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Andrew Donelson
1856 campaign[edit]
Main articles: 1856 United States presidential election, 1856 American National Convention, and 1856 Whig National Convention
Fillmore's allies were in full control of the American Party and arranged for him to get its presidential nomination while he was in Europe. The Know Nothing convention chose Fillmore's running mate: Andrew Donelson of Kentucky, the nephew by marriage and once-ward of President Jackson. Fillmore made a celebrated return in June 1856 by speaking at a series of welcomes, which began with his arrival at a huge reception in New York City and continued across the state to Buffalo. The addresses were portrayed as expressions of thanks for his reception, rather than as campaign speeches, which might be considered illicit office-seeking if they were made by a presidential hopeful. Fillmore warned that electing the Republican candidate, former California Senator John C. Frémont, who had no support in the South, would divide the Union and lead to civil war. Both Fillmore and the Democratic candidate, former Pennsylvania senator James Buchanan, agreed that slavery was principally a matter for the states, not the federal government. 