9. William Henry Harrison
1841(Whig)
William Henry Harrison was born into the Prominent Political Harrison Family in 1773. The Harrison’s were one of the First Families
of Virginia, and had established residence along the James River in Charles City County in Virginia. His parents were Benjamin
Harrison V and Elizabeth Basset, he was the youngest of seven children . His father was a delegate at the Continental Congress and was
also one of the statesmen that signed the Declaration of Independence. Harrison’s birth in 1773 made him the last President to be born a
British subject. Throughout his early childhood W.H. Harrison spent most of his time at his family’s home, The Berkeley Plantation,
(pictured above), here he was educated until the age of 14 , and it is also the where he socialized with other children. It has been
suggested that the young Harrison spent a sizable amount of time with the children of slaves, due to the distance that was between the
surrounding plantations in his neighborhood. These restrictions did not allow him to have constant contact without white youth on a
frequent basis. At the age of 14, Harrison was enrolled in Presbyterian Hamden-Sydney College, it is here that he became fluent in both
French and Latin and also took an interest in the medical field. After a religious revival that occurred at the school the senior Harrison
removed his son from the school, and it is widely said that its is because of the family’s Episcopalian faith. After being taken out of
Hamden-Sydney he enrolled Southampton College, here he also studied medicine and also became involved with the “Abolition
Society” which consisted of both Quakers and Methodist, this action upset his father immensely and he once again checked his son out
of that particular college. The elder Harrison then sent his son to the city of Philadelphia were W.H. Harrison enrolled at The University
of Penn., here he decided to study medicine his preconceived passion, shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia in the year 1791 Harrison
received word of his father’s death. And was forced to leave school due to lack of funds that could go toward his schooling. Upon his
father’s death, Harrison inherited a portion of the family’s estate, 3,000 acres, and a sizable number of slaves. It was after the death of
his father that W.H. Harrison was persuaded to enlist in the army by one of his father confidant's. This move upset his guardian Robert
Morris but the young Harrison decided to go fourth with his newly found passion.
William H. Harrison’s rise to political prominence can be said to have begun in the
month’s that followed his father’s death.
Harrison enlisted in the army after his father’s friend Gen. Henry Lee
persuaded him and said that the army would bring him out of his now
impoverished situation. When Harrison first enlisted he was assigned to the 11 th
U.S. Regiment of the Infantry, he was sent to a base in that happened to be in the
new Northwest Territory. Throughout his stint in the army he quickly gained
respect and was rewarded with multiple promotions. The highest of which was
when he was when his regiment fended off the Indians at the Battle of Fallen
Timbers, and the he himself signed the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.This treaty
opened the present day territory of Ohio to westward –bound settlers. In 1797
Harrison resigned from the army and sought political offices within the Northwest
Territory’s government. He achieved this goal and was named Secretary of the NW
in 1797. in 1799 Harrison sought a place within the federal government and ran to
become a delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the NW
territory. As a delegate Harrison was not allowed to vote on any federal bills but
was allowed to join numerous congressional committees. This did not hinder
Harrison’s performance in Congress; he later on passed the Harrison Land Act that
allowed settlers to buy small tracts of land in the NW Territory for a relatively low
cost. He also was on a committee that was given the task of splitting the NW
territory into the present day states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois and the
eastern half of Minnesota. Following his successful distribution of the NW Territory,
Pres. John Adams appointed him as the Governor of the NW Territory. In this role
he appointed all of the territory’s legislators and battled such issues as slavery, in
the territory. In 1810 Harrison re-enlisted in the army and assumed the role of
Army General. In his time at this position Harrison fought the Battle of Tippecanoe
Creek where he fended off a band of Indians that attacked his camp in the dark of
night. Harrison played a vital role in the War of 1812and commanded the Army of
the NW. He took his army into the far north battling the British and Indians. He also
won battles in Indiana, Ohio, and Detroit before moving into Canada where he
defeated the British at the Battle of the Thames.
When the war concluded President Madison appointed Harrison the
Commissioner to treaties regarding Indians in the NW. This position began his
second stint in politics, later he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
serving Ohio from 1816-1819, then the Ohio State Senate from 1819-1821,and the
U.S. Senate from 1824-1829. His time as U.S. Senator from Ohio was his last office
before his brief retirement from politics. He retired to his home in North Bend
where he cultivated corn and produced whiskey. In 1835 he was thrust back into
the political limelight when he was selected to be the Whig’s presidential
candidate in the Election of 1836, he was up against Martin Van Buren of New York,
unfortunately he lost that election , but challenged Van Buren again in 1840 and
won that election handily.
The election of 1840 was a rare specialty, it
was a virtual duplicate of the election of 1836,
now Pres. Martin Van Buren took on the now
retired William Harrison of Ohio. The final
election result differs from the bout that
occurred in 1836. In this duplicate of the 1836
election Harrison easily won election in what
seemed to be the elitist and unpopular Van
Buren. Harrison at the time was the oldest
presidential candidate that had every
attempted to run for the highest office of the
land. His campaign was bombarded with
campaign songs and slogans that many say
catapulted him to victory that year. The most
famous of which was that central Harrison
campaign slogan of “Tippecanoe and Tyler
too”, referencing Harrison and his running
mate Tyler. Ultimately on election day 1840
Harrison rode of with the elector college
victory 234-60, Harrison even won Van Buren’s
home state of New York
Because the presidency of W.H. Harrison was so
short it is relatively hard to state the specific
Domestic Issues that held any significant
importance. Because of these circumstances it is
more than relevant that we turn towards President
Harrison’s Inaugural Address. At 8,444 words it
took him 2 hours to read and in part (due to the
weather conditions), played a role in his death.
This inaugural coveted a the longest address that
had been spoken by an incoming President.
Within this prolonged address Harrison
explained his agenda to the American public as
to how he would govern the country over the next
four years. On that stormy morning in 1841,
Harrison called for the abandonment of the
policies that were taken on by his predecessors
(Jackson and Van Buren). He vowed to bring the
country back to its stanch economic root,
following the Panic of 1837. His proposed plans
were to, reestablish the Bank of the United States,
and also expand the capacity for credit by the
issuing of paper currency. In addition to those
plans he wanted to defer the judgment of
Congress with regards to legislative matters, by
the use of his new presidential powers. The only
official act that Harrison presided over during his
brief occupation of the White House, was a call
for Congress to meet for a special session that
would have begun on May 31, 1841
Successes Failures
•American War Hero
•The distribution of
the NW Territory
•One month
administration
•Harrison Land Act
•Lack of organization
within administration
•Victories at Battle of
the Fallen Timbers
and The Battles at the
Thames
•Was not able to
capitalize on any of
his campaign
promises
•Numerous Political
Elections
•The election of 1840
Politcal
Born into a prominent political family, Had never dreamed of
holding a political office during his youth, Held numerous
political offices before being elected President, Served in both
Houses of Congress. Grandfather to Pres. Benjamin Harrison
Intellectual
Left school at age of 19, due to lack of funds for school, Was
interested in medicine during his youth,
Religious
Episcopalian by birth
Art
There were numerous election paraphernalia that were distributed
during his Presidential campaign, such as Old Tippecanoe posters,
ribbons, hard cider
Technology
Economic
Going into office wanted to abandon Jacksonian/ Van Buren
Economic policies; was born into a wealthy family, lived what some
would say was a modest lifestyle preceding his presidency
Environmental
Influential in the division of the Northwest Territory, Harrison Land
Act, Opened up the “Western Frontier” or NW Territory to
westward bound settlers that were looking for cheap land
Social
During 1840 Pres. Campaign used the slogan “ Hard Cider; Log
Cabin” to show that he was a modest man compared to the elitist
President Van Buren
•Vice
President- John Tyler
•Secretary of State- Daniel Webster
•Secretary of the Treasury-Thomas Ewing
•Secretary of War –John Bell
•Attorney General-John J. Crittenden
•Postmaster General- Francis George
•Secretary of the Navy-George E. Badger
There are many aspects that I would say occurred in W.H. Harrison’s life that seemingly
seem premature, from the death of his father all the way to his presidency. These are
moments where I feel were placed in his life then taken away to soon . In regards to his
presidency I would have to say that this is most evident the work that he put in to the office
only to striped from him after only 31 days in office. The thing that we as Americans have
to deal with is that what if question, because the baby that our ancestors birthed in a literal
sense ceased to exist .
Bibliography
Deonta Wortham