[66] When no second attack came, the Shawnee defeat had become more certain. On July 7, 1841, Harrison was buried in the family tomb in North Bend. [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". His wife, too, expressed similar misgivings. 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. William Henry Harrison Just three weeks after his inauguration, Harrison fell ill and died days later. [120] Harrison was then administered laudanum, opium, and camphor, along with wine and brandy. [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. [119] A team of doctors was called in Monday, March 29, and they confirmed right lower lobe pneumonia. [133], Harrison's death called attention to an ambiguity in Article II, Section 1, Clause 6 of the Constitution regarding succession to the presidency. He ran a successful horse-breeding enterprise that won him acclaim throughout the Northwest Territory. [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. Before leaving, Tecumseh informed Harrison that he would seek an alliance with the British if the Fort Wayne Treaty was not nullified. It was a cold and windy day, but Harrison didnt wear a coat or hat. Harrison also appeared to give Webster's supporters some highly coveted patronage positions. [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. During the address, the new Harrison drew his sword, and Tecumseh's warriors backed down when the officers presented their firearms in his defense. The house was his military headquarters from 1813 to 1814. [151] Numerous counties and towns also bear his name. But Matt he has the golden plate, and he's a little squirt: wirt-wirt! William Henry Harrison's inaugural address lasted nearly two hours, but in the days before electronic media, oratory of such duration was common. Congress. 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. 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. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, Notice of Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity. 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. ", "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. [45] Harrison founded a university at Vincennes in 1801, which was incorporated as Vincennes University on November 29, 1806. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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). The Whig Ladies of Alexandria presented a pro-Harrison banner to the local Tippecanoe club, which carried it in a Harrison campaign parade. He took the oath of office on Thursday, March 4, 1841, a cold and wet day. It is the only known speech that Lincoln gave in Kentucky. [5], Harrison was tutored at home until age 14 when he attended HampdenSydney College, a Presbyterian college in Virginia. Americas Shortest-Serving President WebConvention Speeches (81) Debates (171) Party Platforms (103) Transition Documents (552) Congressional (29) William Henry Harrison. University of Kentucky, Copyright 2023. Later, he led a military force against Tecumseh's confederacy at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, where he earned the nickname "Old Tippecanoe". [70] He received orders to retake Detroit and boost morale, but he initially held back, unwilling to press the war northward. [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 named his cabinet and called for Congress to return on May 31 for a special session. He also was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a member of the Continental Congress, and the governor of Virginia (178184). He then studied medicine in Richmond, Virginia, and in Philadelphia with Benjamin Rush. [103] He resisted pressure from other Whigs over partisan patronage. With his homespun image in mind, he left his silk hat at home and wore his farmers clothes. View this answer. William Henry Harrison is elected the ninth president of the United States, defeating President Martin Van Buren. [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. [124] Jane McHugh and Philip A. Mackowiak did an analysis in Clinical Infectious Diseases (2014), examining Miller's notes and records showing that the White House water supply was downstream of public sewage, and they concluded that he likely died of septic shock due to "enteric fever" (typhoid or paratyphoid fever).[125][126]. As a last resort, a number of Native American "remedies" were tried, including one involving the use of live snakes. President Van Buren hosted his successor at a White House dinner on February 13. . 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 born into the Harrison family of Virginia at their homestead, Berkeley Plantation. Harrison built a brick governors mansion at the territorial capital of Vincennes on the Wabash River that he named Grouseland because he hunted grouse in the area. 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. 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. WebCreate your account. Miller also applied heated cups to the president's skin to enhance blood flow. He was also the first United States president to die in office, and a brief constitutional crisis resulted as presidential succession was not then fully defined in the United States Constitution. Anna never moved into the White House. 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. The session would have begun on May 31 as scheduled if Harrison had lived. [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. 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. The following year he was made a lieutenant and subsequently served as an aide-de-camp to Gen. Anthony Wayne, who was engaged in a struggle against the Northwest Indian Confederation over the westward encroachment of white settlers. 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. [56] After 1809, the Indiana legislature assumed more authority and the territory advanced toward statehood. They move into a log cabin on the Ohio River near Cincinnati. William Henry Harrison (1773-1841), Americas ninth president, served just one month in office before dying of pneumonia. 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. 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. An opposition newspaper writer portrayed him as a feeble, elderly man: Give him a barrel of hard cider, and settle a pension of two thousand a year on him, and take my word for it, he will sit the remainder of his days in his log cabin. The Whigs made this image of Harrison as a cabin-dwelling, cider-drinking common man the centerpiece of his campaigneven though he descended from the Virginia elite, lived in a mansion, and didnt drink hard cideras a contrast to the cosmopolitan Van Buren. 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.. Harrison's wife, Anna, was too ill to travel While serving in this capacity, he devised a plan for distributing public lands to settlers and also assisted in the division of the Northwest Territory. William Henry Harrison Tomb: Our shortest serving president - See 56 traveler reviews, 85 candid photos, and great deals for North Bend, OH, at Tripadvisor. [21], Anna was frequently in poor health during the marriage, primarily because of her many pregnancies, yet she outlived William by 23 years, dying on February 25, 1864, at 88. William Henry Harrison was the 9th president of the United States, a term that lasted barely a month. Life Facts. 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? He won the Electoral College by a landslide: 234 electoral votes to 60 for Van Buren. He is the first president-elect to arrive in the capital by train. [1] This was a prominent political family of English descent whose ancestors had been in Virginia since the 1630s;[2] he became the last American president not born as an American citizen. [117][118], Harrison had been physically worn down by many persistent office seekers and a demanding social schedule. INAUGURAL ADDRESS When he was fourteen, he was sent to Hampden-Sydney College, where he was educated in the classics. [86], About this time, he met abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor George DeBaptiste who lived in nearby Madison, and the two became friends. [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. As governor, he conducted treaty negotiations with Indian tribes that resulted in the cession of millions of acres of territory. She was less-than-happy about the prospect. Early on the morning of November 7, 1811, the Indians attacked Harrisons camp, but his troops prevailed and burned down Prophetstown. William Henry Harrison had the longest inaugural address at 8,460 words and took one hour and 45 minutes to deliver. WebTranscript. Although the Whig Party was in the minority in Illinios, Lincoln agreed with its policies and supported the party's William Henry Harrison marries Anna Tuthill Symmes in North Bend, Ohio. [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. [113] Another anecdote of the time recounted that the halls were so full one afternoon that in order to get from one room to the next, Harrison had to be helped out a window, walked the length of the White House exterior, and then helped in through another window. 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. But Harrison, who had mounting debts, kept seeking higher-paying federal jobs. WebWilliam Henry Harrison was the first Whig to enter office, and the first President to die in office. [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". [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. "[115], Harrison's only other official decision of consequence was whether to call Congress into a special session. William Henry Harrison Great song, horrible death 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. "[89], Harrison was the western Whig candidate for president in 1836, one of four regional Whig party candidates. [113] Conflicting and unconfirmed newspaper reports were based on leaks by people with contacts in the White House. [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. Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term? He stepped into the barouche but the crowd pressed forward so impetuously, that the horses became frightened and reared frequently. 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. Tecumseh and the War of [91] In any case the plan, if there was one, failed. Could words have killed our ninth president? They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Inaugural Address Length - Presidents of the United States The others were Daniel Webster, Hugh L. White, and Willie P. Mangum. 9 minutes. [143] Harrison, age 68 at the time of his inauguration, was the oldest person to assume the U.S. presidency, a distinction he held until 1981, when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated at age 69. In 1799, he was elected as the territory's non-voting delegate in the United States House of Representatives. William Henry Harrison (17731841) - Encyclopedia Virginia Many of the Sauk resented the loss of lands, especially their leader Black Hawk. [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. [46] The territorial capital was eventually moved to Corydon in 1813, and Harrison built a second home at nearby Harrison Valley. 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. 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. 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. WebCreate your account. Harrison was against devising financial schemes for the nation, rather he left that wholly to Congress. Emeritus Professor of Humanities [120] Anna was still in Ohio packing for the trip to Washington when she learned of her loss. Nebo, which is now the William Henry Harrison Tomb State Memorial. 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. Inauguration of William Henry Harrison - Wikipedia "[5] Harrison was a signatory of the Treaty of Greenville (1795), as witness to Wayne, the principal negotiator for the U.S.[12] Under the terms of the treaty, a coalition of Indians ceded a portion of their lands to the federal government, opening two-thirds of Ohio to settlement. This was 3,000 words more than Taft 's which The physicians tried remedies ranging from laxatives and opium to a liniment made from Virginia snakeweed. On December 4, 1839, the Whigs opened their first convention in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to choose a nominee for the 1840 presidential race. How Long? 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. He condemned the financial excesses of the prior administration and pledged not to interfere with congressional financial policy. This act was the spontaneous burst of ten thousand grateful hearts. [83], In May of 1817, Harrison served as one of the founding vestry members of the Episcopal congregation, Christ Church in downtown Cincinnati (now Christ Church Cathedral). "[110] The dispute escalated when Harrison named as Secretary of State Daniel Webster, Clay's arch-rival for control of the Whig Party. William Henry Harrison Inaugural Speech Analysis 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. In the end, Harrison came in second, and carried nine of the twenty-six states in the Union. He was also passed over for a diplomatic post to Russia. Omissions? William Henry Harrison Tecumseh was killed in the battle, ending hopes of an Indian confederacy that could thwart westward expansion. William Henry Harrison 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. [127] Solomon Northup gave an account of the procession in Twelve Years a Slave: The next day there was a great pageant in Washington. [105] The address began with Harrison's sincere regard for the trust being placed in him: However strong may be my present purpose to realize the expectations of a magnanimous and confiding people, I too well understand the dangerous temptations to which I shall be exposed from the magnitude of the power which it has been the pleasure of the people to commit to my hands not to place my chief confidence upon the aid of that Almighty Power which has hitherto protected me and enabled me to bring to favorable issues other important but still greatly inferior trusts heretofore confided to me by my country. WebHistorical Marker #1329 in Union County identifies the location of Abraham Lincoln's 1840 speech on behalf of Whig presidential candidate William Henry Harrison. But his tenure was short. Voter turnout shot to a spectacular 80%, 20 points higher than the previous election. 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. All in all, Harrison committed to a weak presidency, deferring to "the First Branch", the Congress, in keeping with Whig principles.[105][104]. His friends included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry. 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. [32] He campaigned to encourage further migration to the territory, which eventually led to statehood. It was the most fleeting presidency ever, lasting one scant month. Miller applied mustard plaster to his stomach and gave him a mild laxative, and he felt better that afternoon. On April 9, Tyler gave a brief inaugural address. [111], Clay was not the only one who hoped to benefit from Harrison's election. 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." Tenskwatawa and his forces fled to Canada, and their campaign to unite the tribes of the region to reject assimilation failed. [5] He was elected to the Ohio State Senate in 1819 and served until 1821, having lost the election for Ohio governor in 1820. William Henry Harrison becomes the commander of Fort Washington. [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. The Inaugural Address - White House Historical Association He was also the first United States president to die in office, and a brief constitutional crisis [123], The prevailing theory at the time was that his illness had been caused by the bad weather at his inauguration three weeks earlier. William Henry Harrison WebOn March 4, 1841, President William Henry Harrison gave the longest inaugural speech in American history. He named it Fort Meigs in honor of Ohio governor Return J. Meigs Jr. 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.