Millard Fillmore — 13th President (1850–1853)

**Millard Fillmore** ascended to the presidency upon Taylor's death and immediately reversed course, signing the Compromise of 1850 — including the Fugitive Slave Act — in a desperate attempt to preserve the Union. He was a moderate's moderate, a man who believed that compromise was always possible and always preferable. History has judged him harshly for compromising on slavery, but his presidency illustrates the limits and dangers of compromise as a governing philosophy.