Fillmore became the 13th president of
the United States. Fillmore worked to
make a compromise between antislavery
Northerners and proslavery Southerners.
His efforts led to the breakup of his
political party, the Whigs.
Early Life
Millard Fillmore was born in a log cabin
in Locke Township, New York, on January
7, 1800. His family was poor. Millard
did not attend school regularly
because he had to work. After working
in a law office, he became a lawyer in
1823. In 1826 Fillmore married Abigail
Powers. They had two children.
Political Career
In 1828 Fillmore was elected to the New
York legislature. He later served several
terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1834 he joined the Whigs, a
new political party.
In 1848 the Whigs nominated Fillmore
as a candidate for vice president. He and
presidential candidate Taylor won the
election.
Presidency
Fillmore became president when Taylor
died in 1850. The country was close to
civil war over the slavery issue. Fillmore
January 7, July 9, March 8,
1800 1850 1850 1852 1852 1856 1874
Fillmore is born
in New York
State.
Fillmore
becomes
president after
Taylor dies.
Fillmore angers
Northern states
by supporting
proslavery
laws.
Fillmore
appoints
Matthew Perry
to head an
expedition to
Japan.
Fillmore fails to
win a second
term.
Fillmore loses
election for
president as a
member of the
Know-Nothing
Party.
Fillmore dies in
Buffalo, New
York.
T I M E L I N E
Millard Fillmore
20 Fillmore, Millard BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
personally opposed slavery, but he
wanted to preserve the Union. He supported
the Compromise of 1850, a
series of laws that tried to satisfy the
North and the South. One of those laws,
the Fugitive Slave Act, said that the federal
government must help return runaway
slaves to their owners. Fillmore’s
support of that law angered many Whigs
in the North.
In foreign affairs, Fillmore helped world
trade by sending an expedition to Japan.
The trip led to a treaty that opened
Japanese ports to U.S. ships.
Defeat and Retirement
The Compromise of 1850 postponed
the American CivilWar for 10 years. It
also ended Fillmore’s political career. In
the 1852 presidential election Fillmore
and two other Whig candidates lost. In
1856 Fillmore unsuccessfully ran for
president as a member of the American,
or Know-Nothing, Party.
Fillmore retired to Buffalo, New York.
He died there on March 8, 1874.
#More to explore
Slavery • Taylor, Zachary • United States
Finch
Finches are a family of small songbirds.
There are several hundred species, or
kinds, of finch. They include the canary,
the cardinal, goldfinches, and sparrows.
Most finches are excellent singers, and
many kinds are kept as pets.
Finches live in mild areas in the northern
half of the world. They also are
found in South America and Africa. In
many places finches outnumber all other
birds.
Finches are small birds. They range in
length from 4 to 11 inches (10 to 28
centimeters). Many have bright colors,
often with different shades of red and
yellow. Males are usually more colorful
than females.
Finches eat the seeds of grasses and
weeds. Most use their cone-shaped bills
to crack the seeds. Many finches eat
insects as well.
Female finches build a nest of twigs,
grasses, and roots on the ground or in
bushes. Then they lay four or five eggs.
Usually the male helps to raise the
young birds, called nestlings.
#More to explore
Canary • Cardinal • Songbird • Sparrow
The American goldfinch is also called a
wild canary. It lives in North America.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Finch 21
Finland
Finland is a country of northern Europe.
For much of its history it was controlled
by the neighboring countries of Sweden
and Russia. It won its independence in
1917. Today Finland has close ties to its
European neighbors. The capital and
largest city is Helsinki.
Geography
Finland is bordered by Sweden, Norway,
and Russia. The Baltic Sea forms its long
coastline. Finland also includes the
Aland Islands, which lie off the southwestern
coast.
Most of Finland is composed of lowlands,
but the northwest is mountainous.
Forests cover about three fourths of
the land. Finland also has more than
50,000 lakes and numerous rivers.Winters
are long and very cold, especially in
the north.
Plants and Animals
Pines, spruces, and other evergreens fill
Finland’s vast forests. The trees of the
northern forests are often small in size
because of the poor growing conditions.
Lichens, moss, and cloudberries grow in
the northern swamps. Broad-leaved
birch, hazel, and aspen trees grow in the
extreme south.
Finland’s forests are home to bears, elk,
wolves, wolverines, and lynx. The Sami
people raise herds of reindeer in the
north. The country’s birds include Siberian
jays, pied wagtails, eagles, and seabirds.
Salmon, trout, whitefish, herring,
perch, and pike swim in Finland’s
waters.
People
More than 90 percent of the country’s
people are ethnic Finns who speak Finnish.
Ethnic Swedes form the largest
minority group. There are also a few
thousand Sami, or Lapps. Their terri-
The Sami people of Finland have used reindeer
to pull their sleds for many years.
22 Finland BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
