Mo Rocca travels to Buffalo, N.Y., home of America's 13th president Millard Fillmore, to take a closer look at one of the country's least-remembered commander-in-chiefs.
Millard Fillmore also: - appointed Brigham Young as the first governor of Utah - was called the most handsome man she's ever met by queen Victoria - prevented France (under Napoleon III) from annexing Hawaii
みつこ L O F I yeah pretty crazy I know. Go far back enough and you will find you can have cousins in very long distances. I’m in America right now and one of mine is a british royal who is the Duke of Bedford.
みつこ L O F I fair enough but it’s not like I’m gonna hunt you down based on your state. I’m PA if that gives any perspective to how far Fillmores ancestors have traveled from Buffalo.
@Brandon C. Buchanan was arguably worse. Not to forget what a tragic life Pierce had. Pierce was pretty much in no state to make proper decisions. It was a difficult time for the country and he turned out to be a weak president. But Buchanan came over and only made things worse..
Strange how they don't mention Fillmore sending Commodore Perry to Japan. Most Americans at the time wouldn't have cared about it, but it was one of the more important events in Japanese history.
As a descendent of Perry and being married to a Japanese citizen, let me tell you it's as close to being royalty in Japan as I will ever likely be. Perry's still revered (and was even during WWII), while Fillmore and Pierce (who signed the Treaty of Kanazawa) are completely ignored/forgotten...
When I had an Asian history as a subject when I was a sophomore in high school, the only mention of Millard Fillmore is he was the one responsible for opening up of Japan after 200 years of isolation, by way of Commodore Matthew Perry.
Not many people know that the 13 stars of the original Flag of the United States of America is a subtle reference to Millard Fillmore, the 13th president. Great video
Paul Finkelman's book, while sometimes helpful, is meant to deride Fillmore's role in history through Finkelman's interpretation of events and facts. Previous Fillmore biographers, Robert Rayback and Elbert Smith, are more laudatory.
Paul Finkelman wrote one half-assed book about Fillmore, so he disingenuously gets credited as a Fillmore “historian”. I read that book and some notable portions were factually incorrect, if not greatly exaggerated and BLATANTLY skewed by Fink’s own modern era self-righteous bent. He even said in this interview “I hope I can get his favorability to go down”. Well folks, that’s not history: it’s editorialism at its worst. Since he brought it up, let’s talk about rankings: I read the entire American Presidents book series Fink’s is a part of, and of every other book I’d rate it in the bottom two of the worst, for reasons stated above. Don’t believe me? Check out his book ratings on Amazon.
@@GillianSeed No, Finkelman went out of his way to trash Fillmore, and gave him absolutely no credit for anything that looked like a good policy decision. Contrast his writing with Annette Gordon-Reed's book on Andrew Johnson. He's legitimately among the bottom 3 POTUS', and in spite of that I thought her writing was very balanced and offered additional insight with his background, rather than simply portray him as a villain at every step.
Mo overlooked another Fillmore accomplishment: Fillmore sent my ancestor, Commodore Matthew Perry, to Japan to negotiate what became the Treaty of Kanagawa, which eventually opened Japan to trade with the US and ended the incarceration of shipwrecked US whaling sailors (who washed ashore in Japan and were arrested for violating Japan's exclusion laws). That, however, doesn't make him a good president or even a good man...
I actually feel harrison was the only whig president. Tyler was actually a democrat elected with the whigs, fillmore was a man without a party, and i actually call taylor the first republican president.
How so? I believe neither of Fillmore's kids had children of their own, so is it through a sibling or cousin? Say what you will about him, he was best performing third party candidate in terms of the popular vote besides T.R. He was also one of the healthiest presidents
d e austin ok... but so was Buchanan....and then there’s Trump. I mean,it’s fine to those who want to look at the glass half full (get it? Half full,Fillmore 😀)...but history tells us that being elected president can be more about branding and advertising than actually having good ideas for moving our country forward. This is just one American woman’s opinion.
Would of like a little more respect from Moe Rocca! Filmore did a job few would even try! That fact alone makes him worthy of a bot more respect and a better piece than what was presented by CBS!
In terms of legislative accomplishments, Fillmore is right up there at the very top. While the Compromise of 1850 hasn't aged well, at the time, it was one of the most important pieces of legislation to pass--legislation that averted a civil war on the Texas-New Mexico boundary that the South would have probably won. With assists from Daniel Webster and Stephen Douglas, Millard Fillmore accomplished what Henry Clay, the great compromiser, was unable to get past the goal line. I'm not saying that Fillmore is one of the best presidents but he certainly isn't one of the worst either. I'd place him somewhere in the middle.
fillmore sent commodore matthew perry (not from friends) to japan with armaments in 1852 to intimidate them into supplying US w silk. Japan was isolationist and had no interest in trade. Our display of military power spooked japan so badly, they entered the Meiji period in direct response to this. 30 years later, japan was fully industrial. you might say that fillmores actions lead to japans industrialization which lead ultimately to pearl harbor.
He was the 13th President of the United States. He was the second Vice president to ascend to the office because of the death in office of President Zachary Taylor. He served from July 1850 to March 1853. Also,, both his children died fairly young with no children of their own so he had no direct bloodline of heirs to keep his name spoken in US history.
alejandro perez He’s not a historian, he’s a comedian. He used to work on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Colbert and Carell so obviously he has comedic timing.
I might be missing some details, but when she said "the only house in the nation that was built and lived in by a president" I kept thinking of Monticello. Does that not count?
"Someone escaped from Cuba to visit the Millard Fillmore house?"
"It was on his bucket- list. "
Too funny.
LOL and btw 117th like:,
:)^
@@dereklee796 😀
@@StephenS-2024 :)
@@StephenS-2024 123th like
'He lowered the price of the postage stamp' oh wow lets put him on moumt rushmore then
Maybe on cards of Mt. Rushmore.
Are you aware that Mount Rushmore was sculpted by a white supremacist?
"I'm a Fillmore groupie"
*Mo Rocca just stares*
it was so awkward
Someone escaped from Cuba just to see the Fillmore house.
Erium her: come over
him: cant, reading books about Fillmore
her: im at the Millard Fillmore house
him: **escapes cuba**
This was hilarious. Thank you to the people of buffalo for being so upbeat and having a sense of humor about this
He lowered the price of the postage stamp, folks. A remarkable achievement. This qualifies as greatest US President ever.
😂😂
3:50 lmao I love the honesty of that historian.
Millard Fillmore also:
- appointed Brigham Young as the first governor of Utah
- was called the most handsome man she's ever met by queen Victoria
- prevented France (under Napoleon III) from annexing Hawaii
DAM HIM Can you imagine anything cooler than a french hawaii?
The Mormons loved him because he was the first US president that didn't treat them like crap.
@@nirtlocj now I know why the town I live in is named after him
Haiti maybe@@jenjen.rutherford8559
“You wrote a book about Millard Fillmore”
“Yes”
“WHY!?!”
みつこ L O F I me too we are distant relatives
みつこ L O F I yeah pretty crazy I know. Go far back enough and you will find you can have cousins in very long distances. I’m in America right now and one of mine is a british royal who is the Duke of Bedford.
みつこ L O F I I’d say so. Which state are you in?
みつこ L O F I fair enough but it’s not like I’m gonna hunt you down based on your state. I’m PA if that gives any perspective to how far Fillmores ancestors have traveled from Buffalo.
@Brandon C. Buchanan was arguably worse. Not to forget what a tragic life Pierce had. Pierce was pretty much in no state to make proper decisions. It was a difficult time for the country and he turned out to be a weak president.
But Buchanan came over and only made things worse..
3:36 he really just SHOT that book up
Strange how they don't mention Fillmore sending Commodore Perry to Japan. Most Americans at the time wouldn't have cared about it, but it was one of the more important events in Japanese history.
Unadin
For the first time (and not for the last) the destiny of a nation was changed thanks to the whim of the American president.
As a descendent of Perry and being married to a Japanese citizen, let me tell you it's as close to being royalty in Japan as I will ever likely be. Perry's still revered (and was even during WWII), while Fillmore and Pierce (who signed the Treaty of Kanazawa) are completely ignored/forgotten...
This series on presidents is pretty lose. Seems more like the reports opportunities to tell jokes then actually inform.
He destroyed Japan! Like he destroyed America!
111th like
Looks like Alec Baldwin.
Danny Hernandez somebody make that movie happen please
Omg!! You took the words right out of my mouth!!
Alec and his family used to come to this area (skaneateles) same as the clintons. Idk if he does anymore. I dont care.lol
Damn sure does
Hah! Was going to post the same, when I ran into your comment. Specially resembling each other at 2:28
"He played a prominent part in the Civil War." So did Jefferson Davis.
Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederacy, but people like Fillmore were directly responsible for the Civil War!
When I had an Asian history as a subject when I was a sophomore in high school, the only mention of Millard Fillmore is he was the one responsible for opening up of Japan after 200 years of isolation, by way of Commodore Matthew Perry.
That happened under Pierce!
His Alec Baldwin impersonation is spot on.
Millard FIlmore was good with his hands?? that is what Abigail Fillmore said!
"He played just as big a role in the Civil War as Lincoln, just not as prominent" So he didn't play as big a role then...
Millard Fillmore was my Great Great Great Uncle
How awful for you .
we are related
I herd I have a small dna amount of Fillmore and Lincoln
Nah he was my uncle.
So sorry
I’m watching this because I have a school project about him😂😂
Who’d it go?
@@houseofleaves126 i don’t even remember commenting this, but i got a 95 on it surprisingly
Kareem R Millard for the win!
@@kareemr1261 nice
Fillmore? That's what she said.
Hotpocket Moutaindew lol
Mo Rocca's transformation from fake journalist to real journalist is amazing. Even in serious reporting, we need a little hunor. Well done, Mo.
Hello, hope you did a good biography on me!
You’re name. Everybody laughs at it. Except for historians.
They did sir. It was a resounding failure. Like your presidency! ZING!
Behind Jackson, and Trump, you are the worst president in American history according to my resources on every president
They did sure.
@@j0rdan172 I can agree with you on Fillmore, but I can’t agree with you on Jackson and Trump.
He looks like Alec Balwin
My dog and I visited the house today . Just saw the outside of the house but it was neat to be on the same property a president once lived
Not many people know that the 13 stars of the original Flag of the United States of America is a subtle reference to Millard Fillmore, the 13th president. Great video
This has to be the funniest video I’ve ever watched
"Funny? Funny how?"
I cant help it..every time i see this man's portrait..i think im looking at todays actor alec baldwin.
Paul Finkelman's book, while sometimes helpful, is meant to deride Fillmore's role in history through Finkelman's interpretation of events and facts. Previous Fillmore biographers, Robert Rayback and Elbert Smith, are more laudatory.
Paul Finkelman wrote one half-assed book about Fillmore, so he disingenuously gets credited as a Fillmore “historian”. I read that book and some notable portions were factually incorrect, if not greatly exaggerated and BLATANTLY skewed by Fink’s own modern era self-righteous bent. He even said in this interview “I hope I can get his favorability to go down”. Well folks, that’s not history: it’s editorialism at its worst.
Since he brought it up, let’s talk about rankings: I read the entire American Presidents book series Fink’s is a part of, and of every other book I’d rate it in the bottom two of the worst, for reasons stated above. Don’t believe me? Check out his book ratings on Amazon.
Did he talk about Filmore's Indian policy? He honored his word with the Ojibwe and rarely gets credit for it
What, he was a crap president.
@@GillianSeed No, Finkelman went out of his way to trash Fillmore, and gave him absolutely no credit for anything that looked like a good policy decision. Contrast his writing with Annette Gordon-Reed's book on Andrew Johnson. He's legitimately among the bottom 3 POTUS', and in spite of that I thought her writing was very balanced and offered additional insight with his background, rather than simply portray him as a villain at every step.
Of course! Finkelman admitted that he was trying to make Fillmore look bad on purpose. Well, Fillmore was a racist!
Mo overlooked another Fillmore accomplishment: Fillmore sent my ancestor, Commodore Matthew Perry, to Japan to negotiate what became the Treaty of Kanagawa, which eventually opened Japan to trade with the US and ended the incarceration of shipwrecked US whaling sailors (who washed ashore in Japan and were arrested for violating Japan's exclusion laws). That, however, doesn't make him a good president or even a good man...
I dont see why you still had to add a negative remark at the end without any reasoning with it.
That was Pierce!
Fun fact Millard Fillmore was born the same date as me. (Not the year but the month and day)
"Millard, do you mind?"
"Naw fam, we cool"
Fillmore was the last Whig to serve as President. Lincoln had been a Whig but left the party in the mid 1850s to found the Republican Party.
I actually feel harrison was the only whig president. Tyler was actually a democrat elected with the whigs, fillmore was a man without a party, and i actually call taylor the first republican president.
Well, being related to fillmore, i don't know how to feel about this
How so? I believe neither of Fillmore's kids had children of their own, so is it through a sibling or cousin? Say what you will about him, he was best performing third party candidate in terms of the popular vote besides T.R. He was also one of the healthiest presidents
I am also a descendent of his, perhaps we may be related?
Dude wtf im related to him to yoyo i think were all related
eyyy im asian but im related to fillmore aswell
You also related to Alec Baldwin?
I've been to Buffalo a bunch of times and have never heard of "beef on weck" or whatever the heck they called it.
Thats a beautiful home. I have to visit someday.
well, Millard Fillmore was a president, and most of the rest of us weren't, so there's that
d e austin ok... but so was Buchanan....and then there’s Trump.
I mean,it’s fine to those who want to look at the glass half full (get it? Half full,Fillmore 😀)...but history tells us that being elected president can be more about branding and advertising than actually having good ideas for moving our country forward.
This is just one American woman’s opinion.
well, he was a very clean man...
Tricia Moreschi yeah but trump is actually a good president unlike Buchanan
@@jcstides Trump is meh president not good not bad
@@jcstides Trump is meh. He’ll be forgotten like Harrison or Pierce.
Good God, Lemon.
Love the cottage!!!
I am under the impression that he had some successes in international matters.
I can’t stop thinking about VH1 & I Love The 90’s
Hey, are you still alive?
great!
The name Millard Fillmore has never made me laugh. There's nothing funny about it. It was a person's name.
Your no fun
Would of like a little more respect from Moe Rocca! Filmore did a job few would even try! That fact alone makes him worthy of a bot more respect and a better piece than what was presented by CBS!
I was born in the hospital named for him… and about 10 yrs ago it was torn down & replaced with a better one!
I ❤️all the presidents and God and everyone
In terms of legislative accomplishments, Fillmore is right up there at the very top. While the Compromise of 1850 hasn't aged well, at the time, it was one of the most important pieces of legislation to pass--legislation that averted a civil war on the Texas-New Mexico boundary that the South would have probably won. With assists from Daniel Webster and Stephen Douglas, Millard Fillmore accomplished what Henry Clay, the great compromiser, was unable to get past the goal line. I'm not saying that Fillmore is one of the best presidents but he certainly isn't one of the worst either. I'd place him somewhere in the middle.
I fully agree with you right there, he's certainly not one of our worse presidents
Only because he outlived Zachary Taylor...
This reminds me of the early years of The Daily Show,, sans laugh track
not a shock he's popular in Buffalo of all places
Hey, Millard was the greatest
Why make fun of him?
And the name is really catchy
Is this the same guy from that Japanese Kitkat video?
start at 3:35, that guy was taken and that other guy was taken
alec baldwins last film playing this guy
fillmore sent commodore matthew perry (not from friends) to japan with armaments in 1852 to intimidate them into supplying US w silk. Japan was isolationist and had no interest in trade. Our display of military power spooked japan so badly, they entered the Meiji period in direct response to this. 30 years later, japan was fully industrial. you might say that fillmores actions lead to japans industrialization which lead ultimately to pearl harbor.
My great grandfather was named after Millard Fillmore
I'll be Damn he does look like Alex Baldwin lol.
My grandfather's great grandpa
I love how Bonnie Swanson have the tour
When they gunna do one about Zachary Taylor?
Love how Millard Fillmore finally got a news story made about him yet most of it just talks about how unpopular he is 😂
Millard Fillmore? I’ve never heard of the guy.
😂
He was the 13th President of the United States. He was the second Vice president to ascend to the office because of the death in office of President Zachary Taylor. He served from July 1850 to March 1853. Also,, both his children died fairly young with no children of their own so he had no direct bloodline of heirs to keep his name spoken in US history.
The Fillmore East, man!
So was Cleveland!
His chief accomplishment?
"He lowered the price of the postage stamp."
“President Fillmore”
I know they touched on it briefly, but what makes Millard Fillmore such a silly name?
I wanna hang out with Kathy Frost! What a delightful person!
Don’t forget he installed the first bathtub in the White House. We used to have bathtub races in his original home town Moravia NY
Fillard Milmore
Ive lived in Buffalo NY all my life and never knew we celebrate his birthday 🤭..... although the hospital I work at is named after him. 🤷🏼♀️
lol i remember when i first saw this video back in 2017 good times
Shameless Plug.....y’all need to listen To Mobituaries. It’s Mo Rocca’s podcast. It’s fantastic
"Millard Fillmore's lips were on this tea cup?"
This dude is so creepy and weird.
Hes just curious bro lol he’s a “historian”
alejandro perez He’s not a historian, he’s a comedian. He used to work on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Colbert and Carell so obviously he has comedic timing.
DNA? Huzzah, we can clone our own Millard Fillmore!
we can rebuild him
Imagine being able to clone Fillmore with possible DNA in the future
I didn't know Jennifer Tily's mom was a tour guide. That's nice.
They just roasted my last name so hard...
I don't think that everyone who has the last name Fillmore is bad and I don't remember anyone saying that.
@@danielmoreno1328 issa joke sir, I’m not offended
Filllmore will always be the VW bus on cars
True day!
My god but she really does sound like Bonnie Swanson
Wow
The lowering of the postage stamps comment beat all. That slavery and civil thing is overblown. Give this guy a memorial in DC.
0:42 thats a photo of his son btw,they looked really alike
Yamada Leon?
I might be missing some details, but when she said "the only house in the nation that was built and lived in by a president" I kept thinking of Monticello. Does that not count?
Built by the actual president himself, not a workforce.
Need I remind you of slavery?
A good man & a competent president.
You're kidding, right? He was a racist!
My father is Millard also
Distant family member checking in
Whoa, that guy in drag singing about Obamacare threw me! I thought this piece was about Millard Fillmore? ✌️
Because this wasn't completely biased.
History is biased against the incompetent, stupid and just plain bad.
...just like the law is biased against criminals.
Russia just went to Wikipedia instead of sending a spy 😂
Lol! His biographer even hates him!
Well done Buffalo! 🇺🇸
Mo Rocca wears a beard really well.
He had a role...
Ah yes his role was starting it and Lincoln fought it
Fillmore, Millard County, Utah
his face reminds me of another U.S. president from new york...unlike Fillmore this president's cradle was made of gold...
Out here in Utah, we have the town of Fillmore in Millard County! 😂
He looks like my geometry teacher ha
Cool
Need me some wings now