[62], With the nomination undecided, Weed maneuvered for New York to send an uncommitted delegation to the 1848 Whig National Convention in Philadelphia in the hope of being a kingmaker in a position to place ex-Governor Seward on the ticket or to get him a high federal office. 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. Since he started his formal education at the age of 17 his teacher was only a few years older than him. On the other. Nevins stated about Fillmore that "by no spoken or written word had he indicated a subscription to American tenets. Fillmore, Seward and Weed had met and come to a general agreement on how to divide federal jobs in New York. what is the supplement of an angle measuring 54 degrees? [114], Benson Lee Grayson suggested that the Fillmore administration's ability to avoid potential problems is too often overlooked. 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 eloquently described the grief of the Clay supporters, frustrated again in their battle to make Clay president. [89][90], The Fugitive Slave Act remained contentious after its enactment. Don loved farming from an early age, and had hopes of obtaining the . 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. [92], In September 1850 Fillmore appointed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leader Brigham Young as the first governor of Utah Territory. Did Millard Fillmore have any siblings? | Homework.Study.com Although Fillmore disliked slavery, he saw no reason for it to be a political issue. 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. "[51] New York sent a delegation to the convention in Baltimore pledged to support Clay but with no instructions as to how to vote for vice president. [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. He nearly withdrew from the meeting when he was told that he would have to kneel and kiss the Pope's hand. Millard Fillmore Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements In that office he was a member of the state canal board, supported its expansion, and saw that it was managed competently. How many children does Millard Fillmore have? Nevertheless, Fillmore believed himself bound by his oath as president and by the bargain that had been made in the Compromise to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. [144] Anna Prior, writing in The Wall Street Journal in 2010, said that Fillmore's very name connotes mediocrity. His biographer, Paul Finkelman, suggested that after being under others' thumbs all his life, Fillmore enjoyed the independence of his East Aurora practice. Weed was an influential editor with whom Fillmore tended to co-operate for the greater good of the Whig Party. Fillmore actually agreed with many of Clay's positions but did not back him for president and was not in Philadelphia. 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. "[100], Taylor had pressed Portugal for payment of American claims dating as far back as the War of 1812 and had refused offers of arbitration, but Fillmore gained a favorable settlement. "[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. He had three sisters and five brothers. Fire! Millard Powers Fillmore. The 1851 completion of the Erie Railroad in New York prompted Fillmore and his cabinet to ride the first train from New York City to the shores of Lake Erie, in the company with many other politicians and dignitaries. 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. When it reached Tyler's desk, he signed it but, in the process, offended his erstwhile Democratic allies. Fillmore took the oath from Chief Justice Roger B. Taney and, in turn, swore in the senators beginning their terms, including Seward, who had been elected by the New York legislature in February. [8] Hoping that his oldest son would learn a trade, he convinced Millard, who was 14, not to enlist for the War of 1812[9] and apprenticed him to clothmaker Benjamin Hungerford in Sparta. 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. 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. [39] By 1836 Fillmore was confident enough of anti-Jackson unity that he accepted the Whig nomination for Congress. Fillmore received positive reviews for his service as comptroller. [141] Fillmore's handling of major political issues, such as slavery, has led many historians to describe him as weak and inept. [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. [16] He left Wood after eighteen months; the judge had paid him almost nothing, and both quarreled after Fillmore had, unaided, earned a small sum by advising a farmer in a minor lawsuit. The nomination of William C. Micou, a New Orleans lawyer recommended by Benjamin, was not acted on by the Senate. Although he retained his position as Buffalo's leading citizen and was among those selected to escort the body when Lincoln's funeral train passed through Buffalo, anger remained towards him for his wartime positions. On January 1, 1855, he sent a letter for publication that warned against immigrant influence in American elections, and he soon joined the order. [49] Seeking to return to Washington, Fillmore wanted the vice presidency. The bill would open the northern portion of the Louisiana Purchase to settlement and end the northern limit on slavery under the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Franklin Pierce was that man. Upon becoming president in July 1850, Fillmore dismissed Taylor's cabinet and pushed Congress to pass the compromise. A new constitution for New York State provided the office of comptroller to be made elective, as were the attorney general and some other positions that were formerly chosen by the state legislature. [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. Webster was far more unhappy at the outcome than was Fillmore, who refused the secretary's resignation. [53] Fillmore's biographer Paul Finkelman suggested that Fillmore's hostility to immigrants and his weak position on slavery had defeated him for governor. [114], Later that year Fillmore went abroad, and stated publicly that as he lacked office he might as well travel. Calhoun was dead, Webster was Secretary of State, and Clay was absent since he was recovering from his exertions on behalf of the bill at, Fillmore thus became the first former president to receive electoral votes, a distinction that later also included. He actually came within one vote of it while he maneuvered to get the nomination for his supporter, John Young, who was elected. 13, 1806, d. Jan. 17, 1830, Darius Ingraham Fillmore, b. Nov. 16, 1814, d. Mar. Millard Fillmore met the mother of his children when he started his formal education. He remained a major political figure and led the committee that welcomed John Quincy Adams to Buffalo. [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. Government money had been held in so-called "pet banks" since Jackson had withdrawn it from the Second Bank. Though her proposal did not pass, they became friends, met in person, and continued to correspond well after Fillmore's presidency. [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. The Campaign and Election of 1848: Millard Fillmore remained loyal to Henry Clay heading into the Whig nominating convention, but the presidency would elude Clay yet again. The house is designated a National Historic Landmark. [132][133], Despite Fillmore's zeal in the war effort, he gave a speech in early 1864 calling for magnanimity towards the South after the war and counted its heavy cost, both in finances and in blood. See full answer below. Fillmore made many speeches along the way from the train's rear platform, urged acceptance of the Compromise, and later went on a tour of New England with his Southern cabinet members. [11], His father then placed him in the same trade at a mill in New Hope. [105], The final months of Fillmore's term were uneventful. [145][163], According to the assessment of Fillmore by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia:[164]. Most contentious was the Fugitive Slave Bill, whose provisions were anathema to abolitionists. 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. [65] Nevertheless, there were sound reasons for Fillmore's selection, as he was a proven vote-getter from electorally-crucial New York, and his track record in Congress and as a candidate showed his devotion to Whig doctrine, allaying fears he might be another Tyler were something to happen to General Taylor. "[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. [152] Meanwhile, the Fillmore administration resolved a controversy with Portugal left over from the Taylor administration;[153] smoothed over a disagreement with Peru over guano islands; and peacefully resolved disputes with Britain, France, and Spain over Cuba. She helped him in is studies and they eventually married. Fillmore remained involved in civic interests in retirement, including as chancellor of the University of Buffalo, which he had helped found in 1846. At the time, the presidential candidate did not automatically pick his running mate, and despite the efforts of Taylor's managers to get the nomination for their choice, Abbott Lawrence of Massachusetts, Fillmore became the Whig nominee for vice president on the second ballot. 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.