The campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too" became one of the most famous in American politics. 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. William Henry Harrison | Biography, Presidency, & Facts 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. As a soldier, farmer, and outdoorsman, Harrison had spent much of his life in bad weather. [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. WebAn illustrated chronology of key events in the life of William Henry Harrison (1773-1841), ninth president of the United States. 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. William Harrison: Death of the President | Miller Center [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 was the last president born as a British subject in the Thirteen Colonies and was the paternal grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president of the United States. The official cause of death was pneumonia. William Henry Harrison -- who also served as Indiana territorial governor -- holds the record for the longest speech, delivering 8,460 words during his 1841 inaugural The physicians tried remedies ranging from laxatives and opium to a liniment made from Virginia snakeweed. He died one month later of pneumonia, believed to have been brought on by prolonged exposure to the elements on his Inauguration Day. 2020 Virginia Humanities, All Rights Reserved , Native Lands Appropriated for White Settlement in the Northwest Territory. As a last resort, a number of Native American "remedies" were tried, including one involving the use of live snakes. [3] His father was a Virginia planter, who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress (17741777) and who signed the Declaration of Independence. [12] He was initially assigned to Fort Washington, Cincinnati in the Northwest Territory where the army was engaged in the ongoing Northwest Indian War. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. This strategy backfired when Harrison and running mate John Tyler adopted the log cabin and hard cider as campaign symbols. [85] Chevalier remarked, "His friends back east talk of making him President, while here we make him clerk of an inferior court. The Staunton Spectator made favorable note of womens attendance at Harrison rallies, and the Richmond Yeoman reported on a woman who refused to marry her suitor until he declared for Harrison. [57] Harrison received word of the resistance through spies he had placed within the tribes, and asked Madison to fund military preparations. - Pleads to Harrison to take everything he has said into consideration. Indian resistance to American expansion came to a head, with the leadership of Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa ("The Prophet"), in a conflict that became known as Tecumseh's War. In May 1814, however, he resigned his commission in a dispute with Secretary of War John Armstrong Jr. As a war hero, Harrison won election from Ohio to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1816. The following year Harrisons mother died. [32][41], Harrison began his duties on January 10, 1801, at Vincennes, the capital of the Indiana Territory. [29], Harrison had many friends in the eastern aristocracy and quickly gained a reputation among them as a frontier leader. He was the oldest man, at age 67, ever elected president up to that time, the last president born under British rule, and the first to die in officeafter only one months service. He developed an interest in military history, especially Roman military history. Many of the Sauk resented the loss of lands, especially their leader Black Hawk. 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. He condemned the financial excesses of the prior administration and pledged not to interfere with congressional financial policy. Tecumseh was killed in the battle, ending hopes of an Indian confederacy that could thwart westward expansion. [90] The Village of North Bend, Ohio as well as the alumni of Ohio State University claim that the state's use of the nickname "Buckeyes" began with Harrison's campaign message. [10] He briefly studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania with Doctor Benjamin Rush and William Shippen Sr.[10] His older brother inherited their father's money, so he lacked the funds for his further medical schooling, which he had also discovered he didn't prefer. [62] Despite being 13 years removed from military action, Harrison convinced Madison and Eustis to allow him to assume command. His tenure, from March 4, 1841, to April ", "William Harrison: The American Franchise", "American TreasuresHarrison's Inauguration", "William Henry Harrison Inaugural Address", "William Harrison: March 4, 1841 Inaugural Address", "Letter from Harrison to R. Buchanan, Esq., March 10, 1841", "American History Series: The Brief Presidency of William Henry Harrison", "Pres. Contemporary presidents typically give speeches in the 2,000-3,000-word range. His critics called him His Accidency. Harrisons body lay in state for two days in the East Room of the White House. [70] Harrison was succeeded by John Gibson as acting governor of the territory. Before leaving, Tecumseh informed Harrison that he would seek an alliance with the British if the Fort Wayne Treaty was not nullified. How long was William Henry Harrison's inauguration On July 7, 1841, Harrison was buried in the family tomb in North Bend. 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. [2][6] He studied there for three years, receiving a classical education that included Latin, Greek, French, logic, and debate. 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. We speak particularly on this point, because we were eyewitnesses of all that passed. William Henry Harrison negotiates the Treaty of Fort Wayne, under which the United States acquires 2.5 million acres of land from Native American tribes. Upon him you had conferred your suffrages for the first office in your gift, and had selected him as your chosen instrument to correct and reform all such errors and abuses as had manifested themselves from time to time in the practical operation of the Government. He became governor of the newly established Indiana Territory in 1801 and negotiated multiple treaties with American Indian tribes, with the nation acquiring millions of acres. The following year, Harrison was elected the territorys delegate to Congress in Philadelphia. "[5], In August 1810, Tecumseh led 400 warriors down the Wabash River to meet with Harrison in Vincennes. 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. Harrison resigned from the army in 1798 and was appointed secretary of the Northwest Territory by President John Adams. WebAt age sixty-eight, Harrison was the oldest President elected in his century. Harrison defeated Van Buren in the 1840 presidential election. They invited women to Harrison rallies and parades, where they waved white handkerchiefs as the marchers passed. In 1836, Vice President Martin Van Buren ran as the Democratic Party candidate to succeed Jackson. William Henry Harrison Tomb: Our shortest serving president - See 56 traveler reviews, 85 candid photos, and great deals for North Bend, OH, at Tripadvisor. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [119] At 4:00a.m. Sunday, March 28, Harrison developed severe pain in the side and the doctor initiated bloodletting; the procedure was terminated when there was a drop in his pulse rate. William Henry Harrison's inauguration speech comprised of 8,845 words, and it took Harrison one hour and 45 minutes to give the speech. In summary, President Harrisons speech mainly discussed how the [119] The doctor then gave him castor oil and medicines to induce vomiting, and diagnosed him with pneumonia in the right lung. 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. In November 1791, at age 18, he enlisted in the army as an ensign in the 10th Regiment at Fort Washington near Cincinnati (in what is now Ohio). [106], Harrison promised to re-establish the Bank of the United States and extend its capacity for credit by issuing paper currency in Henry Clay's American system. of United States", "Biographical SketchWilliam Henry Harrison", "William Henry Harrison (17731841) Biography", "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Corydon Historic District", "William Henry Harrison: Shady Treaty Maker (quoting Owens)", "A Brief History of Race and Politics in Indiana", "Presidential Series William H. Harrison", "Treaty with the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Senecas, and Miamis (1814)", "William Henry Harrison: Campaigns and Elections", "How Close Were The Presidential Elections? Updates? [75], Harrison and Michigan Territory's Governor Lewis Cass were responsible for negotiating the peace treaty with the Indians. William Harrison Andrew Jackson took office in March 1829, and recalled Harrison in order to make his own appointment to the position. [70], The Americans suffered a defeat in the siege of Detroit. [32] In 1804, Harrison was assigned to administer the civilian government of the District of Louisiana. [88], Burr closes his account of Harrison by describing an event, denied by some of his friendsa reception given the general at Philadelphia, in 1836. He and Clay had disagreed over the necessity of such a session, and Harrison's cabinet proved evenly divided, so the president initially vetoed the idea. 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. [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. Harrison was promoted to captain in 1797 and, for a brief period, served as commander of Fort Washington, resigning from the army in June 1798. [20] They honeymooned at Fort Washington, since Harrison was still on military duty. However, he is remembered for his Indian entreaties, and also his inventive election campaign tactics. He was a son of Benjamin Harrison V, a Founding Father of the United States. He said little of the national bank, except he mentioned he was open to paper money, rather than metallic currency. Exactly one month after taking the oath of office, Harrison was dead. [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. 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 He had accumulated no substantial wealth during his lifetime, and he lived on his savings, a small pension, and the income produced by his farm. 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. At sixty-seven, Harrison was the oldest person to run for president at the time. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. He did not discuss the tariff and distribution. 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. 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. Freehling indicates Harrison's missteps in Columbia were "bad and frequent", that he failed to properly maintain a position of neutrality in Columbian affairs, by publicly opposing Bolivar, and that Columbia sought his removal. A 30-day period of mourning commenced following the president's death. I wish them carried out. [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. In 1800, Adams appointed Harrison governor of the new Indiana Territory, the first territory to be carved from the Northwest Territory. They were bearing the dead body of Harrison to the grave. William Henry Harrison [59] Harrison said that the individual tribes were the owners of the land and could sell it as they wished. [91] A swing of just over 4,000 votes in Pennsylvania would have given that state's 30 electoral votes to Harrison and the election would have been decided in the House of Representatives. The dispute was the catalyst of a disagreement between Harrison and the Department of War, which continued into the War of 1812. View this answer. It left the former struck by Harrison's "deeply imbued principles of liberty". [22] The match was advantageous for Harrison, as he eventually exploited his father-in-law's connections with land speculators, which facilitated his departure from the army. [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. [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. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/william-henry-harrison-1773-1841 [119] A team of doctors was called in Monday, March 29, and they confirmed right lower lobe pneumonia. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [94][91][92], Harrison faced incumbent Van Buren as the sole Whig candidate in the 1840 election. Harrison then stood and declared: "William Henry Harrison, President of the United States, tells you, gentlemen, that, by God, John Chambers shall be governor of Iowa! As governor, he conducted treaty negotiations with Indian tribes that resulted in the cession of millions of acres of territory. ", "Death in the White House: President William Henry Harrison's Atypical Pneumonia", "William Henry Harrison Funeral: April 7, 1841", "Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup", Hopkins, John Tyler and the Presidential Succession, John Tyler (April 9, 1841) Upon Assuming the Office of President of the United States, The White House, Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison, "Essays on Article II: Presidential Succession", "A controversial President who established presidential succession", "William Henry Harrison: Impact and Legacy", "William Henry Harrison Birthday Tribute", "The United States Mint Coins and Medals Program", "John Tyler and the Presidential Succession", "Address Upon Assuming the Office of President of the United States", Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, William Henry Harrison Papers Library of Congress, Papers of William Henry Harrison, 18001815, Announcement of William Henry Harrison Impending Death, Essays on Harrison, each member of his cabinet and First Lady, William Henry Harrison Biography and Fact File, Biography by Appleton's and Stanley L. Klos, "Life Portrait of William Henry Harrison", Representative of Ohio's 1st congressional district, Delegate of Northwest Territory's at-large congressional district, 1822 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio, Equestrian statue of William Henry Harrison, Northwest Territory's at-large congressional district, Unsuccessful major party candidates for President of the United States, United States Senate Committee on Armed Services, First International Conference of American States, List of federal judges appointed by Benjamin Harrison, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Henry_Harrison&oldid=1151769568, 19th-century presidents of the United States, American people of the Northwest Indian War, Candidates in the 1836 United States presidential election, Candidates in the 1840 United States presidential election. When he was fourteen, he was sent to Hampden-Sydney College, where he was educated in the classics. [142], Freehling refers to Harrison as "the most dominant figure in the evolution of the Northwest territories into the Upper Midwest today". Today we are talking about William Henry Harrison. [100][101] In 1824, he was elected to the United States Senate, though his Senate term was cut short by his appointment as Minister Plenipotentiary to Gran Colombia in 1828. In 1798 Pres. He was advised to have an administration in place before the inauguration but declined, wanting to focus on the festivities. [68] By December, however, most major American papers carried stories on the battle victory, and public outrage grew over the Shawnee. In 1829 newly inaugurated President Andrew Jackson replaced Harrison, who had sided with Jacksons political enemy Henry Clay, with a minister of his choice. Born at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia, Harrison was descended from two wealthy and well-connected Virginia families. Because her father objected to the match, the couple married in secret. President James Madison removed Winchester from command in September, and Harrison became commander of the fresh recruits. [50] Harrison was also able to conduct matters unquestioned by the government, as the administration changed hands from Jefferson to Madison. On November 25, 1795, Harrison married Anna Tuthill Symmes. [5] He was elected in 1816 to complete John McLean's term in the House of Representatives, representing Ohio's 1st congressional district until 1819. He then studied medicine in Richmond, Virginia, and in Philadelphia with Benjamin Rush. Lieutenant Harrison, who rendered the most essential service by communicating my orders in every direction conduct and bravery exciting the troops to press for victory. Tecumseh and the War of [32] He campaigned to encourage further migration to the territory, which eventually led to statehood. William Henry Harrison He is the first president-elect to arrive in the capital by train. [64][65], When reporting to Secretary Eustis, Harrison had informed him of the battle near the Tippecanoe River and that he had anticipated an attack. He gave the longest inauguration speech in history, 8,445 words delivered in one hour and forty-five minutes. Harrison was the seventh and youngest child of Benjamin Harrison V and Elizabeth (Bassett) Harrison, born on February 9, 1773, at Berkeley Plantation, the home of the Harrison family of Virginia on the James River in Charles City County. [119] A reporter for the New York Commercial indicated that "the country's people were deeply distressed and many of them in tears. His funeral on April 7 was the first for a sitting president. This letter is addressed to general Harrison; he demands that the Indian lands be returned. [32] The 1804 Treaty of St. Louis with Quashquame required the Sauk and Meskwaki tribes to cede much of western Illinois and parts of Missouri. On his 32nd 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. [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. The assertion is based upon the White family's oral history. William Henry Harrison's inaugural address lasted nearly two hours, but in the days before electronic media, oratory of such duration was common. Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, a religious leader known as the Prophet who advocated a rejection of white culture and a return to a traditional way of life, began in 1808 recruiting a confederacy of tribes to a village known as Prophetstown on the Tippecanoe River near present-day Lafayette, Indiana. The following year, on November 25, he married Anna Tuthill Symmes. [12] The work of recording the activities of the territory was tedious, and he soon became bored, and sought a position in the U. S. During the address, the new [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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. . The White House hosted various public ceremonies, modeled after European royal funeral practices. He was against agitating the Southern United States on the slavery question. A modern theory is that he died from typhoid fever contracted from bacteria ingested through the White House water supply, which likely was contaminated by a nearby depository for raw sewage. Harrison arrived in Washington on February 9, 1841, his sixty-eighth birthday. Harrison served as general of the Army of the Northwest during the War of 1812 (18121815). [136] The precedent that Congress set in 1841 was followed on seven occasions when an incumbent president died, and it was written into the Constitution in 1967 through Section One of the Twenty-fifth Amendment. 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. She was less-than-happy about the prospect. Tyler obliged and was sworn into office on April 6, 1841. [35][138], Harrison's long-term impact on American politics includes his campaigning methods, which laid the foundation for modern presidential campaign tactics. Andrew Jackson, in his second inaugural address, managed only 1,100 words. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. [12] His close friend Timothy Pickering was serving as Secretary of State, and along with Judge Symmes' influence, he was recommended to replace Winthrop Sargent, the outgoing territorial secretary. Harrison becomes known as Old Tippecanoe.. It was the most fleeting presidency ever, lasting one scant month. Anna never moved into the White House. In his time as president, he delivered the longest inaugural speech in US history, followed by a swift and permanent exit from life and political office. 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. William Henry Harrison Great song, horrible death [80] He wrote a letter of polite rebuke to Bolvar, stating that "the strongest of all governments is that which is most free" and calling on Bolvar to encourage the development of democracy. William Henry Harrison is elected the ninth president of the United States, defeating President Martin Van Buren. [43] The Territory's general assembly convened in 1810, and its anti-slavery faction immediately repealed the indenturing laws previously enacted. At Fort Meigs near the village of Toledo in Ohio, Harrisons forces withstood a siege by the British and their Native American allies led by Tecumseh. Tyler had been visiting family in Williamsburg. White House portrait of William Henry Harrison. Lucy Kenney of Fredericksburg was among the first women to be a paid political pamphleteer, writing two campaign pamphletson behalf of Harrison. On March 24, he came down with a cold. In Seneca Falls, New York, soon-to-be woman suffrage activist Amelia Bloomer helped her husband edit his Whig newspaper. "[97], Harrison came from a wealthy, slaveholding Virginia family, yet his campaign promoted him as a humble frontiersman in the style popularized by Andrew Jackson, while presenting Van Buren as a wealthy elitist. After funding for his education was discontinued in 1791, he joined the United States Army as a low-ranking officer. WebWilliam Henry Harrison's inaugural address lasted nearly two hours, but in the days before electronic media, oratory of such duration was common. [5], Harrison was tutored at home until age 14 when he attended HampdenSydney College, a Presbyterian college in Virginia. William Henry Harrison, killed by pneumonia doctors Within days, he had a cold, which developed into pneumonia. [86], About this time, he met abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor George DeBaptiste who lived in nearby Madison, and the two became friends. Harrison also appeared to give Webster's supporters some highly coveted patronage positions. 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. But researchers in 2014 proposed a different reason. William Henry Harrison 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. [49] The Treaty of Fort Wayne (1809) raised new tensions when Harrison purchased more than 2.5million acres (10,000km2) from the Potawatomi, Delaware, Miami, and Eel River tribes. [45] Harrison founded a university at Vincennes in 1801, which was incorporated as Vincennes University on November 29, 1806. Congress declared war on June 18, 1812, and Harrison left Vincennes to seek a military appointment. [119] According to papers in Washington on Friday, Harrison had rallied, despite a Baltimore Sun report that his condition was of a "more dangerous character". Democrats mocked him as General Mum and said the Whigs were keeping their aged candidate locked in an Iron Cage. Then Harrison accepted an invitation to speak at a celebration of the siege at Fort Meigs. President Thomas Jefferson reappoints William Henry Harrison governor of the Indiana Territory and later adds the District of Louisiana acquired in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase from France. 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. Most of Harrison's business during his month-long presidency involved extensive social obligations and receiving visitors at the White House. William Henry Harrison | American Presidents - C Hordes of office applicants came to the White House, which was then open to any who wanted a meeting with the president. [81][82], Harrison returned to the United States and his North Bend farm, living in relative privacy after nearly four decades of government service. 100 Charlottesville, VA 22903 (434) 924-3296. [96] A memorable example was the Gold Spoon Oration that Pennsylvania's Whig representative Charles Ogle delivered in the House, ridiculing Van Buren's elegant White House lifestyle and lavish spending.
