Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore.
Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, the last president from the Whig Party. Born into poverty in the Finger Lakes area of New York state, he became a prominent attorney in the Buffalo area and was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1828, and to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1832. As Ways and Means Committee chairman, he helped pass the Tariff of 1842. In 1848, he was elected vice president and succeeded to the presidency in July 1850 upon the death of President Zachary Taylor. Fillmore considered slavery an evil, but beyond the powers of the federal government. He pushed to pass the Compromise of 1850, leading to a brief truce in the battle over slavery. He also enforced the Fugitive Slave Act, a controversial part of the Compromise. The Whigs nominated Winfield Scott in 1852 instead of him. In 1856, he was nominated for president by the Know Nothing Party, but he finished third, winning only Maryland.