Millard Fillmore: The Last Whig President
Is Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States, the least substantial of all the leaders in chief? Or the most underestimated? Jared Cohen, author of Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America, has the response.
Script:
Nobody was more shocked than Millard Fillmore when the Whig Party selected him to be Zachary Taylor’s running mate in the 1848 election.
Working as the comptroller (essentially the treasurer) of New York State at the time, Fillmore was well known in Washington. He had been a New York congressman for a decade. However the VP slot? Fillmore didn’t see it coming.
And he didn’t hesitate to say yes when offered the job.
On the surface area, Taylor and Fillmore appeared to be an excellent fit.
Taylor had never run for elective office. He was the terrific hero of the Mexican-American War. When he wasn’t soldiering, he survived on a plantation in the Deep South.
Fillmore, a northerner, invested his expert life in politics.
Both had actually matured on the edge of the frontier. Both were totally self-made.
It was a marriage made in machine-politics heaven.
And it worked.
Well, to be more accurate, it worked for Taylor.
It didn’t work for Fillmore.
When they won the 1848 election, Fillmore figured that as Vice President he could give financially rewarding federal jobs to his fans, protecting his future as a significant force in New York and perhaps even nationwide politics.
He also figured that with his understanding of Congress and his huge experience in the political arena, he would be a relied on Taylor advisor.
He figured wrong on both counts.
Taylor provided him no access to patronage. He wasn’t interested in increasing Fillmore’s career in New York or anywhere else.
And Taylor did not bring Fillmore into his inner circle. Taylor, the Southerner, accepted slavery (however, to his credit, he did oppose its spread to brand-new states), while Fillmore, the Northerner, opposed slavery.
Fillmore made one more mistake.
He never ever believed Taylor would pass away in workplace.
After devoting the base of the Washington Monument on a very hot, damp day, Taylor returned to the White House with heat exhaustion. The medical professionals got a hold of him. In the mid-19th century, this was not necessarily a good idea. Over the next few days, Taylor’s health became worse. He died on July 9, 1850. The medical professionals, trying all manner of nostrums, consisting of bleeding him from the wrist, efficiently cured him to death.
Fillmore– thanks to the precedent John Tyler developed 10 years before– unexpectedly discovered himself the thirteenth President of the United States.
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Is Millard Fillmore, the 13th President of the United States, the least significant of all the commanders in chief? Working as the comptroller (basically the treasurer) of New York State at the time, Fillmore was well understood in Washington. Fillmore didn’t see it coming.
And Taylor did not bring Fillmore into his inner circle. Taylor, the Southerner, accepted slavery (though, to his credit, he did oppose its spread to new states), while Fillmore, the Northerner, opposed slavery.
