After the Taylor and Fillmore Administrations, the Whig Party wanted to win a second term in the White House, but the issue of slavery threatened to destroy the party. Many in the party were angered that President Fillmore had signed a more stringent Fugitive Slave Act, which prevented him from obtaining renomination. On the fifty-third ballot, the Whigs nominated another war hero, Mexican-American War General Winfield Scott, as their nominee for President.