William Henry Harrison was the oldest president to be elected until Ronald Reagan, the first president to die in office, and served for only one month. He was a pro-settler, anti-Indian governor and participated in the Battle of Tippecanoe. He ran for president twice, winning in 1840.
William Henry Harrison was the ninth president of the United States and is perhaps best known for setting a few records during his presidential career. He was the oldest president to be elected until the 1980s, when the election of Ronald Reagan at age 69 broke Harrison’s one-year record. He was also the first president to die in office, developing pneumonia from complications of a cold virus. He served as president for just one month.
Because of his short presidential term, William Henry Harrison is best known for his personal history before his election in 1840. He was initially a citizen of England, the last president to have lived through the transition from English rule to American control. His father was a well-known Virginia politician who was very active in this change. Benjamin Harris signed the Declaration of Independence and was a delegate to the Continental Congress.
William Henry Harrison originally intended to be a physician, but instead joined the United States Army after his father’s death, when he was in desperate need of money and had little to continue his medical education. His position towards Native Americans is clearly defined: they were enemies of the United States. From this position, Harrison was vehement in defeating them. Later, when he served as governor for the newly created Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison would continue to promote a pro-settler, anti-Indian agenda, in the hope that settler expansion would not meet with opposition from the Native Americans.
Perhaps one of William Henry Harrison’s most memorable actions was his participation in the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe. The attack here was against a federation of Native Americans led by Tecumseh, a leader of the Shawnee Indians, and briefly disorganized the Indian federation . In 1812, William Henry Harrison was an active participant in the initiation of the War of 1812 and in 1813 defeated Tecumseh, who was supported by combined British/Indian force.
The future ninth president resigned while the War of 1812 still raged, causing some of his political opponents to question his courage and commitment. William Henry Harrison then returned to private life, and soon to political life. He was a House Representative from Ohio from 1816 to 1819 and a member of the Ohio State Senate from 1819 to 1821. As a Representative from Ohio, he joined the United States Senate in 1824 and served four years.
William Henry Harrison ran for president twice, losing in 1836 to Marin Van Buren and winning in 1840. His election energized the Whig party, of which Harrison was an avid member. They were an offshoot of the Republican Party, especially interested in empowering Congress and weakening the executive branch of the United States. Harrison’s successor, and vice president, John Tyler was also a Whig, but was expelled from the party after he succeeded Harrison as president.
Our 23rd president, Benjamin Harrison, is not to be confused with William Henry Harrison, but the two were related. Benjamin Harrison was William’s nephew. Unlike William Henry Harrison who served only a tenth of his term as president due to his untimely death, President Benjamin Harrison was able to serve four years as president.
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