Millard FillmoreThe 13th

President of the United States of America

Background & Family

He was born in an impoverished family the second of eight children. He grew up in Cayuga County, Finger Lakes of New York in 1800. From birth he was a frontiers man. He worked on his father’s farm. Until at about the age of 15 he became apprentice for a cloth dresser in order to help support his family. He paid his obligation money of $30 to get out of his apprenticeship. He had no real formal college education, he taught himself to read and write. He was very determined to learn. Abigail Powers (not even 2 years older than her pupil) was a teacher encouraging him in his education. After being admitted to bar, as a lawyer in 1823 he got a clerkship with a local judge and was able to court Abigail. They married 1826 He had two children with Abigail, Millard Powers Fillmore and Mary Abigail Fillmore. He died March of 1874 in due to stroke.

Ascent to the Oval Office

As a young lawyer Fillmore began to run for the New York state Assembly by 1829 he served his first three terms. During which he participated in various legislations. By 1832 he was elected to the House of representatives. At the time Jackson was President, many parties shifted. This included Fillmore’s Anti-Masonic party which combined with the Whigs. A party of major contrast to Jacksonians and Democrats In 1843, he resigned from the legislature after unsuccessfully lobbying for the vice presidential nomination on the Whig ticket with Henry Clay and losing an election for governor of New York, both in 1844. However, by 1847 Fillmore was elected New York state comptroller, or chief financial officer. He won this election by such a wide margin that he was in consideration for the national office. In the election of 1848 the Whigs party choose General Zachary Taylor for President and chose to balance out the slave-owning general with the Northerner Fillmore as Vice President. Taylor and Fillmore were an odd match. Taylor had no trouble shutting out Fillmore from his administration however, due to Fillmore’s responsibility as hold a tie-breaking vote many respected him for his wisdom, humor, and diverse views. Due to the sudden death of Taylor, Fillmore as Vice president rises to presidency and immediately chose Daniel Webster as Secretary of State indicating his favor towards the compromise of 1850 and the Whigs party. He was in office from 1850-1853

P.I.R.A.T.E.S.

PIn essence, Fillmore was a self-learning lawyer that took up aspirations first in a state and House of Representatives basis until finally achieving both a Vice President and President title.

IAs mentioned before Fillmore was a self-learner. He didn’t have real formal education so he learned reading and writing on his own. Continued on to be a successful Vice President and President.

R Fillmore was a Unitarian, Unitarianism is a Nontrinitarian Christian theology which teaches belief in the single personality of God, in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity

AThere are various Cartoons dipctiing previous stuggles of Fillmore for example the picture

above shows the picture of Fillmore first running only to lose due to his “blindfold” or coming into the race blindly.

P.I.R.A.T.E.S. cont…

TFillmore underwent the battle for control of a region formation of canal for the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.

EAfter seeing such successful trade opening with China and Britain America attempted this same technique with Japan. It was part of his foreign issues policy to expand on trading with other countries. This included Japan. After sending Commodore Perry to Japan the movement to open trade started with Fillmore and continued on with Pierce.

SThe slavery issue was a prominent aspect during his Presidency. Due to his belief in neutrality and preserving the Union he struggled in trying to give each side what they wanted concerning slavery but the views were not only various but distinct and hard to please.

Key Domestic Policy Issue

It was obvious with the death of Taylor, that Fillmore was a completely different leader. Taylor’s cabinet resigned with the evident fact that Taylor had every intention of compromise. He later replaced his cabinet with Whigs that shared his Pro-North Pro-Compromise views. His ally, Henry Clay tried to modify the previous bill only to result in the bills not being passed, a disappointed Fillmore, and Clay leaving Washington DC.

Soon the opposing party, Stephen Douglas that drafted five small bills, reworking the compromise and slowly but surely was passed. Due to those bills it allowed the Texas border dispute with New Mexico halted receiving a $10 million compensation. It gained California statehood as well as New Mexico and Utah territorial status. However, this included the Fugitive Slave law, which passed with surprising ease. However due to the many conflicting issues of slavery and this bill it tore apart the Whig party. Fillmore tried desperately to please both sides. Point blank, this compromise was essentially made to not have war, although it separated the two parts of the nation it prevented the war occurring for another 10 years

Key Foreign Policy Issue

Thanks to Fillmore the beginning of the opening trade with Japan, by sending Matthew C Perry to Japan as envoy started. It was fully opened by the preceding president Franklin Pierce but all positive and negative aspects were gained due to Fillmore.

Fillmore also expressed his view of not letting Hawaii fall into British or French hands. He personally warned Napoleon the 3rd that the US would not allow the French to take Hawaii.

Taylor had signed the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850 with England. This agreement prevented both the U.S. and Great Britain from claiming further territories in Central America. However, both nations had every intent on influencing the region and control of the canal construction to the Atlantic and Pacific. While doing very little to ally themselves with Western powers.

In essence Fillmore’s foreign policy agenda mainly included an expansion of trade but limitations on commitments to Western Hemisphere.

Quote

“ Let us remember that revolutions do not always establish freedom. Our own free institutions were not the offspring of our Revolution. They existed before.“

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Successes & Failures

Compromise of 1850 a success and failureIt is often said that the best compromise is the type that pleases none of the compromisers. By the end of his presidency, Millard Fillmore knew this all too well. By championing the Compromise of 1850, he can be credited for keeping America from civil war for more than a decade. The political cost to himself, however, was total. Slavery was, like abortion today, the type of moral issue that terrifies politicians because it offers no easy middle ground. Though it did halt the war for another ten years it only separated the union even further.

One Word

One word that can describe President Millard Fillmore is the word Neutrality. Although he had a political party, he was always trying to unite them in one way or another. According to some of our sources (credible internet sites) he would constantly give people similarities and differences of the parties in order to cause a bond to form between them. Then, he would always try to prevent (but in reality forlong) the Secession of the confederacy from the Union.

Our Thoughts

Thanks to several aspects of Fillmore’s Presidency we probably wouldn’t have been the same country. Through the Compromise of 1850 he prevented a war for about 10 years, but at the same time it seemed that the Union separation accelerated due to this Compromise. Particularly the Fugitive Slave Law. Although he prevented it, the Civil War would have still occurred. Perhaps preventing it would have caused it to occur sooner and perhaps cause change sooner to make a chain of events of other movements to start, however this is uncertain.

Additional Slides

Most of the information that you have wished to see on this additional slide are incorporated within the other slides. They are information that make the information on the rest of the slides more logical and complete.

Cabinet Members: As Zachary neared his death, he planned on replacing his already scandle-ridden cabinet. So, when Fillmore took office, he replaced those spots quite easily. All but Secretary Treasury Thomas Corwin, supported Fillmore’s Compromise of 1850.

Sources

Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. The American Pageant: a History of the American People. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.

"Millard Fillmore." Web. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/millardfillmore>(http://www.knowledgerush.com/wiki_image/c/c8/Abigail_Fillmore.jpg)

"American President: Millard Fillmore." Miller Center of Public Affairs. Web. <http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/fillmore>.(http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/fillmore/essays/biography/1)

"Wikimedia." Http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/1848whigbanner.jpg . Web. "Millard Fillmore." Web. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/millardfillmore>((

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/MillardFillmore)> American Presidents: Life Portraits. Web.

<http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=13>. "American President: Millard Fillmore: Life Before the Presidency." Miller Center of Public Affairs.

Web. <http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/fillmore/essays/biography/2>. "Political Cartoons." Millard Fillmores Bathtub. Web.

<http://timpanogos.wordpress.com/category/political-cartoons/>. American Presidents: Life Portraits. Web.

<http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=13>.

Sources cont…

"American President: Millard Fillmore: Domestic Affairs." Miller Center of Public Affairs. Web. <http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/fillmore/essays/biography/4>.

"American Treasures of the Library of Congress." Library of Congress Home. Http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/. Web. <http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/0090001.jpg>.

American Presidents: Life Portraits. Web. <http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=13>.

"American President: Millard Fillmore: Foreign Affairs." Miller Center of Public Affairs. Web. <http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/fillmore/essays/biography/5>.

"Matthew C. Perry -." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Matthewperry.jpg/404px-Matthewperry.jpg>.

"Quotes from Millard Fillmore." American History From About. Web. <http://americanhistory.about.com/cs/millardfillmore/a/quotefillmore.htm>.

"US Presidents." Junto Society Home Page. Web. <http://www.juntosociety.com/uspresidents/fillmore.jpg>. "Millard Fillmore -." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web.

<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Millard_Fillmore_Signature-2.svg>. "Doc1Map." Clarkstown Central School District. Web. <http://www.ccsd.edu/link/lms/CivilWarDBQ/comp1850.gif>. "Millard Fillmore." The National Portrait Gallery. Web. <http://www.npg.si.edu/img2/travpres/big/bigmfill.gif>.

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Lianne Laguitan

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