Millard Fillmore

According to many people, Millard Fillmore is one of, if not the most boring and dull president. In contrast, I found Fillmore one of our most fascinating leaders. Born in the first week of the 19th century to an impoverished family in New York, Fillmore ran away from home in 1817 after his father, who he had always disliked, forced him to become a wool carder's apprentice. Settling in a small town called New Hope, Fillmore studied law and became a lawyer in 1823. He then became involved in a conspiratorial group known as the Anti-Masonic Party, becoming a local politician while a part of the group. In 1843, after about a decade in the House of Representatives, he launched an unsuccessful bid for governor of New York. A few years later, in 1847, Fillmore, who by this point had left the Anti-Masonic Party in favor of the Whigs at the behest of his mentor Thurlow Weed, became the first person in history directly elected to the office of the comptroller of New York. As state comptroller, he was so popular that Zachary Taylor made him his running mate when he was the Whig nominee in the 1848 election. Taylor and Fillmore won, entering the White House on March 4, 1849. When Taylor died on July 9, 1850, Fillmore was president.

Fillmore became president at an incredibly volatile point in US history. Just two years prior, on February 2, 1848, the Mexican-American War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Among other things, this treaty required the Mexican government to cede what are now the states of California, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Nevada to the US. This opened up a debate about whether or not slavery should be allowed in the new areas, known as the Mexican Cession. Taylor and Fillmore were now tasked with deciding this momentous question. In the midst of this debate, Henry Clay proposed the Compromise of 1850. Taylor, who feared that the presence of slavery in the Mexican Cession would tear apart the country he cherished, staunchly opposed Clay's idea. However, Fillmore, although a northerner and although he was personally outraged by slavery, approved the Compromise of 1850 as one of his first decisions in office.

On the good side, the Compromise of 1850 banned slavery in California and prohibited the importation of new slaves into Washington DC. Unrelated to slavery, the Compromise of 1850 also resolved a border dispute between two states. After New Mexico - which, at the time, was fused with Arizona in what was known at the time as the New Mexico Territory - was ceded to the US, Texas claimed control over some territory in the area. The Compromise of 1850 said that if Texas relinquished these claims, the federal government would, in exchange, pay off any debt the state acquired from the Mexican-American War. It worked, and the dispute was resolved. All of these provisions are great things and are part of why Fillmore isn't listed any lower.

Ultimately, however, I consider the Compromise of 1850 a bad thing. While resolving a minor border dispute, banning slavery in one state, and prohibiting the importation of slaves into a small city are all good things, they're quite minor in comparison to the bad parts of the legislation. As previously mentioned, New Mexico, in 1850, existed in a union with Arizona to create a larger region known as the New Mexico Territory. Similarly, Utah and Nevada were united in what was known as the Utah Territory. These were two large areas, and the Compromise of 1850 allowed its residents to vote to decide if slavery would be allowed or prohibited in the new territories. The Compromise of 1850 also contained the Fugitive Slave Act, which required residents of free states to report escaped slaves in their communities. Bringing one border dispute to a close, banning slavery in a singular state, and ending the introduction of slaves into a small city are all quite minor in comparison to establishing popular sovereignty in two enormous territories and preventing slaves from escaping into freedom.

Additionally, contrary to popular belief, the Compromise of 1850 did not delay the civil war. In fact, I would say that it actively contributed to the outbreak of the civil war. The Compromise of 1850 was incredibly unpopular at the time that it was passed. In fact, when Clay included all of the provisions in a single bill, it was easily shot down in Congress because no one was willing to make the sacrifices it required their side of the slavery issue to make. It was only passed when Stephen Douglas split the proposal into 5 separate bills, with each bill containing one of the compromise's clauses. This allowed the idea to pass, as pro-slavery Congressmen could vote in favor of solely the pro-slavery provisions, and abolitionist Congressmen could vote in favor of solely the abolitionist provisions. If it truly appeased both sides, this wouldn't be necessary.

Moreover, the Fugitive Slave Act is considered by most historians to be a major cause of the civil war. The bill in and of itself was incredibly inflammatory. But news of incidents where the law was enforced and attempts by free states to nullify it swiftly spread across the entire US, conjuring up even more debate about slavery, further diving the American people. The bill instituting popular sovereignty in the Utah and New Mexico Territories also helped inspire the Kansas-Nebraska Act, signed in 1854 by Fillmore's successor Franklin Pierce, which also poured more fuel on the fire.

The Compromise of 1850 also managed to coincide with South Carolina threatening to secede. However, to his immense credit, Fillmore sent troops to the state and successfully quells its rebellion in doing so.

One other factor keeping Fillmore higher up is his use of the Tyler Doctrine. The Tyler Doctrine was an extension of the Monroe Doctrine instituted by President John Tyler. According to Monroe, the world was divided into two geopolitical hemispheres: The Western Hemisphere, containing North and South America, and the Eastern Hemisphere, containing Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. From here, Monroe stated that any attempt by a government from one hemisphere to intervene in the affairs of the other hemisphere is an act of war. Tyler would later expand the Monroe Doctrine to include Hawaii in the Western Hemisphere. While Fillmore was president, the French government and military attempted to annex Hawaii. However, Fillmore utilized Tyler's policy to prevent that.

However, Fillmore demonstrated considerably less strength in the aftermath of the Hungarian Revolution. In early March of 1848, Lajos Kossuth, a prominent Hungarian activist and progressive, was arrested by the Austrian imperial government that, at the time, controlled Hungary. This sparked protests on March 15, 1848, beginning one of the many Revolutions of 1848. To appease the protestors, the Austrian government instituted a series of liberal reforms, which included the abolition of feudalism in Hungary.

Despite these reforms, local officials in Hungary continued to oppress ethnic minorities. The contrast between their perpetual oppression and the progress made in the rest of Hungary rightfully outraged these minorities, and so they began revolting. Vienna then sent in reinforcement to aid the rebellion. Initially, the revolt was unsuccessful. But in September 1848, Russian reinforcement arrived and by April of 1849, the new Hungarian government was crushed. With the revolution in shambles, Kossuth himself was given control of the government that month. Soon after, on August 12, 1849, Kossuth fled to the US in fear. With this, the Hungarian Revolution drew to a close. But Fillmore had a chance to revive it!

Following his escape to America, Kossuth, who was seen as a brave freedom fighter, was an extremely popular figure in the US. He was so beloved that in 1851, he was invited to the White House to eat dinner with Fillmore. At the dinner, however, Fillmore announced that he would take no action to support or revive the revolution. This was a spineless, weak decision that allowed Hungary to continue suffering under regressive and imperialist policies at the hands of the Austrian Empire.

My last point revolves around what is perhaps Fillmore's most impactful - and perplexing - decision: The Perry Expedition. In the early 1850s, American whale hunters desired an island in the Pacific Ocean that would serve as a convenient parking space during hunting trips. Merchants in general also wanted a place to stop and refuel. These two groups both agreed on the area that would fulfill their desires: Japan.

Japan, however, had been isolated from the outside world ever since 1636, when its government passed the Acts of Seclusion. So, in order for these needs to actually be met, Fillmore would need to open up Japan to the rest of society. To do this, Fillmore and his government drafted the Treaty of Kanagawa, which established trading ports in the Japanese cities of Shimoda and Hakodate. The document also legalized the construction of a US embassy in Japan. After completing the treaty, Fillmore sent a general named Matthew Perry to Japan to actually get the Japanese state to sign it.

Perry, desperate to open up trade and diplomacy with Japan, threatened to bomb Tokyo if the government didn't agree to the proposal. The threat worked, and on March 31, 1854, the Treaty of Kanagawa was signed, breaking Japan's 218-year slumber.

On paper, this seems like a wonderful accomplishment. Fillmore was improving America's geopolitical standing in East Asia and finally getting Japan to participate in foreign affairs. In reality, though, its impact would be much, much more complex than that.

Following the Perry Expedition - which had a brutalist and imperialist nature that I can't but criticize - Japan was tossed into the international community. Because of how violent and forceful the actions allowing for this event were (remember, Tokyo was nearly bombed!), many Japanese feared that their nation was at risk of being pushed around and abused by other countries. To avoid this, they believed, Japan would have to modernize. A small group of samurai shared this idea. So on January 3, 1868, these samurai installed Meiji as the leader of Japan in a coup.

The legacy of Meiji and his successors is a confusing one. On one hand, their administration drastically improved life in Japan. During a period known as the Meiji Restoration, Meiji installed the first railroads in Japan, abolished feudalism, moved the capital to Tokyo, established a more modern education system, founded a national bank, set up a cabinet, and even created an elected legislature. These are all great things. And breaking a country's geopolitical isolation could clearly lead to something like this. So Fillmore definitely warrants praise here. However, Meiji also established the Empire of Japan, which was an abhorrent, expansionist state that massacred people across Asia and allied with Nazi Germany during WW2. While interfering in a country's internal affairs can help it, it can also do immense damage. So Fillmore, in my view, deserves both praise for his role in Japan's modernization and scorn for his role in its expansion.

I introduced this article by describing my fascination with Fillmore, his life, and his presidency. A part of why Fillmore is such a fascinating figure is that, while he was overall a bad president, he did some very admirable things. He banned slavery in California, ended the importation of slaves into Washington DC, resolved a border dispute between Texas and New Mexico, crushed a pro-slavery rebellion in South Carolina, and protected Hawaii from French imperialism. But on the other hand, he signed the Fugitive Slave Act, let people in New Mexico and Utah vote on slavery, allowed the Hungarian Revolution to die out, and contributed to the rise of the Empire of Japan.