Millard Fillmore Quotations

Millard Fillmore was the thirteenth President of the United States, serving from 1850 until 1853, and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the nation's highest office. He succeeded from the Vice Presidency on the death of President Zachary Taylor, becoming the second U.S. President to gain the office in this manner.

Sourced

An honorable defeat is better than a dishonorable victory.
- Speech, (1844-09-13), Buffalo, New York, quoted in the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser (1844-09-14). Fillmore had lost the Whig nomination for governor of New York. The newspaper summary was: "He entreated them to enter the contest with zeal and enthusiasm; but as they valued the sacredness of their cause, and the stability of their principles, to resort to no unfair means: that an honorable defeat was better than a dishonorable victory."