US Presidents For Dummies

by Marcus Stadelmann

  Chapter 9

  Working Up to the Civil War: Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan

  In This Chapter

  Having his term cut short: Taylor

  Becoming president by default: Fillmore

  Pushing the country closer to civil war: Pierce

  Letting the Union crumble: Buchanan

  T his chapter covers the four presidents who served in the decade before the Civil War. Zachary Taylor could have been a great president, but he died one year into his term. The other three presidents turned out to be miserable failures. With the Civil War looming, they did nothing to prevent the conflict; in fact, many of their actions contributed to the start of the war. President Fillmore destroyed his party over the issue of slavery, President Pierce openly sympathized with the South, and President Buchanan sat idly by while the Southern states seceded. None of these presidents had the backbone or the willingness to act at a time when action was desperately needed.

  Trying to Preserve the Union: Zachary Taylor

  When it comes to American heroes, Zachary Taylor, shown in Figure 9-1, ranks near the top of the list. During his long military career, he fought Native Americans, the British, and the Mexicans. As a military leader, he has the distinction of never being defeated in battle. Even though his enemies usually outnumbered him, he always managed to win battles somehow.

  Figure 9-1: Zachary Taylor, 12th president of the United States.

  Courtesy of the Library of Congress

  By the end of the Mexican-American war in 1848, Taylor had become a national hero. His status as a hero propelled him into the presidency. If he had lived to serve his full term, a bloody civil war could have been avoided. His death, a year into his presidency, allowed for weaker presidents to follow.

  Fighting Native Americans and Mexicans

  Like Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor was a military man. He spent over 40 years serving his country.

  Early campaigns

  Zachary Taylor became a household name in the United States during the War of 1812. While defending the Indiana territory, he faced off against a collection of Indian tribes — including the Delaware and Kickapoos — who were followers of the Shawnee chief Tecumseh. Taylor commanded only 50 soldiers, but he was able to defend Fort Harrison, a frontier outpost, against an army of 450 Native Americans.

  Taylor spent the next 19 years moving from post to post. When he got a chance to fight again, his military exploits became legendary. He was in a charge of a detachment of soldiers fighting in the Black Hawk War. After pursuing the Native Americans for three months, Taylor caught up with them and defeated them soundly. His reputation grew. President Van Buren sent him to Florida to go after the Seminoles who rose against U.S. rule. Commanding over 1,100 soldiers, he pursued the Seminoles into the Everglades and finally defeated them. President Van Buren rewarded him for his victory by naming him a brigadier general in charge of the Florida district.

  “Old Rough and Ready”

  Zachary Taylor was born in 1784, the son of a military officer. His father served in the Revolutionary War and received a nice chunk of land from the state of Kentucky for his services. With his father serving in the military and, later, the Kentucky state legislature, Taylor’s path was set.

  Taylor grew up in rural Kentucky and received a rudimentary education. In 1806, he joined the Kentucky militia. Taylor — using his father’s political connections — became a lieutenant in the Seventh U.S. Infantry in 1808 and served his country for the next 40 years.

  In 1810, Taylor married Margaret Smith, the daughter of a Maryland plantation owner, substantially increasing his wealth. One of their daughters, Sarah Knox Taylor, married Jefferson Davis, who became the President of the Confederate States of America. Taylor’s son Richard served the Confederacy as a general.

  The Mexican-American War

  By 1840, Taylor was ready for a change. So he asked for a transfer. He was sent to Louisiana, where he bought a plantation and soon owned over 100 slaves. He was ready to retire when the Mexican-American War broke out in 1845. President Polk called upon him to lead the charge one more time.

  In March 1845, Congress passed a resolution annexing Texas (see Chapter 7). President Polk was interested in gaining more territory from Mexico (see Chapter 8). Taylor received orders to march his troops to Corpus Christi, Texas. In early 1846, President Polk ordered Taylor to advance into disputed territory near the Rio Grande River.

  During the battle of Palo Alto, a Mexican division of around 6,000 soldiers attacked Taylor. Taylor commanded only 4,000 soldiers, but he defeated the enemy soundly. Polk and Congress promoted Taylor to major general. Next, Taylor invaded Mexico. In September 1846, he attacked and conquered Monterrey, despite being outnumbered.

  Taylor became the best-known and most popular man in the United States. Taylor fan clubs sprung up throughout the country, and the Whigs started to look at him as a possible presidential candidate. President Polk got jealous: He tried to undermine Taylor by moving most of the men under Taylor’s command to a different division and stranding him in Mexico.

  In February 1847, Mexican General Santa Anna took advantage of Taylor’s situation and attacked his small army of about 5,000 men with an army of over 15,000. Taylor, who stayed right in the thick of the battle, fought the Mexican army to a standstill, and Santa Anna retreated. Taylor had not only won the battle but also the presidency. Polk’s plan misfired badly.

  President Zachary Taylor (1849–1850)

  When Taylor returned home in late 1847, he was the leading candidate for the Whig nomination for president, despite the fact that he didn’t want to be president or even a politician. Taylor’s candidacy was controversial among some Whigs because he owned slaves and the Whigs opposed slavery. In the end, the Whig’s desire to win overcame their politics, and they nominated Taylor for the presidency.

  Taylor’s platform was simple; he wanted to be a president of all the people. His reputation was such that he easily won the office. He carried the Electoral College with 163 votes to 127 for the Democratic nominee Lewis Cass.

  Zachary Taylor never voted in an election before he became the nominee of the Whig party. He cast the first ballot of his life for himself in 1848.

  Serving for just one year

  President Taylor served a little over one year in office. During this time, he proved to be a capable leader, doing his best to preserve the Union.

  In 1849, California and New Mexico, acquired in the Mexican-American War, applied for statehood. Both wanted to ban slavery in their territories. Taylor was okay with the decision to ban slavery in both territories because he felt slavery was a state matter.

  Zachary Taylor supported slavery in the existing slave states — he believed that the Southern economy would collapse without slave labor. At the same time, he opposed expanding slavery into new states.

  The Southern states didn’t agree with Taylor’s views on the issue of slavery, and some Southern congressmen, including John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, threatened to secede to put pressure on the new president. Boy, did they miscalculate. Enraged, Taylor told the Southern leadership that if they seceded, he himself would lead the U.S. army against them. For Taylor, there was no compromising on this issue — had he lived long enough to finish his term in office, the Civil War might have been avoided.

  On July 4, 1850, Taylor consumed cherries and frozen milk during the Fourth of July festivities in the capital. He got sick the same night and died five days later. (Poor sanitation made it risky to eat any raw fruit or dairy products during the summer. Taylor did both. He suffered severe cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting, which led to his death.) His successor, Vice President Fillmore, put the country on the path to a civil war.

  Making Things Worse: Millard Fillmore

  When ranking the presidents, Millard Fillmore usually falls somewhere in the bottom ten — deservedly. As president, he didn’t do much except contribute to the outbreak of the C
ivil War. He also did his part in destroying the Whig party, of which he was a member. He later ran for the presidency one more time as the standard bearer for the blatantly racist American Party.

  Millard Fillmore, shown in Figure 9-2, was the second vice president to succeed a president who died in office. Like John Tyler, he disagreed with his predecessor on most issues and made dramatic policy changes. Fillmore even dismissed most of Taylor’s cabinet and started from scratch.

  Figure 9-2: Millard Fillmore, 13th president of the United States.

  Courtesy of the Library of Congress

  Fillmore’s early career

  In 1826, a local Mason disappeared after publishing a book on the secretive Masonic order. Citizens near Buffalo, New York, formed the Anti-Mason party. Looking for candidates, they came to Fillmore. They launched his political career when they supported his successful bid for a seat in the New York state legislature.

  In 1832, Fillmore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He became a Whig when the Anti-Mason party fused with the Whigs in the mid-1830s. He soon became a good friend and follower of Henry Clay. He and Clay agreed on the major issues of the day, such as compromising on the issue of slavery and the need for high tariffs to protect U.S. industries.

  “Growing up poor and undereducated

  Millard Fillmore was born in 1800, the son of a small farmer in New York State. At the age of 14, he became an apprentice to a local clothier. Fillmore educated himself slowly with the help of a local schoolteacher, Abigail Powers, whom he later married.

  At the age of 19, Fillmore began studying law under a local attorney and teaching school to support himself. Finally, in 1823, he opened his own law firm near Buffalo, New York.

  Fillmore expected to become the vice-presidential candidate for the Whigs in 1844, but that didn’t happen. He also lost a bid for governor of New York. Fillmore reappeared on the political scene in 1847, winning the office of state comptroller in New York.

  At the Whig convention in 1848, General Zachary Taylor won the presidential nomination. As a Southern slaveholder, Taylor annoyed the anti-slavery wing of the Whig party, so it looked for a Northern candidate who opposed slavery and could win in a big state — Fillmore fit the bill. He received the vice-presidential nomination and eventually became vice president.

  As vice president, Fillmore took part in discussing the major issue of the day — the slave-or-free status of new states. He tried to compromise on the issue, but President Taylor refused. War loomed on the horizon.

  President Millard Fillmore (1850–1853)

  President Fillmore’s first order of business was to settle the conflict over the admission of new states into the Union. Together with Henry Clay, Fillmore worked out a compromise known as the Compromise of 1850. It contained the following provisions:

  California was admitted as a free state, prohibiting slavery.

  The Utah and New Mexico territories were organized without mentioning slavery, allowing for the institution.

  A new “Fugitive Slave Law” was put into place, calling for the return of runaway slaves to their owners.

  Slavery continued to exist in Washington, D.C., although slave trading was outlawed.

  The borders of the state of Texas were defined. The state also received $10 million to pay off its state debt.

  Fillmore signed the Compromise of 1850 into law. Many Northerners considered the bill pro-slavery and turned away from the Whigs. A large portion of the Whig party itself opposed the law and withdrew support from Fillmore. On the other hand, the compromise pleased the Southern states and prevented a civil war for the time being.

  When Fillmore’s term was up in 1854, he knew he wouldn’t get the support of his own party. He attended the Whig convention, but the Whigs nominated General Winfield Scott. Scott lost the election, and the issue of slavery tore the party apart. Many of the Whigs later joined the newly established Republican Party, which advocated an anti-slavery platform.

  Turning racist

  In 1856, Fillmore ran for the presidency one more time. He became the candidate for the American Party, a party that opposed immigration and was anti-Catholic, anti-Black, and anti-Jewish. Fillmore won one state, Maryland, and received almost 900,000 votes in the election. After losing the election, he retired to Buffalo, New York and served as the first chancellor for the University of Buffalo. He later opposed President Lincoln for reelection and backed President Johnson during his battles with Congress. Fillmore died in 1874. He spent his last years engaged in many civic activities.

  Sympathizing with the South: Franklin Pierce

  Franklin Pierce, shown in Figure 9-3, is another president considered to be a major failure. He may be thought of as a failure because he was such a contradiction: He was a Northern Democrat who supported slavery and the South throughout his political career.

  He not only failed to resolve the slavery issue, but couldn’t achieve his political objective of territorial expansion. Added to this, no other president suffered as much in his personal life as Pierce did (see the sidebar “Facing adversity” later in this chapter), which had a great impact on his presidency. Pierce died a lonely man driven into alcoholism by a life of personal tragedy.

  Figure 9-3: Franklin Pierce, 14th president of the United States.

  Courtesy of the Library of Congress

  A Northern Democrat with a Southern soul

  Throughout his political career, Franklin Pierce believed in the Constitution. He tried to follow it as closely as possible. He refused to compromise on any issues he considered unconstitutional. For this reason, he supported slavery. He considered slavery to be immoral but constitutional. He blocked any attempts to undermine the institution of slavery in the South.

  Pierce’s early political career

  In Congress, Pierce became a loyal supporter of Andrew Jackson. In addition, he aligned himself early on with the Southern wing of the Democratic Party, favoring slavery. In 1835, he fought a petition to end slavery in the capital, Washington, D.C. In 1836, he struck up a life-long friendship with Jefferson Davis, the senator from Mississippi. One year later, Pierce won election to the U.S. Senate. In the Senate, Pierce continued to support Southern causes. His opponents blasted him, calling him a doughface — a term used to describe Northern congressmen who supported the South. In 1842, he resigned his Senate seat to spend more time with his family and opened a successful law practice in Concord, New Hampshire.

  When the Mexican-American War broke out in 1846, Pierce became a brigadier general in the volunteer army and went to Mexico to fight.

  After returning home, Pierce acted as an elder statesman, freely handing out advice. He supported the Compromise of 1850 and territorial expansion. In 1852, Pierce received an unexpected chance at the presidency.

  Facing adversity

  Franklin Pierce was born in 1804 on his father’s farm in New Hampshire. His father was a general during the Revolutionary War and a follower of Jefferson. His father’s love of politics became a cornerstone in Pierce’s childhood and prepared him for political life.

  Pierce went to Bowdoin College in Maine, where he befriended Nathaniel Hawthorne, a writer whose books include The Scarlet Letter. The two became best friends. After graduating, Pierce studied law and began practicing in 1827. Pierce also entered politics in 1827 — the same year his father won the governorship in New Hampshire. Pierce became a member of the New Hampshire legislature in 1829, and four years later he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

  In 1834, Pierce married Jane Means Appleton. Their marriage proved to be tragic. She was deeply religious, not very outgoing, and refused to move to Washington, D.C. with Pierce. So he spent most of his congressional career by himself. He gained a reputation as a heavy drinker and a frequent partier.

  The Pierces had three children together. One of their children died in infancy and another died of typhus in 1843. Shortly after he won the presidency, Franklin Pierce watched his third so
n die in a train accident. The accident changed Pierce.

  Throughout his administration, Pierce was a loner. He was frequently depressed, and he drank heavily.

  President Franklin Pierce (1853–1857)

  By 1852, the Democratic Party was split. On one side were the Southern Democrats favoring slavery; on the other side were the Northern Democrats, who opposed the extension of slavery. To no one’s surprise, the various factions couldn’t agree on a candidate. So Pierce approached some of his political friends and let it be known that he was interested in the nomination. He proved to be the ideal compromise candidate — a Northern Democrat who didn’t oppose slavery. On the 49th ballot, Pierce received the nomination. He then went on to easily defeat the Whig candidate.