Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore ( January 7 , 1800 – March 8 , 1874 ) was the 13th President of the United States ( 1850 – 1853 ) , and the last Whig President . As Zachary Taylor ' s Vice President , he assumed the presidency after Taylor ' s death . He was a lawyer from western New York state , and an early member of the Whig Party . He served in the state legislature ( 1829 - 1831 ) , as a U . S . Representative ( 1833 - 1835 , 1837 - 1843 ) , and as New York State Comptroller ( 1848 - 1849 ) . He was elected Vice President of the United States in 1848 as Taylor ' s running mate , and served from 1849 until Taylor ' s death in 1850 , at the height of the " Crisis of 1850 " over slavery . Fillmore was an anti - slavery moderate ; he opposed Abolitionist demands to exclude slavery from all of the territory gained in the Mexican War . Instead he supported the Compromise of 1850 , which ended the crisis . In foreign policy , Fillmore supported U . S . Navy expeditions to " open " Japan , opposed French designs on Hawaii , and was embarrassed by Narciso López ' s filibuster expeditions to Cuba . He sought re - election in 1852 , but was passed over for the nomination by the Whigs . When the Whig Party broke up in 1854 - 1856 , Fillmore and other conservative Whigs joined the American Party , the political arm of the anti - immigrant , anti - Catholic " Know - Nothing " movement , though he himself was not anti - Catholic . He was the American Party candidate for President in 1856 , but finished third . During the American Civil War , Fillmore denounced secession and agreed that the Union must be maintained by force if necessary , but was very critical of the war policies of President Abraham Lincoln . After the war he supported the Reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson . He is consistently included in the bottom 10 of historical rankings of Presidents of the United States . Fillmore co - founded the University at Buffalo and helped found the Buffalo Historical Society , and Buffalo General Hospital . Early life and career . Fillmore was born in a log cabin in Moravia , Cayuga County , in the Finger Lakes region of New York State , on January 7 , 1800 , to Nathaniel Fillmore and Phoebe Millard , as the second of nine children and the eldest son . He later lived in East Aurora , New York in the southtowns region , south of Buffalo . Though Fillmore ' s ancestors were Scottish Presbyterians on his father ' s side and English dissenters on his mother ' s , he became a Unitarian in later life . His father apprenticed him to cloth maker Benjamin Hungerford in Sparta , New York , at age fourteen to learn the cloth - making trade . He left after four months , but subsequently took another apprenticeship in the same trade at New Hope , New York . He struggled to obtain an education living on the frontier and attended New Hope Academy for six months in 1819 . There he fell in love with his future wife Abigail Powers . Later that year , he began to clerk and study law under Judge Walter Wood of Montville . Fillmore bought out his cloth - making apprenticeship , left Judge Wood , and moved to Buffalo , where he continued his studies in the law office of Asa Rice and Joseph Clary . He was admitted to the bar in 1823 and began his law practice in East Aurora , New York . In 1825 , he built a house there for himself and Abigail . They were married on February 5 , 1826 . They had two children , Millard Powers Fillmore and Mary Abigail Fillmore . In 1834 , he formed a law partnership , Fillmore and Hall ( becoming Fillmore , Hall and Haven in 1836 ) , with close friend Nathan K . Hall ( who would later serve in his cabinet as Postmaster General ) . It would become one of western New York ' s most prestigious firms , and exists to this day as Hodgson Russ LLP . Fillmore was also a member of the New York Militia in the 1820s and 1830s , and served as Inspector of New York ' s 47th Brigade with the rank of Major . In 1846 , he helped found the private University of Buffalo , which today is the public University at Buffalo , the largest school in the New York state university system . Politics . In 1828 , Fillmore was elected to the New York State Assembly on the Anti - Masonic ticket , serving three one - year terms , from 1829 to 1831 . In his final term he chaired a special legislative committee to enact a new bankruptcy law that eliminated debtors ' prison . As the measure had support among some Democrats , he maneuvered the law into place by taking a nonpartisan approach and allowing the Democrats to take credit for the bill . This kind of inconspicuousness and avoiding the limelight would later characterize Fillmore ' s approach to politics on the national stage . He was a follower and associate of Thurlow Weed , who had been a leading Anti - Mason . When Weed left the Anti - Masons in 1832 , Fillmore did too ; when Weed became the leading Whig organizer in New York , Fillmore also joined the Whigs . In 1832 , he was elected U . S . Representative from New York ' s 32nd congressional district a " National Republican " , serving in the 23rd Congress from 1833 to 1835 . He was succeeded in 1834 by " Anti - Jacksonian " Thomas C . Love . Love declined renomination in 1836 , and Fillmore was elected as a Whig ( having followed his mentor Thurlow Weed into the party ) . He was re - elected twice , serving from 1837 to 1843 , in the 25th , 26th , and 27th Congresses . He declined re - nomination in 1842 . In Congress , he opposed admitting Texas as a slave territory , he advocated internal improvements and a protective tariff , he supported John Quincy Adams by voting to receive anti - slavery petitions , he advocated the prohibition by Congress of the slave trade between the states , and he favored the exclusion of slavery from the District of Columbia . He came in second place in the vote for Speaker of the House in 1841 . He served as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee from 1841 to 1843 and was an author of the Tariff of 1842 , as well as two other bills that President John Tyler vetoed . After leaving Congress , Fillmore was the unsuccessful Whig candidate for Governor of New York in 1844 . He was the first New York State Comptroller elected by general ballot , defeating Orville Hungerford 174 , 756 to 136 , 027 votes , and was in office from 1848 to 1849 . As Comptroller , he revised New York ' s banking system , making it a model for the future National Banking System . Vice Presidency 1849 – 1850 . The 1848 Whig National Convention nominated General Zachary Taylor ( a slaveholder from Louisiana for President . This upset supporters of Henry Clay and " Consscience Whigs " opposed to slavery in territories gained in the Mexican – American War . A group of Whig pragmatists sought to balance the ticket , and the convention nominated Fillmore for Vice President . Fillmore came from a free state , had moderate anti - slavery views , and could help carry the populous state of New York . Fillmore was also selected in part to prevent the nomination of the anti - slavery William H . Seward , and prevent Seward from receiving a position in Taylor ' s cabinet . ( In an era where the President , Vice President and cabinet were expected to reflect geographic balance , Fillmore would " represent " New York , meaning another New Yorker ( Seward ) could not be in the cabinet . ) The Taylor - Fillmore ticket won handily , but soon the nation was roiled by the " Crisis of 1850 " . Pro - slavery Southerners demanded that all of the new territories should be open to slavery . Anti - slavery Northerners demanded complete exclusion . The recently admitted state of Texas claimed a large part of New Mexico , and wanted the U . S . to assume the " national debt " of the former Republic of Texas . California settlers were petitioning for immediate admission as a free state , with no territorial stage . There were also disputes about slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia , about the apprehension of slaves who escaped to the free states , and about the territorial status of Utah , newly settled by the Mormons . Fillmore presided over the Senate during the months of nerve - wracking debates over these issues . During one debate , enraged Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri stalked toward Senator Henry S . Foote of Mississippi , who brandished a pistol at Bentian . Taylor stunned his fellow Southerners by urging the immediate admission of California and New Mexico as free states . Ironically , it was Fillmore , the Northerner , who supported slavery in at least part of the territory to avoid an open break with the South . He wrote : " God knows that I detest slavery , but it is an existing evil . . . and we must endure it and give it such protection as is guaranteed by the Constitution . " Clay constructed a compromise bill , which included provisions desired by both sides . Fillmore did not comment publicly on the merits of the compromise proposals . A few days before President Taylor ' s death , however , Fillmore suggested to the President that if the vote on Clay ' s bill was tied , he as President of the Senate would cast his tie - breakng vote in favor . Presidency 1850 – 1853 . Domestic Affairs . Taylor died suddenly on July 9 , 1850 , and Fillmore became President . The change in leadership also signaled an abrupt political shift . Taylor , it was thought , would have vetoed the Compromise bill ( though some historians now doubt this ) . When Fillmore took office , the entire cabinet offered their resignations . Fillmore accepted them all and appointed men who , except for Treasury Secretary Thomas Corwin , favored the Compromise of 1850 . When the compromise finally came before both Houses of Congress , it was very watered down . As a result , Fillmore urged Congress to pass the original bill . This move only provoked an enormous battle where " forces for and against slavery fought over every word of the bill . " To Fillmore ' s disappointment the bitter battle over the bill crushed public support . Clay , exhausted , left Washington to recuperate , passing leadership to Senator Stephen A . Douglas of Illinois . At this critical juncture , President Fillmore announced his support of the Compromise of 1850 . On August 6 , 1850 , he sent a message to Congress recommending that Texas ' debts be paid provided Texas abandoned its claims in New Mexico . This , and his deployment of 750 Federal troops to New Mexico , helped shift a critical number of northern Whigs in Congress away from their insistence upon the Wilmot Proviso — the stipulation that all the Mexican lands must be closed to slavery . Douglas modified Clay ' s bill accordingly , and then split it into five separate Senate bills . These bills were : Each measure obtained a majority , and , by September 20 , President Fillmore had signed them into law . Daniel Webster wrote , " I can now sleep of nights . " Only a few extremists on both sides denounced the Compromise . A slave - state convention called to discuss secession drew only a few delegates . Northerners were happy with the admission of California . Nonetheless , the Compromise disrupted the Whig party , which did badly in the fall 1850 elections in the north . Northern Whigs were heard to say " God save us from Whig Vice Presidents . " Fillmore ' s greatest difficulty was the Fugitive Slave Law : southerners complained bitterly about any slackness , but enforcement was highly offensive to northerners . Fillmore ' s solution was to enforce the Fugitive Slave Law , but also enforce the Neutrality Act of 1818 against filibustering Southerners who were trying ta make Cuba a slave state ) . Fillmore appointed Brigham Young as the first governor of the Utah Territory in 1850 . In gratitude for creating the Utah Territory in 1850 and appointing Young as governor , Young named the territorial capital " Fillmore " and the surrounding county " Millard " . Foreign affairs . In foreign affairs , Fillmore was particularly active in the Asia and the Pacific , especially with regard to Japan , which at this time still prohibited nearly all foreign contact . American merchants and shipowners wanted Japan " opened up " for trade , and so that American ships could call there for food and water on voyages to Asia , and could put in there in emergencies without being punished . They were also concerned that American sailors cast away on the Japanese coast were imprisoned as crimimnals . American merchants saw in the British opening of China to trade an example of the " benefits of new trade markets . " Fillmore and Secretary of State Daniel Webster dispatched Commodore Matthew C . Perry to open Japan to relations with the outside world . Though Perry did not reach Japan until after the end of Fillmore ' s term , Fillmore ordered the mission , and its success is to his credit . Fillmore was also a staunch opponent of European meddling in Hawaii . France under Napoleon III attempted to annex Hawaii , but backed down after Fillmore issued strongly worded message suggesting that " the United States would not stand for any such action . " Though President Taylor had signed the Clayton – Bulwer Treaty preventing Britain and the U . S . from acquiring new possessions in the Americas , Great Britain and the United States were still attempting to gain ground in the region . The situation became tense enough that Fillmore ordered several warships to guard American merchants in an attempt to prevent British interference . Fillmore had difficulties regarding Cuba . Many southerners wanted to expand slave territory in the U . S . But the Missouri Compromise and other laws prevented that . Cuba was a colony of Spain where slavery was practiced . So some of these southerners tried to get Cuba annexed to the U , S . as a slave state . Venezuelan adventurer Narciso López recruited Americans for three " filibustering " expeditions to Cuba , in the hope of overthrowing Spanish rule there . His first attempt in 1849 was suppressed by U . S . officials by orders of President Taylor . López tried again a year later ; he reached Cuba but was chased away by Spanish troops and disbanded his force in Key West . López and several of his followers were indicted for breach of the Neutrality Act , but were quickly acquitted by friendly Southern juries . Many southerners felt Fillmore should have supported the invasion , while some northern Democrats were upset at his apology to Spain . Framce and Britain dispatched warships to the region in response . Fillmore sent a stern warning saying that under certain conditions control of Cuba " might be almost essential to our [ America ' s ] safety . " López tried a third time in 1851 . This time his force was nearly all captured by the Spanish . He and many of his American followers were executed , provoking outrage among American sympathizers and further embarrassment for Fillmore . Another issue that came up during Fillmore ' s presidency was the arrival of Lajos Kossuth , the exiled leader of a failed Hungarian revolution . Kossuth wanted the U . S . to recognize Hungary ' s independence . Many Americans were sympathetic to the Hungarian rebels , especially recent German immigrants , who were now coming to the U . S . in large numbers and had become a major political force . But this would require the U . S . to abandon its policy of nonintervention in European affairs . Despite the political pressure , Fillmore refused to change American policy , and decided to remain neutral . Election of 1852 and completion of term . The election of 1852 came up , and Fillmore was unsure for a long time whether to run for a full term as President . He decided in early 1852 to run . The Whigs held their National Convention in June of that year . Fillmore at this time was unpopular with northern Whigs for signing and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act . Fillmore led narrowly on the first few ballots , but was short of a majority and could gain no votes . Eventually General Winfield Scott went slightly ahead of Fillmore , and on the 52nd ballot , Daniel Webster ' s delegates switched to Scott , who was nominated . Judicial appointments . Supreme Court . Fillmore appointed the following Justice to the Supreme Court of the United States : Other courts . Fillmore was able to appoint only four other federal judges , all to United States district courts : Later life . Fillmore ' s wife Abigail , who had been unwell for years , died March 30 , 1853 , less than month after he left office . Fillmore was one of the founders of the University at Buffalo . The school was chartered by an act of the New York State Legislature on May 11 , 1846 , and at first was only a medical school . Fillmore was the first Chancellor , a position he held as Vice President and as President . After leaving office , Fillmore returned to Buffalo and continued to serve as chancellor of the school . In August 1854 , Fillmore ' s daughter Mary died suddenly of cholera . Now left alone , Fillmore went abroad . While touring Europe in 1855 , Fillmore was offered an honorary Doctor of Civil Law ( D . C . L . ) degree by the University of Oxford . Fillmore turned down the honor , explaining that he had neither the " literary nor scientific attainment " to justify the degree . He is also quoted as having explained that he " lacked the benefit of a classical education " and could not , therefore , understand the Latin text of the diploma , adding that he believed " no man should accept a degree he cannot read . " When Fillmore returned to the U . S . , the Whig Party had broken up over slavery issues and especially the Kansas – Nebraska Act of 1854 . Most former northern Whigs , including Fillmore ' s old mentor Weed , joined the new Republican Party . Fillmore instead followed conservative and southern Whigs by joining the American Party , the political organ of the anti - immigrant , anti - Catholic Know - Nothing movement . Fillmore was not himself anti - Catholic – his daughter Mary had attended a girls ' Catholic boarding school for a year . But at this time , the American Party was the only alternative for non - Democrats who were not militantly anti - slavery . The American Party chose Fillmore as its presidential nominee for the election of 1856 . He thus sought a nonconsecutive second term as president ( a feat accomplished only once , by Grover Cleveland ) . His running mate was Andrew Jackson Donelson , nephew of former president Andrew Jackson . Fillmore and Donelson finished third , carrying only the state of Maryland and its eight electoral votes ; but he won 21 . 6 % of the popular vote , one of the best showings ever by a third - party presidential candidate . On February 10 , 1858 , Fillmore married Caroline McIntosh , a wealthy widow . Their combined wealth allowed them to purchase a big house in Buffalo , New York . They were noted for lavish hospitality in their home , until Mrs . Fillmore ' s health began to decline in the 1860s . Fillmore helped found the Buffalo Historical Society ( now the Buffalo History Museum ) in 1862 and served as its first president . In the election of 1860 , Fillmore supported Constitutional Union Party candidate John Bell . He denounced secession , and supported the Union war effort . But Fillmore also became a constant critic of the war policies of President Lincoln , such as the Emancipation Proclamation . He commanded the Union Continentals , a corps of home guards of males over the age of 45 from the upstate New York area . The Continentals trained to defend the Buffalo area in the event of a Confederate attack ( such as the St . Albans Raid ) . They performed military drill and ceremonial functions at parades , funerals , and other events . The Union Continentals guarded Lincoln ' s funeral train in Buffalo . They continued operations after the war , and Fillmore remained active with them almost until his death . After the war , Fillmore maintained his conservative position . He supported President Andrew Johnson ' s conservative Reconstruction policies , and opposed the policies of the Radical Republicans . He died at 11 : 10 pm on March 8 , 1874 , of the aftereffects of a stroke . His last words were alleged to be , upon being fed some soup , " the nourishment is palatable . " On January 7 each year , a ceremony is held at his grave site in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo . Legacy . Some northern Whigs remained irreconcilable , refusing to forgive Fillmore for having signed the Fugitive Slave Act . They helped deprive him of the Presidential nomination in 1852 . Within a few years it was apparent that although the Compromise had been intended to settle the slavery controversy , it served rather as an uneasy sectional truce . Robert J . Rayback argues that the appearance of a truce , at first , seemed very real as the country entered a period of prosperity that included the South . Although Fillmore , in retirement , continued to feel that conciliation with the South was necessary and considered that the Republican Party was at least partly responsible for the subsequent disunion , he was an outspoken critic of secession and was also critical of President James Buchanan for not immediately taking military action when South Carolina seceded . Benson Lee Grayson suggests that the Fillmore administration ' s ability to avoid potential problems is too often overlooked . Fillmore ' s constant attention to Mexico avoided a resumption of the hostilities that had only broken off in 1848 and laid the groundwork for the Gadsden Treaty during Pierce ' s administration . Meanwhile , the Fillmore administration resolved a serious dispute with Portugal left over from the Taylor administration , smoothed over a disagreement with Peru , and then peacefully resolved other disputes with Britain , France , and Spain over Cuba . At the height of this crisis , the Royal Navy had fired on an American ship while at the same time 160 Americans were being held captive in Spain . Fillmore and his State Department were able to resolve these crises without the United States going to war or losing face . Because the Whig party was so deeply divided , and the two leading national figures in the Whig party ( Fillmore and his own Secretary of State , Daniel Webster ) refused to combine to secure the nomination , Winfield Scott received it . Because both the north and the south refused to unite behind Scott , he won only four of 31 states , and lost the election to Franklin Pierce . After Scott ' s defeat , the Whigs ' decline continued , until the party broke up over the Kansas - Nebraska Act , and the Know Nothing ] ] s appeared . In the history of the U . S . Presidency , Fillmore inaugurated a new era . All previous Presidents had substantial personal fortunes , acquired either by inheritance , marriage , or ( in Martin van Buren ' s case ) by work as an attorney . Fillmore was the first of a long line of late nineteenth century chief executives , mostly lawyers , who acquired only modest wealth during their lives , were " distinctly middle class " , and who spent most of their careers in public service . The myth that Fillmore installed the White House ' s first bathtub was started by H . L . Mencken in a joke column published on December 28 , 1917 , in the " New York Evening Mail . " ( See Bathtub hoax . ) In February 2008 , a television commercial for a sales event by Kia Motors featured Millard Fillmore , referring to him as " Unheard of " , repeated the bathtub hoax , and presented a Millard Fillmore bust as a " Soap - on - a - Rope " . While Fillmore ' s letters and papers are owned by multiple institutions , including the Penfield Library of the State University of New York at Oswego , the largest surviving collection is in the Research Library at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society . Electoral history . United States presidential election , 1848 United States presidential election , 1856