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The American Presidents #9
William Henry Harrison
The president who served the shortest term—just a single month—but 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. Today he is a curiosity in American history, but as Gail Collins shows in this entertaining and revelatory biography, he and his career are worth a closer look. The son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Harrison was a celebrated general whose exploits at the Battle of Tippecanoe and in the War of 1812 propelled him into politics, and in time he became a leader of the new Whig Party, alongside Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. But it was his presidential campaign of 1840 that made an indelible mark on American political history.
Collins takes us back to that pivotal year, when Harrison's "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign transformed the way candidates pursued the presidency. It was the first campaign that featured mass rallies, personal appearances by the candidate, and catchy campaign slogans like "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too." Harrison's victory marked the coming-of-age of a new political system, and its impact is still felt in American politics today. It may have been only a one-month administration, but we're still feeling the effects.
William Henry Harrison died just thirty-one days after taking the oath of office in 1841. Today he is a curiosity in American history, but as Gail Collins shows in this entertaining and revelatory biography, he and his career are worth a closer look. The son of a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Harrison was a celebrated general whose exploits at the Battle of Tippecanoe and in the War of 1812 propelled him into politics, and in time he became a leader of the new Whig Party, alongside Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. But it was his presidential campaign of 1840 that made an indelible mark on American political history.
Collins takes us back to that pivotal year, when Harrison's "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign transformed the way candidates pursued the presidency. It was the first campaign that featured mass rallies, personal appearances by the candidate, and catchy campaign slogans like "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too." Harrison's victory marked the coming-of-age of a new political system, and its impact is still felt in American politics today. It may have been only a one-month administration, but we're still feeling the effects.
153 pages, Hardcover
First published January 17, 2012
67 people are currently reading
965 people want to read
About the author
Gail Collins
18 books198 followersGail Collins was the Editorial Page Editor of The New York Times from 2001 to January 1, 2007. She was the first woman Editorial Page Editor at the Times.
Born as Gail Gleason, Collins has a degree in journalism from Marquette University and an M.A. in government from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Beyond her work as a journalist, Collins has published several books; Scorpion Tongues: Gossip, Celebrity and American Politics, America's Woman: Four Hundred Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, and The Millennium Book which she co-authored with her husband Dan Collins.
She was also a journalism instructor at Southern Connecticut State University.
She is married to Dan Collins of CBS.
Born as Gail Gleason, Collins has a degree in journalism from Marquette University and an M.A. in government from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Beyond her work as a journalist, Collins has published several books; Scorpion Tongues: Gossip, Celebrity and American Politics, America's Woman: Four Hundred Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, and The Millennium Book which she co-authored with her husband Dan Collins.
She was also a journalism instructor at Southern Connecticut State University.
She is married to Dan Collins of CBS.
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October 16, 2019
What's the cause of this commotion,I suppose it was inevitable that William Henry Harrison, ninth President of the United States, would be best known for his campaign: after all, since he died after 31 days in office—the shortest tenure of any president—it was unlikely that his single presiding moon, however eventful, would have attracted much notice from historians.
Motion, motion,
Our country through?
It is the ball a-rolling on
For Tippecanoe and Tyler too.
For Tippecanoe and Tyler too.
And with them we'll beat little Van,
Van, Van,
Van is a used up man.
And with them we’ll beat little Van.
Still, that campaign of 1840 was really something. It was the first modern, truly memorable campaign, with a first-class presidential nickname (“Old Tippecanoe”), a catchy campaign slogan and campaign song (“Tippecanoe and Tyler too!”) campaign songbooks, easily identifiable campaign icons (a log cabin, a jug of hard cider), stupid campaign stunts (the “rolling on”—see song above—of giant balls down city streets and along country roads from city to city), and a suitably insulting sobriquet for their feckless opponent (“Little Van, The Used Up Man”). Add to this the already well-established campaign traditions of public drunkenness and spontaneous fistfights, and America had herself a real humdinger of a campaign.
What made it even better—or worse, depending on your viewpoint—is that the whole campaign was based on a bunch of gussied-up “half truths.” Or “lies”, to use the word my father taught me at home.
You see, the Whigs, who wished to elect Harrison president, hated Jacksonian Democracy but knew that the average American voter still loved “Old Hickory,” the beloved Indian-killer and 1812 war hero from the West, Andrew Jackson. Fortunately for them, though, Jackson was not running for president. Instead it was Andy’s former vice-president, the diminutive, dandified Martin Van Buren—political boss of New York City and the urban northeast—whom they had to defeat.
They decided what they needed was another Indian-killer, another war hero from the West to beat the effete, citified Van Buren, and the man they picked was William Henry Harrison. He was getting on in years (67, to be exact) and, in spite of having been a congressman, a senator, and the territorial governor of Indiana, he had not been prosperous or successful in his political career. (His current position was Clerk of Courts of Hamilton County, Ohio.) But so what? He sure wasn’t rich, so he must be honest, and he was certainly a man from the West, the land of humble beginnings and hard cider. Besides, he lived in a log cabin in North Bend, Ohio! Now what could be more humble than that? (Ironically, Martin Van Buren was the man of real humble beginnings. His father owned a small tavern in the town of Kinderhook, New York.)
Oh, about that “log cabin”, the one at North Bend: it wasn’t a log cabin at all, really, but a rambling clapboard structure big enough to house Harrison’s brood of ten children. True, it began as a log cabin, but the log part had long since been covered over. (You could still see some of the logs, though, if you looked peeked into a closet upstairs.)
What the campaign biographies failed to mention, however, was that Harrison, though a landless younger son, was born in an elegant mansion to a fine old Virginia family, and that his father Benjamin Harrison was a Founding Father and one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence. But this was a campaign for the common man, about log cabins and hard cider. No need to mention something like that.
Still, Harrison was a certified Indian-killer. Granted, he didn’t personally kill Tecumseh himself (ironically, it was William Mentor Johnson, Van Buren’s current vice-president, who may have actually killed him), but “The Battle of the Thames”, where Tecumseh died, was Harrison’s great victory. “The Battle of Tippecanoe,” the earlier battler with Tecumseh where the US army suffered great casualties, was a more dubious success for Harrison than “The Battle of the Thames,” but then, “Old Tippecanoe” was a heck of a nickname, and they sure weren’t going to call their candidate “Old Thames.” (Besides, “Old Buckeye," their first choice for a nickname, had already fallen flat.)
So now the Whigs had their candidate, his story, and his nickname, and soon the energetic, boisterous campaign of “Tippecanoe,” Log Cabins and Hard Cider began. And old man Harrison campaigned vigorously too, perhaps more than any presidential candidate before him. It was an exhausting experience, and as Gail Collins suggests—in her excellent, highly recommended short biography—it may have been the campaign itself, more than the two hour inaugural speech or the inclement weather, that actually finished off William Henry Harrison, the once successful territorial governor of Indiana and unsung hero of “The Thames.”
August 10, 2016
Book ten of my "read one book about every president" series. We've entered the dark days of my challenge. Up until now, I've stuck with famous presidents, admired presidents, men with their pictures on money and the sides of mountains. While I haven't yet run out of those, I figured I'd better do a non-famous one now or else I'd have a long slog ahead of me.
That brings us to President William Henry Harrison, a man famous for all the wrong reasons. Who is this guy? I guarantee you've heard of him. You remember, the guy to gave a long inauguration speech in the rain, got sick and died after being president for a month? Yea, that guy! What an idiot!
That was the extent of my knowledge of this poor dum-dum before this book. Here is a short list of the records Harrison holds that I learned about in this book:
- First President to die in office
- Shortest term of any President
- His wife was the only first lady to have never lived in the White House after it was constructed
Not exactly a list to be proud of but there you go.
The most interesting aspect of this book was the descriptions of the successful Presidential campaign he ran against Martin Van Buren (You: Who? Me: Sideburns guy. You: Okay, thanks). Harrison was a Whig and they were sick and tired of Andrew Jackson and his cronies being in power so they basically invented the modern political campaign to get his protege out of office.
They used some "facts" about Harrison's life and gave them a healthy dose of pizazz! For example, he was a military general at the Battle of Tippacanoe. His forces won...technically. Both sides took equal amounts of casualties but he just happened to have more guys. Plus, a strategic mistake on Harrison's part probably led to most of the deaths. (Oh, yea and the people he was fighting? Native Americans and this was one of many times when he slaughtered the hell out of them. Good times...jerk.) The Whigs took this battle and claimed that Harrison was an amazing war hero. In fact his nickname became "Tippecanoe."
Another example, at some point in his life, he lived in a house that was made, at least in part, of logs. This was twisted that he was a rugged frontierman who was born in a log cabin and could chop trees down with this bare hands. (I made up that last part, but you get the idea.)
There does not appear to be a lot of hypotheticals about what Harrison would have done as President if he hasn't died. He had previously been a weak leader with a tendency to flip flop on slavery so everything would have probably still been FUBAR until Lincoln showed up anyway.
Still, an interesting and short read. Gail Collins brought unexpected humor and even sarcasm to the proceedings that was much appreciated.
That brings us to President William Henry Harrison, a man famous for all the wrong reasons. Who is this guy? I guarantee you've heard of him. You remember, the guy to gave a long inauguration speech in the rain, got sick and died after being president for a month? Yea, that guy! What an idiot!
That was the extent of my knowledge of this poor dum-dum before this book. Here is a short list of the records Harrison holds that I learned about in this book:
- First President to die in office
- Shortest term of any President
- His wife was the only first lady to have never lived in the White House after it was constructed
Not exactly a list to be proud of but there you go.
The most interesting aspect of this book was the descriptions of the successful Presidential campaign he ran against Martin Van Buren (You: Who? Me: Sideburns guy. You: Okay, thanks). Harrison was a Whig and they were sick and tired of Andrew Jackson and his cronies being in power so they basically invented the modern political campaign to get his protege out of office.
They used some "facts" about Harrison's life and gave them a healthy dose of pizazz! For example, he was a military general at the Battle of Tippacanoe. His forces won...technically. Both sides took equal amounts of casualties but he just happened to have more guys. Plus, a strategic mistake on Harrison's part probably led to most of the deaths. (Oh, yea and the people he was fighting? Native Americans and this was one of many times when he slaughtered the hell out of them. Good times...jerk.) The Whigs took this battle and claimed that Harrison was an amazing war hero. In fact his nickname became "Tippecanoe."
Another example, at some point in his life, he lived in a house that was made, at least in part, of logs. This was twisted that he was a rugged frontierman who was born in a log cabin and could chop trees down with this bare hands. (I made up that last part, but you get the idea.)
There does not appear to be a lot of hypotheticals about what Harrison would have done as President if he hasn't died. He had previously been a weak leader with a tendency to flip flop on slavery so everything would have probably still been FUBAR until Lincoln showed up anyway.
Still, an interesting and short read. Gail Collins brought unexpected humor and even sarcasm to the proceedings that was much appreciated.
May 31, 2024
A Thirty-One Day Presidency
When the American Presidents Series began, the editors had no plans to include a short volume on the ninth president, William Henry Harrison (1773 -- 1841). Harrison, who became president at age 68, served only 31 days before his death. The change in plans came from an unlikely source. Gail Collins, the former editorial page editor for the New York Times and the author of several books about the changing status of American women, volunteered to write a biography of Harrison for the series. Collins was interested in Harrison because of her father's connection to the man. In the 1960's, her father supervised a crew of the local electric company that demolished a large former Harrison residence to make way for a new electric plant. Collins undertook researching and writing her Harrison book, she says, because "I felt I owed him".
Harrison biographers focus of necessity on his earlier life due to his uneventful thirty-one day presidency. I became interested in Collins' book after reading a recent and longer study, "The Gods of Prophetstown: The Battle of Tippecanoe and the Holy War for the American Frontier" (2012), by the Auburn University historian, Adam Jortner. Jortner's somewhat unfocused book is a double biography of Harrison and a Shawnee religious leader known as Tenskwatawa, the older brother of the more famous Tecumseh. Jortner's book explores Harrison's life through the Battle of Tippecanoe and the War of 1812. I found it valuable to compare Collin's portrayal of Harrison with the picture that emerges from Jortner.
Born to an aristocratic Virginia family, Harrison used his family connections to become an Army officer and to rise to the position of Governor of the Indiana Terrritory 1n 1800. In that capacity, Harrison negotiated large cessions of land from the Indian tribes at pennies per acre. Some of the Indians resisted including Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief. His older brother. Tenskwatawa, claimed to have a prophetic vision in which he was told to lead the Indians in an effort to unite, give up alcohol, and preserve their lands. Both Jortner's and Collins' books recount a pivotal incident in which Harrison taunted Tenskwatawa. If you are a prophet, Harrison said, prove it by making the sun stand still.
Unfortunately for Harrison, he issued his challenge on the eve of a solar eclipse. Almanacs of the day precisely predicted the time and day of the eclipse, but Harrison seemed unaware. Tenskwatawa apparently knew about the almanacs and seized his chance. At the appropriate time, he went outside in the presence of his followers and "stopped" the sun. Collins treats this event briefly and sensibly, while it becomes the major incident underlying Jortner's study.
Collins explores Harrison's controversial tenure as the Indiana governor and his even more controversial role in the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe which ultimately won him the presidency. In the War of 1812, which followed the Battle of Tippecanoe, Harrison did better as a general. Following the War of 1812, Harrison spent his time importuning for various political jobs to support his large estate and family. He served in Congress and as envoy to Columbia before Andrew Jackson unceremoniously dumped him.
In 1836, Harrison ran for president as the northern candidate of the badly split Whig party and made a respectable showing in defeat. In 1840, he secured the nomination of the momentarily united Whigs, wresting the nomination from perennial Whig candidate Henry Clay. Collins describes a campaign notable for its vacuity. Harrison became the first presidential candidate to campaign aggressively and to meet and mingle with a broad constituency. He then became the first American president to die in office.
While Jortner's book emphasizes Harrison's harshness as Indiana governor, his support of slavery, his unfair Indian treaties, and his sham victory at Tippecanoe, Collins is kinder to her subject. She sees Harrison as an early moderate who was friendly, educated, and willing to compromise. She has a more positive view of Harrison than does Jortner. In general, the American Presidents series emphasizes the virtues of its subjects rather than their deficiencies. Collins wisely avoids speculating on what Harrison might have done as president if he had lived.
Collins has written a readable short book which offers a good overview of a president whose life will be unfamiliar to most Americans. She offers a portrayal as well of frontier life in the Indiana territory, the Battle of Tippecanoe, and presidential campaigning in early America. For all the brevity of Harrison's presidency, this book is a good addition to the American Presidents series.
Robin Friedman
When the American Presidents Series began, the editors had no plans to include a short volume on the ninth president, William Henry Harrison (1773 -- 1841). Harrison, who became president at age 68, served only 31 days before his death. The change in plans came from an unlikely source. Gail Collins, the former editorial page editor for the New York Times and the author of several books about the changing status of American women, volunteered to write a biography of Harrison for the series. Collins was interested in Harrison because of her father's connection to the man. In the 1960's, her father supervised a crew of the local electric company that demolished a large former Harrison residence to make way for a new electric plant. Collins undertook researching and writing her Harrison book, she says, because "I felt I owed him".
Harrison biographers focus of necessity on his earlier life due to his uneventful thirty-one day presidency. I became interested in Collins' book after reading a recent and longer study, "The Gods of Prophetstown: The Battle of Tippecanoe and the Holy War for the American Frontier" (2012), by the Auburn University historian, Adam Jortner. Jortner's somewhat unfocused book is a double biography of Harrison and a Shawnee religious leader known as Tenskwatawa, the older brother of the more famous Tecumseh. Jortner's book explores Harrison's life through the Battle of Tippecanoe and the War of 1812. I found it valuable to compare Collin's portrayal of Harrison with the picture that emerges from Jortner.
Born to an aristocratic Virginia family, Harrison used his family connections to become an Army officer and to rise to the position of Governor of the Indiana Terrritory 1n 1800. In that capacity, Harrison negotiated large cessions of land from the Indian tribes at pennies per acre. Some of the Indians resisted including Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief. His older brother. Tenskwatawa, claimed to have a prophetic vision in which he was told to lead the Indians in an effort to unite, give up alcohol, and preserve their lands. Both Jortner's and Collins' books recount a pivotal incident in which Harrison taunted Tenskwatawa. If you are a prophet, Harrison said, prove it by making the sun stand still.
Unfortunately for Harrison, he issued his challenge on the eve of a solar eclipse. Almanacs of the day precisely predicted the time and day of the eclipse, but Harrison seemed unaware. Tenskwatawa apparently knew about the almanacs and seized his chance. At the appropriate time, he went outside in the presence of his followers and "stopped" the sun. Collins treats this event briefly and sensibly, while it becomes the major incident underlying Jortner's study.
Collins explores Harrison's controversial tenure as the Indiana governor and his even more controversial role in the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe which ultimately won him the presidency. In the War of 1812, which followed the Battle of Tippecanoe, Harrison did better as a general. Following the War of 1812, Harrison spent his time importuning for various political jobs to support his large estate and family. He served in Congress and as envoy to Columbia before Andrew Jackson unceremoniously dumped him.
In 1836, Harrison ran for president as the northern candidate of the badly split Whig party and made a respectable showing in defeat. In 1840, he secured the nomination of the momentarily united Whigs, wresting the nomination from perennial Whig candidate Henry Clay. Collins describes a campaign notable for its vacuity. Harrison became the first presidential candidate to campaign aggressively and to meet and mingle with a broad constituency. He then became the first American president to die in office.
While Jortner's book emphasizes Harrison's harshness as Indiana governor, his support of slavery, his unfair Indian treaties, and his sham victory at Tippecanoe, Collins is kinder to her subject. She sees Harrison as an early moderate who was friendly, educated, and willing to compromise. She has a more positive view of Harrison than does Jortner. In general, the American Presidents series emphasizes the virtues of its subjects rather than their deficiencies. Collins wisely avoids speculating on what Harrison might have done as president if he had lived.
Collins has written a readable short book which offers a good overview of a president whose life will be unfamiliar to most Americans. She offers a portrayal as well of frontier life in the Indiana territory, the Battle of Tippecanoe, and presidential campaigning in early America. For all the brevity of Harrison's presidency, this book is a good addition to the American Presidents series.
Robin Friedman
February 3, 2019
Gail Collins stepped up to a challenge when she took on writing a biography for William Henry Harrison. As a president, Harrison was known most for having the shortest tenure among any official president (David Rice Atchison does not count) with 31 days and was the first president to die in office. At the age of 68, he was also the oldest president at his inauguration, which would be surpassed in 1981 by Ronald Reagan (age 69) and then beaten again in 2017 by Donald Trump (age 70). Harrison also gave the longest inaugural address at over 8,400 words, which due to weather conditions and not having an overcoat and just carrying his hat, could have contributed to his death. However, this book did a good job conveying the 9th president of the United States beyond his short administration and did so in an accessible way.
William Henry Harrison's biography discusses elements to his childhood, but a greater concentration is placed on his family background. His father, one of many Benjamin Harrisons, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. While Harrison originally intended to go into medicine and went to college for such, lack of funds led him into the military. There is great emphasis on his governing of the Midwestern territory, particularly in Ohio and Indiana, where he served as governor before returning to the military as a general during the War of 1812. While the Battle of Tippecanoe has become the battle that defined his legacy, the Battle of the Thames was perhaps his shining moment. Following his military tenure, Harrison served as a diplomat, a representative, and a senator before running for president in 1836 and 1840. Great emphasis is placed in this book about Harrison's 1840 campaign and the great efforts the Whigs made on spinning details regarding his modest log cabin background and being about "the log cabin and hard cider." The 1840 campaign was also the first modern day election in how Harrison ran on a ticket with John Tyler ("Tippecanoe and Tyler Too") and a great deal of enthusiasm was stirred within the general public. This was the first election where over a million people voted and the one with the most first-time voters.
In essence, this biography about William Henry Harrison was very much about and very much defined by the supporting cast of players and just about everyone but Harrison.
When all is said and done, Gail Collins' argument in the introduction is quite valid in how William Henry Harrison was not bound to be one of our nation's greatest presidents. Between his military battles, his governing, his tenure as a diplomat, in congress, in the senate, and the little that we saw in the presidency, Harrison was never necessarily a standout player. He has been described as "naïve" and was brought down on plenty of occasions by plenty of situations. In the end, it almost felt like Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, or Winfield Scott would have developed a greater sense of forward progress for the Whig party. History is history, though. The Whigs formed into the Republicans and the rest took shape accordingly.
This book did a fine enough job giving me a greater sense of who William Henry Harrison was and what his presidency could have become, so as far as that is concerned I am satisfied.
William Henry Harrison's biography discusses elements to his childhood, but a greater concentration is placed on his family background. His father, one of many Benjamin Harrisons, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. While Harrison originally intended to go into medicine and went to college for such, lack of funds led him into the military. There is great emphasis on his governing of the Midwestern territory, particularly in Ohio and Indiana, where he served as governor before returning to the military as a general during the War of 1812. While the Battle of Tippecanoe has become the battle that defined his legacy, the Battle of the Thames was perhaps his shining moment. Following his military tenure, Harrison served as a diplomat, a representative, and a senator before running for president in 1836 and 1840. Great emphasis is placed in this book about Harrison's 1840 campaign and the great efforts the Whigs made on spinning details regarding his modest log cabin background and being about "the log cabin and hard cider." The 1840 campaign was also the first modern day election in how Harrison ran on a ticket with John Tyler ("Tippecanoe and Tyler Too") and a great deal of enthusiasm was stirred within the general public. This was the first election where over a million people voted and the one with the most first-time voters.
In essence, this biography about William Henry Harrison was very much about and very much defined by the supporting cast of players and just about everyone but Harrison.
When all is said and done, Gail Collins' argument in the introduction is quite valid in how William Henry Harrison was not bound to be one of our nation's greatest presidents. Between his military battles, his governing, his tenure as a diplomat, in congress, in the senate, and the little that we saw in the presidency, Harrison was never necessarily a standout player. He has been described as "naïve" and was brought down on plenty of occasions by plenty of situations. In the end, it almost felt like Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, or Winfield Scott would have developed a greater sense of forward progress for the Whig party. History is history, though. The Whigs formed into the Republicans and the rest took shape accordingly.
This book did a fine enough job giving me a greater sense of who William Henry Harrison was and what his presidency could have become, so as far as that is concerned I am satisfied.
July 6, 2021
Poor William Henry Harrison - he had the shortest presidency, so he gets the shortest biography in the American Presidents Series.
This is a snack-sized little book that can easily be completed in one sitting. Were it not for the fact that this is essentially the only birth-to-death WHH biography written in the past 80 or so years, I wouldn't have bothered with it.
As with all of the books in this series, this one is breezily written, based solely on a smattering of secondary sources, kind of shallow and mostly forgettable. But Collins does a decent enough job with what she has to work with. In her prologue, she wonders aloud why she's even writing a biography of Harrison, and the unstated implication is "...and why are you even reading a biography of Harrison?" She tells an interesting little story about how her father was once tasked with tearing down a decrepit old Harrison family home back in the 1960's, so her book stands as something of an atonement for that act.
The book itself is written in a straightforward manner, describing WHH's upbringing, his military career, and his later life as a civilian in which he essentially fails upward all the way to the White House. It's all covered very quickly, so you never get a good sense of who Harrison was or what he was like.
The longest chapter (such as it is) is devoted to the campaign of 1840, since that's really the most colorful part of Harrison's public life, even though Harrison himself stays mostly in the background in this telling.
The one thing I appreciated is that Collins doesn't give in to easy, lazy storytelling by simply regurgitating myths. Considering this book is probably aimed at casual readers who don't know much about Harrison and don't plan to read any more about him, Collins at least questions the two big things most people think they know about him - that the 1840 campaign was a total farce and anyone who voted for Harrison was a sucker who was duped into doing so (Collins points out that, despite the silliness of the campaign, actual issues were indeed discussed and considered by much of the electorate), and that Harrison died because he gave a long inauguration speech in cold weather (Collins points out that was just one of "many contenders for the title of Fatal Blow").
If you know nothing about Harrison, you might learn something from reading this. If you know even just a little something about him, you probably won't learn any more from this book. But it is what it is, and it could have been worse, which is about the highest praise I can give any book from this series.
This is a snack-sized little book that can easily be completed in one sitting. Were it not for the fact that this is essentially the only birth-to-death WHH biography written in the past 80 or so years, I wouldn't have bothered with it.
As with all of the books in this series, this one is breezily written, based solely on a smattering of secondary sources, kind of shallow and mostly forgettable. But Collins does a decent enough job with what she has to work with. In her prologue, she wonders aloud why she's even writing a biography of Harrison, and the unstated implication is "...and why are you even reading a biography of Harrison?" She tells an interesting little story about how her father was once tasked with tearing down a decrepit old Harrison family home back in the 1960's, so her book stands as something of an atonement for that act.
The book itself is written in a straightforward manner, describing WHH's upbringing, his military career, and his later life as a civilian in which he essentially fails upward all the way to the White House. It's all covered very quickly, so you never get a good sense of who Harrison was or what he was like.
The longest chapter (such as it is) is devoted to the campaign of 1840, since that's really the most colorful part of Harrison's public life, even though Harrison himself stays mostly in the background in this telling.
The one thing I appreciated is that Collins doesn't give in to easy, lazy storytelling by simply regurgitating myths. Considering this book is probably aimed at casual readers who don't know much about Harrison and don't plan to read any more about him, Collins at least questions the two big things most people think they know about him - that the 1840 campaign was a total farce and anyone who voted for Harrison was a sucker who was duped into doing so (Collins points out that, despite the silliness of the campaign, actual issues were indeed discussed and considered by much of the electorate), and that Harrison died because he gave a long inauguration speech in cold weather (Collins points out that was just one of "many contenders for the title of Fatal Blow").
If you know nothing about Harrison, you might learn something from reading this. If you know even just a little something about him, you probably won't learn any more from this book. But it is what it is, and it could have been worse, which is about the highest praise I can give any book from this series.
July 14, 2023
"Maybe someday he'll be repackaged in a way that's more inspiring -- not as the guy who got elected president by pretending to be something he wasn't and then made the fatal inauguration speech in the rain, but as a struggling American dad in a difficult era, trying to keep food on the table and a roof over everybody's head."
Harrison had the shortest presidency. Possibly to prove that he wasn't old and frail, he gave a two or three hour (the longest ever to go with the shortest ever presidency) inauguration speech and then died a little over a month later. I'm not sold that he was trying to prove anything since every sample of his oratory is filled with about 50 words where a couple would do. Think Henry James with a passion for throwing obscure Roman references into every sentence.
The more interesting aspect of his presidency is the 1840 election, which in many ways was the first of what we would think of as a modern election. While earlier elections had their fair share of mud slinging and scandal, they had nothing to compare to this one, which also was the first were the candidates were more appealing to rowdy masses than to genteel folks.
This was an election that put the words booze and OK into the American Lexicon (booze from all the whisky and cider The Whigs poured down the throat of the voters to appeal to them, OK for a stand in for Old Kinderhook, a reference to Harrison's rival, Martin Van Buren). It also gave use the term "Keep the Ball Rolling" in reference to giant balls that would be rolled from town to town with the candidates name on it (imagine that being the highlight of your week, month, year? Getting to see a giant ball with the words Biden/Harris written on the side of it?).
The author pointed out that it's possible no one seriously considered Universal Suffrage at the time because women might not have wanted to take part in something so unseemly. Since most political rallies and even voting itself seemed to degenerate into drunken fights.
It was also interesting that at the time the Vice Presidency was seen as so unattractive that it was difficult for Harrison to find a running mate, and Tyler would be about the least qualified of the Whig Big Wigs, and many of the more able politicians, like Clay and Webster turned down the office which would have been their path to the White House.
This is on the short side but probably just about the right length for a biography of a man who might be an admirable Dad trying to put food on the table for his family, but that isn't the kind of story history books are made of.
Harrison had the shortest presidency. Possibly to prove that he wasn't old and frail, he gave a two or three hour (the longest ever to go with the shortest ever presidency) inauguration speech and then died a little over a month later. I'm not sold that he was trying to prove anything since every sample of his oratory is filled with about 50 words where a couple would do. Think Henry James with a passion for throwing obscure Roman references into every sentence.
The more interesting aspect of his presidency is the 1840 election, which in many ways was the first of what we would think of as a modern election. While earlier elections had their fair share of mud slinging and scandal, they had nothing to compare to this one, which also was the first were the candidates were more appealing to rowdy masses than to genteel folks.
This was an election that put the words booze and OK into the American Lexicon (booze from all the whisky and cider The Whigs poured down the throat of the voters to appeal to them, OK for a stand in for Old Kinderhook, a reference to Harrison's rival, Martin Van Buren). It also gave use the term "Keep the Ball Rolling" in reference to giant balls that would be rolled from town to town with the candidates name on it (imagine that being the highlight of your week, month, year? Getting to see a giant ball with the words Biden/Harris written on the side of it?).
The author pointed out that it's possible no one seriously considered Universal Suffrage at the time because women might not have wanted to take part in something so unseemly. Since most political rallies and even voting itself seemed to degenerate into drunken fights.
It was also interesting that at the time the Vice Presidency was seen as so unattractive that it was difficult for Harrison to find a running mate, and Tyler would be about the least qualified of the Whig Big Wigs, and many of the more able politicians, like Clay and Webster turned down the office which would have been their path to the White House.
This is on the short side but probably just about the right length for a biography of a man who might be an admirable Dad trying to put food on the table for his family, but that isn't the kind of story history books are made of.
February 12, 2021
Selected this book because there really were not a lot of biographical options available for William Henry Harrison. Harrison has the sad distinction of being the President who served the least amount of time in the office, dying a month into his term. Given the era in which he lived, and his own stated belief that Congress should take the lead in national policy, it is unlikely he would have been the sort of chief executive who has his face carved on a mountain. Furthermore, his own personal history suggests he would not have been a transformational leader. That said, history almost certainly would have turned out differently. The Whig Party (with President Harrison and powerful Senator Clay controlling the Whig dominated Congress) may have implemented a more ambitious agenda and continued as one the nation’s two big political parties. Instead, with Harrison’s death and John Tyler’s ascendance it all fell apart.
Overall, Harrison seems something of a tragic figure…a husband and father always going out of his way to campaign for opportunities to secure financial security for his large family. If Harrison has any legacy, it is in the development of the circus of modern political campaigns. His influence (including the lies and half-truths) continue to this day and the people (of both parties) continue to lap it up just like they did then.
What follows are my notes on the book:
He was born in 1773, the 7th child in his family, ruling out any inheritance and forcing him to make his own way in the world. His father Benjamin signed the Declaration of Independence and served twice as governor of Virginia (10). His mother was a relative of Martha Washington. He was sent to a small (cheap) college with a strong emphasis on Roman antiquities which influenced his speeches for the rest of his life. In Richmond as a student he flirted with abolitionism but the fad passed from his life. He moved to PA to go to medical school but his parents could no longer afford his education and he pursued government positions and then an Army commission. It was a sad time to join the Army. Instead of fighting the British, they had the less glamorous job of fighting Indian wars on the frontier (13). He arrived at Ft Washington (modern day Cincinnati) in 1791. Their weapons, ammo, and equipment was generally faulty and unkempt. Alcoholism was rampant due to the boredom of frontier life. He developed a hatred for alcohol that would last his entire life. As an educated man and appointee, he was initially resented by his peers. While escorting his commander’s family back to PA, he made a good impression and was promoted to captain and then aide-de-camp. The pay raise helped (he had already traded away his VA land for land in KY that was tied up in claim disputes (17).
There were lots of cultural misunderstandings on the frontier. White Americans assumed an agreement signed with one tribe seemed to apply to all tribes. The Indians formed a confederacy, and allied with the British, to resist American encroachment. In his first battle (Fallen Timbers), Harrison earned praise from his superiors for keeping the lines intact. After the victory, Harrison was one of the signers of the treaty ceding Ohio to the U.S. The Shawnee Chief Tecumseh refused to surrender or sign the treaty (20). He fell in love with Anna Tuthill Symmes, the daughter of one of his colonels. They were married despite the objections of her father. Looking for better pay to support his family, he built a gristmill and sawmill in nearby Indiana. Both ventures failed. The Harrisons moved to a 2-story log cabin on a 160 acre farm in North Bend (outside Cincinnati). Ann would eventually have 10 children, adding further financial pressure on Harrison. He rose to commander of Ft Washington, then served in other positions like justice of the peace. He campaigned heavily when the secretary of the Northwest Territory opened up, getting the position.
In 1799, the territorial legislature elected Harrison their delegate to Congress. His big accomplishment was the Harrison Land Act which halved the size of plots of land for sale to allow common men to buy land out west (25). He made valuable connections to the political elite who were fascinated by the West. President Adams even dined with him at the White House. President Adams appointed him the first governor of the Indiana Territory (which encompassed parts of IN, IL, WI & MI) (26). Contrary to his later log-cabin campaign rhetoric, he built and lived in a spacious brick mansion on the frontier named Grouseland. He served 12 years as governor, during which time he championed libraries, a university, and other improvements. His chief duty however was acquiring land from Indians and securing boundaries against English, French, and Spanish territories. He was a prodigious signer of treaties, acquiring 50 million acres including parts of modern day Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri pushing US territory west of the Mississippi river (25). He was good at dealing with Indian leaders and understood their style of bargaining (long period of smoking, gift giving, etc before serious negotiations). He corresponded regularly with President Jefferson. In addition to trading away land for pennies an acre, the Indians compounded their plight by over-hunting in order to sell animal pelts. Harrison issued orders prohibiting the sale of alcohol to Indians but this was mostly ignored.
Harrison did own slaves but always made them indentured servants who were freed at the end of their period of service (32). Later, he was able to play both sides (he was both a slave holder and a man who bought slave to liberate them depending on who he was talking to). He did petition to allow slavery in Indiana (fearing it drove many farmers into other areas). As Indiana grew closer to statehood, their legislature did allow “indentured servants” in the territory but had no law on the period of service (could be indefinite). It appears a cynical way to allow slavery by another name but Harrison genuinely believed it was different and actually intervened to prohibit the sale of indentured servants to slaveholders outside the territory (34). When the state senate failed to pass this law, pro-slavery politicians succeeded in splitting Illinois from more populist Indiana (35).
During his 12 years as governor, the white population grew rapidly. Harrison found volunteer militias unreliable and convinced the legislature to establish a professional army in 1807. Harrison enjoyed leading the militia and that (more than his job as governor) would be his claim to fame during his presidential run. Tecumseh established an Indian confederacy, establishing the settlement Prophetstown at the mouth of the Tippecanoe River. The Americans were paranoid they would ally with the British (which they would do). Tecumseh met with Harrison, asking him to help keep the settlement alcohol free. While a good start to their relationship, the good feelings didn’t last long. With ore meetings between the two, it became apparent their differences were not reconcilable. When Tecumseh was traveling to recruit other tribes for the coming conflict, Harrison led a 1000 man army to the Indian settlement. He wasn’t necessarily looking for a conflict but to scare them away. Tecumseh’s hotheaded brother who was left in charge attacked first. He proposed a council and even asked Harrison to relocate his army to a proposed council site. Harrison agreed and relocated. He also failed to fortify the camp. The Indians carried out a surprise attack at dawn. Though caught by surprise, Harrison responded quickly to rally his army which drove off the Indians and burned down their settlement (45-47).
Overtime, Harrison became famous for winning this battle against Tecumseh (even though Tecumseh wasn’t even there). Tippecanoe was fought in November 1811…the next summer the US was at war with Great Britain. Westerners viewed the War of 1812 mainly in terms of Indians. Easterners barely connected Indians to this conflict with the British (49). During the war, Harrison rejoined the Army. His role at Tippecanoe gained him many fans including Henry Clay. Unfortunately Harrison was passed over for a generalship. General Hull proved a disappointment, surrendering Detroit to the British. With Clay’s support, Harrison was made brigadier general and sent to aid in the recapture of Detroit. It was a difficult campaign in winter (with difficult logistics in that undeveloped era). Atrocities fueled the American army to fight. Harrison, took time to stock and prepared his fort (which many accused him of cowardice) but his plan worked out and he was able to survive a joint British/Indian assault. By 1813, the tide turned in the US’s favor with Oliver Perry’s defeat of the British on Lake Erie. In the Battle of the Thames, Harrison greatly outnumbered his opponent and achieved a decisive victory (55). Tecumseh’s death in the battle shattered any hope of an Indian Confederacy. Harrison became a military hero second only to Jackson. After negotiating further treaties with the various tribes, Harrison retired at age 41.
On his farm, he took time to champion veteran’s issues. He borrowed heavily against his land to maintain his standard of living. In 1816, Ohio elected him again to Congress where he served his 2-year term. After that, he served in the Ohio State Senate. He had several failed bids for governor and Congress. In 1825, the Ohio legislature selected him for the U.S. Senate. There he support John Quincy Adams and advocated for federal funds for national infrastructure, especially roads. He tried, unsuccessfully, to get the VP bid in Adams’ reelection campaign in 1828. Instead, Adams appointed Harrison ambassador to Columbia (which then included Columbia, Ecuador, and Venezuela under Simon Bolivar). Unfortunately, Jackson beat Adams in the election and replaced Harrison before he had time for any serious accomplishment in his 19-months in country (67). Concerned over Bolivar’s authoritarianism, Harrison sided more with his opponents during his stay there. His adult children proved a financial drain and he returned from Columbia in desperate need of funds. In 1836, he was appointed county clerk which included benefits of up to $10K in fees.
The Whigs were largely driven by anti-Jackson sentiment, though they did have a platform of economic development and internal improvements. In 1836, Van Buren was assumed to win so the Whigs never put forth a unified candidate. Weeks into Van Buren’s term the Panic of 1837 plunged the country into economic depression. In Cincinnati, Harrison’s name was floated for president. Prominent Whigs scrambled to become their party’s nominee in 1840. Clay was overconfident and underestimated Harrison. Unfortunately, Clay was a known commodity having been heavily involved in every crisis of the past several decades. On the other hand, Harrison was a popular war hero and a blank slate. Clay led on the first ballot. However, a leaked letter of Winfield Scott suggested he was an abolitionist which led Virginia delegates (and the momentum) to switch to Harrison who won on the third ballot. The Whigs wanted Webster as the VP candidate but he refused (no president had ever died in office and the VP was viewed as a dead end). Instead they turned to John Tyler (to keep the South in the Whig camp). Unfortunately, little thought was put into Tyler’s selection and as time would show his similarities to the Whigs were pretty much confined to opposition to Jackson.
The Whig propaganda effort was revolutionary. The patriot and pioneer from a log cabin going against the dandified Washington insider Van Buren captured the nation’s imagination. The average American (on a farm with no electricity) turned out in mass for the hard cider and entertainment (including rolling an oversized ball around).
The Whigs mass produced songbooks, formed clubs, and lubricated the crowds with booze (named after Harrison supporter and distiller E.G. Booz). The Whigs also were killer organizers, even getting women and children involved. Harrison was offended by accusations he was too old and feeble and overcompensated stumping and glad handing large crowds (theretofore frowned upon as undignified). He pandered to crowds (displaying solidarity with immigrants to German and Irish populations, abolitionism to Northern crowds, state’s rights to Southern crowds, etc). Harrison won an Electoral College landslide 234-60 (popular vote was relatively close). Turnout was an astonishing 80.2%. Like all new presidents, he was besieged by office seekers. Clay assumed he was to be the power behind the throne, but Harrison put Clay in his place (118). He arrived in DC at age 68.
His 2 hour inauguration speech in the cold and rain led to him catching pneumonia. His state of the art (eye roll) medical treatment included bleeding and cupping (burning/blistering the skin) and he died a month into office. The country was shocked and emotional over his passing (as the first president to die in office). His grandson Benjamin would later be elected president.
Overall, Harrison seems something of a tragic figure…a husband and father always going out of his way to campaign for opportunities to secure financial security for his large family. If Harrison has any legacy, it is in the development of the circus of modern political campaigns. His influence (including the lies and half-truths) continue to this day and the people (of both parties) continue to lap it up just like they did then.
What follows are my notes on the book:
He was born in 1773, the 7th child in his family, ruling out any inheritance and forcing him to make his own way in the world. His father Benjamin signed the Declaration of Independence and served twice as governor of Virginia (10). His mother was a relative of Martha Washington. He was sent to a small (cheap) college with a strong emphasis on Roman antiquities which influenced his speeches for the rest of his life. In Richmond as a student he flirted with abolitionism but the fad passed from his life. He moved to PA to go to medical school but his parents could no longer afford his education and he pursued government positions and then an Army commission. It was a sad time to join the Army. Instead of fighting the British, they had the less glamorous job of fighting Indian wars on the frontier (13). He arrived at Ft Washington (modern day Cincinnati) in 1791. Their weapons, ammo, and equipment was generally faulty and unkempt. Alcoholism was rampant due to the boredom of frontier life. He developed a hatred for alcohol that would last his entire life. As an educated man and appointee, he was initially resented by his peers. While escorting his commander’s family back to PA, he made a good impression and was promoted to captain and then aide-de-camp. The pay raise helped (he had already traded away his VA land for land in KY that was tied up in claim disputes (17).
There were lots of cultural misunderstandings on the frontier. White Americans assumed an agreement signed with one tribe seemed to apply to all tribes. The Indians formed a confederacy, and allied with the British, to resist American encroachment. In his first battle (Fallen Timbers), Harrison earned praise from his superiors for keeping the lines intact. After the victory, Harrison was one of the signers of the treaty ceding Ohio to the U.S. The Shawnee Chief Tecumseh refused to surrender or sign the treaty (20). He fell in love with Anna Tuthill Symmes, the daughter of one of his colonels. They were married despite the objections of her father. Looking for better pay to support his family, he built a gristmill and sawmill in nearby Indiana. Both ventures failed. The Harrisons moved to a 2-story log cabin on a 160 acre farm in North Bend (outside Cincinnati). Ann would eventually have 10 children, adding further financial pressure on Harrison. He rose to commander of Ft Washington, then served in other positions like justice of the peace. He campaigned heavily when the secretary of the Northwest Territory opened up, getting the position.
In 1799, the territorial legislature elected Harrison their delegate to Congress. His big accomplishment was the Harrison Land Act which halved the size of plots of land for sale to allow common men to buy land out west (25). He made valuable connections to the political elite who were fascinated by the West. President Adams even dined with him at the White House. President Adams appointed him the first governor of the Indiana Territory (which encompassed parts of IN, IL, WI & MI) (26). Contrary to his later log-cabin campaign rhetoric, he built and lived in a spacious brick mansion on the frontier named Grouseland. He served 12 years as governor, during which time he championed libraries, a university, and other improvements. His chief duty however was acquiring land from Indians and securing boundaries against English, French, and Spanish territories. He was a prodigious signer of treaties, acquiring 50 million acres including parts of modern day Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri pushing US territory west of the Mississippi river (25). He was good at dealing with Indian leaders and understood their style of bargaining (long period of smoking, gift giving, etc before serious negotiations). He corresponded regularly with President Jefferson. In addition to trading away land for pennies an acre, the Indians compounded their plight by over-hunting in order to sell animal pelts. Harrison issued orders prohibiting the sale of alcohol to Indians but this was mostly ignored.
Harrison did own slaves but always made them indentured servants who were freed at the end of their period of service (32). Later, he was able to play both sides (he was both a slave holder and a man who bought slave to liberate them depending on who he was talking to). He did petition to allow slavery in Indiana (fearing it drove many farmers into other areas). As Indiana grew closer to statehood, their legislature did allow “indentured servants” in the territory but had no law on the period of service (could be indefinite). It appears a cynical way to allow slavery by another name but Harrison genuinely believed it was different and actually intervened to prohibit the sale of indentured servants to slaveholders outside the territory (34). When the state senate failed to pass this law, pro-slavery politicians succeeded in splitting Illinois from more populist Indiana (35).
During his 12 years as governor, the white population grew rapidly. Harrison found volunteer militias unreliable and convinced the legislature to establish a professional army in 1807. Harrison enjoyed leading the militia and that (more than his job as governor) would be his claim to fame during his presidential run. Tecumseh established an Indian confederacy, establishing the settlement Prophetstown at the mouth of the Tippecanoe River. The Americans were paranoid they would ally with the British (which they would do). Tecumseh met with Harrison, asking him to help keep the settlement alcohol free. While a good start to their relationship, the good feelings didn’t last long. With ore meetings between the two, it became apparent their differences were not reconcilable. When Tecumseh was traveling to recruit other tribes for the coming conflict, Harrison led a 1000 man army to the Indian settlement. He wasn’t necessarily looking for a conflict but to scare them away. Tecumseh’s hotheaded brother who was left in charge attacked first. He proposed a council and even asked Harrison to relocate his army to a proposed council site. Harrison agreed and relocated. He also failed to fortify the camp. The Indians carried out a surprise attack at dawn. Though caught by surprise, Harrison responded quickly to rally his army which drove off the Indians and burned down their settlement (45-47).
Overtime, Harrison became famous for winning this battle against Tecumseh (even though Tecumseh wasn’t even there). Tippecanoe was fought in November 1811…the next summer the US was at war with Great Britain. Westerners viewed the War of 1812 mainly in terms of Indians. Easterners barely connected Indians to this conflict with the British (49). During the war, Harrison rejoined the Army. His role at Tippecanoe gained him many fans including Henry Clay. Unfortunately Harrison was passed over for a generalship. General Hull proved a disappointment, surrendering Detroit to the British. With Clay’s support, Harrison was made brigadier general and sent to aid in the recapture of Detroit. It was a difficult campaign in winter (with difficult logistics in that undeveloped era). Atrocities fueled the American army to fight. Harrison, took time to stock and prepared his fort (which many accused him of cowardice) but his plan worked out and he was able to survive a joint British/Indian assault. By 1813, the tide turned in the US’s favor with Oliver Perry’s defeat of the British on Lake Erie. In the Battle of the Thames, Harrison greatly outnumbered his opponent and achieved a decisive victory (55). Tecumseh’s death in the battle shattered any hope of an Indian Confederacy. Harrison became a military hero second only to Jackson. After negotiating further treaties with the various tribes, Harrison retired at age 41.
On his farm, he took time to champion veteran’s issues. He borrowed heavily against his land to maintain his standard of living. In 1816, Ohio elected him again to Congress where he served his 2-year term. After that, he served in the Ohio State Senate. He had several failed bids for governor and Congress. In 1825, the Ohio legislature selected him for the U.S. Senate. There he support John Quincy Adams and advocated for federal funds for national infrastructure, especially roads. He tried, unsuccessfully, to get the VP bid in Adams’ reelection campaign in 1828. Instead, Adams appointed Harrison ambassador to Columbia (which then included Columbia, Ecuador, and Venezuela under Simon Bolivar). Unfortunately, Jackson beat Adams in the election and replaced Harrison before he had time for any serious accomplishment in his 19-months in country (67). Concerned over Bolivar’s authoritarianism, Harrison sided more with his opponents during his stay there. His adult children proved a financial drain and he returned from Columbia in desperate need of funds. In 1836, he was appointed county clerk which included benefits of up to $10K in fees.
The Whigs were largely driven by anti-Jackson sentiment, though they did have a platform of economic development and internal improvements. In 1836, Van Buren was assumed to win so the Whigs never put forth a unified candidate. Weeks into Van Buren’s term the Panic of 1837 plunged the country into economic depression. In Cincinnati, Harrison’s name was floated for president. Prominent Whigs scrambled to become their party’s nominee in 1840. Clay was overconfident and underestimated Harrison. Unfortunately, Clay was a known commodity having been heavily involved in every crisis of the past several decades. On the other hand, Harrison was a popular war hero and a blank slate. Clay led on the first ballot. However, a leaked letter of Winfield Scott suggested he was an abolitionist which led Virginia delegates (and the momentum) to switch to Harrison who won on the third ballot. The Whigs wanted Webster as the VP candidate but he refused (no president had ever died in office and the VP was viewed as a dead end). Instead they turned to John Tyler (to keep the South in the Whig camp). Unfortunately, little thought was put into Tyler’s selection and as time would show his similarities to the Whigs were pretty much confined to opposition to Jackson.
The Whig propaganda effort was revolutionary. The patriot and pioneer from a log cabin going against the dandified Washington insider Van Buren captured the nation’s imagination. The average American (on a farm with no electricity) turned out in mass for the hard cider and entertainment (including rolling an oversized ball around).
The Whigs mass produced songbooks, formed clubs, and lubricated the crowds with booze (named after Harrison supporter and distiller E.G. Booz). The Whigs also were killer organizers, even getting women and children involved. Harrison was offended by accusations he was too old and feeble and overcompensated stumping and glad handing large crowds (theretofore frowned upon as undignified). He pandered to crowds (displaying solidarity with immigrants to German and Irish populations, abolitionism to Northern crowds, state’s rights to Southern crowds, etc). Harrison won an Electoral College landslide 234-60 (popular vote was relatively close). Turnout was an astonishing 80.2%. Like all new presidents, he was besieged by office seekers. Clay assumed he was to be the power behind the throne, but Harrison put Clay in his place (118). He arrived in DC at age 68.
His 2 hour inauguration speech in the cold and rain led to him catching pneumonia. His state of the art (eye roll) medical treatment included bleeding and cupping (burning/blistering the skin) and he died a month into office. The country was shocked and emotional over his passing (as the first president to die in office). His grandson Benjamin would later be elected president.
June 22, 2019
Although most might rate this a 3, because there isn't much to the Presidency of WHH, the POTUS to die 30 days after taking office, most are tempted to pass it as a 3. I say 4 because Collins makes the most of the limited subject, and this is still the only really cradle to grave bio out there.
1840 is likely one of the most ludicrous Presidential campaigns ever, covered well here. Collins also makes a convincing case that Harrison was simply too worn down and - for the time - too old to withstand the rigors of the office, thus leading to his death. The myth of Tippecanoe is deflated properly here. WHH seems like a good guy who, because the Whigs were desperate for "their Andrew Jackson" as well as bitterly divided over Henry Clay, chose a good guy general but didn't understand the pressures of the office on a man 20 years over life expectancy. One of the few America Presidents series I would support over a longer study, since there really aren't any for WHH.
1840 is likely one of the most ludicrous Presidential campaigns ever, covered well here. Collins also makes a convincing case that Harrison was simply too worn down and - for the time - too old to withstand the rigors of the office, thus leading to his death. The myth of Tippecanoe is deflated properly here. WHH seems like a good guy who, because the Whigs were desperate for "their Andrew Jackson" as well as bitterly divided over Henry Clay, chose a good guy general but didn't understand the pressures of the office on a man 20 years over life expectancy. One of the few America Presidents series I would support over a longer study, since there really aren't any for WHH.
January 20, 2019
I find myself pretty indifferent to William Henry Harrison - probably because he was president for one month before passing away. By all accounts he was a kind guy.
What was interesting for me reading this was learning that it was really the first time the candidates started to campaign for themselves (prior to that, it was considered to be in poor taste). It's also when people really started to embrace complete fabrication in campaigning .. which we all know has healthily continued on to this day.
What was interesting for me reading this was learning that it was really the first time the candidates started to campaign for themselves (prior to that, it was considered to be in poor taste). It's also when people really started to embrace complete fabrication in campaigning .. which we all know has healthily continued on to this day.
May 3, 2017
When I began my presidential biography reading project (i.e., reading a biography of each U.S. president in chronological order starting with Washington), I never would have guessed that William Henry Harrison, who only served a month before dying in office, would be the first president for whom I would immediately read a second biography. However, Gail Collins' biography was so inept, so cursory, so ... dismissive, that I knew I'd need to read a better biography to learn more about Harrison.
While it's true that Harrison only served as president for one month, his service as the governor of the Indiana territory, his extensive and difficult negotiations with both friendly and hostile Indian tribes, his treatment and relatively progressive attitude toward the Indians, his service in the War of 1812, his campaigns for president, and the ramifications of his premature death all provide an interesting story for a biographer who's interested in telling it. Collins, a columnist for the New York Times, provides a quick overview of Harrison's life which was probably gleaned from better books, topped off with a bit of snark (she doesn't seem to like the Whigs).
Although there aren't many Harrison books available, I found an older, more thorough Harrison biography on eBay, Old Tippecanoe: Willian Henry Harrison and his Times, by Freeman Cleaves. Although his prose is somewhat old fashioned, Cleaves has an enthusiasm for his subject that Collins seems to lack, and provides an interesting and thorough look at this mostly-forgotten president.
While it's true that Harrison only served as president for one month, his service as the governor of the Indiana territory, his extensive and difficult negotiations with both friendly and hostile Indian tribes, his treatment and relatively progressive attitude toward the Indians, his service in the War of 1812, his campaigns for president, and the ramifications of his premature death all provide an interesting story for a biographer who's interested in telling it. Collins, a columnist for the New York Times, provides a quick overview of Harrison's life which was probably gleaned from better books, topped off with a bit of snark (she doesn't seem to like the Whigs).
Although there aren't many Harrison books available, I found an older, more thorough Harrison biography on eBay, Old Tippecanoe: Willian Henry Harrison and his Times, by Freeman Cleaves. Although his prose is somewhat old fashioned, Cleaves has an enthusiasm for his subject that Collins seems to lack, and provides an interesting and thorough look at this mostly-forgotten president.
January 6, 2017
William Henry Harrison is the president who never had a chance to building a legacy as he died one month into office. We at best can guess what he might have done. Believe it or not, he is still part of only four families (Adams, Roosevelt, and Bush being the others) to have two occupants in the White House as his grandson Benjamin would later be president.
His real claim to fame was the Battle of Tippencanoe and the War of 1812. In fact, he was an older man whose career seemed over when the presidency came calling. He seemed a devoted family man and was father to many children.
Gail Collins outlined the bare facts of his life, and was a fine writer, but she was totally out of sympathy with him. As with most in his generation, he walked a tightrope on the issue of slavery and that was enough for Collins to completely write him off. Her boorish portrait was not substantiated by facts.
I have looked deeply to trace out the religion of each president on my journey to read a biography on each president. She never once mentioned his religion and I checked the index when I finished just in case I missed something–nothing!
Though this book is part of the reputable American Presidents Series, I wish I had chosen a different volume. While he may not have been one of our outstanding presidents, I feel he was far more a decent man than presented here.
His real claim to fame was the Battle of Tippencanoe and the War of 1812. In fact, he was an older man whose career seemed over when the presidency came calling. He seemed a devoted family man and was father to many children.
Gail Collins outlined the bare facts of his life, and was a fine writer, but she was totally out of sympathy with him. As with most in his generation, he walked a tightrope on the issue of slavery and that was enough for Collins to completely write him off. Her boorish portrait was not substantiated by facts.
I have looked deeply to trace out the religion of each president on my journey to read a biography on each president. She never once mentioned his religion and I checked the index when I finished just in case I missed something–nothing!
Though this book is part of the reputable American Presidents Series, I wish I had chosen a different volume. While he may not have been one of our outstanding presidents, I feel he was far more a decent man than presented here.
May 27, 2017
This was a short and unremarkable biography of a man with a short and unremarkable presidency. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of biographies of William Henry Harrison from which to choose. Gail Collins is not a bad writer, but this book seems like a piece she was assigned to write rather than a subject about which she was passionate. This book does contain a fairly good section describing the remarkable election of 1840 (Tippecanoe and Tyler, too). Also, I learned that Harrison was probably the worst leader in presidential history. For each decision, he would discuss the issue with his cabinet and then each member of the cabinet, along with Harrison, would vote, with the majority making the decision. I can't imagine that Harrison used that method as a general in the military, so I'm not sure where he got that idea. Maybe he would have learned better with more time in office, but pneumonia didn't give him that chance.
September 30, 2015
An admirable effort on Collins's part, but she doesn't have much to work with. Harrison is a thoroughly unimpressive man and I can't imagine anyone making a compelling biography out of his story. That said, Collins is best when dealing with Harrison's pre-political years. I will admit to knowing very little about the man before reading this and her fast pace and engaging style made for a solid introduction. Ultimately, though, I can't help feeling little affection for Harrison. If anything, I'm relieved this book was as short as it is!
February 29, 2012
I understand Harrison served the briefest tenure in American Presidential history, but does his biography have to be this unsatisfying? The American Presidential series of books is fairly thin in stature, but this effort left so much to be desired. There are probably much better looks at Harrison's life out there, including his background as a military hero and even his death, which merits just a few pages in this biography.
July 12, 2015
Personally I liked this book but it may not be for everyone. If Harrison had not died after only a month in office who knows how history may have been effected.
January 23, 2024
This is the guy who was President for only 28 days because he died. His father also died years earlier after a banquet to celebrate his election as a delegate
Harrison also fought against Indians in Ohio he was there when Tecumseh was killed.
Here is what happened afterwards.
"soldiers did find a body that they believed was Tecumseh’s, but they mutilated it so grossly that Harrison refused to let his British captives try to identify him. The Americans had skinned the corpse, dividing up the strips of flesh as souvenirs. Harrison was, as he said later, “mortified” by what had happened, and although he quickly reported to his superiors in Washington that the battle had been won, he made no mention of Tecumseh’s death. The Americans followed up their victory by burning down Moraviantown, the home of the Munsee Indians, a peaceful tribe that had converted to Christianity and had nothing whatsoever to do with the war."
Some people who were campaigning for him by saying he was the guy who killed Tecumseh and sometimes Harrison went along with it. Anything for a vote I guess.
Harrison also fought against Indians in Ohio he was there when Tecumseh was killed.
Here is what happened afterwards.
"soldiers did find a body that they believed was Tecumseh’s, but they mutilated it so grossly that Harrison refused to let his British captives try to identify him. The Americans had skinned the corpse, dividing up the strips of flesh as souvenirs. Harrison was, as he said later, “mortified” by what had happened, and although he quickly reported to his superiors in Washington that the battle had been won, he made no mention of Tecumseh’s death. The Americans followed up their victory by burning down Moraviantown, the home of the Munsee Indians, a peaceful tribe that had converted to Christianity and had nothing whatsoever to do with the war."
Some people who were campaigning for him by saying he was the guy who killed Tecumseh and sometimes Harrison went along with it. Anything for a vote I guess.
June 26, 2023
I didn't have much choice on what to read for Harrison. This book is short but it does at least touch upon the main activities in Harrison's life. There was a bit too much time devoted to the presidential campaign and all the log cabin activities surrounding it. I didn't know that Harrison had been, briefly, the U.S. ambassador to Columbia. If you want to read biographies of every president as I'm doing this is a fine choice for a president who hasn't had much written about him.
Read
March 24, 2024William Henry strikes me as an early example of an archetype we see far too often in American politics - the lying, pandering politician. It doesn’t help that he oversaw many fishy land deals that robbed Native people of their ancestral homes. And don’t forget about his legacy of legalizing indentured servitude in the Indiana Territory so he could bring slavery to the region under another name.
I acknowledge it’s uncharitable to judge someone purely based off of their worst moments. Yet it would be one thing if the man had once taken responsibility for these parts of his life, rather than indignantly proclaiming no wrongdoing at every opportunity. This book did its darndest to paint the man in something other than a wholly negative light. What I appreciate most about this slim volume is its brevity.
I find the events surrounding Harrison to be more interesting than the man himself. As such, anyone else interested in the Harrison-Tecumseh dynamic, the War of 1812, or the Log Cabin campaign of 1840 can explore those topics elsewhere.
I acknowledge it’s uncharitable to judge someone purely based off of their worst moments. Yet it would be one thing if the man had once taken responsibility for these parts of his life, rather than indignantly proclaiming no wrongdoing at every opportunity. This book did its darndest to paint the man in something other than a wholly negative light. What I appreciate most about this slim volume is its brevity.
I find the events surrounding Harrison to be more interesting than the man himself. As such, anyone else interested in the Harrison-Tecumseh dynamic, the War of 1812, or the Log Cabin campaign of 1840 can explore those topics elsewhere.
Read
February 1, 2024Year 9 of my family’s presidential book club! The shortest we’ve read— thanks to the very short presidency of William Henry Harrison (31 days, oof)— but found this one interesting because apparently I knew next to nothing about his life. On to John Tyler (another big blank spot for my prior history knowledge)!
August 30, 2020
A war hero, the 1st Whig president, only grandfather of another president. Good treatment of someone who spent 31 days officially in office.
June 12, 2023
William Henry Harrison grew up in a Virginia mansion (although when he later ran for president, he claimed to have grown up in a log cabin). He was the youngest of seven children. His father was a governor of Virginia and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His mother was a relative of Martha Washington and also came from a wealthy family.
During the Revolutionary War, the family mansion was sacked (the British took 40 of the family slaves and also stole furniture and livestock) and the overused soil was beginning to produce fewer crops. Harrison therefore didn't attend William and Mary like his brothers, but rather the less expensive Hampton-Sidney College. He then went to the Medical School of Pennsylvania. His father died when he was 18 and the family couldn't afford to continue schooling him, so he joined the army.
He fought at the Battle of Fallen Timbers against Tecumseh and the outnumbered Shawnee. The Indians inflicted as many causalities as they took, but the more numerous Americans won. Tecumseh boycotted the negotiations which gave the Americans most of Ohio.
Harrison married Anna Tuthill Symmes, who was the daughter of a Colonel. She was well read and the first First Lady known to have been educated outside the home (she'd attended a boarding school). Her father was opposed to the marriage since he didn't think a simple soldier could support his daughter with his low income.
Harrison built a sawmill and gristmill, and bought a share in a whiskey distillery despite his aversion to drink. (He hated drunkenness and was once jailed for beating a drunken townsman.) However, none of his business ventures turned out to be successful.
He ended up having 10 children and was almost always struggling financially. He became commander of Fort Washington, but eventually resigned and took a job as a land registrar and later justice of the peace and secretary of the Northwest Territory.
In Congress, he passed the Harrison Land Act which made it possible for people to buy land on credit and increased the number of foreclosures. President Adams liked Harrison and invited him to spend evenings at the White House and made him governor of the Indiana Territory when Harrison was just 27. Harrison would later claim Adams was trying to remove an anti-federalist from the capital, but Harrison actually identified with many Federalist positions at the time.
Port Vincennes, the capital of Indiana territory, only had about 700 residents, mostly French who had intermarried with local natives. Harrison built a grand brick mansion named Grouseland in a region full of humble wood frame houses, sold huts, and log cabins.
He was governor for 12 years and made many improvements like a circulating library and rudimentary university, and a small local newspaper. But his main job was Indian removal.
By signing treaties, he acquired about fifty million acres of land at less than 2 cents an acre from the natives. He was sympathetic to the mistreatment of natives, noticing it was impossible for a jury to convict a white man of killing an Indian. He tried to make it illegal for fur trappers to get Indians drunk in order to get them to sell their catch at very low prices, but the lawmakers didn't go along with it.
He signed one treaty for 8 million acres with the tiny Kaskaskia tribe which only consisted of a few dozen members. He rewarded those who cooperated with gifts and punished those who didn't want to sell by withholding annuity payments.
He never owned a large number of slaves himself, but he fought every effort to stop slavery from expanding. In his personal life, he freed many slaves by purchasing them and making them indentured servants who would get their freedom after a certain number of years.
When Congress banned slavery in the Northwest Territory, Harrison interpreted the law to say slaves couldn't be bought or sold, but slave holders could keep the slaves they already owned. He passed laws to prevent black people from testifying against white people in court or serving in the militia.
While slavery was technically illegal, black people in Indiana could be indentured servants for up to 99 years, and unlike white indentured servants, they didn't get paid. Children of indentured servants were supposed to be freed when they reached maturity, but the age of maturity could be as high as 35. Harrison was more lenient in his personal life, freeing two boys once they turned 21.
This was basically slavery by another name, but he at least fought to prevent indentured servants from being taken out of state and sold as slaves.
Back in 1768, the Iroquois signed away land the Shawnee considered theirs. Tecumseh's father died fighting off white settlers arriving in their land. Tecumseh, also known as Shooting Star, fought his first battle when he was nine. He befriended a family of white settlers who taught him to read and write English. He visited tribes throughout the country, urging them not to sell their land and join an Indian confederacy. He hated alcohol as much as Harrison did. His brother Tenskwatawa, or Open Door, was the Shawnee Prophet. (Harrison once said if he was really a prophet, he should perform a miracle like making the sun stand still. Knowing an eclipse was expected, the Prophet ordered the sun to darken and it did.)
In 1808, the brothers moved to the mouth of the Tippecanoe River. Prophetstown was a large settlement made up of different tribes with two hundred houses. They cultivated over 100 acres of land and had livestock. By 1811, tensions between white and Indians had increased and Harrison marched on Prophetstown with 1,000 men. A delegation of chiefs proposed a council be held the next day and that Harrison's army spend the night at a nearby site which had high ground, water, and wood for fires.
That night, the Indians attacked. Harrison couldn't find his white horse and took the nearest mount he could find. This probably saved his life, because white horses made for an easy target. His aide-de-camp was shot while riding a white horse, as was the commander of the Kentucky volunteers who had a big white horse blanket.
Once the sun rose, the whites had the upper hand and they destroyed the village while the Indian warriors fled. Tecumseh was out of town at the time, but his brother was killed. The whites suffered 188 causalities, far more than the Indians, but they called Tippecanoe a victory. (It would be a major part of Harrison's election campaign.)
During the War of 1812, Tecumseh joined the British against the Americans and helped capture Detroit. Harrison was appointed to rescue Detroit by the governor who actually had no authority to make such an appointment. Harrison argued with General Winchester over who was in charge. Eventually, after a great deal of negotiating, he was made a general himself.
Time had been lost, however. He led his army north in the winter, razing friendly Indian villages of the Miamis along the way to guard his supply lines. He at least recommended friendly chiefs be protected, but told his men not to run any risks to save them.
The winter campaign was a bad idea. Food was scarce, as well as other supplies. Many deserted. In the fall of 1813, he was able to retake Detroit and overtook the greatly outnumbered Tecumseh and British at the Thames River where Tecumseh was killed. The Americans skinned the corpse and divided up strips of flesh as souvenirs, which disgusted Harrison. The Americans then burned down Moraviantown, home of the peaceful Munsee who had converted to Christianity and had nothing to do with the war.
In May 1814, before the war's end, Harrison resigned. At 41, his military career was over. He returned to Congress in 1816, a big champion of veterans. He became a senator in 1825 and supported President John Quincy Adams who appointed him US minister to Colombia.
He didn't spend much time in Colombia, however, since President Jackson replaced him right after his inauguration, possibly to punish Harrison for voting to censure Jackson for executing two men during his war with the Seminoles.
Harrison left Columbia just as the Colombian government was preparing charges against him for plotting to overthrow Simón Bolíver. (It's unknown whether he was actually plotting to overthrow the dictator, but he was friendly with Bolíver's enemies.) He brought home a pet macaw.
Back home, his business ventures continued to fail and his farm didn't do much better. He was deeply in debt. As his sons entered adulthood, most of them proved to be a financial drain. His oldest son died of typhoid fever, leaving his widow and six children for William Henry and Anna to take in. At 60, in 1836, Harrison was appointed clerk of county courts, which provided some much needed money.
The Whigs were a new political party opposed to Jackson, but didn't have much in common other than that. Some were pro-slavery, some were abolitionist. Some were pro-tariff and some were anti-tariff. Some were in favor of a national back or the federal government making road improvements, others were against.
Harrison was an ideal Whig candidate. Like Jackson, he was a war hero. His political opinions were unknown since he'd been away from politics for so long. He was originally from Virginia, which appealed to Southerners.
The first time he ran for president, he lost to Van Buren, but he ran again in 1840. After the financially devastating Panic of 1837, defeating Van Buren would be easy. Daniel Webster refused to run as Harrison's vice president, so the job went to John Tyler. The "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" ticket was said to have rhyme, but no reason to it. No one bothered to ask what Tyler's position was on anything. Since past vice presidents never did anything important, no one thought it mattered.
While things were looking up for Harrison politically speaking, things were bad in his personal life. In 1838, William Henry Jr. died at the age of 35, the next year his son Carter died at 27, and the year after that, his son Benjamin died at 33.
A Democratic newspaper ridiculed Harrison for being a country bumpkin who lived in a log cabin drinking hard cider. The Whigs celebrated the fact that he was a regular joe and presented Van Buren as someone who lived a life of luxury, even though he actually came from more humble roots than Harrison did.
Elections used to be limited to the wealthy property-owners, but by this time, most states allowed all white men to vote. Most people back then were farmers and welcomed any change to their routine. They'd show up for parades, cider-filled parties, picnics, and songs. They'd even show up to watch an oversized ball covered with campaign slogans rolled through town. Whig parades featured floats based on log cabins and hard cider even though Harrison didn't live in a log cabin and despised drunkenness. Van Buren was condemned for turning the White House into a richly adorned mansion, even though this wasn't true.
Whigs wrote songs with campaign slogans as the lyrics. They created a new dance called the Tippecanoe Quick-Step, as well as Tippecanoe Shaving Soap, Tippecanoe Tobacco, and the Harrison and Tyler Necktie. The Whigs had thousands of speakers campaigning for them across the country. A distiller named E. G. Booz created an election souvenir of whisky in log cabin bottles, which popularized the word booze.
The Democrats responded with their own songs such as this one:
Hush-a-bye-baby
Daddy's a Whig
Before he comes home
Hard cider he'll swig.
Then he'll be Tipsy
And over he'll fall,
Down will come Daddy
Tip, Tyler and all.
Harrison campaigned for himself, the first presidential candidate to do so. Up to this time, presidential candidates were supposed to pretend they didn't want the job, but would reluctantly accept if the people called upon them.
To answer claims that the 67-year-old Harrison was too old and feeble for the job, he had his doctor issue a public report on his fitness. Harrison brought old soldiers on stage with him during the campaign. He'd complain about immigrants to one audience and praise immigrants when speaking to them. His position on slavery changed depending on who he was talking to.
Harrison won the electoral vote by a landslide, but only narrowly won the popular vote. Over 80 percent of eligible voters voted, the highest percentage of any election in American history. Van Buren got almost 400,000 more votes in his 1840 defeat than in his 1836 victory.
Harrison arrived in Washington on his 68th birthday during a snowstorm. The campaign would have been hard on even a young man. His arm was so worn out, he could no longer shake hands. The Whigs had never held national power before, and he was deluged with letters, as well as people showing up in person, requesting jobs in his administration. He wasn't able to give jobs to all of them, earning him many enemies.
His spoke for a record-long two hour inauguration speech in the rain, perhaps to prove he was healthy. He promised not to run for a second term and made lots of allusions to Roman consuls. (He was a fan or florid prose.) He said he was against the presidential veto, which Jackson had used more than his predecessors, and in favor of Congress being the true power, but we'll never know if he would have followed through with this.
His long speech is often blamed for his death from pneumonia a month later, but Harrison spent a lot of time walking in the rain and slush after the speech, doing his own food shopping and going to a bookstore to purchase a Bible.
People were constantly wearing him down with endless requests. He was once stopped from going to a meeting by a crowd of petitioners who didn't let him pass until he received their letters.
When he fell ill, he was given the most thorough medical care available, which included bleeding, cupping, opium, wine, and brandy. Perhaps the overzealous medical care is what really killed him. In either case, he became the first president to die in office after only a month.
Anna would outlive not just her husband, but all but one of her children. Harrison's grandson, Benjamin, would live on to become the President of the United States himself.
During the Revolutionary War, the family mansion was sacked (the British took 40 of the family slaves and also stole furniture and livestock) and the overused soil was beginning to produce fewer crops. Harrison therefore didn't attend William and Mary like his brothers, but rather the less expensive Hampton-Sidney College. He then went to the Medical School of Pennsylvania. His father died when he was 18 and the family couldn't afford to continue schooling him, so he joined the army.
He fought at the Battle of Fallen Timbers against Tecumseh and the outnumbered Shawnee. The Indians inflicted as many causalities as they took, but the more numerous Americans won. Tecumseh boycotted the negotiations which gave the Americans most of Ohio.
Harrison married Anna Tuthill Symmes, who was the daughter of a Colonel. She was well read and the first First Lady known to have been educated outside the home (she'd attended a boarding school). Her father was opposed to the marriage since he didn't think a simple soldier could support his daughter with his low income.
Harrison built a sawmill and gristmill, and bought a share in a whiskey distillery despite his aversion to drink. (He hated drunkenness and was once jailed for beating a drunken townsman.) However, none of his business ventures turned out to be successful.
He ended up having 10 children and was almost always struggling financially. He became commander of Fort Washington, but eventually resigned and took a job as a land registrar and later justice of the peace and secretary of the Northwest Territory.
In Congress, he passed the Harrison Land Act which made it possible for people to buy land on credit and increased the number of foreclosures. President Adams liked Harrison and invited him to spend evenings at the White House and made him governor of the Indiana Territory when Harrison was just 27. Harrison would later claim Adams was trying to remove an anti-federalist from the capital, but Harrison actually identified with many Federalist positions at the time.
Port Vincennes, the capital of Indiana territory, only had about 700 residents, mostly French who had intermarried with local natives. Harrison built a grand brick mansion named Grouseland in a region full of humble wood frame houses, sold huts, and log cabins.
He was governor for 12 years and made many improvements like a circulating library and rudimentary university, and a small local newspaper. But his main job was Indian removal.
By signing treaties, he acquired about fifty million acres of land at less than 2 cents an acre from the natives. He was sympathetic to the mistreatment of natives, noticing it was impossible for a jury to convict a white man of killing an Indian. He tried to make it illegal for fur trappers to get Indians drunk in order to get them to sell their catch at very low prices, but the lawmakers didn't go along with it.
He signed one treaty for 8 million acres with the tiny Kaskaskia tribe which only consisted of a few dozen members. He rewarded those who cooperated with gifts and punished those who didn't want to sell by withholding annuity payments.
He never owned a large number of slaves himself, but he fought every effort to stop slavery from expanding. In his personal life, he freed many slaves by purchasing them and making them indentured servants who would get their freedom after a certain number of years.
When Congress banned slavery in the Northwest Territory, Harrison interpreted the law to say slaves couldn't be bought or sold, but slave holders could keep the slaves they already owned. He passed laws to prevent black people from testifying against white people in court or serving in the militia.
While slavery was technically illegal, black people in Indiana could be indentured servants for up to 99 years, and unlike white indentured servants, they didn't get paid. Children of indentured servants were supposed to be freed when they reached maturity, but the age of maturity could be as high as 35. Harrison was more lenient in his personal life, freeing two boys once they turned 21.
This was basically slavery by another name, but he at least fought to prevent indentured servants from being taken out of state and sold as slaves.
Back in 1768, the Iroquois signed away land the Shawnee considered theirs. Tecumseh's father died fighting off white settlers arriving in their land. Tecumseh, also known as Shooting Star, fought his first battle when he was nine. He befriended a family of white settlers who taught him to read and write English. He visited tribes throughout the country, urging them not to sell their land and join an Indian confederacy. He hated alcohol as much as Harrison did. His brother Tenskwatawa, or Open Door, was the Shawnee Prophet. (Harrison once said if he was really a prophet, he should perform a miracle like making the sun stand still. Knowing an eclipse was expected, the Prophet ordered the sun to darken and it did.)
In 1808, the brothers moved to the mouth of the Tippecanoe River. Prophetstown was a large settlement made up of different tribes with two hundred houses. They cultivated over 100 acres of land and had livestock. By 1811, tensions between white and Indians had increased and Harrison marched on Prophetstown with 1,000 men. A delegation of chiefs proposed a council be held the next day and that Harrison's army spend the night at a nearby site which had high ground, water, and wood for fires.
That night, the Indians attacked. Harrison couldn't find his white horse and took the nearest mount he could find. This probably saved his life, because white horses made for an easy target. His aide-de-camp was shot while riding a white horse, as was the commander of the Kentucky volunteers who had a big white horse blanket.
Once the sun rose, the whites had the upper hand and they destroyed the village while the Indian warriors fled. Tecumseh was out of town at the time, but his brother was killed. The whites suffered 188 causalities, far more than the Indians, but they called Tippecanoe a victory. (It would be a major part of Harrison's election campaign.)
During the War of 1812, Tecumseh joined the British against the Americans and helped capture Detroit. Harrison was appointed to rescue Detroit by the governor who actually had no authority to make such an appointment. Harrison argued with General Winchester over who was in charge. Eventually, after a great deal of negotiating, he was made a general himself.
Time had been lost, however. He led his army north in the winter, razing friendly Indian villages of the Miamis along the way to guard his supply lines. He at least recommended friendly chiefs be protected, but told his men not to run any risks to save them.
The winter campaign was a bad idea. Food was scarce, as well as other supplies. Many deserted. In the fall of 1813, he was able to retake Detroit and overtook the greatly outnumbered Tecumseh and British at the Thames River where Tecumseh was killed. The Americans skinned the corpse and divided up strips of flesh as souvenirs, which disgusted Harrison. The Americans then burned down Moraviantown, home of the peaceful Munsee who had converted to Christianity and had nothing to do with the war.
In May 1814, before the war's end, Harrison resigned. At 41, his military career was over. He returned to Congress in 1816, a big champion of veterans. He became a senator in 1825 and supported President John Quincy Adams who appointed him US minister to Colombia.
He didn't spend much time in Colombia, however, since President Jackson replaced him right after his inauguration, possibly to punish Harrison for voting to censure Jackson for executing two men during his war with the Seminoles.
Harrison left Columbia just as the Colombian government was preparing charges against him for plotting to overthrow Simón Bolíver. (It's unknown whether he was actually plotting to overthrow the dictator, but he was friendly with Bolíver's enemies.) He brought home a pet macaw.
Back home, his business ventures continued to fail and his farm didn't do much better. He was deeply in debt. As his sons entered adulthood, most of them proved to be a financial drain. His oldest son died of typhoid fever, leaving his widow and six children for William Henry and Anna to take in. At 60, in 1836, Harrison was appointed clerk of county courts, which provided some much needed money.
The Whigs were a new political party opposed to Jackson, but didn't have much in common other than that. Some were pro-slavery, some were abolitionist. Some were pro-tariff and some were anti-tariff. Some were in favor of a national back or the federal government making road improvements, others were against.
Harrison was an ideal Whig candidate. Like Jackson, he was a war hero. His political opinions were unknown since he'd been away from politics for so long. He was originally from Virginia, which appealed to Southerners.
The first time he ran for president, he lost to Van Buren, but he ran again in 1840. After the financially devastating Panic of 1837, defeating Van Buren would be easy. Daniel Webster refused to run as Harrison's vice president, so the job went to John Tyler. The "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" ticket was said to have rhyme, but no reason to it. No one bothered to ask what Tyler's position was on anything. Since past vice presidents never did anything important, no one thought it mattered.
While things were looking up for Harrison politically speaking, things were bad in his personal life. In 1838, William Henry Jr. died at the age of 35, the next year his son Carter died at 27, and the year after that, his son Benjamin died at 33.
A Democratic newspaper ridiculed Harrison for being a country bumpkin who lived in a log cabin drinking hard cider. The Whigs celebrated the fact that he was a regular joe and presented Van Buren as someone who lived a life of luxury, even though he actually came from more humble roots than Harrison did.
Elections used to be limited to the wealthy property-owners, but by this time, most states allowed all white men to vote. Most people back then were farmers and welcomed any change to their routine. They'd show up for parades, cider-filled parties, picnics, and songs. They'd even show up to watch an oversized ball covered with campaign slogans rolled through town. Whig parades featured floats based on log cabins and hard cider even though Harrison didn't live in a log cabin and despised drunkenness. Van Buren was condemned for turning the White House into a richly adorned mansion, even though this wasn't true.
Whigs wrote songs with campaign slogans as the lyrics. They created a new dance called the Tippecanoe Quick-Step, as well as Tippecanoe Shaving Soap, Tippecanoe Tobacco, and the Harrison and Tyler Necktie. The Whigs had thousands of speakers campaigning for them across the country. A distiller named E. G. Booz created an election souvenir of whisky in log cabin bottles, which popularized the word booze.
The Democrats responded with their own songs such as this one:
Hush-a-bye-baby
Daddy's a Whig
Before he comes home
Hard cider he'll swig.
Then he'll be Tipsy
And over he'll fall,
Down will come Daddy
Tip, Tyler and all.
Harrison campaigned for himself, the first presidential candidate to do so. Up to this time, presidential candidates were supposed to pretend they didn't want the job, but would reluctantly accept if the people called upon them.
To answer claims that the 67-year-old Harrison was too old and feeble for the job, he had his doctor issue a public report on his fitness. Harrison brought old soldiers on stage with him during the campaign. He'd complain about immigrants to one audience and praise immigrants when speaking to them. His position on slavery changed depending on who he was talking to.
Harrison won the electoral vote by a landslide, but only narrowly won the popular vote. Over 80 percent of eligible voters voted, the highest percentage of any election in American history. Van Buren got almost 400,000 more votes in his 1840 defeat than in his 1836 victory.
Harrison arrived in Washington on his 68th birthday during a snowstorm. The campaign would have been hard on even a young man. His arm was so worn out, he could no longer shake hands. The Whigs had never held national power before, and he was deluged with letters, as well as people showing up in person, requesting jobs in his administration. He wasn't able to give jobs to all of them, earning him many enemies.
His spoke for a record-long two hour inauguration speech in the rain, perhaps to prove he was healthy. He promised not to run for a second term and made lots of allusions to Roman consuls. (He was a fan or florid prose.) He said he was against the presidential veto, which Jackson had used more than his predecessors, and in favor of Congress being the true power, but we'll never know if he would have followed through with this.
His long speech is often blamed for his death from pneumonia a month later, but Harrison spent a lot of time walking in the rain and slush after the speech, doing his own food shopping and going to a bookstore to purchase a Bible.
People were constantly wearing him down with endless requests. He was once stopped from going to a meeting by a crowd of petitioners who didn't let him pass until he received their letters.
When he fell ill, he was given the most thorough medical care available, which included bleeding, cupping, opium, wine, and brandy. Perhaps the overzealous medical care is what really killed him. In either case, he became the first president to die in office after only a month.
Anna would outlive not just her husband, but all but one of her children. Harrison's grandson, Benjamin, would live on to become the President of the United States himself.
December 4, 2023
Not much out there about this guy as he only served 31 days in office. The book did a good job of showing how, beginning with Harrison, presidential campaigns have pretty much always been ridiculous.
May 27, 2020
This was my first jaunt into the life of America's ninth president. Going in, I was void of expectations. All I knew of the General was his ludicrously short time in office, and his service in the Indian Wars. What I found was a genuinely intriguing individual who led an adventurous life. The Whigs touted Harrison as their Andrew Jackson, and if you remove the fuse-like temper and habitual propensity to duel, one could argue that that's indeed what Harrison was. While Jackson had New Orleans, Harrison was the commander of the Battle of Tippecanoe, where he achieved a victory that propelled him to national fame, earning him the nickname "Old Tippecanoe".
Running on his popularity, Harrison was able to defeat the incumbent Van Buren is one remains today to be one of the most outrageous Presidential elections in American History; a campaign which featured infant traits of today's modern campaigning. His campaign attacked Van Buren, labeling him as a man of extravagances and luxuries, while touting Harrison as a cider-drinking man of the people; these charges are rendered ironic by the fact that Van Buren was the son of a poor tavern owner, whilst Harrison was the son of a rich Virginian planter.
It goes without saying that the meat and bones of a Harrison biography would be the events that predate his presidency, predominately his adventures in the American Indian Wars, and his time as governor of the Indiana Territory. Unlike other presidents, whose terms serve as the capstone of their time on Earth--thus the peak intrigue of their respective biographies--to develop an appreciation of Harrison, one must remove his presidency from his intrigue and focus on said prior adventures. Doing otherwise could feed the jocular notoriety he's come to be known for due to his short time in office.
This biography effectively captures the life of the man in a respectable manner, and succeeds in portraying him as the intriguing frontiersman that he was. However, like most entries in this series, this title suffers from the crux of length. It certainly left me wanting more in a world where other, longer Harrison biographies are archaic and difficult to come by. The book also would have been well-served to have delved into the potential what-ifs of a full Harrison term; as such changes could have had a profound effect on the future of the executive.
Running on his popularity, Harrison was able to defeat the incumbent Van Buren is one remains today to be one of the most outrageous Presidential elections in American History; a campaign which featured infant traits of today's modern campaigning. His campaign attacked Van Buren, labeling him as a man of extravagances and luxuries, while touting Harrison as a cider-drinking man of the people; these charges are rendered ironic by the fact that Van Buren was the son of a poor tavern owner, whilst Harrison was the son of a rich Virginian planter.
It goes without saying that the meat and bones of a Harrison biography would be the events that predate his presidency, predominately his adventures in the American Indian Wars, and his time as governor of the Indiana Territory. Unlike other presidents, whose terms serve as the capstone of their time on Earth--thus the peak intrigue of their respective biographies--to develop an appreciation of Harrison, one must remove his presidency from his intrigue and focus on said prior adventures. Doing otherwise could feed the jocular notoriety he's come to be known for due to his short time in office.
This biography effectively captures the life of the man in a respectable manner, and succeeds in portraying him as the intriguing frontiersman that he was. However, like most entries in this series, this title suffers from the crux of length. It certainly left me wanting more in a world where other, longer Harrison biographies are archaic and difficult to come by. The book also would have been well-served to have delved into the potential what-ifs of a full Harrison term; as such changes could have had a profound effect on the future of the executive.
December 8, 2018
My second ‘American Presidents Series’ book that I’ve read. These books are handy for the obscure presidents that don’t get a lot of attention. Speaking of obscure, William Henry Harrison has the distinction of being in the office the least amount of time of any commander in chief: 1 month. Yep. That’s it. He actually died before his wife could make the trip from native Ohio to live with her husband. Travel was a bit slower back in 1841, remember.
Not surprisingly, this was a very brief read. Give author Gail Collins credit for writing a respectable biography of a subject without there being much to say. Most presidential biographies have a decent amount to say about the man prior to being office, and then contain much about their comings and goings as president, and finally a fair amount of detail after they’ve retired from public life. Collins doesn’t really have the luxury for the latter two.
When we read the early life of Harrison, it seemed to me that large chunks of the man’s life were ignored. It could be because there just wasn’t much to say. His biggest claim to fame was as a general during the war of 1812. He wasn’t necessarily known for fighting against the British, but rather the Native Americans. He acquires the nickname “Old Tippecanoe” and was famous for instrumenting the death of the famed warrior Tecumseh. Even this, the author claims, was more luck than anything. It seemed that Harrison happened to be at the right place and the right time with a far greater force than his adversaries. We’re left to believe that there wasn’t really that much substantial about his military career despite all the hoopla.
Following the war, a life of politics leads him to be the governor of the Ohio territory, and we quickly jump to when he eventually runs against incumbent Martin Van Buren in the election of 1840 for President. Van Buren is one of the least liked Presidents ever at this time, and Harrison’s major advantage and campaign strength is….well…that he’s not Van Buren. In fact, his political party – the ‘Whig’ party – really doesn’t have any substantial platform other than they oppose Van Buren and his ilk. It’s a bit amusing to see politics played rather dirty during the election – something that would never change. The famed Harrison easily wins the race. Even before he takes office, others claim that he looks “old”, “tired” and “not well”. During his inauguration, he makes a 2-hour inaugural address in the cold rain. Not surprisingly, the 68 years old succumbs to a bad case of pneumonia. 30 days into his term, he’s dead.
Well, that’s about it. Short and not too sweet all things considered. This book isn’t a bad read, and one (such as myself) really shouldn’t expect much. I only read this book because it’s a bucket list of mine to read at least one bio of every American president. On that note, I’m glad I read it. I’m also glad it was quite brief. Not a necessary addition to most people’s reading collection, but it sets out to do exactly what it should do. And that fact warrants merit.
Not surprisingly, this was a very brief read. Give author Gail Collins credit for writing a respectable biography of a subject without there being much to say. Most presidential biographies have a decent amount to say about the man prior to being office, and then contain much about their comings and goings as president, and finally a fair amount of detail after they’ve retired from public life. Collins doesn’t really have the luxury for the latter two.
When we read the early life of Harrison, it seemed to me that large chunks of the man’s life were ignored. It could be because there just wasn’t much to say. His biggest claim to fame was as a general during the war of 1812. He wasn’t necessarily known for fighting against the British, but rather the Native Americans. He acquires the nickname “Old Tippecanoe” and was famous for instrumenting the death of the famed warrior Tecumseh. Even this, the author claims, was more luck than anything. It seemed that Harrison happened to be at the right place and the right time with a far greater force than his adversaries. We’re left to believe that there wasn’t really that much substantial about his military career despite all the hoopla.
Following the war, a life of politics leads him to be the governor of the Ohio territory, and we quickly jump to when he eventually runs against incumbent Martin Van Buren in the election of 1840 for President. Van Buren is one of the least liked Presidents ever at this time, and Harrison’s major advantage and campaign strength is….well…that he’s not Van Buren. In fact, his political party – the ‘Whig’ party – really doesn’t have any substantial platform other than they oppose Van Buren and his ilk. It’s a bit amusing to see politics played rather dirty during the election – something that would never change. The famed Harrison easily wins the race. Even before he takes office, others claim that he looks “old”, “tired” and “not well”. During his inauguration, he makes a 2-hour inaugural address in the cold rain. Not surprisingly, the 68 years old succumbs to a bad case of pneumonia. 30 days into his term, he’s dead.
Well, that’s about it. Short and not too sweet all things considered. This book isn’t a bad read, and one (such as myself) really shouldn’t expect much. I only read this book because it’s a bucket list of mine to read at least one bio of every American president. On that note, I’m glad I read it. I’m also glad it was quite brief. Not a necessary addition to most people’s reading collection, but it sets out to do exactly what it should do. And that fact warrants merit.
November 17, 2023
I really enjoyed this book by Gail Collins. It was well written and a good read. I personally think a lot of American history changed when William Henry Harrison died in office.
As a person and a president, I really like William Henry Harrison. I do think he rose above his circumstances and became greater than he otherwise would have been. I do think Andrew Jackson is right in his assessment that WHH was not the caliber military leader that Jackson was.
The Battle of Tippecanoe could have had a better outcome. It not being fortified reduced their ability to fight back. It’s also important to know the history of the Shawnee, Tipsquawa, Tucumseh and the British-Indian alliance in the Ohio area to know that overall, WHH did a great job governing the land and dealing with the Indians. Nothing but respect to Tecumseh and those who would not give up their land to white settlers as well.
I would love to have learned more about his wife and their children, especially learning that only one child of 10 survived Anna.
Most interesting I find is how WHH was chosen by the Whigs instead of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. And that WHH was not the greatest Whig himself. They did so good on his campaign, WHH traveled and spoke to crowds as well. His death for pneumonia a month after taking oath ended the Whigs. John Tyler was even less a Whig than WHH which sealed their demise.
I really think WHH would have been a great president, especially being apparent he would not let the party control him. His administration would’ve included good people but not necessarily all Whigs. There is a lot about WHH I would like to know more but not a lot on him.
As a person and a president, I really like William Henry Harrison. I do think he rose above his circumstances and became greater than he otherwise would have been. I do think Andrew Jackson is right in his assessment that WHH was not the caliber military leader that Jackson was.
The Battle of Tippecanoe could have had a better outcome. It not being fortified reduced their ability to fight back. It’s also important to know the history of the Shawnee, Tipsquawa, Tucumseh and the British-Indian alliance in the Ohio area to know that overall, WHH did a great job governing the land and dealing with the Indians. Nothing but respect to Tecumseh and those who would not give up their land to white settlers as well.
I would love to have learned more about his wife and their children, especially learning that only one child of 10 survived Anna.
Most interesting I find is how WHH was chosen by the Whigs instead of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. And that WHH was not the greatest Whig himself. They did so good on his campaign, WHH traveled and spoke to crowds as well. His death for pneumonia a month after taking oath ended the Whigs. John Tyler was even less a Whig than WHH which sealed their demise.
I really think WHH would have been a great president, especially being apparent he would not let the party control him. His administration would’ve included good people but not necessarily all Whigs. There is a lot about WHH I would like to know more but not a lot on him.
October 20, 2014
William Henry Harrison was acclaimed as a war hero, as coming from a commoner's background (his "log cabin" campaign). He served as President for only a very short period of time before his death. He was the first President to die in office.
This series of brief biographies is a useful way of introducing readers to the American Presidents. The volumes are all relatively short and provide short and sweet analyses of the presidents of the United States. The series outlines its perspective on page xv): ". . .[A[ system based on the tripartite separation of powers has an inherent tendency toward inertia and stalemate. One of the three branches must take the initiative if the system is to move. The executive branch alone is structurally capable of taking that initiative."
That said, the author, Gail Collins, undertakes a biography of Harrison. I enjoy her snarky columns for the New York Times. But some of that orientation/attitude comes out in this book. I am not sure that I want a snarky biography of an American president. I think that the tone is somewhat problematic.
One comes to know quite a bit about Harrison, which is what one would wish from a biography. But I wish that the tone has been more neutral.
Still, quite readable. . . .
This series of brief biographies is a useful way of introducing readers to the American Presidents. The volumes are all relatively short and provide short and sweet analyses of the presidents of the United States. The series outlines its perspective on page xv): ". . .[A[ system based on the tripartite separation of powers has an inherent tendency toward inertia and stalemate. One of the three branches must take the initiative if the system is to move. The executive branch alone is structurally capable of taking that initiative."
That said, the author, Gail Collins, undertakes a biography of Harrison. I enjoy her snarky columns for the New York Times. But some of that orientation/attitude comes out in this book. I am not sure that I want a snarky biography of an American president. I think that the tone is somewhat problematic.
One comes to know quite a bit about Harrison, which is what one would wish from a biography. But I wish that the tone has been more neutral.
Still, quite readable. . . .
May 21, 2019
The American Presidents’ Series attempts to provide a general survey of the men (all men so far) who have served as President of the United States. Separate authors have been recruited to write each of the books in the series which originally was under the general editorship of Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. and, more recently (after Schlesinger’s death) under the editorship of Dr. Sean Wilentz. In my experience, the quality of the books in the series is a bit uneven.
That said, Gail Collins’ contribution to the series on William Henry Harrison is an engaging read and, given the intent of the series, is well done. This is not the book to read if you’re looking for an in-depth discussion of American Indian policy or great insight into the slavery/anti-slavery dynamics leading up to the Civil War. However, the basic chronology is well organized and the discussion of the emergence of the modern political campaign in 1840 is charming. In short, the few hours that it takes to read this book will be time well spent as long as you understand that you’ll need to read other, more scholarly works to understand the implications of Old Tippecanoe’s attitudes and actions.
That said, Gail Collins’ contribution to the series on William Henry Harrison is an engaging read and, given the intent of the series, is well done. This is not the book to read if you’re looking for an in-depth discussion of American Indian policy or great insight into the slavery/anti-slavery dynamics leading up to the Civil War. However, the basic chronology is well organized and the discussion of the emergence of the modern political campaign in 1840 is charming. In short, the few hours that it takes to read this book will be time well spent as long as you understand that you’ll need to read other, more scholarly works to understand the implications of Old Tippecanoe’s attitudes and actions.
September 8, 2021
When I began reading William Henry Harrison by Gail Collins, I wondered if it was a book I needed to read. Having now read it, my answer is "probably not." I chose to read it because I'm working my way through the American Presidents Series. Harrison was a good man, and a pretty good general. He had lots of kids, and was always on the lookout for a government job that would help him put food on the table. After Andrew Jackson's election, the Whigs believed that they also could win the presidency if they nominated a general. Harrison was the best they had. The most important thing in the book is probably the description of new campaigning techniques used in the 1840 election. Harrison actually went out campaigning, as if he wanted the job. Slogans were used like "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," and "log cabin and hard cider" in an effort to market him as an ordinary guy. Collins made no effort to describe his presidency, because he got sick at his inauguration and died a month later. Harrison may be the least important of all the presidents, but I am determined to finish the series.
February 11, 2012
The American Presidents Series continues to suffer under Sean Wilentz editorial leadership. Gail Collins' biography of William Henry Harrison comes across more like a tabloid than a discussion of history. Her dislike of the Whigs is obvious. She cites the ridiculousness of their 1840 campaign, but her discussion of it is no more serious than what she accuses them of. The implications of Harrison being the first president to die in office are ignored, other than a cursory mention of how John Tyler was selected to be Harrison's running mate. Harrison's short tenure leaves little for a presidential historian to discuss, but this attempt was a missed opportunity.
August 16, 2016
I am currently on a project to read a biography of every US president. When it comes to biographies of William Henry Harrison one's choices are quite limited. He did serve as president for a scant 31 days before dying. But all the presidents are interesting men and William Henry Harrison is no exception. As many of the authors in this series, Gail Collins obviously got an assignment and was interested in finishing it as quickly as possible and brought little insight into the man. He did have an interesting life and his was a rollicking campaign for president. Gail Collins just didn't seem that interested in bringing him to life. I guess she was busy.
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