Fillmore, Millard

13th president, 1850–1853

Born: January 7, 1800

Died: March 8, 1874

Vice President: none

First Lady: Abigail Powers Fillmore

Children: Millard Powers, Mary Abigail

When President Zachary Taylor died unexpectedly in 1850, Vice President Millard Fillmore took his place. Because he took office upon Taylor's death, Fillmore did not give an inaugural address.

Millard Fillmore was born in upstate New York in 1800. He was the first of five sons of Nathaniel and Phoebe Fillmore. Because his family was poor, he was almost entirely self-educated. When Fillmore did finally attend a school, he fell in love with his teacher, Abigail Powers, and later married her in 1826.

In 1823, Fillmore became a lawyer and later opened a practice in Buffalo, New York. He went on to serve as a member of the House of Representatives for eight years, and in 1848, he was elected vice president.

Fillmore was responsible for modernizing the White House. During his presidency, he had a cast-iron kitchen stove installed. An avid reader, Abigail Fillmore was responsible for starting the first library at the White House, with funds allocated by Congress.

Slavery was an important issue during Fillmore's presidency, and Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which required runaway slaves to be returned to their owners. Those who helped runaway slaves could be jailed. When Fillmore signed the bill, he became quite unpopular with Northerners and abolitionists.

• Fillmore was an apprentice to a cloth dresser when he was 15 years old.
• Fillmore was the last president from the Whig Party and the first not to be re-nominated by his own political party.

Even among his supporters, Fillmore was not regarded as a particularly strong president, and his party did not nominate him to run for a second term in 1852. In 1856, he was nominated; however, he lost the election. He then retired from politics and made his home in Buffalo, New York. During the Civil War, he supported the Union cause by helping with fundraising and enlistment.

When fillmore Was in Office

1850s

Thousands of slaves escaped to the North and to Canada along the Underground Railroad.

1850

California was admitted to the Union as a free state.
The Compromise of 1850, establishing the Fugitive Slave Act, was passed.

1851–1852

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in weekly installments.

1851

Herman Melville's Moby-Dick was published.

1852

Uncle Sam, the symbol of the United States, was created.