Millard Fillmore: Thirteenth President of the United States (Encyclopedia of Presidents)

Rating:
Summary: First rate study of the forgotten President Millard Fillmore
Review: Jane Clark Casey begins this informative juvenile biography of Millard Fillmore with the ex-President returning home after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to find his house smeared with ink because it was not yet draped in black mourning the death of the President. Noting that Fillmore is "the forgotten president," who "died the object of ridicule and hatred," Casey contends "the story of Millard Fillmore is a story of political courage--a story of his devotion to the Union and how that devotion cost him his place in history." This is not to suggest that Casey is an apologist for Fillmore's faults; she deal with such things as how he ran as the Presidential candidate for the Know Nothing party in 1856 that was reacting to the growing influence of immigrant voters. But Casey does render a judgment that at a crucial time in the nation's history, the debate over the Compromise of 1850, Fillmore did what he thought was best for the nation without regard to his political career. We can continue to debate the efficacy of that Compromise, whose chief claim to fame is that it put off the Civil War for a decade, but Casey makes a compelling case that Fillmore does not deserve to be forgotten.

Fillmore was the last of the four Whig Presidents (although John Tyler was really a Democrat), only two of whom were elected (they both died in office), although he started off in politics as an Anti-Mason and ended up a Know Nothing. Consequently, Casey is careful to explain the changing political climates that saw the rise and fall of these various parties. I also find it interesting that Fillmore, as an up State New York politician, was opposed to the influences of Thurlow Weed in New York City, which does emphasize that his rise to the Presidency was an odd chain of events indeed. Young readers will also be struck by the harsh apprenticeships Fillmore served as a youth, which made his "hatred of the insolent tyrant" a key part of his political beliefs. Throughout his political career, Fillmore endeavored to help the weak against the strong.

I think those volumes in the Encyclopedia of Presidents series that are devoted to the lesser Presidents, such as Millard Fillmore, have an advantage over those on the great leaders like Washington and Lincoln. Almost everybody "knows nothing" about Fillmore, so every thing is new and fresh. I had just read the fine introductory juvenile biography of Fillmore in the "Our Presidents" series and I was impressed by Casey's command of detail. Furthermore, Casey succeeds in arguing out her claim about Fillmore, so there is an argumentative coherence to the biography rather than just a chronological array of historical details. The Encyclopedia of Presidents is the most informative of the various series devoted to the American Presidents, and this volume on Millard Fillmore is one of the best written of the bunch.