Holding Off the Civil War: President Millard Fillmore

Looking for great YouTube video clips, books, and free worksheets and lapbooks for teaching and/or learning about President Millard Fillmore? Here you will find my favorite picks we used while studying the individual Presidents of the United States. This is part of a series of lessons I posted on individual Presidents. You can find links to all the lessons at President's Day Unit Study .

Presidential Term: 1850-1853

Political Party: Whig

Vice President: None

Birthplace: New York

Occupation: Lawyer

Yearly Salary as President: $25,000

Height: 5'9"

First Lady: Abigail Powers Fillmore -- who passed away in 1853 (He married Caroline McIntosh in 1858.)

Vice President Fillmore because president after President Zachary Taylor's sudden death in 1850.

We found these to be helpful when creating a notebook and lapbook and adding in a cooking activity. I love anything that is both edible and educational!

Millard Fillmore for Teachers offers links to free worksheets, book suggestions, general information and trivia, interactive computer games, and more related to president Millard Fillmore.

Millard Fillmore's Eating Habits provides a description of Fillmore's typical foods he ate as president.

Presidential Statistics and Points of Interest includes an overview of Millard Fillmore's life and some fun points of interest.

1850
Congress passed the Compromise of 1850 and Fugitive Slave Act
California admitted as 31st state

1851
Isaac Singer patented sewing machine
Sparrows imported from England

1852
Uncle Tom's Cabin published

1853
Commodore Perry's visit to Japan to open it to western trade

Taylor opposed the Compromise of 1850, but Fillmore opposed slavery. As soon as Fillmore took office, Taylor's cabinet resigned and Fillmore replaced them with men who supported the Compromise of 1850. Stephen Douglas added additional bills that Fillmore passed into law related to slavery in the territories and fugitive slaves.

Fillmore took an interest in the Pacific. He ordered Commodore Perry to open Japan to western trade. He also supported Hawaii's independence and discouraged Napoleon III from attempting to annex Hawaii.

Fillmore installing the first bathtub with running water in the White House was actually a myth. It was a joke written by H. L. Mencken in 1917 in the New York Evening Mail. In honor of the bathtub hoax, Moravia, New York, a town near Fillmore's hometown, holds an annual event, Fillmore Days, during which participants race four-wheel bathtubs. (Image Credit: http://www.lofnz.com/clawfoot/clawfoot-bathtubs.html)

Info Credit

When searching out YouTube video clips that provided helpful information about his presidency and were completely child-friendly, these were our favorites.

• President's Day Unit Study - I posted links to each of my lessons on individual Presidents here. In each lesson I included fun worksheets, children's books, YouTube clips, timelines, and recipe ideas. On this page I also included our favorite books and YouTube video clips that cover all of the Presidents of the United States.
• Fun, FREE Hands-on Unit Studies - Looking for all of my lessons and unit studies? Over the years I have posted over 35 science and social-studies based unit studies, compromised of more than 170 lessons. For each lesson I have included activities (with photos), our favorite books and YouTube video clips, lapbook links, and other resources. I posted links to all of my unit studies and lessons on this page.