Vice President Millard Fillmore assumed the presidency after the death of President Zachary Taylor in July 1850. Fillmore took the reins of a nation that was at the same time growing in leaps and bounds and on the verge of civil war. The Mexican American War had added vast western lands to the continental United States and with this expansion came the question of whether to allow slavery in the new territory. To appease both sides, Fillmore was instrumental in getting what became known as the Compromise of 1850 passed in a divided congress. This appeased both sides in allowing slavery in some areas and prohibiting it in others. This uneasy compromise allowed the United States a decade more of peace before the Civil War erupted in 1861.

And while the expansion of the nation came with inner turmoil over slavery, it also brought an expanded economy as the United States exported more goods than ever before. This growth in trade during Fillmore’s presidency makes the importance of this signed document more relevant. The 13th president’s signature appears on this ornate document appointing a member of the United States Lighthouse Board. Founded in 1852, the very year this document is dated, this is among the very first appointments to this government agency that was responsible for the constructing and maintaining lighthouses and other aids to sea navigation – indispensable to a nation’s rapidly expanding overseas trade. The appointment document has been signed by Fillmore in sharp black fountain pen. The appointment has been smartly mounted with a portrait of the president along with an engraved plaque listing Fillmore’s accomplishments. The complete framed display measures 25” x 38” and comes with a LOA from PSA/DNA.