Much of the presidency of Millard Fillmore can be said to be a deliberate effort to keep the Whig party intact and mollify its left and right contingents. Though paying lip service to anti-slavery ideas, Millard Fillmore passed the Fugitive Slave Act. This act would result in the fining of any Federal Marshall or a member of law-enforcement who failed to arrest escaping slaves. Aiding escaping slaves was ... a crime, and could be punishable by fine.