[82] Fillmore was sympathetic to the ambitions of his longtime friend, but was reluctant to rule out accepting the party's 1852 nomination, as he feared doing so would allow Seward to gain control of the party. Fillmore somewhat reluctantly sought his party's nomination for a full term, but the split between supporters of Fillmore and Secretary of State Daniel Webster led to the nomination of General Winfield Scott at the 1852 Whig National Convention. [76] France under Napoleon III sought to annex Hawaii, but backed down after Fillmore issued a strongly worded message warning that "the United States would not stand for any such action. American businessmen wanted Japan "opened up" for trade, and businessmen and the navy alike wanted the ability to visit Japan to stock up on provisions such as coal. [39] Clay's proposal attracted the support of some Northern Democrats and Southern Whigs, but it lacked the backing necessary to win passage, and debate over the bill continued. Many of the administration's prosecutions or attempts to return slaves ended badly for the government, as in the case of Shadrach Minkins. After the 46th ballot still failed to produce a presidential nominee, the delegates voted to adjourn until the following Monday. Fillmore offered the position of Secretary of State to Robert Charles Winthrop, an anti-compromise Massachusetts Whig who was widely popular among Whigs in the House of Representatives, but Winthrop declined the post. Unsurprisingly, Fillmore found solace in politics. [41] Taylor opposed the bill, since he favored granting California statehood immediately and denied the legitimacy of Texas's claims over New Mexico. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, Millard Fillmore: Life After the Presidency, Notice of Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity, Life After the Presidency (Current Essay). Moreover, Fillmore ended his career heading the Know-Nothings, a party formed to oppose immigration. Kossuth wanted the U.S. to recognize Hungary's independence. Fillmore threatened to send federal soldiers into the city in order to compel the return of the Crafts to the South, but the Crafts escape to England put an end to the controversy. A controversial part of the Compromise was the Fugitive Slave Act, which expedited the return of escaped slaves to those who claimed ownership. Because Fillmore's wife, Abigail, was often in poor health, his daughter, Mary Abigail Fillmore, frequently served as the White House hostess. [2], Despite the Whig presidential victory, Democrats maintained control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, preventing the reversal of outgoing President James K. Polk's policies on the tariff and other issues. [83] A third candidate emerged in the form of General Winfield Scott, who, like previously successful Whig presidential nominees William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, had earned fame for his martial accomplishments. But his accomplishments, while not great, were nonetheless substantial. The first vacancy arose due to the death of Associate Justice Levi Woodbury in 1851. [59], Fillmore hoped that slavery would one day cease to exist in the United States, but he believed that it was his duty to zealously enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. When the Civil War erupted three years later, Fillmore became a staunch Unionist, helping to organize enlistment and war-financing drives. [5], Fillmore received the formal notification of Zachary Taylor's death, signed by the cabinet, on the evening of July 9, 1850 in his residence at the Willard Hotel.

His presidency occurred at a time when tensions between the North and South were high primarily due to the issue of slavery. [91] Hale's candidacy damaged the Whig ticket in the North, while distrust and apathy led many Southern Whigs to vote for Pierce or to sit out the election. [49], The debate then moved to the House of Representatives, where Fillmore, Webster, Douglas, Congressman Linn Boyd, and Speaker of the House Howell Cobb took the lead in convincing members to support the compromise bills that had been passed in the Senate. Fillmore appointed his old law partner, Nathan Hall, as Postmaster General, a cabinet position that controlled many patronage appointments.