Benjamin Harrison
Aug 20, 1833-March 13, 1901
By; Alan Lopez & Brenda Esqueda
Background/family
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Born in North Bend Ohio
Grandson of William Henry Harrison
(9th president of U.S, elected in 1840)
Great grandfather, John Scott
Harrison signed Declaration of
Independence
Graduated from Miami University.
Oxford, Ohio, 1852
Studied law for 2 years
Moved to Indianapolis, Indiana and
kept his study mode
Elected as senator of Indiana
Republican/ known as good
politician,
1862 organized the Union’s 70th
Indiana Infantry and commissioned as
it’s colonel. Volunteer , knew nothing
while at Farmer’s college, Harrison met
Caroline Lavinia Scott, daughter of
University’s president.
Married in Oxford and had two children.
Harrison’s rise in politics
•
•
•
•
•
•
Practically born in the political life. Father
ex-Ohio congressman, grandfather William
Henry Harrison (9th president). Greatgrandfather John Scott Harrison ,signing the
declaration of independence.
By the age of 22 he had already begun to find
success in life. Due to his family background
he had politics in mind.
Grandfather and father; new members of the
now-defunct Whig party which led to join the
new republican party…Harrison followed as
well.
Served in several political capacities before
Civil War. Campaigning for republican
presidential candidates in 1856.
Several local positions: City attorney of
Indianapolis & Secretary of the Indiana State
Republican Campaign Committee.
During war; joined an infantry unit and rose
quickly through the military ranks until
becoming Brigadier General.
Rise in Politics cont.
•
•
•
•
•
•
1889 became president!
Announced several courses of action
in inaugural address-the issue of
protective tariff.
Like most republican members;
favored a high protective tariff.
Viewed by many as “too high.”
Primary results of Harrison term in
office, passage of even higher tariff
(sponsored by: William McKinley)
Under the McKinley tariff, tariff was
raised
Harrison had an uneasy feeling of this
so he decided to offset the unneeded
revenue by removing sugar and
helped a few in the south
Rise in Politics cont.
•
•
•
•
The Sherman Antitrust Act . John
Sherman sponsored a second
bill.(passed)
Legacy of Harrison- Three pieces of
legislation, good or bad were passed
in 1900.
Election of 1892 was exclusive in
American History-major candidates,
Harrison & Cleveland
Due to the state of national economy
and Harrison’s failure to earn support
of his own party Victory for
Cleveland!
Intellectual
•
•
•
Decisions: Mythical and legalistic,
actions unhurried and maturely
deliberated
Strong intellectuality, summoning of
lofty principle provided a ready
wherewithal for rebuffing those who
sought consideration or favor
Some found him impatient, brusque,
& even irascible
Technology
•
•
•
•
Science was growing through out
Harrison’s time in office
Earliest President who’s voice was
known to be preserved
Had electricity installed for the first
time by Edison General Electric
Company
Himself and wife would not touch
light switches due to fear
Religion
• Presbyterian- from college
days onward, appears to be
quite devout
• Became a church elder and
taught Sunday school
• His religious faith installed
in him a sense of duty which
underplayed his political
activities
Economic
• Although family was
old and distinguished he
did not grow up in a
wealthy household, as
most of John Scott
Harrison’s income was
expanded to his
children’s education
Key Domestic Policy Issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
Many major businesses were plagued
by exclusive services and high prices.
Attempt to limit this was Sherman
Anti-trust Act of 1890
Act passed unanimously thus both
parties had promised trust regulations
in their platforms
Act was vague/weak
Tariff major issue-republicans spoke
in favor of a high protective tariff
Granger movement became more
powerful during this time. Reached
the highest point of the election of
1892 and Omaha platform.
Key Foreign Policy Issues
•
•
•
Secretary of state was James G.
Blaine; very aggressive when settling
disputes and acquiring territory for
the U.S
Samoan conflict- Second Samoa Civil
war and the nations resolved their
issues, establishing Samoa as per the
Treaty of Berlin, 1899.
Island under the control of U.S Navy
from 1900-1951
Famous Quote
• “We Americans have
no commission from
God to police the
world.”
“One word”
•
•
Lapsed
As history continued, Benjamin
Harrison is forgotten by all but the
most passionate students of American
History which is a shame!
Impacts/Today
Harrison was not favored by his fellow troops , nevertheless he did create an impact to
the United States. Until date, “The Sherman Antitrust Act 1890” still forms the
basis for most antitrust litigation by the U.S government. It’s claimed to have little
to do with trust. “Antitrust” known as “competition law”. The purpose was to
oppose the combination of something that has existence which can harm
competition for example; monopolies or cartels.
Cabinet Members
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Executive Department Secretary Service Dates
Secretary of State James G. Blaine 1889-92
John W. Foster 1892-93
Secretary of the Treasury William Windom 1889-91
Charles Foster 1891-93
Secretary of War Redfield Proctor 1889-91
Stephen B. Elkins 1891-93
Attorney General William H. H. Miller 1889-93
Postmaster General John Wanamaker 1889-93
Secretary of the Navy Benjamin F. Tracy 1889-93
Secretary of the Interior John W. Noble 1889-93
Secretary of Agriculture Jeremiah M. Rusk 1889-93
Bibliography
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/benjamin-harrison/
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.whitehousehistory.org/whha_features/images/feature_transitions02.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.whitehousehistory.org/whha_features/features_media/feature_transitions-monkman02.html&usg=__LHxHhoc_dhsqiTJpNuzv5HmFx3g=&h=300&w=231&sz=64&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=cbQsykzj_gjulM:&tbnh=1
16&tbnw=89&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbenjamin%2Bharrison%2Bfamily%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den - Foto/Fam
http://americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_rise_of_benjamin_harrison
http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Politics/Images/Republican-Logo.jpg
http://americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/president_benjamin_harrison
http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/imh/100.4/images/frantz_fig05b.jpg
http://library.thinkquest.org/11492/cgi-bin/pres.cgi/harrison_benjamin?domestic
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/Supreme_Court_History-antitrust.jpg
http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/McKinley_Destroys_Imperialism_Straw_Man.jpg/180pxMcKinley_Destroys_Imperialism_Straw_Man.jpg
http://www.art-for-a-change.com/blog/images/april07/ron_cobb.gif
http://www.teachersparadise.com/ency/en/media/1/1b/electoralcollege1888_large.png
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0760608.html.
http://www.danablankenhorn.com/images/teddy_roosevelt_trustbuster.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3530/3240812318_e4f66a5fd4.jpg
The American Pageant Chapter 23 & 27 pgs.522-23 & 630