9. William Henry Harrison 1841(Whig)

William Henry Harrison was born into the Prominent Political Harrison Family in 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 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 , then the Ohio State Senate from ,and the U.S. Senate from 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 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 , 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 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

SuccessesFailures American War Hero The distribution of the NW Territory Harrison Land Act Victories at Battle of the Fallen Timbers and The Battles at the Thames Numerous Political Elections The election of 1840 One month administration Lack of organization within administration Was not able to capitalize on any of his campaign promises

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 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 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