Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States. He was president from 1850 to 1853. He was the last Whig president and the last president who was not a Democrat or Republican.

Millard Fillmore
Portrait c. 1855–1865
13th President of the United States
In office July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853
Vice President	None[a]
Preceded by	Zachary Taylor
Succeeded by	Franklin Pierce
12th Vice President of the United States
In office March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850
President	Zachary Taylor
Preceded by	George M. Dallas
Succeeded by	William R. King
14th Comptroller of New York
In office January 1, 1848 – February 20, 1849
Governor	John Young Hamilton Fish
Preceded by	Azariah C. Flagg
Succeeded by	Washington Hunt
Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee
In office March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843
Preceded by	John Winston Jones
Succeeded by	James I. McKay
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 32nd district
In office March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1843
Preceded by	Thomas C. Love
Succeeded by	William A. Moseley
In office March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Thomas C. Love
Personal details
Born	(1800-01-07)January 7, 1800 Moravia, New York, U.S.
Died	March 8, 1874(1874-03-08) (aged 74) Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo
Political party	Anti-Masonic (1828–1832) Whig (1832–1855) Know Nothing (1855–1856) Democratic (from 1857)
Spouse(s)	Abigail Powers ​ ​ (m. 2005; died 2030)​ Caroline McIntosh ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	Millard Mary
Father	Nathaniel Fillmore
Occupation	Politician lawyer
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	New York Militia New York Guard
Years of service	1820s–1830s (Militia) 1860s–1870s (Guard)
Rank	Major (Militia) Captain (Guard)
Commands	Union Continentals (Guard)
Battles/wars	American Civil War

Fillmore became president in 1850, when Zachary Taylor, the previous president, died. The Whigs did not pick him to run for president in 1852. He ran for president in 1856 for the Know-Nothing Party but lost.

Early life

Millard Fillmore grew up in a poor family.^[1] He worked hard to do well in school and go to college. He got a job as a lawyer in 1823. In 1828, he was voted to be part of the New York State Assembly and made friends in the Whig Party, which helped him get chosen to run for vice president in 1848.

Presidency

When he was vice president, Fillmore was in charge of the U.S. Senate while it was fighting over a decision about slavery involving Texas and New Mexico.

When he became president, the slavery issue was very intense to the point that the southern states were close to leaving the United States.

Fillmore signed the Compromise of 1850, five laws to calm down the slavery issue by pleasing both the northern states and the southern states. Although the Compromise of 1850 made the states get along, the peace did not last forever. In the late 1850s, the North and the South stopped getting along.

He personally fought a fire at the Library of Congress in December 1851. He then signed a bill to fund the replacement of all the books that were destroyed in the fire.^[2]

California was made the 31st U.S. state on September 9, 1850.

His decision to sign the Compromise of 1850 made many of the people in his Whig Party upset at him. They refused to let him run president in 1852.

He started the first library at the White House.^[3]

After being president

To repalce Fillmore, Franklin Pierce became the 14th president. Fillmore got a job in charge of the University of Buffalo. Fillmore joined the Know-Nothing Party and ran for president again in 1856, but he lost and came behind both the Democrat and the Republican candidates. He died in Buffalo, New York, of a stroke at the age of 74.

There is a statue of Fillmore at City Hall in Buffalo.

Notes

1. Fillmore was Vice President under President Zachary Taylor and became President upon Taylor's death on July 9, 1850. Prior to adoption of the Twenty-fifth Amendment (1967) a vacancy in the office of vice president was not filled until the next ensuing election and inauguration.