It was a pivotal American victory in the war, and Harrison was celebrated as the hero of the Battle of the Thames. 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. Anna Harrison, the only First Lady never to have lived in the White House, died in February 1864 and also was interred there. [103] He resisted pressure from other Whigs over partisan patronage. 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. [10] With the influence of his father's friend, Governor Henry Lee III, he embarked upon a military career. [123], The prevailing theory at the time was that his illness had been caused by the bad weather at his inauguration three weeks earlier. [43] The Territory's general assembly convened in 1810, and its anti-slavery faction immediately repealed the indenturing laws previously enacted. [99] While Van Buren campaigned from the White House, Harrison was on the campaign trail, entertaining with his impressions of Indian war whoops, and took people's minds off the nation's economic troubles. 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. The traditional story is that his long inaugural speech led to a fatal pneumonia. As governor, he conducted treaty negotiations with Indian tribes that resulted in the cession of millions of acres of territory. The Whigs planned a traditional presidential campaign until a political attack forever changed campaigning. 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. [2] His father also served in the Virginia legislature and as the fifth governor of Virginia (17811784) in the years during and after the American Revolutionary War. 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. His wife, too, expressed similar misgivings. The first large Whig rally took place in Columbus, Ohio, on February 22, 1840, which was George Washingtons birthday, a traditional day for public celebrations and parades. Harrison becomes known as Old Tippecanoe.. Before leaving, Tecumseh informed Harrison that he would seek an alliance with the British if the Fort Wayne Treaty was not nullified. "[87] DeBaptiste became his valet, and later White House steward. In 1825, the Ohio Legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate. 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 This followed closely with Harrison's Whig political ideology. He rambled on for one hour and 45 minutes, uttering 8,845 words. Never, the Cleveland Advertiser wrote, calling the precedent a bad one.. He is the first president-elect to arrive in the capital by train. His funeral on April 7 was the first for a sitting president. [5] Tecumseh informed Harrison that he had threatened to kill the chiefs who signed the treaty if they carried out its terms and that his confederation of tribes was growing rapidly. 1789. How Long? [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". While standing at the threshold of this great work he has by the dispensation of an all-wise Providence been removed from amongst us, and by the provisions of the Constitution the efforts to be directed to the accomplishing of this vitally important task have devolved upon myself." The house was his military headquarters from 1813 to 1814. [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. William Henry Harrison was the 9th president of the United States, a term that lasted barely a month. More than 30,000 people converged on the state capital for a parade featuring log cabins and canoes on wheels and a ten-foot-high rolling ball that inspired the phrase Keep the ball rolling. A jeweler from a nearby town wrote a song with a lyric that became the campaigns slogan: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too. The Whigs mounted elaborate rallies across the nation and log cabinthemed election merchandise took the country by storm, becoming the first campaign logo. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. On December 4, 1839, the Whigs opened their first convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to choose a nominee for the 1840 presidential race. William Henry Harrison He was the first president-elect to arrive in the capital by train. [5] The British and their Indian allies greatly outnumbered Harrison's troops, so Harrison constructed a defensive position during the winter along the Maumee River in northwest Ohio. 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. [36] He became chairman of the Committee on Public Lands and promoted the Land Act of 1800, which made it easier to buy Northwest Territory land in smaller tracts at a lower cost. William Henry Harrison Deaths from pneumonia in Washington, D.C. Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from the Northwest Territory, Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives. Harrison was a general at the time and became president in 1841. [111], Clay was not the only one who hoped to benefit from Harrison's election. 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. In summary, President Harrisons speech mainly discussed how the people of the United States has the rights to individual liberties and how it is the duty of the president to protect those liberties through the Constitution. On April 4, 1841, having only served 31 days in office, President William Henry Harrison died. We invite you to learn more about Indians in Virginia in our Encyclopedia Virginia. [57] Harrison received word of the resistance through spies he had placed within the tribes, and asked Madison to fund military preparations. I ask nothing more.. 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. [67] Freehling says that Harrison's rusty skills resulted in his troops setting campfires the night before the battle, exposing their position to a surprise attack and casualties. A first dispatch had not been clear which side had won the conflict, and the secretary interpreted it as a defeat until the follow-up dispatch clarified the situation. 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. [84] Harrison went on to serve as a vestry member through 1819, and then again in 1824. William Henry Harrison Inaugural Speech Analysis 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. They were bearing the dead body of Harrison to the grave. [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 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. Harrison saw a window of opportunity in Tecumseh's absence, and advised Secretary of War William Eustis to present a show of force to the Indian confederation. Harrison negotiated the 1809 Treaty of Fort Wayne under which the United States acquired about 2.5 million acres of land from the Delaware, Shawnee, Potawatomi, Miami, Kickapoo, and Eel River tribes. Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term? [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. Tyler arrived in Washington on the morning of April 6. Harrison was assigned to Fort Washington in the small village of Cincinnati in the future Ohio Territory. [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. [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. [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. [5] Tecumseh was traveling in 1811, leaving Tenskwatawa in charge of Indian forces. [103] He intended to rely on the judgment of Congress in legislative matters, using his veto power only if an act were unconstitutional, and to reverse Jackson's spoils system of executive patronage. Vice President Tyler rushed back from his Williamsburg house and was sworn in as the tenth president of the United States, becoming the first vice president to assume the presidency following the death of the president. WebWithin five minutes of an infantry attack toward the Indian lines and a mounted militia attack towards the British center, the British retreated in panic, led by their general Henry Proctor, who reportedly galloped past his men in the retreat back towards Moraviantown. Tyler had been visiting family in Williamsburg. Harrison grew up among the elite of Virginia. In 1799, he was elected as the territory's non-voting delegate in the United States House of Representatives. 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. Harrison died just past midnight on the morning of April 4, 1841, thirty-two days after being inaugurated. Inauguration of William Henry Harrison - Wikipedia [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. 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 States (1841), whose Indian campaigns, while he was a territorial governor and army officer, thrust him into the national limelight and led to his election in 1840. It continues See full answer below. A brother, Carter Bassett Harrison, served six years in the House of Representatives. Because her father objected to the match, the couple married in secret. WebWilliam Henry Harrison delivered the longest Inaugural address, at 8,445 words, on March 4, 1841a bitterly cold, wet day. [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. There are public statues of him in downtown Indianapolis,[147] Cincinnati's Piatt Park,[148] the Tippecanoe County Courthouse,[149] Harrison County, Indiana,[150] and Owen County, Indiana. Whig leader Thomas Elder designed a campaign that leaned heavily on imagery and relied on big rallies to build enthusiasm for the candidate. This strategy backfired when Harrison and running mate John Tyler adopted the log cabin and hard cider as campaign symbols. William Henry Harrison resigns from the army and is appointed secretary of the Northwest Territory by President John Adams. Troops led by William Henry Harrison defeat Native Americans led by the Shawnee chief Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe near the Tippecanoe River in Indiana. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. For a few months after the division in 1804 of the Louisiana Purchase into the Orleans Territory and the Louisiana Territory, Harrison also acted as governor of the Louisiana Territory (all of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 33rd parallel), the largest jurisdiction ever exercised by a territorial official in the United States to that date. He died one month later of pneumonia, believed to have been brought on by prolonged exposure to the elements on his Inauguration Day. William Henry Harrison gives the longest inauguration speech in history, one hour and 45 minutes. Congress convened, and on May 31, 1841, after a short period of debate in both houses, passed a joint resolution, which confirmed Tyler as president for the remainder of Harrison's term. He then studied medicine in Richmond, Virginia, and in Philadelphia with Benjamin Rush. [35], Harrison resigned from the army in 1814, shortly before the conclusion of the War of 1812, and returned to his family and farm in North Bend, Ohio. It was Harrisons ambition to become governor of the reconstituted, more-populous eastern portion of the territory. The popular vote margin was much closer, at fewer than 150,000 votes, though he carried nineteen of the twenty-six states. 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. William Henry Harrison This act was the spontaneous burst of ten thousand grateful hearts. The roar of cannon and the tolling of bells filled the air, while many houses were shrouded with crape, and the streets were black with people. Back in Washington, he practiced the speech while riding along Rock Creek on horseback. [90] The Democrats charged that, by running several candidates, the Whigs sought to prevent a Van Buren victory in the electoral college, and force the election into the House. [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. [97] Harrison won a landslide victory in the Electoral College, 234 electoral votes to Van Buren's 60. He condemned the financial excesses of the prior administration and pledged not to interfere with congressional financial policy. Learn about Old Tippecanoe's marches against Native Americans and brief term as president of the United States. [61], Harrison was concerned that Tecumseh's actions would endanger the statehood of Indiana, as well as his political future, leaving it "the haunt of a few wretched savages". "[115], Harrison's only other official decision of consequence was whether to call Congress into a special session. The president was William Henry Harrison, who had been sworn in on March 4, 1841. [119] A reporter for the New York Commercial indicated that "the country's people were deeply distressed and many of them in tears. The campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too" became one of the most famous in American politics. [73][74] After the war ended, Congress investigated Harrison's resignation and determined that Armstrong had mistreated him during his military campaign and that his resignation was justified. William Henry Harrison - Simple English Wikipedia, the [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. [154][155], Equestrian statue of Harrison in Cincinnati, by Louis Rebisso, 1950 issue of Harrison on Indiana statehood stamp. In June 1840, a Harrison rally at the site of the Tippecanoe battle drew 60,000 people. They move into a log cabin on the Ohio River near Cincinnati. On March 24, he came down with a cold. 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. Harrisons slogan, Tippecanoe and Tyler Too, referring to his running mate, former U.S. senator from Virginia John Tyler, became one of the most famous campaign slogans. 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. William Henry Harrison - The White House [66] When no second attack came, the Shawnee defeat had become more certain. Contemporary presidents typically give speeches in the 2,000-3,000-word range. Emeritus Professor of Humanities [46] The territorial capital was eventually moved to Corydon in 1813, and Harrison built a second home at nearby Harrison Valley. Journalist Richard Smith Elliott later wrote that Elder knew passion and prejudice, properly aroused and directed, would do about as well as principle and reason.. Voter turnout shot to a spectacular 80%, 20 points higher than the previous election. As a last resort, a number of Native American "remedies" were tried, including one involving the use of live snakes. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Resisting the expansionism fostered by the treaties negotiated by Harrison, the Shawnee intertribal leader Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, who was known as the Prophet, organized an Indian uprising. [95] The Democrats, in turn, ridiculed the elder Harrison by calling him "Granny Harrison, the petticoat general", because he resigned from the army before the War of 1812 ended. [91] In any case the plan, if there was one, failed. The Whigs boasted of Harrison's military record and his reputation as the hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe. [52] Though Harrison asserted that the suspension was necessary to promote settlement and make the territory economically viable and ready for statehood, the proposal failed. Their campaign used the symbols on banners and posters and created bottles of hard cider shaped like log cabins, all to connect the candidates to the "common man". Andrew Jackson, in his second inaugural address, managed only 1,100 words. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [113] Conflicting and unconfirmed newspaper reports were based on leaks by people with contacts in the White House. "[122] Harrison died at 12:30a.m. on April 4, 1841, Palm Sunday, nine days after becoming ill and exactly one month after taking the oath of office;[119] he was the first president to die in office. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/william-henry-harrison-1773-1841 [21] Judge Symmes confronted him two weeks later at a farewell dinner for General Wayne, sternly demanding to know how he intended to support a family. On April 9, Tyler gave a brief inaugural address. However, the death of his father caused Harrison to discontinue his studies. Omissions? The Whigs encouraged womens participation throughout Virginia, overturning long-standing cultural constrains on public partisanship by women. 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. [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. [32] He campaigned to encourage further migration to the territory, which eventually led to statehood. He reported to the Secretary of State that the country was on the edge of anarchy, and that Simn Bolvar was about to become a military dictator. 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. In 1803 Harrison also became a special commissioner charged with negotiating with Native Americans on the subject of boundary or lands. Succumbing to the demands of land-hungry whites, he negotiated a number of treaties between 1802 and 1809 that stripped Indians of millions of acres of landin the southern part of the present state of Indiana and portions of the present states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri. Despite being caught in a sudden rainstorm, he did not change his wet clothes upon return to the White House. 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). For nearly two hours, Harrison addressed the crowd. Harrison was born on February 9, 1773, at Berkeley Plantation in Charles City County to Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the fifth governor of Virginia (17811784), and Elizabeth Bassett Harrison. WebCreate your account. He is assigned to Fort Washington in the village of Cincinnati in the future Ohio territory. He said little of the national bank, except he mentioned he was open to paper money, rather than metallic currency. WebWilliam Henry Harrison 1841. [5], In addition to resulting tensions with the Indians, Harrison's pro-slavery position made him unpopular with the Indiana Territory's abolitionists, as he tried in vain to encourage slavery in the territory. [55] He donated $100 to encourage Lemen with abolition and other good works, and later another $20 to help fund the church known as Bethel Baptist Church. Clay pressed him on the special session on March 13, but Harrison rebuffed him and told him not to visit the White House again, to address him only in writing. 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. 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! I remember distinctly how the window glass would break and rattle to the ground, after each report of the cannon they were firing in the burial ground. After the War of 1812, he moved to Ohio where, in 1816, he was elected to represent the state's 1st district in the House of Representatives. But Harrison continued stumping for himself, suspending his speaking tour later in June after his son Benjamin Harrison died, but resuming in September to huge crowdsan estimated 100,000 people turned out for a speech in Dayton, Ohio. 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. He ignored his own platform plank of overturning the "spoils" system and attempted to influence Harrison's actions before and during his brief presidency, especially in putting forth his own preferences for Cabinet offices and other presidential appointments. [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. [68] By December, however, most major American papers carried stories on the battle victory, and public outrage grew over the Shawnee. Harrison rose to the rank of captain and in 1796 became the commander of Fort Washington. [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. [54], President Jefferson, primary author of the Northwest Ordinance, made a secret compact with James Lemen to defeat the nascent pro-slavery movement supported by Harrison. In subsequent years Harrison held several government positions. Timeline | Articles and Essays | William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio. 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]. The assertion is based upon the White family's oral history. [72] Armstrong and Harrison had disagreed over the lack of coordination and effectiveness in the invasion of Canada, and Harrison resigned from the army in May. Tenskwatawa and his forces fled to Canada, and their campaign to unite the tribes of the region to reject assimilation failed. Authors Gugin and St. Clair claim the resignation was forced upon him. After funding for his education was discontinued in 1791, he joined the United States Army as a low-ranking officer. Harrison is often omitted in historical presidential rankings due to his brief tenure, with the rankings where he is ranked placing him significantly below average. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. William Harrison: Death of the President | Miller Center Inaugural Speeches Ranked By Word Count - WFYI [134], Harrison's cabinet insisted that Tyler was "Vice President acting as President". The Whigs saw in Harrison a born southerner and war hero, who would contrast well with the aloof, uncaring, and aristocratic Van Buren. "[89], Harrison was the western Whig candidate for president in 1836, one of four regional Whig party candidates. [17] Harrison was promoted to captain in May 1797 and resigned from the Army on June 1, 1798. Old Tip he wore a homespun coat, he had no ruffled shirt: wirt-wirt, 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. 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. [59], Tecumseh launched an "impassioned rebuttal", in the words of one historian, but Harrison was unable to understand his language. - Pleads to Harrison to take everything he has said into consideration. Instead, in May 1800, Adams appointed Harrison governor of the newly created Indiana Territory, which comprised, until 1809, a much larger area than the present state of Indiana. Harrison's daughter-in-law, Jane Irwin Harrison, widow of Harrison's son, had served as hostess of the White House in Anna's place while Harrison was President. On his 32nd WebWilliam Henry Harrison delivered the longest Inaugural address, at 8,445 words, on March 4, 1841a bitterly cold, wet day. 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.
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