Friendly Fillmore
1850 – 1853
“God knows that I detest slavery, but it is an existing evil, for which we are not responsible, and we must endure it, till we can get rid of it without destroying the last hope of free government in the world.”
Did you know?
Friendly Fillmore got his political start as an anti-mason, which as the name suggests, strongly opposes brickwork. Unfortunately he did not oppose slavery as much as he opposed Masons as he refused to take an official stance against it, instead attempted to make peace between the North and South. ⠀
Fun Fact:
During Friendly Fillmore’s stint as one of the American Idols, the slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia. Just the trade, however, slavery was still allowed.