FILLMORE, MILLARP. 



295 



1847 he was elected Controller by a very largo 



majority, and removal to Albany to entur 

 iijM.ii id.- iluties of tho office. In the summer 

 nt' is is ho was nominated, and in the follow- 

 nber elected Vice-President of the 

 l'nite.1 States on the ticket of General Zachary 

 Taylor. As 1'ro-ideiit of tlio Senate, he won 

 for himself a high reputation for dignity, im- 

 partiality, and fairness. It was the period of 

 the long and angry discussions of the several 

 propositions for the organixation of the Territo- 

 iiid the consideration of the compromise 

 measures introduced by Mr. Clay, in what was 

 known as the " Omnibus Bill." During all these 

 heated debates in the Senate, extending over 

 many months, Vice-President Fillmore gave 

 no indication to any one, except the President, 

 which side he favored. 



On the 9th of July, 1850, President Taylor 

 dic-d, and on the 10th Mr. Fillmore took tho 

 oath of office as President and entered upon 

 his duties. In the selection of a new cabinet, 

 that of President Taylor having resigned, Mr. 

 Fillmore showed his judgment. Daniel Web- 

 ster, Thomas Corwin, and John J. Orittenden, 

 were the foremost characters in the new cab- 

 inet, and each was, in his way, a representa- 

 tive man. It was a critical period in the 

 national history. Mr. Clay's compromise meas- 

 ures, which were still pending, were intended 

 to .prevent collisions between the North and 

 the South, and to quiet the angry and bitter 

 feelings then existing. They provided for the 

 admission of California as a free State ; defined 

 the boundaries of Texas, paying her $10,000,000 

 for relinquishing all claim to jurisdiction out- 

 side those limits ; organized the Territories of 

 New Mexico and Utah, by bills which were 

 silent on the subject of slavery ; prohibited the 

 slave-trade in the District of Columbia; and 

 granted more summary and effective provisions 

 for the recovery of fugitives from slavery. 

 President Fillmore, by constitution a conserva- 

 tive, yet a truly patriotic citizen, had been in 

 favor of this bill from the first, and believed 

 that by it the North and South would be paci- 

 fied, and the horrors of a civil war averted, 

 and he consequently used his efforts for its 

 passage, promptly approved it when passed, 

 and by his proclamations endeavored to enforce 

 the most odious and difficult provisions of it 

 those relating to the rendition of fugitive 

 slaves. No one can doubt the purity of his 

 motives, the conscientiousness which led him 

 to undertake its enforcement, or the patriotism 

 which prompted his conduct. But he and his 

 cabinet had failed to comprehend the real feel- 

 ings of the people on these questions. Tho 

 compromises were unsatisfactory to both par- 

 ties. The South had been defeated on the 

 main question the extension of slavery to the 

 Pacific and did not regard the fugitive slave 

 law as adequate compensation for this great 

 loss, and were not disposed to acquiesce in it. 

 The fugitive slave law had set the North on 

 fire, and could not be enforced except at the 



point of tho bayonet, and thai the " Omnibus 

 Bill " brought speedy destruction upon ull its 

 advocates. Mr. Webster, long the idol of his 

 party in tlio North, was cast overboard, and 

 tho disappointment and chagrin which was the 

 result i 'f his signal defeat unquestionably hast- 

 ened his end, as it probably did Mr. Clay's 

 also. The party which had elected Taylor and 

 Fillmore by such majorities in 1848 was so 

 overwhelmingly defeated at the next presiden- 

 tial election that it hardly attempted to rally 

 again, and disappeared from public view before 

 1856. The two sections, North and South, 

 were thenceforward arrayed in more bitter 

 hostility toward each other than before, and the 

 strife which, ten years later, culminated in a 

 terrible civil war, was greatly aggravated. 

 President Fillmore came in for a large share 

 of denunciation, both from the Nort h and the 

 South ; and, after the close of his presidential 

 term, never held any other public office. In 

 other respects, President Fillmore's Adminis- 

 tration of two years and eight months was de- 

 serving of honorable remembrance. He gave 

 countenance and aid to several important ex- 

 ploring expeditions, especially to that of Com- 

 modore Perry to Japan ; that to the La Plata 

 River ; that of Lieutenant Lynch to the Dead 

 Sea ; that of Ringgold to the Chinese Sea ; and 

 that of Herndon and Gibbon to the Amazon. 

 An invasion of Cuba by lawless citizens of the 

 United States being threatened, he issned his 

 proclamation prohibiting it, and when the ex- 

 pedition sailed, through the connivance of the 

 collector of the port of New Orleans, caused 

 its capture and the punishment of those en- 

 gaged in it ; removed the collector, and caused 

 the vessel to be seized and condemned for vio- 

 lation of the neutrality laws. The foreign 

 policy of Mr. Fillmore's Administration was 

 dignified and self-respecting; and, by the 

 character of its representatives abroad, as well 

 as by its manly independence, did much to 

 give the Government position and influence 

 with other nations. 



After the expiration of his term of office, 

 Mr. Fillmore returned to Buffalo, where he 

 led a quiet life, enjoying a consulting practice 

 with his old-time partner, and greatly esteemed 

 for his integrity and courteous manners. In 

 1855 he visited Europe, and made a tour of 

 nearly two years' .duration. While thus ab- 

 sent from the country he was nominated for 

 the presidency in 1856, by the "American" 

 or Know-nothing party, and polled a respecta- 

 ble popular vote, but received only the elec- 

 toral vote of Maryland. The degree of D. C. L. 

 was tendered to him by tho University of Ox- 

 ford, but he declined the honor. He had 

 received the honorary degree of LL. D. from 

 an American college during his presidency. 

 True to his conservative views, ex-President 

 Fillmore took no active part in the late civil 

 war, though his sympathies were, it is believed, 

 with the Union. Of late years, he had fre- 

 quently presided over large commercial con- 



