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". Afterward he said that Harrison is as tickled with the Presidency as is a young woman with a new bonnet. Harrison joined Tyler in Richmond on February 22 to celebrate Washingtons birthday and then returned to his boyhood home of Berkeley to write his inauguration speech. I wish them carried out. [5], When Harrison was reappointed as the Indiana territorial governor on February 8, 1803, he was given expanded authority to negotiate and conclude treaties with the Indians. The popular vote was closer with Harrison getting 52.9 percent of the total. The others were Daniel Webster, Hugh L. White, and Willie P. Mangum. He conducted the district's affairs for five weeks until the Louisiana Territory was formally established on July 4, 1805, and Brigadier General James Wilkinson assumed the duties of governor. 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. Back in Washington, he practiced the speech while riding along Rock Creek on horseback. "[110] The dispute escalated when Harrison named as Secretary of State Daniel Webster, Clay's arch-rival for control of the Whig Party. At first Harrison took no part in these raucous rallies. He died one month later of pneumonia, believed to have been brought on by prolonged exposure to the elements on his Inauguration Day. In 1798 Pres. FELLOW-CITIZENS: Before my arrival at the seat of Government the painful communication was made to you by the officers presiding over the several Departments President William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia several weeks after taking office. He developed an interest in military history, especially Roman military history. He was also passed over for a diplomatic post to Russia. Illustration by Sterling Hundley. [12] He was initially assigned to Fort Washington, Cincinnati in the Northwest Territory where the army was engaged in the ongoing Northwest Indian War. I ask nothing more. Nevertheless, the couple married and bought a log cabin and a large piece of property from Symmes on the north bend of the Ohio River about thirteen miles west of Cincinnati. [43], In 1805, Harrison built a plantation-style home near Vincennes that he named Grouseland, in tribute to the birds on the property. [37], Harrison was also instrumental in arranging the division of the Territory into two sections. [86], About this time, he met abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor George DeBaptiste who lived in nearby Madison, and the two became friends. William Henry Harrison, (born February 9, 1773, Charles City county, Virginia [U.S.]died April 4, 1841, Washington, D.C., U.S.), ninth president of the United [38], On May 13, 1800, President John Adams appointed Harrison as the governor of the Indiana Territory, based on his ties to the west and his apparent neutral political stances. University of Kentucky, Copyright 2023. He won victories in the Indiana Territory as well as Ohio and recaptured Detroit before invading Upper Canada (Ontario). In Seneca Falls, New York, soon-to-be woman suffrage activist Amelia Bloomer helped her husband edit his Whig newspaper. 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. Six white horses pulled a hearse carrying Harrisons casket draped in black velvet in a long funeral procession up Pennsylvania Avenue to Congressional Cemetery, where Harrison was temporarily entombed in the Public Vault. [19] The 26-room home was one of the first brick structures in the territory;[44] and it served as a center of social and political life in the territory during his tenure as governor. [90] He was chosen over more controversial members of the party, such as Clay and Webster; his campaign highlighted his military record and focused on the weak U.S. economy caused by the Panic of 1837. He did not discuss the tariff and distribution. Corrections? Although the Whig Party was in the minority in Illinios, Lincoln agreed with its policies and supported the party's The Village of North Bend, Ohio, honors Harrison every year with a parade to celebrate his birthday. Born at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia, Harrison was descended from two wealthy and well-connected Virginia families. [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. [116] A few days later, however, Treasury Secretary Thomas Ewing reported to Harrison that federal funds were in such trouble that the government could not continue to operate until Congress' regularly scheduled session in December; Harrison thus relented, and proclaimed the special session on March 17, in the interests of "the condition of the revenue and finance of the country". [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. A brother, Carter Bassett Harrison, served six years in the House of Representatives. Harrison launched a successful counterattack after Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry defeated British ships on nearby Lake Erie and sent Harrison the famous dispatch: We have met the enemy, and they are ours. On October 5, 1813, Harrison defeated retreating British and Native American forces at the Thames River in what is now the province of Ontario. William Henry Harrison is elected the ninth president of the United States, defeating President Martin Van Buren. William Henry Harrison is the first presidential candidate to give campaign speeches for his own candidacy in his groundbreaking Log Cabin and Hard Cider campaign, which features huge rallies and the first involvement of women in presidential elections. Today we are talking about William Henry Harrison. [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). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. In his address to the nation, Tyler did not give any personal consolation to Harrison's widow Anna or family members. 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. But Matt he has the golden plate, and he's a little squirt: wirt-wirt! [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. He was also eager to expand the territory for personal reasons, as his political fortunes were tied to Indiana's eventual statehood. Harrison grew up at Berkeley, a tobacco plantation owned by his family and farmed by enslaved African Americans. WebWilliam Henry Harrison 1841. Tenskwatawa and his forces fled to Canada, and their campaign to unite the tribes of the region to reject assimilation failed. He would be promoted to the rank of major general in March 1813. [5] Judge Symmes' doubts about him persisted, as he wrote to a friend, "He can neither bleed, plead, nor preach, and if he could plow I should be satisfied. Harrison drew his sword, and Tecumseh's warriors backed down when the officers presented their firearms in his defense. WebWilliam Henry Harrison's inaugural address lasted nearly two hours, but in the days before electronic media, oratory of such duration was common. A very long speech and a very short Presidential term. [152] The Gen. William Henry Harrison Headquarters in Franklinton, Ohio, commemorates Harrison. [81][82], Harrison returned to the United States and his North Bend farm, living in relative privacy after nearly four decades of government service. An opposition newspaper writer portrayed him as a feeble, elderly man: Give him a barrel of hard cider, and settle a pension of two thousand a year on him, and take my word for it, he will sit the remainder of his days in his log cabin. The Whigs made this image of Harrison as a cabin-dwelling, cider-drinking common man the centerpiece of his campaigneven though he descended from the Virginia elite, lived in a mansion, and didnt drink hard cideras a contrast to the cosmopolitan Van Buren. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Many of them began to pull their weapons, representing a substantial threat to Harrison and the town, which held a population of only 1,000. [141] She also received the right to mail letters free of charge. He said little of the national bank, except he mentioned he was open to paper money, rather than metallic currency. He was the first president-elect to arrive in the capital by train. His farm stretched over 2,800 acres and the original log cabin had been expanded to a twenty-two-room home to house his growing familythe Harrisons had ten children, and Anna Harrison was often in poor health because of frequent pregnancies. They were bearing the dead body of Harrison to the grave. It continues See full answer below. William Henry Harrison had the longest inaugural address at 8,460 words and took one hour and 45 minutes to deliver. [7][23], Professor Kenneth R. Janken, in his biography of Walter Francis White, claims that Harrison had six children by an enslaved African-American woman named Dilsia and gave four of them to a brother before running for president to avoid scandal. He was also the first United States president to die in office, and a brief constitutional crisis He rejected Tecumseh's claim that all the Indians formed one nation and said that each tribe could have separate relations with the United States if they chose to do so. Women couldnt vote in 1840, but they could influence the votes of their husbands and suitors, and the Whigs were the first to harness their power. His critics called him His Accidency. Harrisons body lay in state for two days in the East Room of the White House. In summary, President Harrisons speech mainly discussed how the Exactly one month after taking the oath of office, Harrison was dead. As a soldier, farmer, and outdoorsman, Harrison had spent much of his life in bad weather. Andrew Jackson, in his second inaugural address, managed only 1,100 words. He was elected to the Ohio Senate in 1819 and served until 1821 but lost a bid for governor in 1820. Just three weeks after his inauguration, Harrison fell ill and died days later. [154][155], Equestrian statue of Harrison in Cincinnati, by Louis Rebisso, 1950 issue of Harrison on Indiana statehood stamp. [80] He arrived in Bogot on December 22, 1828, and found the condition of Colombia saddening. [40] His governorship was confirmed by the Senate and he resigned from Congress to become the first Indiana territorial governor in 1801. The Whig Ladies of Alexandria presented a pro-Harrison banner to the local Tippecanoe club, which carried it in a Harrison campaign parade. [96] Freehling relates that, "One bitter pro-Van Buren paper lamented after his defeat, 'We have been sung down, lied down and drunk down.' William Henry Harrison marries Anna Tuthill Symmes in North Bend, Ohio. Some Indians disputed the authority of the tribes joining in the treaty. [129], On April 5, Fletcher Webster, the son of Secretary of State Daniel Webster, notified Tyler that Harrison had died in office. At age fifty-six, Harrison returned to his home in North Bend, Ohio. John Adams named Harrison to succeed Winthrop Sargent as secretary of the Northwest Territory, a vast tract of land encompassing most of the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. An invitation-only funeral service was also held on April 7 in the East Room of the White House, after which Harrison's coffin was brought to Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where it was placed in the Public Vault. 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. [113] Another anecdote of the time recounted that the halls were so full one afternoon that in order to get from one room to the next, Harrison had to be helped out a window, walked the length of the White House exterior, and then helped in through another window. Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term? [79], Harrison was appointed in 1828 as minister plenipotentiary to Gran Colombia, so he resigned from Congress and served in his new post until March 8, 1829. [28], Harrison began his political career when he temporarily resigned from the military on June 1, 1798, and campaigned among his friends and family for a post in the Northwest Territorial government. In 1799, he was elected as the territory's non-voting delegate in the United States House of Representatives. Madison dragged his feet, and Harrison attempted to negotiate, sending a letter to Tecumseh saying, "Our Blue Coats (U.S. Army soldiers) are more numerous than you can count, and our hunting shirts (volunteer militiamen) are like the leaves of the forests or the grains of sand on the Wabash. He asked Harrison to nullify it and warned that Americans should not attempt to settle the lands sold in the treaty. Voter turnout shot to a spectacular 80%, 20 points higher than the previous election. William Henry Harrison is born at Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County, the youngest of seven children of Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Elizabeth Bassett Harrison. [119] The doctor then gave him castor oil and medicines to induce vomiting, and diagnosed him with pneumonia in the right lung. In 1829 newly inaugurated President Andrew Jackson replaced Harrison, who had sided with Jacksons political enemy Henry Clay, with a minister of his choice. He declared he would only serve for one term in office and not abuse his veto power. Gen. James Winchester, whom Harrison had ordered to prepare to cross Lake Erie on the ice and surprise Fort Maiden, turned back to rescue the threatened American settlement at Frenchtown (now Monroe, Michigan), on the River Raisin, and there on January 22, 1813, was forced to surrender to Col. Henry A. Procter. Harrison named his cabinet and called for Congress to return on May 31 for a special session. In 1790, he entered what is now the University of Pennsylvania medical school in Philadelphia to study under Dr. Benjamin Rush, who was also a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Tyler obliged and was sworn into office on April 6, 1841. The following year, Harrison was elected the territorys delegate to Congress in Philadelphia. [137], Among Harrison's most enduring legacies is the series of treaties that he negotiated and signed with Indian leaders during his tenure as the Indiana territorial governor. Four years later, the party nominated him again, with John Tyler as his running mate, under the campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too". [70] He received federal military pay for his service, and he also collected a territorial governor's salary from September until December 28, when he formally resigned as governor and continued his military service.

Pennsylvania State Police Incident Reports, Articles H