#13 Millard Fillmore
Year of Presidency: 1850-1853
Party: Whig
Birthplace: New York
Born: January 7th, 1800
Died: March 8th, 1874
President Millard Fillmore assumed his presidency as the last member of the Whig Party. Unlike former President Zachary Taylor, Fillmore fully supported Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850 and opposed Taylor's proposal to keep slavery out of the territories annexed during the Mexican-American War. A bill to admit California still aroused violent arguments for and against the extension of slavery, without any progress toward settling the major issues. Clay, exhausted, left Washington and handed over his power to Stephen A. Douglas. Douglas then broke up Clay's single legislative package into five separate bills that he presented to the Senate. Fillmore then signed them into law which appeased most of the South and North Whigs, however a few Northern Whigs held a grudge against Fillmore for having signed the Fugitive Slave Act. Those Whigs helped to make him lose the presidential nomination in 1852. Fillmore then went on to assume Presidency of the Know-Nothing Party and thus opposed later President Abraham Lincoln throughout his term.
"The Constitution has made it the duty of the President to take care that the laws be faithfully executed."
Party: Whig
Birthplace: New York
Born: January 7th, 1800
Died: March 8th, 1874
President Millard Fillmore assumed his presidency as the last member of the Whig Party. Unlike former President Zachary Taylor, Fillmore fully supported Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850 and opposed Taylor's proposal to keep slavery out of the territories annexed during the Mexican-American War. A bill to admit California still aroused violent arguments for and against the extension of slavery, without any progress toward settling the major issues. Clay, exhausted, left Washington and handed over his power to Stephen A. Douglas. Douglas then broke up Clay's single legislative package into five separate bills that he presented to the Senate. Fillmore then signed them into law which appeased most of the South and North Whigs, however a few Northern Whigs held a grudge against Fillmore for having signed the Fugitive Slave Act. Those Whigs helped to make him lose the presidential nomination in 1852. Fillmore then went on to assume Presidency of the Know-Nothing Party and thus opposed later President Abraham Lincoln throughout his term.
"The Constitution has made it the duty of the President to take care that the laws be faithfully executed."