Millard Fillmore

This c. 1843 portrait of Millard Fillmore (1800-1874) hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.

“At the beginning of his administration, Millard Fillmore bestowed his presidential blessing on the Compromise of 1850 Senator Henry Clay's proposal to unite the North and the slave holding South. The ensuing harmony, however, was short-lived. Among the compromise's concessions to the South was the new Fugitive Slave Law, which facilitated the capture of runaway slaves, and Fillmore was determined to enforce it. As northern abolitionists sought to undermine enforcement, tempers on both sides of the issue flared again. The sectional bitterness made a future rupture over slavery all but certain.

Fillmore's portrait by an unidentified artist dates to about the time he retired from the House of Representatives in the early 1840s. In the years following, he devoted himself to reconciling the growing differences among fellow Whigs in his native New York State.” -- National Portrait Gallery

Fillmore became the 12th Vice President of the United States when Zachary Taylor was elected President in 1848. This N. Currier print depicts him as the Whig candidate for Vice President and identifies Taylor as the People's Candidate.

Millard Fillmore

Whig Candidate for Vice President

 Zachary Taylor

The People's Candidate for President

Fillmore became president when Taylor died in July 1850.

 President Millard Fillmore

Fillmore was passed over for the nomination in 1852 when the Whigs chose Winfield Scott as their Candidate. In 1856 he ran again for the president as the American  (Know Nothing) Party candidate.

Millard Fillmore
American Candidate For President of the United States