Harrison returned to private life in North Bend, Ohio, until he was nominated as one of several Whig Party nominees for president in the 1836 United States presidential election; he was defeated by Democratic vice president Martin Van Buren. [154][155], Equestrian statue of Harrison in Cincinnati, by Louis Rebisso, 1950 issue of Harrison on Indiana statehood stamp. [59] Chief Winamac was friendly to Harrison, and he countered Tecumseh's arguments, telling the warriors that they should return home in peace since they had come in peace. Sworn into office as president of the U.S. A brother, Carter Bassett Harrison, served six years in the House of Representatives. [128], That June, Harrison's body was transported by train and river barge to North Bend, Ohio, and he was buried on July 7 at the summit of Mt. I wish them carried out. As a slaveholder himself, he agreed with the right of states to control the matter: The lines, too, separating powers to be exercised by the citizens of one state from those of another seem to be so distinctly drawn as to leave no room for misunderstandingThe attempt of those of one state to control the domestic institutions of another can only result in feelings of distrust and jealousy, the certain harbingers of disunion, violence, and civil war, and the ultimate destruction of our free institutions.[106]. Corrections? [91] In any case the plan, if there was one, failed. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The following year, on November 25, he married Anna Tuthill Symmes. President James Madison appointed Harrison general of the Army of the Northwest after the United States had suffered several early defeats near Canada in the War of 1812 against the British. Tecumseh was killed in the battle, and the British-Indian alliance was permanently destroyed. "[87] DeBaptiste became his valet, and later White House steward. [103] He resisted pressure from other Whigs over partisan patronage. After his father dies, William Henry Harrison leaves medical school at what is now the University of Pennsylvania and joins the army. Harrison was born on February 9, 1773, in Charles City County, the youngest of seven children of Benjamin Harrison V and Elizabeth Bassett Harrison. Harrison was assigned to Fort Washington in the small village of Cincinnati in the future Ohio Territory. She was a daughter of Anna Tuthill and Judge John Cleves Symmes, who served as a colonel in the Revolutionary War and as a representative to the Congress of the Confederation. 5 Fast Facts - Longest Inauguration Speech: William Henry Harrison | The inaugural address was a detailed statement of the Whig agenda, a repudiation of Jackson's and Van Buren's policies, and the first and only formal articulation by Harrison of his approach to the presidency. The popular vote was closer with Harrison getting 52.9 percent of the total. He died one month later of pneumonia, believed to have been brought on by prolonged exposure to the elements on his Inauguration Day. After funding for his education was discontinued in 1791, he joined the United States Army as a low-ranking officer. On November 25, 1795, Harrison married Anna Tuthill Symmes. W.H. [119] A reporter for the New York Commercial indicated that "the country's people were deeply distressed and many of them in tears. . In one sentence, this described the new American political process. He regularly worked until after midnight and spent much of his time fending off office seekers, who could walk right into the White House. [134], Harrison's cabinet insisted that Tyler was "Vice President acting as President". [98] The Whigs invented a chant in which people would spit tobacco juice as they chanted "wirt-wirt", and this also exhibited the difference between candidates from the time of the election:[90]. [70], The outbreak of war with the British in 1812 led to continued conflict with Indians in the Northwest. "[115], Harrison's only other official decision of consequence was whether to call Congress into a special session. He rambled on for one hour and 45 minutes, uttering 8,845 words. [104] Freehling opines that speeches like this were actually common at the time, and that its irony was rich, as Harrison, "a lifelong office seeker, elected by deeply partisan politics, criticized both".[105]. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. [42] Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were members of the Democratic-Republican Party, and they reappointed him as governor in 1803, 1806, and 1809. Harrison's political career began in 1798, with an appointment as secretary of the Northwest Territory. [2][6] He studied there for three years, receiving a classical education that included Latin, Greek, French, logic, and debate. WebWilliam Henry Harrison, an American military officer and politician, was the ninth President of the United States (1841), the oldest President to be elected at the time. At Fort Washington, Harrisons polish and coolness under fire impressed his commander, General Mad Anthony Wayne, who commanded the newly organized Legion of the United States, which had been formed to defend the countrys territorial claims against Indian tribes. Delegates to the Whig Party convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, nominate William Henry Harrison as the 1840 presidential candidate, and former Virginia senator John Tyler as the vice presidential candidate. [35] He ran in the 1822 election for the United States House of Representatives, but lost to James W. [105] He promised to use patronage to create a qualified staff, not to enhance his own standing in government, and under no circumstance would he run for a second term. [83], In May of 1817, Harrison served as one of the founding vestry members of the Episcopal congregation, Christ Church in downtown Cincinnati (now Christ Church Cathedral). WebWilliam Henry Harrison delivered the longest Inaugural address, at 8,445 words, on March 4, 1841a bitterly cold, wet day. [145] Harrison's grandson Benjamin Harrison of Indiana served as the 23rd president from 1889 to 1893, making William and Benjamin Harrison the only grandparent-grandchild pair of presidents.[146]. [12] Congress had legislated a territorial policy that led to high land costs, a primary concern for settlers in the Territory; Harrison became their champion to lower those prices. 9th Long the defender of my country's General William Henry Harrison leads American troops to victory over the British and their Native American allies in the Battle of the Thames during the War of 1812. [5] Biographer James Hall claims that Harrison found in Columbia a military despotism and that "his liberal opinions, his stern republican integrity, and the plain simplicity of his dress and manners, contrasted too strongly with the arbitrary opinions and ostentatious behaviour of the public officers, to allow him to be long a favourite with those who had usurped the power of that government. He won the Electoral College by a landslide: 234 electoral votes to 60 for Van Buren. He advanced to Detroit, reoccupied the territory surrendered by Gen. William Hull, and on October 5, 1813, decisively defeated the British and their Indian allies at the Battle of the Thames, in Ontario, Canada. [66] When no second attack came, the Shawnee defeat had become more certain. [90][91][92], Harrison ran in all the non-slave states except Massachusetts, and in the slave states of Delaware, Maryland, and Kentucky. WebConvention Speeches (81) Debates (171) Party Platforms (103) Transition Documents (552) Congressional (29) William Henry Harrison. Nebo, which is now the William Henry Harrison Tomb State Memorial. [9], His father died in the spring of 1791, and he was placed in the care of Robert Morris, an intimate family friend in Philadelphia. [142], Freehling refers to Harrison as "the most dominant figure in the evolution of the Northwest territories into the Upper Midwest today". He was serving in the Army at the time and sold the land to his brother. William Henry Harrison marries Anna Tuthill Symmes in North Bend, Ohio. Harrison was a general at the time and became president in 1841. Harrison was the Whig Party nominee for president in 1840 and ran a groundbreaking campaign, becoming the first presidential nominee to campaign in person and to make widespread use of imagery with the Log Cabin and Hard Cider strategy. Some of Harrisons grown children lived in his house; one grandson born there was Benjamin Harrison, who in 1889 became the twenty-third president of the United States. The following year he was made a lieutenant and subsequently served as an aide-de-camp to Gen. Anthony Wayne, who was engaged in a struggle against the Northwest Indian Confederation over the westward encroachment of white settlers. Tyler had been visiting family in Williamsburg. 100 Charlottesville, VA 22903 (434) 924-3296. "[81] A very similar sentiment of the situation is related by biographer Samuel Burr. Harrison becomes known as Old Tippecanoe.. In 1805, Harrison succeeded in acquiring for the nation as many as 51,000,000 acres from the Indians, after plying five of their chiefs with alcohol, for no more than a penny per 200 acres, and comprising two-thirds of Illinois and sizable chunks of Wisconsin and Missouri. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, Notice of Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity. He is assigned to Fort Washington in the village of Cincinnati in the future Ohio territory. [119] The doctor then gave him castor oil and medicines to induce vomiting, and diagnosed him with pneumonia in the right lung. [5] He led an army north with 950 men to intimidate the Shawnee into making peace, but the tribes launched a surprise attack early on November 7 in the Battle of Tippecanoe. Behind the casket trotted the riderless Whitey, the symbol of a fallen hero. A rope was brought, and attached to the carriage, by which the people drew it to the Marshall House. [45] Harrison founded a university at Vincennes in 1801, which was incorporated as Vincennes University on November 29, 1806. [4] William Henry often referred to himself as a "child of the revolution", as indeed he was, having grown up in a home just 30mi (48km) from where Washington won the war against the British in the Battle of Yorktown. It was the most fleeting presidency ever, lasting one scant month. William Henry Harrison received a classical education at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, where he was a student from 1787 to 1790. It is possible that he was already feeling unwell, for in addressing supporters before leaving for the White House, he said he probably would not see any of them again. Andrew Jackson, in his second inaugural address, managed only 1,100 words. [124] Jane McHugh and Philip A. Mackowiak did an analysis in Clinical Infectious Diseases (2014), examining Miller's notes and records showing that the White House water supply was downstream of public sewage, and they concluded that he likely died of septic shock due to "enteric fever" (typhoid or paratyphoid fever).[125][126]. [119] On Friday, March 26, Harrison became ill with cold-like symptoms and sent for his doctor, Thomas Miller, though he told the doctor he felt better after having taken medication for "fatigue and mental anxiety". He was against agitating the Southern United States on the slavery question. [37], Harrison was also instrumental in arranging the division of the Territory into two sections. [144], Harrison's son John Scott Harrison represented Ohio in the House of Representatives between 1853 and 1857. [5] President John Adams appointed Harrison to the position in July 1798. Harrison, Proclamation 45BConvening an Extra Session of the Congress", "William Henry Harrison: Death of the President", "What Really Killed William Henry Harrison? Harrison's concept of the presidency was very limited. As he was about to conclude his remarks, Harrison incorporated his reliance upon the country's freedom of religion while taking pains to present himself as part of the religious mainstream rather than a dissenter or member of a minority faith: I deem the present occasion sufficiently important and solemn to justify me in expressing to my fellow-citizens a profound reverence for the Christian religion and a thorough conviction that sound morals, religious liberty, and a just sense of religious responsibility are essentially connected with all true and lasting happiness; and to that good Being who has blessed us by the gifts of civil and religious freedom, who watched over and prospered the labors of our fathers and has hitherto preserved to us institutions far exceeding in excellence those of any other people, let us unite in fervently commending every interest of our beloved country in all future time. [109], Clay was a leader of the Whigs and a powerful legislator, as well as a frustrated presidential candidate in his own right, and he expected to have substantial influence in the Harrison administration. Van Buren didnt attend the inauguration, following the lead set by the two other one-term presidents, John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams. According to Burr, "Thousands and tens of thousands crowded Chesnut street wharf upon his arrival, and greeted him with continual cheering as he landed. As the day advanced, the procession made its appearance, coming slowly through the Avenue, carriage after carriage, in long succession, while thousands upon thousands followed on footall moving to the sound of melancholy music. WebCreate your account. [17] Harrison was promoted to captain in May 1797 and resigned from the Army on June 1, 1798. He encouraged resistance by telling the tribes to pay white traders only half of what they owed and to give up all the white man's ways, including their clothing, muskets, and especially whiskey. But Matt he has the golden plate, and he's a little squirt: wirt-wirt! [135] The cabinet consulted with Chief Justice Roger Taney and decided that, if Tyler took the presidential oath of office, he would assume the office of president. On March 4, 1841, Harrison led the grandest inaugural parade to date, featuring floats, citizen marchers, and military bands, up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol on his horse Whitey. [143] Harrison, age 68 at the time of his inauguration, was the oldest person to assume the U.S. presidency, a distinction he held until 1981, when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated at age 69. [11], On August 16, 1791, within 24 hours of meeting Lee, Harrison, age 18, was commissioned as an ensign in the Army and assigned to the First American Regiment. 9 minutes. William Henry Harrisons funeral is held in Washington, D.C. William Henry Harrisons casket is entombed at North Bend, Ohio. William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Pennsylvania senator James Buchanan marveled that the people had abandoned their ordinary business for the purpose of electioneering. At a rally in Richmond, a pickpocket being marched off to jail jumped on a box to deliver an impromptu speech for Old Tippecanoe. Webster attempted to press this decision at a March 25 cabinet meeting, and Harrison asked him to read aloud a handwritten note, which said simply "William Henry Harrison, President of the United States". The house was his military headquarters from 1813 to 1814. He was also eager to expand the territory for personal reasons, as his political fortunes were tied to Indiana's eventual statehood. He attempted to secure the post as Secretary of War under President Monroe in 1817 but lost out to John C. Calhoun. Page 430. Jefferson directed Harrison to buy land for white settlement from the Native Americans, instructing him in a February 1803 letterto provide the tribes with effectual protection against wrongs from our own people, but to use trade to run up debt with the Indians so they would lop off some of their lands and sell them. [32] He campaigned to encourage further migration to the territory, which eventually led to statehood. Harrison's wife, Anna, was too ill to travel [5] Freehling claims that his expenses then well exceeded his means and he fell into debt, that Harrison chose "celebrity over duty", as he sought the adulation found at parties in New York, Washington, and Philadelphia, and that he became an office seeker. [103], Harrison wrote in a letter dated March 10, "I am so much harassed by the multitude that calls upon me that I can give no proper attention to any business of my own. [100][101] Returning to military service, Harrison commanded a force of seasoned regulars and militia that defeated the Indians led by the Prophet at the Battle of Tippecanoe (November 7, 1811), near present-day Lafayette, Indiana, a victory that largely established his military reputation in the public mind. He is the first president-elect to arrive in the capital by train. William Henry Harrison was buried near his home in North Bend, Ohio. It was considered to be one of the great American victories in the war, second only to the Battle of New Orleans, and secured a national reputation for Harrison. When he was fourteen, he was sent to Hampden-Sydney College, where he was educated in the classics. [111], Clay was not the only one who hoped to benefit from Harrison's election. They were bearing the dead body of Harrison to the grave. In Seneca Falls, New York, soon-to-be woman suffrage activist Amelia Bloomer helped her husband edit his Whig newspaper. [1] This was a prominent political family of English descent whose ancestors had been in Virginia since the 1630s;[2] he became the last American president not born as an American citizen. [107] On Wednesday, March 24, 1841, Harrison took his daily morning walk to local markets, without a coat or hat. Nothing worked. Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term? Harrison briefly served as a major general in the Kentucky militia until the government commissioned him on September 17 to command the Army of the Northwest. "[89], Harrison was the western Whig candidate for president in 1836, one of four regional Whig party candidates. (White House Historical Association) It is unlikely, however, that the long-winded speech caused the presidents He died one month later of pneumonia, believed to As a last resort, a number of Native American "remedies" were tried, including one involving the use of live snakes. He played no role in picking his running mate, former Virginia senator John Tyler, who grew up right down the road from Harrison in Charles City County. [20] They honeymooned at Fort Washington, since Harrison was still on military duty. They feared that the people would perceive the difference between a real and a pretended patriot, and commenced a series of persecutions against our minister, which rendered his situation extremely irksome. He then received reinforcements in 1813, took the offensive, and led the army north to battle. As a soldier, farmer, and outdoorsman, Harrison had spent much of his life in bad weather. [69] Americans blamed the British for inciting the tribes to violence and supplying them with firearms, and Congress passed resolutions condemning the British for interfering in American domestic affairs. He gave the longest inauguration speech in history, 8,445 words delivered in one hour and forty-five minutes. The traditional story is that his long inaugural speech led to a fatal pneumonia. Harrison grew up among the elite of Virginia. As governor, he conducted treaty negotiations with Indian tribes that resulted in the cession of millions of acres of territory. William Henry Harrison resigns from the army and is appointed secretary of the Northwest Territory by President John Adams. WebAt age sixty-eight, Harrison was the oldest President elected in his century. Mary Steger of Richmond wrote excitedly to a friend about the events at the local Log Cabin Whig headquarters and said, I never took so much interest in politics in my life. Democrats derided these women as shameless and reminded them that their husbands represented them in politics, but Whigs argued that womens presence could purify the public sphere. John Symmes disapproved of the match despite Harrisons elite Virginia background because he had no occupation outside of the army and Symmes didnt want his daughter living the difficult life of a military wife in frontier forts. 2020 Virginia Humanities, All Rights Reserved , Native Lands Appropriated for White Settlement in the Northwest Territory. On March 26, a team of doctors was summoned to treat the president for pneumonia, although he also displayed gastrointestinal symptoms.
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