WebWilliam 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.Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, the shortest presidency in United States history. In an address to the Hamilton County Agricultural Board in 1831, he said that he had sinned in making whiskey and hoped that others would learn from his mistake and stop the production of liquors. On December 4, 1839, the Whigs opened their first convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to choose a nominee for the 1840 presidential race. [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". [17] Harrison was promoted to captain in May 1797 and resigned from the Army on June 1, 1798. His friends included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry. He was also the first United States president to die in office, and a brief constitutional crisis [5], The press did not cover the battle at first, until one Ohio paper misinterpreted Harrison's first dispatch to mean that he was defeated. President Thomas Jefferson reappointed Harrison as governor of the Indiana Territory in 1801 and in 1804 added most of the Louisiana Purchase to the territory for one year. Harrison grew up at Berkeley, a tobacco plantation owned by his family and farmed by enslaved African Americans. [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. 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. [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. 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. Marshal of the District of Columbia Alexander Hunter recalled an incident in which Harrison was besieged by office seekers who were preventing him from getting to a cabinet meeting; when his pleas for their consideration were ignored, Harrison finally "accepted their petitions, which filled his arms and pockets". WebConvention Speeches (81) Debates (171) Party Platforms (103) Transition Documents (552) Congressional (29) William Henry Harrison. But researchers in 2014 proposed a different reason. Harrison's political career began in 1798, with an appointment as secretary of the Northwest Territory. Harrison argued that the Great Spirit would have made all the tribes speak one language if they were to be one nation. [154][155], Equestrian statue of Harrison in Cincinnati, by Louis Rebisso, 1950 issue of Harrison on Indiana statehood stamp. At a Glance Video Search Life Portrait Survey Result. All in all, Harrison committed to a weak presidency, deferring to "the First Branch", the Congress, in keeping with Whig principles.[105][104]. [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. When was there ever before such a spectacle . Four years later, the party nominated him again, with John Tyler as his running mate, under the campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too". On January 26, 1841, Harrison left Cincinnati for the March 4 inauguration in Washington, D.C. This strategy backfired when Harrison and running mate John Tyler adopted the log cabin and hard cider as campaign symbols. [130][132][133] Harrison's wife Anna was still in Ohio packing to be with her husband in Washington, scheduled for May, when she was informed of Harrison's death. On March 26, a team of doctors was summoned to treat the president for pneumonia, although he also displayed gastrointestinal symptoms. [123], The prevailing theory at the time was that his illness had been caused by the bad weather at his inauguration three weeks earlier. After Clay failed to win the nomination on the first two votes, the delegates nominated Harrison, who one Whig strategist called the most unobjectionable candidate. Burr describes the letter as "replete with wisdom, goodness, and patriotismand the purest of principles". Authors Gugin and St. Clair claim the resignation was forced upon him. "[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. [35][138], Harrison's long-term impact on American politics includes his campaigning methods, which laid the foundation for modern presidential campaign tactics. I bid farewell, if forever, fare thee well. Anna Harrison was in poor health and stayed home; she planned to join her husband in Washington in the spring. Harrison, after leaving his post but while still in the country, wrote his roughly ten-page letter to Bolivar, which is reproduced in full in the Hall and Burr biographies. He attempted to secure the post as Secretary of War under President Monroe in 1817 but lost out to John C. Calhoun. William Henry Harrison had the longest inaugural address at 8,460 words and took one hour and 45 minutes to deliver. [106], Harrison's lengthy speech offered vague clues about what his Presidency would offer to the people of the United States. [32][41], Harrison began his duties on January 10, 1801, at Vincennes, the capital of the Indiana Territory. [50] Harrison was also able to conduct matters unquestioned by the government, as the administration changed hands from Jefferson to Madison. [57] Tenskwatawa convinced the tribes that they would be protected by the Great Spirit and no harm could befall them if they rose up against the settlers. [119] A reporter for the New York Commercial indicated that "the country's people were deeply distressed and many of them in tears. 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 William Henry Harrison was buried near his home in North Bend, Ohio. It took him nearly two hours to read, although his friend and fellow Whig Daniel Webster had edited it for length. The physicians tried remedies ranging from laxatives and opium to a liniment made from Virginia snakeweed. 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. [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. [103] He resisted pressure from other Whigs over partisan patronage. Tyler arrived in Washington on the morning of April 6. In summary, President Harrisons speech mainly discussed how the [119] The next day, Saturday, the doctor was called again, and arrived to find Harrison in bed with a "severe chill", after taking another early morning walk. 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. On April 9, Tyler gave a brief inaugural address. 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. They cast him as a provincial, out-of-touch old man who would rather "sit in his log cabin drinking hard cider" than attend to the administration of the country. [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. -Appeals to pathos and ethos. [84], Local supporters had come to Harrison's relief, by appointing him Clerk of Courts for Hamilton County, where he worked from 1836 until 1840. WebWilliam Henry Harrison's inaugural address lasted nearly two hours, but in the days before electronic media, oratory of such duration was common. This act was the spontaneous burst of ten thousand grateful hearts. He died one month later of pneumonia, believed to Harrison arrived in Washington on February 9, 1841, his sixty-eighth birthday. During the address, the new president wore no coat or hat. 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. "[5], In August 1810, Tecumseh led 400 warriors down the Wabash River to meet with Harrison in Vincennes. After his father dies, William Henry Harrison leaves medical school at what is now the University of Pennsylvania and joins the army. It was the most fleeting presidency ever, lasting one scant month. [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". He did not discuss the tariff and distribution. 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. I wish them carried out. On March 4, 1841, without coat, hat or gloves, Virginia-born William Henry Harrison delivered the longest inauguration speech in United States history. After resolution of an ambiguity in the constitution regarding succession to the powers and duties of the office, Tyler became president. 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. Thus ended resistance in the Northwest. He disputed that the Indian leaders who signed the Treaty of Greenville had the authority to sell lands he believed were held in common by all tribes. As a soldier, farmer, and outdoorsman, Harrison had spent much of his life in bad weather. Harrison rose to the rank of captain and in 1796 became the commander of Fort Washington. Although the Whig Party was in the minority in Illinios, Lincoln agreed with its policies and supported the party's Hoping to deny the Democrats an electoral majority, the newly formed Whig Party picked Harrison as one of the partys four candidates because of his name recognition. Despite being caught in a sudden rainstorm, he did not change his wet clothes upon return to the White House. He said little of the national bank, except he mentioned he was open to paper money, rather than metallic currency. WebWe're going to talk about William Henry Harrison, who's the president who gave us the longest inaugural address it was nearly two hours long and then had the shortest presidency. [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. [100][101] Harrison's concept of the presidency was very limited. William Henry Harrison's inaugural address lasted nearly two hours, but in the days before electronic media, oratory of such duration was common. His son died seven years later; eight of the ten Harrison children would die by 1846, a high toll even by nineteenth-century standards. President John Adams appoints William Henry Harrison governor of the Indiana Territory. Encyclopedia Virginia946 Grady Ave. Ste. [55] In Indiana, the planting of the anti-slavery church led to citizens signing a petition and organizing politically to defeat Harrison's efforts to legalize slavery in the territory.[55]. 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. This followed closely with Harrison's Whig political ideology. [7][8] His Episcopalian father removed him from the college, possibly for religious reasons, and after brief stays at an academy in Southampton County, Virginia, and with his elder brother Benjamin in Richmond, he went to Philadelphia in 1790. 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. [7] As part of the treaty negotiations, the tribes ceded large tracts of land in the west which provided additional acreage for purchase and settlement by the nation. William Henry Harrison was inaugurated as the ninth president of the United States on March 4, 1841, but died thirty-one days later, making him the shortest-serving U.S. 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. [119] A Washington paper reported on Thursday, April 1, that Harrison's health was decidedly better. . [142], Freehling refers to Harrison as "the most dominant figure in the evolution of the Northwest territories into the Upper Midwest today". In 1803, he had lobbied Congress to temporarily suspend for ten years Article VI of the Northwest Ordinance prohibiting slavery in the Indiana Territory. Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term? 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] Harrison asked the judge for permission to marry Anna but was refused, so the couple waited until Symmes left on business. William Henry Harrison is the leading vote getter among four Whig Party candidates in the 1836 presidential election won by Democrat Martin Van Buren of New York. [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. [12] He was initially assigned to Fort Washington, Cincinnati in the Northwest Territory where the army was engaged in the ongoing Northwest Indian War. He named it Fort Meigs in honor of Ohio governor Return J. Meigs Jr. 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. Tyler obliged and was sworn into office on April 6, 1841. 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. He is the youngest man to hold the office to date and the first vice president to assume office after a president's death. [120] Washington society had noticed his uncharacteristic absence from church on Sunday. [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. But what Harrison is probably best known for is his short stint in office: less than a month after taking the Presidency, Harrison died. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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. Harrison, Proclamation 45BConvening an Extra Session of the Congress", "William Henry Harrison: Death of the President", "What Really Killed William Henry Harrison? White ran in the remaining slave states except for South Carolina. Burr references M. Chavalier, who encountered Harrison in Cincinnati at this time, and described Harrison as "poor, with a numerous family, abandoned by the Federal government, yet vigorous with independent thinking". In his address to the nation, Tyler did not give any personal consolation to Harrison's widow Anna or family members. [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. Harrison told friends that he was so busy that he hardly had time to perform the necessary functions of nature., Harrison took daily walks around Washington, sometimes in the rain and cold. WebWilliam Henry Harrison delivered the longest Inaugural address, at 8,445 words, on March 4, 1841a bitterly cold, wet day. [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. [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. [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. He also was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a member of the Continental Congress, and the governor of Virginia (178184). 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. Omissions? "[83] He also cultivated corn and established a distillery to produce whiskey, but closed it after he became disturbed by the effects of alcohol on its consumers. [59] Harrison said that the individual tribes were the owners of the land and could sell it as they wished. Clair. 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! View this answer. [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". [80] He arrived in Bogot on December 22, 1828, and found the condition of Colombia saddening. The president was William Henry Harrison, who had been sworn in on March 4, 1841. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and served from October 1816, to March 3, 1819, when he was elected to the Ohio Senate (18191821). 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. The Whigs saw in Harrison a born southerner and war hero, who would contrast well with the aloof, uncaring, and aristocratic Van Buren. [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 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. Because her father objected to the match, the couple married in secret. He took the oath of office on Thursday, March 4, 1841, a cold and wet day. [10] With the influence of his father's friend, Governor Henry Lee III, he embarked upon a military career. 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. A few months after the War of 1812 broke out with Great Britain, Harrison was made a brigadier general and placed in command of all federal forces in the Northwest Territory. [103] He braved the chilly weather and chose not to wear an overcoat or a hat, rode on horseback to the grand ceremony, and then delivered the longest inaugural address in American history[103] at 8,445 words. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/william-henry-harrison-1773-1841 [120] Anna was still in Ohio packing for the trip to Washington when she learned of her loss. After taking the presidential oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, he gave a speech inside the Senate [93] Van Buren won the election with 170 electoral votes. [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]. It was a pivotal American victory in the war, and Harrison was celebrated as the hero of the Battle of the Thames. "[110] The dispute escalated when Harrison named as Secretary of State Daniel Webster, Clay's arch-rival for control of the Whig Party. Harrison died just past midnight on the morning of April 4, 1841, thirty-two days after being inaugurated. [85] Chevalier remarked, "His friends back east talk of making him President, while here we make him clerk of an inferior court. He won recognition for his bravery during the Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794). 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. [29], Harrison had many friends in the eastern aristocracy and quickly gained a reputation among them as a frontier leader. [3] His father was a Virginia planter, who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress (17741777) and who signed the Declaration of Independence. At the same time, the Shawnee chief Tecumseh was leading an intertribal resistance to white encroachment on Native American lands. 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. [43], In 1805, Harrison built a plantation-style home near Vincennes that he named Grouseland, in tribute to the birds on the property. [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. Never, the Cleveland Advertiser wrote, calling the precedent a bad one.. The traditional story is that his long inaugural speech led to a fatal pneumonia. [120] Harrison was then administered laudanum, opium, and camphor, along with wine and brandy. [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. WebOn March 4, 1841, President William Henry Harrison gave the longest inaugural speech in American history. 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. [131][a] Tyler and his family moved into the White House one week after Harrison's funeral, before Harrison's 30 day time of mourning was over. Harrison also appeared to give Webster's supporters some highly coveted patronage positions. William Henry Harrison received a classical education at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, where he was a student from 1787 to 1790. [151] Numerous counties and towns also bear his name. In 1798 Pres. Before leaving, Tecumseh informed Harrison that he would seek an alliance with the British if the Fort Wayne Treaty was not nullified. The campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too" became one of the most famous in American politics. In 1800, Adams appointed Harrison governor of the new Indiana Territory, the first territory to be carved from the Northwest Territory. [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. [134], Harrison's cabinet insisted that Tyler was "Vice President acting as President". [5] A Shawnee friendly to Harrison cocked his pistol from the sidelines to alert Harrison that Tecumseh's speech was leading to trouble, and some witnesses reported that Tecumseh was encouraging the warriors to kill Harrison. Encyclopedia Virginia, Virginia Humanities. 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. His oldest son, Benjamin Harrison VI, took over Berkeley. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The following year Harrison was sent to Congress as a territorial delegate. WebWilliam Henry Harrison delivered the longest Inaugural address, at 8,445 words, on March 4, 1841a bitterly cold, wet day. 9 minutes. Expand. The following year Harrisons mother died. [144], Harrison's son John Scott Harrison represented Ohio in the House of Representatives between 1853 and 1857. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. 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. [127] Solomon Northup gave an account of the procession in Twelve Years a Slave: The next day there was a great pageant in Washington. [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. "[89], Harrison was the western Whig candidate for president in 1836, one of four regional Whig party candidates. His critics called him His Accidency. Harrisons body lay in state for two days in the East Room of the White House. Harrison died on April 4, 1841, making him the first U.S. president to die in office, and was buried in the William Henry Harrison tomb in North Bend, Ohio. "[115], Harrison's only other official decision of consequence was whether to call Congress into a special session. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). They were bearing the dead body of Harrison to the grave. [133], Harrison's death called attention to an ambiguity in Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 of the Constitution regarding succession to the presidency. 01/17/2012 Book Details The president who served the shortest termjust a single monthbut whose victorious election campaign rewrote the rules for candidates seeking America's highest office William Henry Harrison died just thirty-one days after taking the oath of office in 1841. When he was fourteen, he was sent to Hampden-Sydney College, where he was educated in the classics. 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. "[119], In the evening of Saturday, April 3, Harrison developed severe diarrhea and became delirious, and at 8:30p.m. he uttered his last words, to his attending doctor, assumed to be for Vice President John Tyler:[119] "Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the government. Contemporary presidents typically give speeches in the 2,000-3,000-word range. 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. A rush was made to unharness the animals when the General spoke to several of them and endeavored to prevent it; but the team was soon unmanageable, and it became necessary to take them off. 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. Tyler had been visiting family in Williamsburg. Harrison wrote at the time, "we might look forward to a day when a North American sun would not look down upon a slave. [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. [86], About this time, he met abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor George DeBaptiste who lived in nearby Madison, and the two became friends. WebAn illustrated chronology of key events in the life of William Henry Harrison (1773-1841), ninth president of the United States. Exactly one month after taking the oath of office, Harrison was dead. [5][77] He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1824, and was an Ohio presidential elector in 1820 for James Monroe[78] and for Henry Clay in 1824. [34][35] He had no authority to vote on legislative bills, but he was permitted to serve on a committee, to submit legislation, and to engage in debate.