Millard Fillmore

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Introduction; Early Life; Political Career; President of the United States

Comptroller of New York State

The Whigs nominated Fillmore for state comptroller in 1847. This office was second in power after the governor's and supervised public finances and superintended the banks. Fillmore defeated his Democratic opponent by 30,000 votes, the largest margin ever gained by any Whig over a Democrat in New York. The victory established Fillmore as a vote getter and put him in competition with former Governor William Henry Seward for the position of New York's leading Whig.

The presidential election of 1848 was dominated by the recently ended Mexican War and by the Wilmot Proviso of 1846, which had been inspired by the war. The proviso specified that slavery should not be introduced into any territory acquired by the United States from Mexico as a result of the war. Although the proviso was defeated in Congress, it raised the political issue of whether slavery should be extended beyond its prewar limits.

At the Whig convention of 1848 in Philadelphia, Fillmore's friend Henry Clay lost the presidential nomination to General Zachary Taylor. Clay's policy of compromise on the slavery issue was well known, whereas Taylor, a hero of the Mexican War, was associated with no particular point of view. He won the nomination largely through the efforts of Weed and Southern leaders. After Taylor was nominated, John A. Collier, a Whig delegate from New York and a political ally of Fillmore's, suggested to the convention that it lessen the disappointment of the Clay supporters by naming Fillmore as the vice presidential candidate. His plea was successful, and Fillmore was nominated. To avoid further controversy over slavery or any other issue, the national convention adopted no platform.

At its national convention the Democratic Party also avoided making an issue of slavery. It nominated U.S. Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan for president and William O. Butler of Kentucky for vice president. Cass favored having the settlers of new territories decide for themselves whether they would allow slavery or not, a policy later called popular sovereignty.

Vice President of the United States

During the first half of 1850, Fillmore as vice president presided over the United States Senate (the upper chamber of Congress) as angry debates raged between Northern and Southern sectionalists over the status of slavery in the recently acquired lands. His fairness and sense of humor in the chair were not enough to restore peace among the contending senators. The antislavery faction, led by Senator Seward (the former governor of New York) and Senator Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, clashed with the Southerners, led by Senator James M. Mason of Virginia, Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, and Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. Angry words figuratively rocked the Senate hall, as they did the chamber of the House of Representatives.

Although President Taylor was a Louisiana slaveholder, he leaned more toward Seward's antislavery views. Determined to uphold the Constitution of the United States, the president threatened to send federal troops to protect disputed New Mexico territory from an invasion by proslavery Texans. Southerners countered that, if Taylor followed through with his threat, the act would be the signal for an armed Southern rebellion against federal power. Mississippi called for a convention to meet in June 1850 at Nashville, Tennessee, to consider secession.

The Compromise of 1850

The best hope of compromise seemed to lie in a series of resolutions drawn up by Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky and based on measures proposed by representatives from both parties and both sections. These resolutions were referred to a select committee of 13, headed by Clay. The committee recommended an omnibus bill, based on Clay's resolutions. According to the recommended compromise, California was to be admitted as a free state, while the Utah and New Mexico territories were to be organized without mentioning slavery. This meant the territories were open to all settlers, including slaveholders. The bill also included a new, tougher Fugitive Slave Law, which required that runaway slaves be returned to their owners. The new law had severe penalties for nonenforcement. A chief grievance of Southerners against the old law was that Northerners would not enforce it. Other sections of the bill abolished slavery in the District of Columbia and settled a boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico.

President Taylor did not share the fear, held by Clay, Fillmore, and others who favored compromise, that the Union was threatened. He insisted on the admission of California as a free state, and he encouraged New Mexico to adopt a free status. Taylor's opposition hindered those who favored the compromise. However, he died suddenly on July 9, 1850, and Fillmore took the oath as president.

President of the United States

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President Fillmore's choice of a Cabinet showed unmistakably that, as a moderate Whig and a foe of sectionalism, he favored compromise to avoid a national crisis. As his secretary of state, Fillmore appointed Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, who had appealed for compromise in a celebrated speech on March 7, 1850. Another significant Cabinet appointment was Governor John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, also a well-known conciliatory Whig, as attorney general.

Fillmore made plain his desire for peace in a message to Congress on August 6, 1850. It was hailed by influential congressional leaders as a masterstroke of timing and persuasive moderation. Aided by the full power and support of Fillmore's administration, Clay's omnibus bill, known as the Compromise of 1850, was split into five separate measures, all of which were passed by Congress and signed into law by Fillmore. Meanwhile, the Nashville convention adjourned without taking any action against the Union.

One of the five measures was the new Fugitive Slave Law. Fillmore signed and, more important, enforced the Fugitive Slave Law, actions that were completely in keeping with his conciliatory policy. As a result, he won the hatred of the more radical antislavery group. Seward and Weed, the antislavery Whig leaders of New York, opposed Fillmore vehemently, and the president countered by removing pro-Seward people from federal office. At a Whig convention in Syracuse, New York, resolutions were passed approving Seward's radical position. Thereupon a contingent of Fillmore conservatives walked out, led by Francis Granger, whose gray hair gave the name “Silver Gray Whigs” to that faction. This act widened the breach in the Whig Party, which was also disintegrating in other parts of the country on the issue of slavery.

Foreign Affairs

The most important aspect of Fillmore's foreign policy was his sanction of a plan to open Japan to world commerce, which had been largely prohibited there for more than 200 years. Influenced by petitions to Congress and other evidences of public interest, he approved an expedition to open the “sealed” empire. In January 1852 a naval expedition was entrusted to Commodore Matthew C. Perry. In July 1853, four months after Fillmore left the presidency, Perry arrived in Japan with four men-of-war. That visit and another visit the following year culminated in a commercial treaty between the United States and Japan.

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Comptroller of New York State

Vice President of the United States

The Compromise of 1850

President of the United States

Foreign Affairs