Vice President Millard Fillmore never expected to be president, but Zachary Taylor's death in 1850 thrust him into the White House and the national spotlight. So how did the "man of hesitation and double opinions" confront the growing crisis over slavery? Colleen Shogan talks with former congressman Steve Israel about Fillmore's surprising rise, his contradictory opinions, and the compromises that hastened the coming of the civil war.
Steve Israel served as a congressman from New York from 2001 to 2017. He is the owner of Theodore’s Books in Oyster Bay and author of the novel, The Einstein Conspiracy (2025).
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