Millard Fillmore: Forgotten
2023-05-21
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.
2Today we are talking about Millard Fillmore, the 13th president of the United States.
3Fillmore is also likely the least remembered president.
4He has been called "uninspiring" and having only "some competence."
5But Fillmore provided an example of the American dream come true.
6He rose from a poor family to become a wealthy man.
7He was elected to Congress four times and nominated for vice president under Zachary Taylor.
8When Taylor unexpectedly died in office in 1850, Fillmore took his place.
9Other presidents' campaigns, such as Andrew Jackson's, had spoken proudly of their candidates' modest beginnings.
10William Henry Harrison's supporters especially linked him with the image of a simple house called a log cabin - even though William Henry Harrison was a wealthy man.
11But Millard Fillmore really was born in a log cabin.
12His family was poor.
13They raised him and his seven brothers and sisters in a rural part of New York State.
14Fillmore did not receive much education as a child.
15However, he was very interested in learning - so interested that he fell in love with his teacher, Abigail Powers.
16The two married after he launched his career as a lawyer.
17They had two children, a son and a daughter.
18Millard Fillmore soon entered politics.
19He won elections to the New York State Assembly, and then to the U.S. House of Representatives.
20After eight years in Washington, DC, Fillmore returned to New York.
21He failed to be elected governor, but succeeded to become comptroller of New York.
22In other words, he oversaw the state's finances.
23At that time, Americans were preparing for another presidential election.
24President James Polk was retiring from the White House after only one term, as he had promised.
25The opposition party, the Whigs, nominated Zachary Taylor as their presidential candidate.
26Taylor, a popular war hero from the South, owned slaves.
27But the Whigs realized that many anti-slavery voters in the North would not support Taylor.
28Party leaders were looking for someone to balance the ticket - a Northerner voters would consider a friend of business.
29They found Millard Fillmore.
30In 1847, the Whigs nominated Fillmore as Taylor's vice president.
31The two men had never met.
32, when they did meet, they did not like each other very much.
33Taylor was short-legged, poorly educated, and rarely seemed concerned about his physical appearance.
34Fillmore was taller, learned, and elegant.
35Their personalities did not fit together any better than their appearances did.
36But a majority of voters liked them. The Whigs won the election, and Fillmore returned to Washington.
37As vice president, Millard Fillmore was the leader of the Senate.
38But President Taylor did not seek his advice on the major political issue of the day.
39At the time, both lawmakers and the public were debating whether the government should - and could - ban slavery in the territories the U.S. had gained after the war with Mexico.
40In general, Northerners did not want to permit slavery in new states.
41But many Southerners did. The debate was so heated that one of the Southern states, South Carolina, threatened to leave the Union.
42President Taylor did not want to expand slavery.
43To restrict it, he proposed a change to the rules so California and New Mexico could enter the Union quickly as slave-free states.
44But before Taylor's idea could get too far, he became sick.
45Fillmore learned the president was not well and prepared for the worst. It came.
46Taylor died after being in office for only 16 months.
47The following day, Fillmore was sworn-in as president.
48One of Fillmore's first acts as president was to show where he stood on the slavery issue.
49He appointed a man who opposed Taylor to secretary of state.
50That man, Daniel Webster - and others - wanted to pass a compromise bill on slavery.
51With Fillmore's support, they succeeded.
52The Compromise of 1850 included several measures related to slavery.
53Two measures limited it: California was admitted as a free state, and the slave trade in Washington, DC ended.
54On the other hand, New Mexico and Utah were left open to slavery, and both the federal government and ordinary citizens were required to return suspected escaped slaves to their owners.
55That last measure, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, targeted even free African-Americans and enslaved people who had escaped to free states.
56The Compromise aimed to end the conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces.
57But neither side was really satisfied.
58And President Fillmore did not help matters.
59He was personally opposed to slavery.
60However, he did not act on his beliefs.
61Instead, he tried to keep the South in the Union by strongly enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act.
62By the end of Fillmore's three years in the White House, many members of his Whig party were angry with him.
63Party leaders did not nominate him again for the next election.
64But their chosen candidate was not successful either.
65Fillmore turned out to be the last Whig president.
66The end of Fillmore's presidency included difficulty in his private life, too.
67His wife, Abigail, became sick on the day the next president was sworn-in.
68She died within a month. Soon after, Fillmore's daughter died, too.
69To help deal with their loss, Fillmore tried to stay active in politics.
70In the presidential election of 1856, Fillmore served as the candidate for a new party -- the Know-Nothing Party.
71The Know-Nothings were strongly opposed to immigration.
72They especially wanted to limit the number of Irish Catholics who could come to the United States.
73Fillmore did not agree with the party's anti-immigration policies.
74But he did not have a chance to put his opinions into policy.
75Fillmore finished third out of the three major candidates in the election.
76After that loss, he finally retired to the city of Buffalo, New York.
77There, Fillmore married a second time -- to a wealthy widow named Caroline McIntosh.
78He remained an important figure in the city's charities and other causes.
79But the political situation in the country grew only more intense.
80Americans continued to be divided over the issue of slavery.
81Fillmore's time in office and his compromise bill may have delayed but did not stop the American Civil War.
82I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
1VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents. 2Today we are talking about Millard Fillmore, the 13th president of the United States. 3Fillmore is also likely the least remembered president. He has been called "uninspiring" and having only "some competence." 4But Fillmore provided an example of the American dream come true. He rose from a poor family to become a wealthy man. He was elected to Congress four times and nominated for vice president under Zachary Taylor. When Taylor unexpectedly died in office in 1850, Fillmore took his place. 5Early life 6Other presidents' campaigns, such as Andrew Jackson's, had spoken proudly of their candidates' modest beginnings. William Henry Harrison's supporters especially linked him with the image of a simple house called a log cabin - even though William Henry Harrison was a wealthy man. 7But Millard Fillmore really was born in a log cabin. His family was poor. They raised him and his seven brothers and sisters in a rural part of New York State. 8Fillmore did not receive much education as a child. However, he was very interested in learning - so interested that he fell in love with his teacher, Abigail Powers. 9The two married after he launched his career as a lawyer. They had two children, a son and a daughter. 10Millard Fillmore soon entered politics. He won elections to the New York State Assembly, and then to the U.S. House of Representatives. 11After eight years in Washington, DC, Fillmore returned to New York. He failed to be elected governor, but succeeded to become comptroller of New York. In other words, he oversaw the state's finances. 12At that time, Americans were preparing for another presidential election. President James Polk was retiring from the White House after only one term, as he had promised. 13The opposition party, the Whigs, nominated Zachary Taylor as their presidential candidate. 14Taylor, a popular war hero from the South, owned slaves. But the Whigs realized that many anti-slavery voters in the North would not support Taylor. Party leaders were looking for someone to balance the ticket - a Northerner voters would consider a friend of business. 15They found Millard Fillmore. 16In 1847, the Whigs nominated Fillmore as Taylor's vice president. The two men had never met. And, when they did meet, they did not like each other very much. 17Taylor was short-legged, poorly educated, and rarely seemed concerned about his physical appearance. Fillmore was taller, learned, and elegant. Their personalities did not fit together any better than their appearances did. 18But a majority of voters liked them. The Whigs won the election, and Fillmore returned to Washington. 19A vice president without a voice 20As vice president, Millard Fillmore was the leader of the Senate. But President Taylor did not seek his advice on the major political issue of the day. 21At the time, both lawmakers and the public were debating whether the government should - and could - ban slavery in the territories the U.S. had gained after the war with Mexico. 22In general, Northerners did not want to permit slavery in new states. But many Southerners did. The debate was so heated that one of the Southern states, South Carolina, threatened to leave the Union. 23President Taylor did not want to expand slavery. To restrict it, he proposed a change to the rules so California and New Mexico could enter the Union quickly as slave-free states. 24But before Taylor's idea could get too far, he became sick. Fillmore learned the president was not well and prepared for the worst. It came. 25Taylor died after being in office for only 16 months. The following day, Fillmore was sworn-in as president. 26Presidency 27One of Fillmore's first acts as president was to show where he stood on the slavery issue. He appointed a man who opposed Taylor to secretary of state. 28That man, Daniel Webster - and others - wanted to pass a compromise bill on slavery. With Fillmore's support, they succeeded. 29The Compromise of 1850 included several measures related to slavery. Two measures limited it: California was admitted as a free state, and the slave trade in Washington, DC ended. 30On the other hand, New Mexico and Utah were left open to slavery, and both the federal government and ordinary citizens were required to return suspected escaped slaves to their owners. That last measure, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, targeted even free African-Americans and enslaved people who had escaped to free states. 31The Compromise aimed to end the conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces. But neither side was really satisfied. 32And President Fillmore did not help matters. He was personally opposed to slavery. However, he did not act on his beliefs. Instead, he tried to keep the South in the Union by strongly enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. 33By the end of Fillmore's three years in the White House, many members of his Whig party were angry with him. Party leaders did not nominate him again for the next election. 34But their chosen candidate was not successful either. Fillmore turned out to be the last Whig president. 35Legacy 36The end of Fillmore's presidency included difficulty in his private life, too. His wife, Abigail, became sick on the day the next president was sworn-in. She died within a month. Soon after, Fillmore's daughter died, too. 37To help deal with their loss, Fillmore tried to stay active in politics. In the presidential election of 1856, Fillmore served as the candidate for a new party -- the Know-Nothing Party. 38The Know-Nothings were strongly opposed to immigration. They especially wanted to limit the number of Irish Catholics who could come to the United States. 39Fillmore did not agree with the party's anti-immigration policies. But he did not have a chance to put his opinions into policy. Fillmore finished third out of the three major candidates in the election. 40After that loss, he finally retired to the city of Buffalo, New York. There, Fillmore married a second time -- to a wealthy widow named Caroline McIntosh. He remained an important figure in the city's charities and other causes. 41But the political situation in the country grew only more intense. Americans continued to be divided over the issue of slavery. Fillmore's time in office and his compromise bill may have delayed but did not stop the American Civil War. 42I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. 43Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 44______________________________________________________________ 45See how well you understand the story by taking a listening quiz. Play each short video, then choose the best answer. 46______________________________________________________________ 47Words in This Story 48uninspiring - adj. not causing people to want to do or create something : not inspiring 49competence - n. the ability to do something well : the quality or state of being competent 50modest - adj. not very large in size or amount 51ticket - n. a list of the candidates supported by a political party in an election 52elegant - adj. showing good taste : graceful and attractive 53ordinary - adj. normal or usual 54figure - n. a person who has a specified status or who is regarded in a specified way 55charity - n. an organization that helps people who are poor, sick, etc. 56We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.