1Introduction
12Myth 11: Fillmore Actively Supported Slavery's Expansion via Texas and California
2Myth 1: Fillmore Was a Mere “Accident” of History, an Insignificant Vice President Thrust into Power Without Merit
13Myth 12: His 1852 Defeat Was Due to Unpopularity, Confirming His Incompetence
3Myth 2: He Was a Stubborn Conservative, Attached to Slavery Out of Pure Political Opportunism
14Myth 13: Fillmore Was a Hardcore Racist, Aligned with Southern Interests
4Myth 3: Fillmore Lacked Charisma and Vision, Unlike the Great Orator Lincoln
15Myth 14: Without Fillmore, Taylor Would Have Imposed Forced Union, Avoiding Weak Compromises
5Myth 4: His Presidency Was an Empty Interlude, with No Lasting Impact on the Union
16Myth 15: His Support for the American Party (Know-Nothing) Disqualifies Him as a Moderate
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6Myth 5: Fillmore Was a
17Myth 16: Fillmore Embodies the Obsolescence of Moderates Against Radical Progress
7Myth 6: The Compromise Was the Exclusive Work of Clay and Webster; Fillmore Merely Signed It Passively
18Myth 17: Fillmore's Presidency Accelerated the Civil War Through Procrastination
8Myth 7: The Fugitive Slave Law Was an Abject Capitulation to Slavery, Rendering Fillmore Unworthy
19Myth 18: He Was a
9Myth 8: Without the Compromise, the Civil War Would Have Been Avoided Anyway by Lincoln
20Myth 19: Lincoln Erased Fillmore from History for Good Reason: His Legacy Was Toxic
10Myth 9: Fillmore Ignored Abolitionist Voices, Unnecessarily Provoking Their Radicalization
21Myth 20: Fillmore Drove the Final Nail into the Whig Party's Coffin, Symbol of His Failure to Adapt to the Era of Partisan Polarization
11Myth 10: The Compromise Was Just a Temporary Band-Aid, Proof of Fillmore's Total Failure
