Happy Birthday Ben Harrison
On this day in 1833, some 177 years ago today, Benjamin Henry Harrison, the 23rd President of the United States, was born in North Bend, Ohio. He was the first grandson of a former president to hold the office. His grandfather was William Henry Harrison, the 9th President.
Harrison was elected President in 1888, defeating incumbent President Grover Cleveland. Four years later Cleveland would defeat Harrison and become the only person to hold the office of president in non-consecutive terms.
Harrison served as a Brigadier-General in the civil war, being promoted to that rank in 1865. just as the war was ending. Later he became Governor of Indiana and also served a term in the US senate before being elected president.
As president Harrison had a pretty good record on civil rights. He supported the proposed Federal Elections Bill written by Representative Henry Cabot Lodge and Senator George Frisbie Hoar in 1890, but the bill was defeated in the Senate. This was to be the last civil rights legislation attempted by Congress until the 1920s. Following the failure to pass the bill, Harrison continued to speak in favor of African American civil rights in addresses to Congress. In 1892, Harrison went before Congress and spoke out against the practice of lynching (hanging) African-Americans by angry mobs.
During Harrison's Administration, the treasury surplus ran out and the nation's economic health was worsening with the approach of the conditions that would lead to the Panic of 1893. Congressional elections in 1890 went against the Republicans and several party leaders withdrew their support for President Harrison, although he had cooperated with Congressional Republicans on legislation. Many of Harrison's detractors pushed for the nomination of Secretary of State James G. Blaine, until Blaine publicly proclaimed himself not to be a candidate in February 1892. Some party leaders still hoped to draft Blaine into running, and speculation increased when Blaine resigned as Secretary of State in June. At the convention in Minneapolis, Harrison prevailed on the first ballot, but not without significant opposition.
The Democrats renominated former President Cleveland, making the 1892 election a rematch of the one four years earlier. Many westerners, traditionally Republican voters, defected to the new Populist Party candidate, James Weaver, who promised free silver, generous veterans' pensions, and an eight-hour work day.
Just two weeks before the election, on October 25, Harrison's wife Caroline died after a long battle with tuberculosis. Harrison did not actively campaign on his own behalf during his reelection bid and remained with his wife. Their daughter Mary Harrison McKee continued the duties of the First Lady after her mother's death. Cleveland ultimately won the election with 277 electoral votes to Harrison's 145. Cleveland also won in the popular vote 5,556,918 to 5,176,108.
Harrison died from influenza and pneumonia at his home on Wednesday, March 13, 1901, at the age of 67. Harrison is interred in Indianapolis's Crown Hill Cemetery. Recent historians have given Harrison a better rating as a president. In foreign affairs for example, he is credited with having done more to move the nation along the path to world empire than any previous President, serving as a model for Teddy Roosevelt. His support for the annexation of Hawaii, establishment of the first American protectorate in Samoa, and push for a trans-isthmus canal in Central America set the agenda for the next thirty years of American foreign policy.
Where he is found lacking by historians is on on domestic issues. His support for the McKinley Tariff and Sherman Silver Purchase Act are thought to have contributed greatly to the economic collapse of 1893 -- the greatest depression in American history up to that time. He seemed insensitive and unaware of the massive industrial changes that had overtaken America; of the poverty that existed at the time, of the depths of economic hardship affecting the nation's farmers and of the industrial crisis that began to topple railroads, banks, and business corporations like dominoes within days of his retirement from office.
On the other hand, in those areas which mattered to him -- the conservation of national resources, the linkage of world markets to national prosperity, and the civil rights of African Americans -- few post-Reconstruction Presidents stood on firmer ground or tried to accomplish more. In the words of one historian, "when compared with the Roosevelts, Wilson, and Truman -- activist Presidents of the twentieth century, men who fought wars, managed empires, and confronted economic depressions -- Harrison's ranking looks average. Few historians today, however, would judge him as mediocre or insignificant."
Harrison was elected President in 1888, defeating incumbent President Grover Cleveland. Four years later Cleveland would defeat Harrison and become the only person to hold the office of president in non-consecutive terms.
Harrison served as a Brigadier-General in the civil war, being promoted to that rank in 1865. just as the war was ending. Later he became Governor of Indiana and also served a term in the US senate before being elected president.
As president Harrison had a pretty good record on civil rights. He supported the proposed Federal Elections Bill written by Representative Henry Cabot Lodge and Senator George Frisbie Hoar in 1890, but the bill was defeated in the Senate. This was to be the last civil rights legislation attempted by Congress until the 1920s. Following the failure to pass the bill, Harrison continued to speak in favor of African American civil rights in addresses to Congress. In 1892, Harrison went before Congress and spoke out against the practice of lynching (hanging) African-Americans by angry mobs.
During Harrison's Administration, the treasury surplus ran out and the nation's economic health was worsening with the approach of the conditions that would lead to the Panic of 1893. Congressional elections in 1890 went against the Republicans and several party leaders withdrew their support for President Harrison, although he had cooperated with Congressional Republicans on legislation. Many of Harrison's detractors pushed for the nomination of Secretary of State James G. Blaine, until Blaine publicly proclaimed himself not to be a candidate in February 1892. Some party leaders still hoped to draft Blaine into running, and speculation increased when Blaine resigned as Secretary of State in June. At the convention in Minneapolis, Harrison prevailed on the first ballot, but not without significant opposition.
The Democrats renominated former President Cleveland, making the 1892 election a rematch of the one four years earlier. Many westerners, traditionally Republican voters, defected to the new Populist Party candidate, James Weaver, who promised free silver, generous veterans' pensions, and an eight-hour work day.
Just two weeks before the election, on October 25, Harrison's wife Caroline died after a long battle with tuberculosis. Harrison did not actively campaign on his own behalf during his reelection bid and remained with his wife. Their daughter Mary Harrison McKee continued the duties of the First Lady after her mother's death. Cleveland ultimately won the election with 277 electoral votes to Harrison's 145. Cleveland also won in the popular vote 5,556,918 to 5,176,108.
Harrison died from influenza and pneumonia at his home on Wednesday, March 13, 1901, at the age of 67. Harrison is interred in Indianapolis's Crown Hill Cemetery. Recent historians have given Harrison a better rating as a president. In foreign affairs for example, he is credited with having done more to move the nation along the path to world empire than any previous President, serving as a model for Teddy Roosevelt. His support for the annexation of Hawaii, establishment of the first American protectorate in Samoa, and push for a trans-isthmus canal in Central America set the agenda for the next thirty years of American foreign policy.
Where he is found lacking by historians is on on domestic issues. His support for the McKinley Tariff and Sherman Silver Purchase Act are thought to have contributed greatly to the economic collapse of 1893 -- the greatest depression in American history up to that time. He seemed insensitive and unaware of the massive industrial changes that had overtaken America; of the poverty that existed at the time, of the depths of economic hardship affecting the nation's farmers and of the industrial crisis that began to topple railroads, banks, and business corporations like dominoes within days of his retirement from office.
On the other hand, in those areas which mattered to him -- the conservation of national resources, the linkage of world markets to national prosperity, and the civil rights of African Americans -- few post-Reconstruction Presidents stood on firmer ground or tried to accomplish more. In the words of one historian, "when compared with the Roosevelts, Wilson, and Truman -- activist Presidents of the twentieth century, men who fought wars, managed empires, and confronted economic depressions -- Harrison's ranking looks average. Few historians today, however, would judge him as mediocre or insignificant."