seward. [93] In gratitude, Young named the first territorial capital "Fillmore" and the surrounding county "Millard". [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. 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. He eventually suffered a stroke in 1874, which would soon lead to his death. Many northern foes of slavery, such as Seward, gravitated toward the new Republican Party, but Fillmore saw no home for himself there. Schelin, Robert C. "Millard Fillmore, Anti-Mason to Know-Nothing: A Moderate in New York Politics, 1828-1856" (PhD dissertation, State University of New York at Binghamton; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1975.7520029). He was the last Whig president and also the last president not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. [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. The term derives from the transportation vehicle, as the bill carries all the related proposals as "passengers". Fillmore was elected as Vice President with Zachary Taylor as President, and became President of the United States when Taylor died in office on . 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. Since March 4 (which was then Inauguration Day) fell on a Sunday, the swearing-in was postponed to the following day. 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. 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. Fillmore appointed his old law partner, Nathan Hall, as Postmaster General, a cabinet position that controlled many patronage appointments. Abbie was highly-educated and musically talented. [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. Until 1913 senators were elected by the state legislatures, not by the people. Taylor had written to him and promised influence in the new administration. The battle then moved to the House, which had a Northern majority because of the population. My 7 year old has to answer questions about Millard Fillmore, and one question is about his favorite food.Rick, owner of Fillmore's Restaurant in NY was contacted.According to him his. The Lincoln administration saw the speech as an attack on it that could not be tolerated in an election year, and Fillmore was criticized in many newspapers and was called a Copperhead and even a traitor. 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. [159] A statue of Fillmore stands outside the Buffalo City Hall. With the Whigs able to organize the House for the first time, Fillmore sought the Speakership, but it went to a Clay acolyte, John White of Kentucky. [144] Anna Prior, writing in The Wall Street Journal in 2010, said that Fillmore's very name connotes mediocrity. Fillmore had been marginalized by the cabinet members, and he accepted the resignations though he asked them to stay on for a month, which most refused to do. A House committee, headed by Massachusetts's John Quincy Adams, condemned Tyler's actions. [35] Despite Fillmore's support of the Second Bank as a means for national development, he did not speak in the congressional debates in which some advocated renewing its charter although Jackson had vetoed legislation for a charter renewal. [136] Fillmore supported President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies since he felt that the nation needed to be reconciled as quickly as possible. They continued to correspond and met several times. The Union Continentals guarded Lincoln's funeral train in Buffalo. [100], Fillmore was a staunch opponent of European influence in Hawaii. 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. [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. [10] Fillmore was relegated to menial labor, and unhappy at not learning any skills, he left Hungerford's employ. He had three sisters and five brothers. [113] Fillmore was encouraged by the success of the Know Nothings in the 1854 midterm elections in which they won in several states of the Northeast and showed strength in the South. 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. Despite Fillmore's departure from office, he was a rival for the state party leadership with Seward, the unsuccessful 1834 Whig gubernatorial candidate. He died a month later, on April 4, from pneumonia. [37], Anti-Masonry was still strong in Western New York though it was petering out nationally. Fillmore intended to lecture Congress on the slavery question in his final annual message in December but was talked out of it by his cabinet, and he contented himself with pointing out the prosperity of the nation and expressing gratitude for the opportunity to serve it. SIBLINGS Millard Fillmore was the second child in a family of nine. Southerners complained bitterly about any leniency in its application, but its enforcement was highly offensive to many Northerners. 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. [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. A capable administrator and devoted public servant, Fillmore has largely been remembered for his ambivalent stance on slavery and his failure to prevent growing sectional conflict from erupting. [11], His father then placed him in the same trade at a mill in New Hope. However, Weed had sterner opponents, including Governor Young, who disliked Seward and did not want to see him gain high office. Weed was an influential editor with whom Fillmore tended to co-operate for the greater good of the Whig Party. He fulfilled his "big brother" role with dedication, and was a great help to his parents and siblings throughout his life. In 1829, he began the first of three terms in the assembly, where he sponsored a substantial amount of legislation. [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. [39] By 1836 Fillmore was confident enough of anti-Jackson unity that he accepted the Whig nomination for Congress. He actually came within one vote of it while he maneuvered to get the nomination for his supporter, John Young, who was elected. Government money had been held in so-called "pet banks" since Jackson had withdrawn it from the Second Bank. He took his lifelong friend Nathan K. Hall as a law clerk in East Aurora. They continued operations after the war, and Fillmore remained active with them almost until his death. [24], Other members of the Fillmore family were active in politics and government in addition to Nathaniel's service as a justice of the peace. [61], President Polk had pledged not to seek a second term, and with gains in Congress during the 1846 election cycle, the Whigs were hopeful of taking the White House in 1848. [72], In the end the Taylor-Fillmore ticket won narrowly, with New York's electoral votes again key to the election. Franklin Pierce was that man. 8, 1874, Almon Hopkins Fillmore, b. Apr. 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. [138], Fillmore stayed in good health almost to the end of his life. The former president expressed his regret at Fillmore's absence from the halls of Congress. Fillmore, Seward and Weed had met and come to a general agreement on how to divide federal jobs in New York. When Congress met in December 1849, the discord was manifested in the election for Speaker, which took weeks and dozens of ballots to resolve, as the House divided along sectional lines. [27], Many Anti-Masons were opposed to the presidential candidacy of General Andrew Jackson, who was a Mason. Fillmore was also successful as a lawyer. [88] Fillmore endorsed that strategy, which eventually divided the compromise into five bills. )[112], Many from Fillmore's "National Whig" faction had joined the Know Nothings by 1854 and influenced the organization to take up causes besides nativism. The Senate took no action on the nomination of the New Orleans attorney Edward A. Bradford. Zachery Taylor won the 1848 presidential election defeating Lewis Cass. [4][5] The historian Tyler Anbinder described Fillmore's childhood as "one of hard work, frequent privation, and virtually no formal schooling. "[150] Smith argued that Fillmore's association with the Know Nothings looks far worse in retrospect than at the time and that the former president was not motivated by nativism in his candidacy,[151] contradicted by the letter Fillmore provided for publication that stoked fear about immigrant influence in elections. 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. Read the news online & stay up-to-date with the latest from our Utah community. Fillmore, Weed, and others realized that opposition to Masonry was too narrow a foundation to build a national party. [97], Justice John McKinley's death in 1852 led to repeated fruitless attempts by the president to fill the vacancy. [131] Fillmore commanded the Union Continentals, a corps of home guards of males over the age of 45 from Upstate New York. Millard Fillmore did not have a Vice President. When the Anti-Masons did not nominate him for a second term in 1834, Fillmore declined the Whig nomination, seeing that the two parties would split the anti-Jackson vote and elect the Democrat. Thus, Fillmore remained at the comptroller's office in Albany and made no speeches. California was admitted as a free state, the District of Columbia's slave trade was ended, and the final status of slavery in New Mexico and Utah would be settled later. Fillmore initially belonged to the Anti-Masonic Party, but became a member of the Whig Party as formed in the mid-1830s. Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States who served from 1850 to 1853. When Fillmore discovered that after the election, he went to Taylor, which only made the warfare against Fillmore's influence more open. [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. Many features only work on your mobile device. The Whigs were initially united by their opposition to Jackson but became a major party by expanding their platform to include support for economic growth through rechartering the Second Bank of the United States and federally-funded internal improvements, including roads, bridges, and canals. Fillmore was embittered when Weed got the nomination for Seward but campaigned loyally, Seward was elected, and Fillmore won another term in the House. 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. Fillmore, sympathetic to the ambitions of his longtime friend, issued a letter in late 1851 stating that he did not seek a full term, but Fillmore was reluctant to rule it out for fear the party would be captured by the Sewardites. The house is designated a National Historic Landmark. How many children does Millard Fillmore have? Such cases were widely publicized North and South, inflamed passions in both places, and undermined the good feeling that had followed the Compromise. Fillmore sought the Whig nomination to a full term in 1852 but was passed over by the party in favor of Winfield Scott. [54] He was not friendly to immigrants and blamed his defeat on "foreign Catholics". 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. As vice president, Fillmore was largely ignored by Taylor, and even in the dispensing of patronage in New York, Taylor consulted Weed and Seward. 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. [44], At the urging of Clay, Harrison quickly called a special session of Congress. Fillmore refused to change the American policy of remaining neutral. Buffalo's Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital officially closed its last remaining services at 6 a.m.. 1828-1889 . [109] He was bereaved again on July 26, 1854, when his only daughter, Mary, died of cholera. He nearly withdrew from the meeting when he was told that he would have to kneel and kiss the Pope's hand. . 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. The convention was deadlocked until Saturday, June 19, when a total of 46 ballots had been taken, and the delegates adjourned until Monday. Fillmore and Donelson finished third by winning 873,053 votes (21.6%) and carrying the state of Maryland and its eight electoral votes. [69] Taylor and Fillmore corresponded twice in September, with Taylor happy that the crisis over the South Carolinians was resolved. [34] Even during the 1832 campaign, Fillmore's affiliation as an Anti-Mason had been uncertain, and he rapidly shed the label once sworn in. [96] When Supreme Court Justice Levi Woodbury died in September 1851 with the Senate not in session, Fillmore made a recess appointment of Benjamin Robbins Curtis to the Court. They performed military drills and ceremonial functions at parades, funerals, and other events. Although Fillmore disliked slavery, he saw no reason for it to be a political issue. Without the presence of the Great Triumvirate of John C. Calhoun, Webster, and Clay, who had long dominated the Senate,[i] Douglas and others were able to lead the Senate towards the administration-backed package of bills. [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. Abigail Fillmore ( ne Powers; March 13, 1798 - March 30, 1853), wife of President Millard Fillmore, was the first lady of the United States from 1850 to 1853. [41], The rivalry between Fillmore and Seward was affected by the growing anti-slavery movement. The 1848 campaign was conducted in the newspapers and with addresses made by surrogates at rallies. [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. [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. Although Fillmore urged Congress to authorize a transcontinental railroad, it did not do so until a decade later. Webster died in October 1852, but during his final illness, Fillmore effectively acted as his own Secretary of State without incident, and Everett stepped competently into Webster's shoes. "[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. That greatly increased Weed's influence in New York politics and diminished Fillmore's. [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". [141] According to biographer Scarry: "No president of the United States has suffered as much ridicule as Millard Fillmore. 9, 1837, Charles De Witt Fillmore, b. Sept. 23, 1817, d. 1854, Phoebe Maria Fillmore, b. Nov. 23, 1819, d. July 2, 1843. which benefit does a community experience when its members have a high level of health literacy? A largely ignored vice president, he got Taylor's attention when he. (In its early days, members were sworn to keep its internal deliberations private and, if asked, were to say they knew nothing about them. Perry and his ships reached Japan in July 1853, four months after the end of Fillmore's term. The President quickly agreed, but Webster did not do so until Monday morning. Close. Many Southerners, including Whigs, supported the filibusters, and Fillmore's response helped to divide his party as the 1852 election approached. [100], The Venezuelan adventurer Narciso Lpez recruited Americans for three filibustering expeditions to Cuba in the hope of overthrowing Spanish rule. By 1854 the order had morphed into the American Party, which became known as the Know Nothings. [110], The former president ended his seclusion in early 1854, as a debate over Senator Douglas's KansasNebraska Bill embroiled the nation. Kossuth wanted the United States to recognize Hungary's independence. Upon becoming president in July 1850, Fillmore dismissed Taylor's cabinet and pushed Congress to pass the compromise. His siblings were Olive, Cyrus, Almon, Calvin, Julia, Darius, Charles, and Phoebe. [154] Grayson also applauded Fillmore's firm stand against Texas's ambitions in New Mexico during the 1850 crisis. With the Democrats split over the issue of slaverysome had left to form the anti-slavery Free Soil PartyTaylor and Fillmore took the White. [b] Nathaniel became sufficiently regarded that he was chosen to serve in local offices, including justice of the peace. He eloquently described the grief of the Clay supporters, frustrated again in their battle to make Clay president. Tired of Washington life and the conflict that had revolved around Tyler, Fillmore sought to return to his life and law practice in Buffalo. He received the formal notification of the president's death, signed by the cabinet, on the evening of July 9 in his residence at the Willard Hotel. [83], Fillmore had been called from his chair presiding over the Senate on July 8 and had sat with members of the cabinet in a vigil outside Taylor's bedroom at the White House. Otherwise, Webster would withdraw in favor of Fillmore. 1800-1874. Political fixers who had been Whigs, such as Weed, tended to join the Republican Party, and the Know Nothings lacked experience at selling anything but nativism. [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. [102], A much-publicized event of the Fillmore presidency was the late 1851 arrival of Lajos Kossuth, the exiled leader of a failed Hungarian revolution against Austria. [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. The vacancy was finally filled after Fillmore's term, when President Franklin Pierce nominated John Archibald Campbell, who was confirmed by the Senate. [49] Seeking to return to Washington, Fillmore wanted the vice presidency. "[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. In the early 1850s, there was considerable hostility toward immigrants, especially Catholics, who had recently arrived in the United States in large numbers, and several nativist organizations, including the Order of the Star Spangled Banner, sprang up in reaction. Delegates remembered him for his role in the Tariff of 1842, and he had been mentioned as a vice-presidential possibility, along with Lawrence and Ohio's Thomas Ewing. The addresses were portrayed as expressions of thanks for his reception, rather than as campaign speeches, which might be considered illicit office-seeking if they were made by a presidential hopeful. [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. As a young lawyer, Fillmore was approached by a fledgling political party and asked to run for the New York State Assembly. The party's perennial candidates, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, both wanted the nomination and amassed support from congressional colleagues. While he was in office, the Compromise of 1850 was passed, staving off the Civil War for 11 more years. Senator-elect Judah P. Benjamin declined to serve. Many rank-and-file Whigs backed the Mexican War hero, General Zachary Taylor, for president. This is a web preview of the "The Handy Presidents Answer Book" app. Accordingly, Fillmore's pro-Union stance mostly went unheard. Queen Victoria is said to have pronounced the ex-president as the handsomest man she had ever seen, and his coincidental appearance with Van Buren in the gallery of the House of Commons provoked a comment from the MP John Bright. He was already in discussions with Whig leaders and, on July 20, began to send new nominations to the Senate, with the Fillmore Cabinet to be led by Webster as Secretary of State. [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. 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. [56], In 1846 Fillmore was involved in the founding of what is now the University at Buffalo (earlier the University of Buffalo), became its first chancellor, and served until his death in 1874. Fillmore prepared a second bill, now omitting distribution. Abigail's brother Cyrus taught school in Sempronius from 1801 to 1803 in a double-log house built . Fillmore made a celebrated return in June 1856 by speaking at a series of welcomes, which began with his arrival at a huge reception in New York City and continued across the state to Buffalo. [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. The modern-day states of New Mexico and Arizona, less the. Since he started his formal education at the age of 17 his teacher was only a few years older than him.