Historian and legal scholar Paul Finkelman recounted the presidential tenure of Millard Fillmore, who took office following the death of President Zachary Taylor in 1850. Professor Finkelman reported that President Filmore's tenure was marked by deference to the South, which distanced the president from his Northern constituency and, according to the author, assisted in the deterioration of the Union as well as his own Whig political party. Profesor Finkelman responded to questions from members of the audience at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society in Buffalo, New York.