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Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens
Often remembered as the president who died shortly after taking office, William Henry Harrison remains misunderstood by most Americans. Before becoming the ninth president of the United States in 1841, Harrison was instrumental in shaping the early years of westward expansion. Robert M. Owens now explores that era through the lens of Harrison's career, providing a new synthesis of his role in the political development of Indiana Territory and in shaping Indian policy in the Old Northwest. Owens traces Harrison's political career as secretary of the Northwest Territory, territorial delegate to Congress, and governor of Indiana Territory, as well as his military leadership and involvement with Indian relations. Thomas Jefferson, who was president during the first decade of the nineteenth century, found in Harrison the ideal agent to carry out his administration's ruthless campaign to extinguish Indian land titles.To this day, we live with the echoes of Harrison's proclamations, the boundaries set by his treaties, and the ramifications of his actions. Mr. Jefferson's Hammer offers a much needed reappraisal of Harrison's impact on the nation's development and key lessons for understanding American sentiments in the early republic.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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About the author
Robert M. Owens
6 books6 followersA graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Robert M. Owens is Professor of History at Wichita State University.
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March 9, 2023
Books on William Henry Harrison are few, which makes this one stand out all the more. If Harrison is remembered at all - a big IF - it is for having the shortest tenure of any American President: exactly thirty-one days. He gave his inaugural address and that is about it. But Robert Owens focuses on Harrison's early years up through and just beyond the War of 1812, when Harrison spent most of his time in what is now referred to as the Midwest.
This is a mix of biography and history, with Harrison receding into the background a few times as Owens focuses more on U.S/Indian relations in the early 19th century. As a consequence, after his boyhood, Harrison's personal life is only occasionally referred to. In fact, once he becomes territorial Governor of Indiana, Owens limits personal matters to noting birth of Harrison's children. However, that does not mean that the narrative is devoid of any color or personality.
The single best quality about Owens' approach here is that he is refreshingly objective and neutral when writing about Harrison and his times. Unlike most of the small stack of books that Harrison is a major character in, this one is not at all fawning nor laudatory. Nor is it a hatchet job attempting to tear Harrison down and apply 21st century moral and ethical standards to him. Owens notes both approaches, but does neither. He is not out to rehabilitate Harrison; he is not out to bash him either. Instead he attempts to understand him - an approach that I think is sorely missing from many contemporary histories and biographies, not just of Harrison but in general.
Harrison exemplified his place (a Virginia "gentleman") and time by viewing the Indians (that is the word that Owens uses so I will as well) from a paternalistic standpoint. If you had read books about this time period, and Thomas Jefferson's presidency in particular, then the phrase "Great White Father" will be familiar to you. Quite frankly, that phrase reeks of condescension and hypocrisy, as the Americans just wanted all of the Indian tribes to do two things: give up their lands and then go away. Harrison wanted that too - indeed he was tasked by Jefferson with doing just that by making treaties with the various tribes. These treaties were not to the tribes' benefit as they were broken by the Americans as soon as the treaties became inconvenient. And Harrison was one who engaged in this practice. Yet, within his own limited viewpoint, he did at least attempt to be fair, and he did not engage in some of the barbaric practices that some whites did when it came to relations with the various tribes. There were also instances where he attempted to hold whites accountable for atrocities that they committed against the natives. He certainly wasn't Mother Teresa. He wasn't Andrew Jackson either.
The Indians were not exactly saints either. For every act of violence done to them, they certainly gave back to the white settlers, and sometimes more. Both sides could be and often were bloodthirsty and behaved in revolting manners. This was a cut-throat world, literally. The Indians wanted to keep their land, understandably so. The whites wanted to take their land. But as Owens points out, the tribes themselves were far from a united front. They bickered and fought amongst each other, sometimes even siding with Harrison against other tribes. This lack of harmony allowed Harrison to manipulate them all even more by playing them off against each other. Their overall lack of cohesion weakened them and provided the means for Harrison to extract additional concessions that he may not have otherwise been able to do.
Even though Harrison's implementation of Jefferson's Indian policy is Owens' main focus, he also delves into Harrison's views and actions on slavery. Here Harrison looks even worse than he does with the Indians. Indiana was part of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which banned slavery. Well Harrison, being a slaveholder and son of a plantation owner from Virginia, did not like that restriction and did everything he could to try to introduce slavery to Indiana and perpetuate it. There actually were enslaved persons there despite the law being against it. Harrison, an autocratic governor who quickly got used to dominating the legislature, even had a bill introduced to allow slavery into the territory. He did not care that what he was doing was illegal. Harrison had a few "servants" with him during his lengthy tenure there (he was governor for over a decade). While Owens points out that Harrison was far from the only rich white man to attempt this, he scores him for being so immoral and also committing an act that he knew to be illegal. That is a permanent stain, as it should be, on Harrison's place in history.
This book was a relatively quick read. I enjoyed Owens' writing style except that he had no breaks within chapters. It is difficult to find a stopping place once you jump into a chapter as I don't often have enough time to read 25-30 pages in a single sitting. Nonetheless I came away wishing that the book had been longer: I wanted Owens to do a full biography of Harrison. I think that one is needed, and he proved to me that he was able to objectively evaluate Harrison, not hesitating to criticize him where appropriate (which was often) while also providing ample context to the times that he lived in, the place that he lived in, and noting that he was capable of helping others too, although not nearly as much as we would rightly expect today (and maybe could have expected then too).
Grade: B+
This is a mix of biography and history, with Harrison receding into the background a few times as Owens focuses more on U.S/Indian relations in the early 19th century. As a consequence, after his boyhood, Harrison's personal life is only occasionally referred to. In fact, once he becomes territorial Governor of Indiana, Owens limits personal matters to noting birth of Harrison's children. However, that does not mean that the narrative is devoid of any color or personality.
The single best quality about Owens' approach here is that he is refreshingly objective and neutral when writing about Harrison and his times. Unlike most of the small stack of books that Harrison is a major character in, this one is not at all fawning nor laudatory. Nor is it a hatchet job attempting to tear Harrison down and apply 21st century moral and ethical standards to him. Owens notes both approaches, but does neither. He is not out to rehabilitate Harrison; he is not out to bash him either. Instead he attempts to understand him - an approach that I think is sorely missing from many contemporary histories and biographies, not just of Harrison but in general.
Harrison exemplified his place (a Virginia "gentleman") and time by viewing the Indians (that is the word that Owens uses so I will as well) from a paternalistic standpoint. If you had read books about this time period, and Thomas Jefferson's presidency in particular, then the phrase "Great White Father" will be familiar to you. Quite frankly, that phrase reeks of condescension and hypocrisy, as the Americans just wanted all of the Indian tribes to do two things: give up their lands and then go away. Harrison wanted that too - indeed he was tasked by Jefferson with doing just that by making treaties with the various tribes. These treaties were not to the tribes' benefit as they were broken by the Americans as soon as the treaties became inconvenient. And Harrison was one who engaged in this practice. Yet, within his own limited viewpoint, he did at least attempt to be fair, and he did not engage in some of the barbaric practices that some whites did when it came to relations with the various tribes. There were also instances where he attempted to hold whites accountable for atrocities that they committed against the natives. He certainly wasn't Mother Teresa. He wasn't Andrew Jackson either.
The Indians were not exactly saints either. For every act of violence done to them, they certainly gave back to the white settlers, and sometimes more. Both sides could be and often were bloodthirsty and behaved in revolting manners. This was a cut-throat world, literally. The Indians wanted to keep their land, understandably so. The whites wanted to take their land. But as Owens points out, the tribes themselves were far from a united front. They bickered and fought amongst each other, sometimes even siding with Harrison against other tribes. This lack of harmony allowed Harrison to manipulate them all even more by playing them off against each other. Their overall lack of cohesion weakened them and provided the means for Harrison to extract additional concessions that he may not have otherwise been able to do.
Even though Harrison's implementation of Jefferson's Indian policy is Owens' main focus, he also delves into Harrison's views and actions on slavery. Here Harrison looks even worse than he does with the Indians. Indiana was part of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which banned slavery. Well Harrison, being a slaveholder and son of a plantation owner from Virginia, did not like that restriction and did everything he could to try to introduce slavery to Indiana and perpetuate it. There actually were enslaved persons there despite the law being against it. Harrison, an autocratic governor who quickly got used to dominating the legislature, even had a bill introduced to allow slavery into the territory. He did not care that what he was doing was illegal. Harrison had a few "servants" with him during his lengthy tenure there (he was governor for over a decade). While Owens points out that Harrison was far from the only rich white man to attempt this, he scores him for being so immoral and also committing an act that he knew to be illegal. That is a permanent stain, as it should be, on Harrison's place in history.
This book was a relatively quick read. I enjoyed Owens' writing style except that he had no breaks within chapters. It is difficult to find a stopping place once you jump into a chapter as I don't often have enough time to read 25-30 pages in a single sitting. Nonetheless I came away wishing that the book had been longer: I wanted Owens to do a full biography of Harrison. I think that one is needed, and he proved to me that he was able to objectively evaluate Harrison, not hesitating to criticize him where appropriate (which was often) while also providing ample context to the times that he lived in, the place that he lived in, and noting that he was capable of helping others too, although not nearly as much as we would rightly expect today (and maybe could have expected then too).
Grade: B+
June 27, 2021
I’ve had this book for years, but it was never really calling out to me from the shelf, wanting to be read. Now that I’ve decided to go through all of my presidential-themed books chronologically, to fill the gaps in my knowledge and to finally read all the books I haven’t yet gotten around to reading, it came time to tackle this one.
Thomas Jefferson is in the title of the book, William Henry Harrison is on the cover, and the subtitle references the origins of American Indian policy. That’s already a lot to take in when trying to determine exactly what this book is all about, but throw in some discussion of slavery, women’s rights, and other issues, and the result is a book that’s informative, but doesn’t always coalesce into a grand narrative, while purporting to be objective, but displaying some very clear judgments.
The very title “Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer” suggests that Harrison was doing Jefferson’s dirty work, carrying out his ruthless Indian policy in the Northwest Territory. But as Indiana’s territorial governor, Harrison was given a lot of autonomy in negotiating Indian treaties and expanding U.S. territory. And Jefferson actually opposed expanding slavery to the Northwest, while Harrison supported it.
So the book is not so much a look at Jefferson’s policies as carried out by Harrison, but a look at Harrison’s own actions. Owens describes his book as a “cultural biography” of Harrison, analyzing him in the context of his times at this particular stage of his life. And despite cautioning in his conclusion against criticizing historical figures “too deeply for commonly held ideas about race and society that we find repugnant today,” much of Owens's book seems to do just that.
Of course, today we judge the treatment of Native Americans from the time of the earliest European settlements to the Trail of Tears as being nothing short of shameful. We probably all remember as kids learning the story about Peter Minuit buying Manhattan Island from the local Native Americans for $24 and some trinkets - it was usually treated as a funny little anecdote, as though the Native Americans were so naive and childlike that they would happily agree to such a trade. But no one seemed overly disturbed about the notion that the Native Americans may have been cheated, coerced into giving up their land in exchange for a pittance. As long as they were happy, right?
Owens's book details all the ways in which “the origins of American Indian policy” under Harrison were all about deceiving and cheating Native Americans out of their land - whether paying far less than the land was worth, negotiating treaties with members of one tribe for land occupied by others, or threatening - or inflicting - violence if the natives didn’t acquiesce.
But context is important to try to understand why the Americans acted the way they did, even if we don’t agree with them today. Owens attempts to be even-handed in his approach, describing Americans at the time, as personified by Harrison, as ethnocentric, paternalistic, and outright racist in their views on Native Americans. Fair enough. But he doesn’t seem to take seriously some of their real concerns that led them to fear Native Americans and determine to either “civilize” them or move them somewhere else. He dismisses, for example, their concern that the Native Americans were prone to be provoked and encouraged by the British to oppose the Americans. He doesn’t really get into the idea that Americans were less concerned with treating Native Americans fairly than they were with acquiring as much land as quickly as possible as a buffer against possible encroachment from neighboring European settlements. And he doesn't mention that the often brutal, savage nature of Native American attacks on settlers tended to harden Americans’ views that these were people not to be reasoned with, but defeated.
Whether those concerns and beliefs were justified or not, they deserve to be taken into consideration when passing judgment on the origins of American Indian policy. But Owens doesn’t exactly conceal his point of view when he notes, at one point, that Harrison’s comments about the natives “simply ooze the post-Revolutionary paternalism” of the time. And throughout the book, there are a surprising number of snide, snarky asides at Harrison's expense, in what is an otherwise straightforward academic work.
We later learn that the Battle of Tippecanoe was not the great victory that Harrison made it out to be, and that he was a true “son of Virginia” in that he thought it would be a fine idea to expand the southern institution of slavery into Indiana. At least Harrison is not held responsible for wrongdoing in the chapter that explores the treatment of women on the frontier, though it’s also not clear how that chapter is meant to fit into this narrative.
It's also disappointing for such a deeply-researched book, that in wrapping up Harrison's life story in a brief conclusion, Owens offers up the "Harrison died because he gave a long inauguration address in cold weather" explanation for his death, which is a major simplification at best and a totally unrelated cause-and-effect at worst.
If this book was meant to be a corrective for the earlier, outdated, heroic versions of Harrison’s life story, Owens succeeded in his goal. But it seemed to me that he swung the pendulum too far the other way, to the point that Harrison seemingly never did anything right - and this, in a book that wrapped up its story long before Harrison became a national politician and president. Owens provides plenty of food for thought, but it seems that only by reading his book alongside one of those earlier, outdated, heroic versions of Harrison’s life story, can you get a full picture that will allow you to draw your own conclusions about the man.
Thomas Jefferson is in the title of the book, William Henry Harrison is on the cover, and the subtitle references the origins of American Indian policy. That’s already a lot to take in when trying to determine exactly what this book is all about, but throw in some discussion of slavery, women’s rights, and other issues, and the result is a book that’s informative, but doesn’t always coalesce into a grand narrative, while purporting to be objective, but displaying some very clear judgments.
The very title “Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer” suggests that Harrison was doing Jefferson’s dirty work, carrying out his ruthless Indian policy in the Northwest Territory. But as Indiana’s territorial governor, Harrison was given a lot of autonomy in negotiating Indian treaties and expanding U.S. territory. And Jefferson actually opposed expanding slavery to the Northwest, while Harrison supported it.
So the book is not so much a look at Jefferson’s policies as carried out by Harrison, but a look at Harrison’s own actions. Owens describes his book as a “cultural biography” of Harrison, analyzing him in the context of his times at this particular stage of his life. And despite cautioning in his conclusion against criticizing historical figures “too deeply for commonly held ideas about race and society that we find repugnant today,” much of Owens's book seems to do just that.
Of course, today we judge the treatment of Native Americans from the time of the earliest European settlements to the Trail of Tears as being nothing short of shameful. We probably all remember as kids learning the story about Peter Minuit buying Manhattan Island from the local Native Americans for $24 and some trinkets - it was usually treated as a funny little anecdote, as though the Native Americans were so naive and childlike that they would happily agree to such a trade. But no one seemed overly disturbed about the notion that the Native Americans may have been cheated, coerced into giving up their land in exchange for a pittance. As long as they were happy, right?
Owens's book details all the ways in which “the origins of American Indian policy” under Harrison were all about deceiving and cheating Native Americans out of their land - whether paying far less than the land was worth, negotiating treaties with members of one tribe for land occupied by others, or threatening - or inflicting - violence if the natives didn’t acquiesce.
But context is important to try to understand why the Americans acted the way they did, even if we don’t agree with them today. Owens attempts to be even-handed in his approach, describing Americans at the time, as personified by Harrison, as ethnocentric, paternalistic, and outright racist in their views on Native Americans. Fair enough. But he doesn’t seem to take seriously some of their real concerns that led them to fear Native Americans and determine to either “civilize” them or move them somewhere else. He dismisses, for example, their concern that the Native Americans were prone to be provoked and encouraged by the British to oppose the Americans. He doesn’t really get into the idea that Americans were less concerned with treating Native Americans fairly than they were with acquiring as much land as quickly as possible as a buffer against possible encroachment from neighboring European settlements. And he doesn't mention that the often brutal, savage nature of Native American attacks on settlers tended to harden Americans’ views that these were people not to be reasoned with, but defeated.
Whether those concerns and beliefs were justified or not, they deserve to be taken into consideration when passing judgment on the origins of American Indian policy. But Owens doesn’t exactly conceal his point of view when he notes, at one point, that Harrison’s comments about the natives “simply ooze the post-Revolutionary paternalism” of the time. And throughout the book, there are a surprising number of snide, snarky asides at Harrison's expense, in what is an otherwise straightforward academic work.
We later learn that the Battle of Tippecanoe was not the great victory that Harrison made it out to be, and that he was a true “son of Virginia” in that he thought it would be a fine idea to expand the southern institution of slavery into Indiana. At least Harrison is not held responsible for wrongdoing in the chapter that explores the treatment of women on the frontier, though it’s also not clear how that chapter is meant to fit into this narrative.
It's also disappointing for such a deeply-researched book, that in wrapping up Harrison's life story in a brief conclusion, Owens offers up the "Harrison died because he gave a long inauguration address in cold weather" explanation for his death, which is a major simplification at best and a totally unrelated cause-and-effect at worst.
If this book was meant to be a corrective for the earlier, outdated, heroic versions of Harrison’s life story, Owens succeeded in his goal. But it seemed to me that he swung the pendulum too far the other way, to the point that Harrison seemingly never did anything right - and this, in a book that wrapped up its story long before Harrison became a national politician and president. Owens provides plenty of food for thought, but it seems that only by reading his book alongside one of those earlier, outdated, heroic versions of Harrison’s life story, can you get a full picture that will allow you to draw your own conclusions about the man.
December 12, 2013
http://bestpresidentialbios.com/2013/...
“Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy” was authored by Robert Owens and published in 2007. Owens is an associate professor of history at Wichita State University specializing in Colonial, Revolutionary and Early American history (including Indian affairs). This is Owens’s first book, and he is currently working on a book on the Southern Indians.
Owens’s self-described “cultural biography” grew out of his 2003 PhD dissertation and was greatly aided by the Indiana Historical Society’s publication in 1999 of several thousand documents related to Harrison’s activities in the Indiana Territory. These offered a fresh, and more thorough, look at Harrison’s early years on the northwestern frontier and provided new insight into his evolution from army officer to frontier governor and, eventually, to President of the United States.
As others have pointed out, this is not really a presidential biography, but rather an examination of the issues faced by the frontier society in which Harrison lived and worked – as a member of the military and as Governor of the Indiana Territory. Owens provides an extremely insightful depiction of early American frontier life and how Harrison managed the two most potent issues of his day: Indian policy and slavery. The book is also a fascinating window into a man whose aristocratic Virginia upbringing stood in sharp contrast to the folksy, populist image he presented much later as a presidential candidate.
Unfortunately, only the two-dozen or so years Harrison served in the army and as Governor of the Indiana Territory are covered in any depth. Barely touched is Harrison’s childhood or his last twenty-eight years (everything following his resignation as commander of the Army of the Northwest). Only in the book’s last five pages do we learn Harrison later served in Congress, that he was the U.S. minister to Columbia or that he ever ran for president. And because the author’s focus is Harrison’s public life, we have little opportunity to get to know him or his family on a personal level.
Setting aside my disappointment that Owens’s work is not a complete biography, it is quickly evident that the aspects of Harrison’s life which the book does address are covered extremely well. From the author’s introductory remarks to the book’s final chapter I appreciated his clear, concise, analytical style. Owens reports the facts plainly and puts them into the context of the times. Not only does the reader learn what Harrison did at a particular moment, but also why.
But it is Owens’s extraordinary ability to connect Harrison’s actions to the cultural framework in which he operated that leaves me frustrated the author did not pursue his subject further. What more could I have learned about Harrison had the author followed him into Congress…or the White House? Just as I began to understand what made Harrison “tick” I was disappointed to find the book ending.
Overall, “Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer” leaves me with mixed emotions. I strongly wish it had covered more ground in its study of Harrison’s life, but I thoroughly enjoyed the portion of his public service that it did review. Owens’s writing style perfectly suited my desire to understand what happened in young Harrison’s life, and why. As a presidential biography, this book is imperfect insofar as it is incomplete – but it provides an excellent foundation for understanding this little-known former president and the frontier society in which he lived for much of his life.
Overall rating: 4 stars
“Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy” was authored by Robert Owens and published in 2007. Owens is an associate professor of history at Wichita State University specializing in Colonial, Revolutionary and Early American history (including Indian affairs). This is Owens’s first book, and he is currently working on a book on the Southern Indians.
Owens’s self-described “cultural biography” grew out of his 2003 PhD dissertation and was greatly aided by the Indiana Historical Society’s publication in 1999 of several thousand documents related to Harrison’s activities in the Indiana Territory. These offered a fresh, and more thorough, look at Harrison’s early years on the northwestern frontier and provided new insight into his evolution from army officer to frontier governor and, eventually, to President of the United States.
As others have pointed out, this is not really a presidential biography, but rather an examination of the issues faced by the frontier society in which Harrison lived and worked – as a member of the military and as Governor of the Indiana Territory. Owens provides an extremely insightful depiction of early American frontier life and how Harrison managed the two most potent issues of his day: Indian policy and slavery. The book is also a fascinating window into a man whose aristocratic Virginia upbringing stood in sharp contrast to the folksy, populist image he presented much later as a presidential candidate.
Unfortunately, only the two-dozen or so years Harrison served in the army and as Governor of the Indiana Territory are covered in any depth. Barely touched is Harrison’s childhood or his last twenty-eight years (everything following his resignation as commander of the Army of the Northwest). Only in the book’s last five pages do we learn Harrison later served in Congress, that he was the U.S. minister to Columbia or that he ever ran for president. And because the author’s focus is Harrison’s public life, we have little opportunity to get to know him or his family on a personal level.
Setting aside my disappointment that Owens’s work is not a complete biography, it is quickly evident that the aspects of Harrison’s life which the book does address are covered extremely well. From the author’s introductory remarks to the book’s final chapter I appreciated his clear, concise, analytical style. Owens reports the facts plainly and puts them into the context of the times. Not only does the reader learn what Harrison did at a particular moment, but also why.
But it is Owens’s extraordinary ability to connect Harrison’s actions to the cultural framework in which he operated that leaves me frustrated the author did not pursue his subject further. What more could I have learned about Harrison had the author followed him into Congress…or the White House? Just as I began to understand what made Harrison “tick” I was disappointed to find the book ending.
Overall, “Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer” leaves me with mixed emotions. I strongly wish it had covered more ground in its study of Harrison’s life, but I thoroughly enjoyed the portion of his public service that it did review. Owens’s writing style perfectly suited my desire to understand what happened in young Harrison’s life, and why. As a presidential biography, this book is imperfect insofar as it is incomplete – but it provides an excellent foundation for understanding this little-known former president and the frontier society in which he lived for much of his life.
Overall rating: 4 stars
May 20, 2019
Somewhere along the way I was introduced to a quotation that has stuck with me through the years. I haven’t been able to track down the source or the precise wording, but my rough paraphrase is, “The most important thing you can know about a woman/man is what she/he takes for granted.” The Life of William Henry Harrison, the ninth President of the United States, as captured in Robert M. Owens’ biography, “Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy” lends credence to the statement.
By 21st Century standards, Harrison can be viewed as a duplicitous and murderous tool of a heartless government motivated by an unquenchable thirst for territorial expansion. What is striking and sobering, is the fact that Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison (and George Washington for that matter), all of whom are important players in the establishment and implementation of early American Indian policy, undoubtedly slept well at night confident that they were doing the right thing. What these American icons took for granted was that they were morally and intellectually superior to the native inhabitants, and that they were therefore justified in imposing their will and their way of life on their recalcitrant children. I imagine that Jefferson and Harrison often dozed off at night thinking, “it’s for their own good.”
Owens’ book is far from the best Presidential biography I’ve read and, in fact, it’s a Presidential biography only in the sense that it recounts part of the life of a person who was elected to the office. The book really deals with Harrison’s activities more than 20 years prior to the election of 1840. Furthermore, the book is somewhat uneven in quality and, because it is, in part, composed of some text that was previously published in standalone form, it doesn’t always flow well. Nevertheless, this is a book that forces you to confront some tough issues. You can easily fault the book for being too much of an apology for Harrison’s behavior, but it deserves praise for not obscuring uncomfortable facts. Owens sometimes excuses behavior, but he seldom hides it.
The book also forces the reader to confront the insidious ways in which racism is institutionalized. Until I read “Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer, I was unaware of Indiana’s “An Act for the introduction of negroes and mulattoes into this territory,” which was nothing more than a work-around the Northwest Ordinance of 1787’s prohibition of slavery. The “introduction” act simply allowed the importation of slaves and required that they be registered and transformed into “indentured servants” usually for terms that exceeded life expectancy.
This book clearly isn’t an enjoyable read, but it is powerful nonetheless. Harrison’s Presidency of 31 days may be inconsequential; however, understanding Old Tippecanoe’s attitudes and actions are essential to comprehending how we’ve arrived at this moment in our Nation’s history.
By 21st Century standards, Harrison can be viewed as a duplicitous and murderous tool of a heartless government motivated by an unquenchable thirst for territorial expansion. What is striking and sobering, is the fact that Harrison, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison (and George Washington for that matter), all of whom are important players in the establishment and implementation of early American Indian policy, undoubtedly slept well at night confident that they were doing the right thing. What these American icons took for granted was that they were morally and intellectually superior to the native inhabitants, and that they were therefore justified in imposing their will and their way of life on their recalcitrant children. I imagine that Jefferson and Harrison often dozed off at night thinking, “it’s for their own good.”
Owens’ book is far from the best Presidential biography I’ve read and, in fact, it’s a Presidential biography only in the sense that it recounts part of the life of a person who was elected to the office. The book really deals with Harrison’s activities more than 20 years prior to the election of 1840. Furthermore, the book is somewhat uneven in quality and, because it is, in part, composed of some text that was previously published in standalone form, it doesn’t always flow well. Nevertheless, this is a book that forces you to confront some tough issues. You can easily fault the book for being too much of an apology for Harrison’s behavior, but it deserves praise for not obscuring uncomfortable facts. Owens sometimes excuses behavior, but he seldom hides it.
The book also forces the reader to confront the insidious ways in which racism is institutionalized. Until I read “Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer, I was unaware of Indiana’s “An Act for the introduction of negroes and mulattoes into this territory,” which was nothing more than a work-around the Northwest Ordinance of 1787’s prohibition of slavery. The “introduction” act simply allowed the importation of slaves and required that they be registered and transformed into “indentured servants” usually for terms that exceeded life expectancy.
This book clearly isn’t an enjoyable read, but it is powerful nonetheless. Harrison’s Presidency of 31 days may be inconsequential; however, understanding Old Tippecanoe’s attitudes and actions are essential to comprehending how we’ve arrived at this moment in our Nation’s history.
April 29, 2020
I’m working my way through presidential biographies. This isn’t really a biography but it is very interesting historically. I never really considered the attitude of that time of the post-Revolutionary first generation. They didn’t actually fight for their freedom but they saw the unsettled western lands as their own challenge. Another country could dominate (using the native Americans as allies) and upset their fledgling country. The ownership of the land was paramount. Great Britain was using the native Americans as pawns in their continued aggression against America. This is an interesting study of Jefferson’s vision of land-owning gentlemen farmers and what he proposed to make that happen. Harrison had a significant impact on our national development during this time. Ironically, more than he did during his short term as president.
May 8, 2024
If you go into this expecting a traditional presidential biography you will be disappointed - anything after the events of the War of 1812 is covered only in passing. This is more a treatise on American-Indian affairs on the frontier in the early 1800s through the lens of William Henry Harrison’s role as territorial governor. It is very well-written and researched, and its unusual scope is fitting for a man who only served 32 days as president.
February 12, 2020
The grumpus23 23-word commentary Never knew much about this shortest term, first to die in office president. He truly was Mr. Jefferson's Hammer in the northwest territory.
April 1, 2011
Meh. Thorough but bland writing.
September 30, 2024
One of my reading goals is to tackle biographies of U.S. Presidents in chronological order. This approach not only gives me a structured framework for my reading but also allows me to view U.S. history in digestible segments. Each biography provides a unique lens into the leader's background, the state of the country during their presidency, and the impact—if any—they left on America.
For William Henry Harrison, I chose "Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer" by Robert Owens. While Harrison is most often remembered for his brief 31-day presidency, his life offers a fascinating glimpse into the challenges facing a young, expanding nation. Long before his ill-fated presidency, Harrison served as a general and territorial governor, where he played a crucial role in shaping U.S. expansionist policies. The book’s title alludes to his most significant contribution: carrying out President Jefferson's policy of acquiring Native American lands, a precursor to the U.S.'s fraught and ongoing relationship with Native American nations.
Though "Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer" offers a detailed look at Harrison’s role on the frontier, it feels incomplete when it comes to his broader political life. His time in Congress and his successful presidential campaign, which made him the first Whig president, receive little attention despite their importance. A deeper exploration of how Harrison influenced and was influenced by the Whig movement would have added much-needed layers to the story of a man often reduced to his short-lived presidency.
While the book excels in covering Harrison’s frontier leadership, it falls short in examining his full legacy. Still, it’s a worthwhile read for those interested in understanding more about Harrison’s life beyond the brief time he held the nation’s highest office.
For William Henry Harrison, I chose "Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer" by Robert Owens. While Harrison is most often remembered for his brief 31-day presidency, his life offers a fascinating glimpse into the challenges facing a young, expanding nation. Long before his ill-fated presidency, Harrison served as a general and territorial governor, where he played a crucial role in shaping U.S. expansionist policies. The book’s title alludes to his most significant contribution: carrying out President Jefferson's policy of acquiring Native American lands, a precursor to the U.S.'s fraught and ongoing relationship with Native American nations.
Though "Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer" offers a detailed look at Harrison’s role on the frontier, it feels incomplete when it comes to his broader political life. His time in Congress and his successful presidential campaign, which made him the first Whig president, receive little attention despite their importance. A deeper exploration of how Harrison influenced and was influenced by the Whig movement would have added much-needed layers to the story of a man often reduced to his short-lived presidency.
While the book excels in covering Harrison’s frontier leadership, it falls short in examining his full legacy. Still, it’s a worthwhile read for those interested in understanding more about Harrison’s life beyond the brief time he held the nation’s highest office.
June 3, 2024
Every historian carries bias. In fact, many consider the exercise of history is to contextualize the past in the light of modern biases. My frustration with this work is that bias and contextualization stand in the way of a reader’s ability to consider the subject. Too often, Mr. Owens jumps from a simple description of an event or person into a treatise on patriarchy, paternalism, racism, et al. Then, as if in apology, he comparts it with “but they were just products of their time” or some such nonsense. If this occurred every few chapters, it’d be annoying and fine; unfortunately it seems to occur every few paragraphs. The result is a lecturing tome through which a reader must squint to understand the principal actors—good luck to you if you’re trying to understand a place and time.
May 2, 2020
I went into this one with somewhat high hopes and enjoyed this treatment of William Henry Harrison about as well as I thought I would. It helped before reading this book to know that Owens originally wrote this as a thesis and subsequently adapted it for a general audience.Although not a full biography, its focus on WHH's years as military governor of Indiana Territory and land dealings with the disparate native tribes was thorough and mostly captivating. The former topic was where this book shines as it analyzes WHH's dealing with these tribes through various, and more than often, nefarious means to procure their land.
With the lack of choices for good WHH books on the market, this was my first pick for him and after reading, realized that if I want a deeper understanding of our ninth president, it will not be my only. Though Owens does give a great account of WHH during this time period, the writing style is choppy and somewhat convoluted, especially towards the later chapters. He skips around from topic to topic at times and not necessarily in chronological order. There are also certain sections of the book that I felt were detailed for nearly no reason. For example, the discussion on marriage and divorce law although interesting, didn't seem necessary to add to the understanding of WHH's tenure. I also was hoping for a little more clarity and focus on his rivalry with Tecumseh and his brother The Prophet. This topic was dealt with throughout but again, it seemed choppy and not as in depth as I was hoping. I was also disappointed with the quick ending that left me feeling a little unsatisfied. Overall, this was a worthwhile read for those wishing to understand the beginnings of WHH's political rise and ideologies as well as those wanting to learn more about the U.S. dealings with the tribes around the great lakes region.
With the lack of choices for good WHH books on the market, this was my first pick for him and after reading, realized that if I want a deeper understanding of our ninth president, it will not be my only. Though Owens does give a great account of WHH during this time period, the writing style is choppy and somewhat convoluted, especially towards the later chapters. He skips around from topic to topic at times and not necessarily in chronological order. There are also certain sections of the book that I felt were detailed for nearly no reason. For example, the discussion on marriage and divorce law although interesting, didn't seem necessary to add to the understanding of WHH's tenure. I also was hoping for a little more clarity and focus on his rivalry with Tecumseh and his brother The Prophet. This topic was dealt with throughout but again, it seemed choppy and not as in depth as I was hoping. I was also disappointed with the quick ending that left me feeling a little unsatisfied. Overall, this was a worthwhile read for those wishing to understand the beginnings of WHH's political rise and ideologies as well as those wanting to learn more about the U.S. dealings with the tribes around the great lakes region.
April 10, 2022
If you love William Henry Harrison and I mean really love William Henry Harrison then you might be disappointed because there is just not a lot of insight into his personal life and his thoughts and his tastes. But if you love and I mean really love stories about Indian treaties and turning territories into states then you will love this book.
August 22, 2020
This was fascinating, as I probably knew less about William Henry Harrison than any other president. I mean, he's only known for one thing, and that's barely being president. This book focuses on his role as the governor of the Indiana Territory in the early 1800s and his dealings with the Native Americans there, and it's a fascinating look at who this man was. It makes only passing reference to his life before and after this period, but one suspects that's because there wasn't much remarkable during those times.
May 17, 2019
Not truly a biography of our ninth president, but rather focuses on his time as Governor of Indiana Territory and his role in westward expansion at the expense of the Indian nations. An interesting overview of this part of American history, but often reads as a textbook.
November 5, 2024
Not my favorite president and not my favorite biography. Well written enough, but very boring. On the plus side, it was short.
April 19, 2023
I read other people's reviews before starting this, so I was aware of the fact that this book about William Henry Harrison is very distinctly about only one particular portion of his life. Nevertheless it's incredibly disorienting to be reading through a well written book that goes into such detail about the man's life, but then seemingly arbitrarily just completely stops with a brief 5 minute summary of his later life.
Regardless of the strangeness of why the author chose to write about only this one period of his life, it is a good read.
Regardless of the strangeness of why the author chose to write about only this one period of his life, it is a good read.
November 26, 2024
Pretty boring discussion of William Henry Harrison before his run for president.
April 19, 2015
This book is not so much a general biography of William Henry Harrison - who is probably most remembered as the President who died after only thirty-one days in office, having contracted pneumonia after delivering his two-hour inaugural address in a cold wind - as an examination, a review of his time as Governor of the Territory of Indiana and U.S. commisioner of Indian Affairs. It is a short 250-page account, specialised enough to be a university textbook somewhere, and it gives its readers a better understanding of the American Indian Policy. Basically it comes down to 'Divide & Conquer' on a massive scale.
There are quite a few choice nuggets of information in this book, regarding life on the Frontier, social mores, the importance of one's honour & reputation. Some other things to be read about can be of a jaw-dropping & disbelief-inducing variety.
For example:
In a letter dated February 27th, 1803, President Jefferson wrote to William Henry Harrison, then Governor of the Territory of Indiana, regarding the acquisition of land from Native tribes: To promote this disposition to exchange lands, which they have to spare and we want, we shall push our trading uses, and be glad to see them run in debt, because we observe that when these debts get beyond what the individual can pay, they become willing to lop them off by a cession of lands. (p.76)
Author Robert M. Owens also indicates that Jefferson instructed Harrison 'to keep these plans secret, as it would be best for the Indians if they did not foresee their future.' Gee, you think?
In addition to mentioning an anti-bigamy law, with penalties of a $100-$500 fine and 100-300 lashes for convicted offenders (p.176), it is also indicated that Harrison and the assembly were also just generally in favor of the institution of marriage. As in colonial Virginia and elsewhere, they saw it as having a calming, civilizing effect on men. Therefore, to encourage them to settle down, Harrison and the assembly subjected bachelors in the territory to a county tax. (p.179)
One other eyebrow-raising measure taken: In 1814, a 'revenue' act placed a three dollar annual tax on all free black males ages twenty-one to fifty-five. These types of laws, consciously calculated to discourage the immigration and settlement of free blacks, were common north of the Ohio and west of the Mississippi. Free blacks were not allowed to vote in the Midwest or the West until after the Civil War. (p.192)
What about all that revolutionary talk about Taxation Without Representation? It reminds me of that line in George Orwell's Animal Farm: 'All are equal / But some are more equal than others'
Also: Interesting trivia:
There are quite a few choice nuggets of information in this book, regarding life on the Frontier, social mores, the importance of one's honour & reputation. Some other things to be read about can be of a jaw-dropping & disbelief-inducing variety.
For example:
In a letter dated February 27th, 1803, President Jefferson wrote to William Henry Harrison, then Governor of the Territory of Indiana, regarding the acquisition of land from Native tribes: To promote this disposition to exchange lands, which they have to spare and we want, we shall push our trading uses, and be glad to see them run in debt, because we observe that when these debts get beyond what the individual can pay, they become willing to lop them off by a cession of lands. (p.76)
Author Robert M. Owens also indicates that Jefferson instructed Harrison 'to keep these plans secret, as it would be best for the Indians if they did not foresee their future.' Gee, you think?
In addition to mentioning an anti-bigamy law, with penalties of a $100-$500 fine and 100-300 lashes for convicted offenders (p.176), it is also indicated that Harrison and the assembly were also just generally in favor of the institution of marriage. As in colonial Virginia and elsewhere, they saw it as having a calming, civilizing effect on men. Therefore, to encourage them to settle down, Harrison and the assembly subjected bachelors in the territory to a county tax. (p.179)
One other eyebrow-raising measure taken: In 1814, a 'revenue' act placed a three dollar annual tax on all free black males ages twenty-one to fifty-five. These types of laws, consciously calculated to discourage the immigration and settlement of free blacks, were common north of the Ohio and west of the Mississippi. Free blacks were not allowed to vote in the Midwest or the West until after the Civil War. (p.192)
What about all that revolutionary talk about Taxation Without Representation? It reminds me of that line in George Orwell's Animal Farm: 'All are equal / But some are more equal than others'
Also: Interesting trivia:
May 27, 2025
The first presidential biography book I read in one day. This was highly rated by other presidential biography readers. I can't say I agree.
The author Staes an intent to examine Harrison's most impactful work not as President but as governor of Western territories leading up to and during the war of 1812. I think the author covers the "WHAT" question well. The story of Harrison, Tecumseh, and the chiefs brother "The Propher" on the frontier is compelling. Each person is vying for the loyalty of the remaining, dwindling yet dangerous northwestern tribes. That's cool.
But the author lacked material towards the "WHY". Perhaps Harrison didn't keep a diary. Or wasn't so prolific in his letters.
Perhaps in this I can ind inspiration to keep up with writing myself. As I get older (I'm only 25) I scare myself because sometimes I forget the what and why's of my own life. Whether deep in my elementary, middle, or high school pasts. Or even within the last month. Stories come flooding back at chance interactions with people wanting to reminisce. Or family members recalling moments I've seemingly tossed aside.
The author Staes an intent to examine Harrison's most impactful work not as President but as governor of Western territories leading up to and during the war of 1812. I think the author covers the "WHAT" question well. The story of Harrison, Tecumseh, and the chiefs brother "The Propher" on the frontier is compelling. Each person is vying for the loyalty of the remaining, dwindling yet dangerous northwestern tribes. That's cool.
But the author lacked material towards the "WHY". Perhaps Harrison didn't keep a diary. Or wasn't so prolific in his letters.
Perhaps in this I can ind inspiration to keep up with writing myself. As I get older (I'm only 25) I scare myself because sometimes I forget the what and why's of my own life. Whether deep in my elementary, middle, or high school pasts. Or even within the last month. Stories come flooding back at chance interactions with people wanting to reminisce. Or family members recalling moments I've seemingly tossed aside.
September 26, 2014
Incredibly well-researched, but poorly written. Mr. Jeffersons Hammer trots out fact after fact in a slow, exhausting manner that made it very difficult to read. I do appreciate Owens attempt to narrow the scope of the book to Harrison's position as governor, and found the material as interesting as the source would allow, but I think that a little better organization - just dividing the chapters into sections! - would have made the reading feel like less of a chore.
May 12, 2023
William Henry Harrison
Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens
Tier 5
Something I’ve mentioned before (and will mention again) about reading presidential biographies is learning that the man is not defined solely by his term in office. You learn about who the person was before and after they served as President. Most have uneventful post-presidencies, but they all bring something with them into it: baggage, reputation, an aura. There’s something that drove them to the highest land in the office.
This is important to remember as this week’s President, William Henry Harrison, died just thirty-one days into his term. This is still the shortest presidency we’ve had, and it’s a record I think unlikely to be broken any time soon. As such, Harrison is defined more by his death than his life. Some may say this is unfair, but that’s the life of a public figure. You don’t always get to shape your legacy.
I don’t mean to be harsh, as I know how difficult it is to write a book, but I have to say this one wasn’t good. It was flat and plodding, and I felt Owens was trying to attach Harrison to other more interesting figures (most notably Jefferson). I understand he thought his subject lacked the gravitas to carry a biography, but that’s the historian's job.
Harrison is known historically for a few things.
First, his death. Thirty-one days is not a long time. It’s so short that he’s often omitted from presidential rankings. His death was brought on by not wearing a coat and hat, giving mothers everywhere solid evidence for their claims that you’ll catch your death of cold. It seems he got caught in a rainstorm and refused to change out of his wet clothes upon returning to the White House. The treatment that followed is almost comically absurd – bloodletting, heated cups applied to the skin, mustard plaster on his stomach, laxatives, castor oil, inducing vomiting. He contracted pneumonia, and after severe diarrhea combined with other symptoms, he passed away. These events happened so early in his presidency that his wife was still in Ohio, packing to come to Washington.
His death made him the first president to die in office—a dubious honor for sure, but a legacy all the same. There was a bit of a scramble to decide who would succeed him as President, as there was some debate regarding the wording of this clause in the Constitution. The argument centered on whether the Vice President became the President or whether they simply remained Vice President, with all the powers and duties of the office of the President.
This seems obvious to us now, but it caused a great deal of discussion at the time. John Tyler, his Vice President, obviously fought to become President, and the argument was short-lived. This set a precedent that has been observed in every succession since then.
Second, his presidential campaign. “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” is an undeniably catchy slogan that still rings well today. But it isn’t only this slogan that demonstrates the lasting memory of this campaign. It introduced several campaign tactics that are still prevalent today.
One of these tactics was the idea of mass rallies held in various locals. This wasn’t an aspect of campaigning before Harrison and is now commonplace.
Another was a wide distribution of campaign materials. He had people hand out pamphlets, banners, and buttons (often using his slogans).
And the final, and perhaps most consequential, was the idea of framing a candidate as an everyman. Harrison was born wealthy to a plantation owner in Virginia but painted himself as an outsider who came from nothing to achieve success in the wild frontier. They homed in on criticism from the Van Buren camp that Harrison would rather “sit in his log cabin drinking hard cider” than run the country. Harrison’s campaign used this to appeal to the everyman, framing their candidate as one of the people opposing the wealthy elitist Van Buren. Sound familiar?
Finally, Harrison is remembered for shaping what we now know as the Upper Midwest. He conducted treaties with and military campaigns against Native American tribes in those areas, securing vast tracts of land for the United States. As you can imagine, Harrison was not kind to the Native people who lived on those lands. He’d negotiate with one tribe (who often didn’t even live on the land in question) and then move to eradicate any other tribes living there. Some of these actions were instrumental in the start of the War of 1812. As with most of his contemporaries, Harrison had little regard for the lives of American Indians, and his policies were in keeping with that indifference bordering on hatred.
That’s basically all I’ve got on Harrison. His grandson would also go on to be president, but we’re not there just yet. Don’t read this book.
A few years ago, I set out to listen to a biography of every US President. I have completed that project and am now writing about each book I listened to. If you’re interested in more of these I have a substack (https://patrickodowd.substack.com) and a website (https://www.patrickrodowd.com) where I post these reviews/musings. Thank you for reading!
Mr. Jefferson's Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens
Tier 5
Something I’ve mentioned before (and will mention again) about reading presidential biographies is learning that the man is not defined solely by his term in office. You learn about who the person was before and after they served as President. Most have uneventful post-presidencies, but they all bring something with them into it: baggage, reputation, an aura. There’s something that drove them to the highest land in the office.
This is important to remember as this week’s President, William Henry Harrison, died just thirty-one days into his term. This is still the shortest presidency we’ve had, and it’s a record I think unlikely to be broken any time soon. As such, Harrison is defined more by his death than his life. Some may say this is unfair, but that’s the life of a public figure. You don’t always get to shape your legacy.
I don’t mean to be harsh, as I know how difficult it is to write a book, but I have to say this one wasn’t good. It was flat and plodding, and I felt Owens was trying to attach Harrison to other more interesting figures (most notably Jefferson). I understand he thought his subject lacked the gravitas to carry a biography, but that’s the historian's job.
Harrison is known historically for a few things.
First, his death. Thirty-one days is not a long time. It’s so short that he’s often omitted from presidential rankings. His death was brought on by not wearing a coat and hat, giving mothers everywhere solid evidence for their claims that you’ll catch your death of cold. It seems he got caught in a rainstorm and refused to change out of his wet clothes upon returning to the White House. The treatment that followed is almost comically absurd – bloodletting, heated cups applied to the skin, mustard plaster on his stomach, laxatives, castor oil, inducing vomiting. He contracted pneumonia, and after severe diarrhea combined with other symptoms, he passed away. These events happened so early in his presidency that his wife was still in Ohio, packing to come to Washington.
His death made him the first president to die in office—a dubious honor for sure, but a legacy all the same. There was a bit of a scramble to decide who would succeed him as President, as there was some debate regarding the wording of this clause in the Constitution. The argument centered on whether the Vice President became the President or whether they simply remained Vice President, with all the powers and duties of the office of the President.
This seems obvious to us now, but it caused a great deal of discussion at the time. John Tyler, his Vice President, obviously fought to become President, and the argument was short-lived. This set a precedent that has been observed in every succession since then.
Second, his presidential campaign. “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” is an undeniably catchy slogan that still rings well today. But it isn’t only this slogan that demonstrates the lasting memory of this campaign. It introduced several campaign tactics that are still prevalent today.
One of these tactics was the idea of mass rallies held in various locals. This wasn’t an aspect of campaigning before Harrison and is now commonplace.
Another was a wide distribution of campaign materials. He had people hand out pamphlets, banners, and buttons (often using his slogans).
And the final, and perhaps most consequential, was the idea of framing a candidate as an everyman. Harrison was born wealthy to a plantation owner in Virginia but painted himself as an outsider who came from nothing to achieve success in the wild frontier. They homed in on criticism from the Van Buren camp that Harrison would rather “sit in his log cabin drinking hard cider” than run the country. Harrison’s campaign used this to appeal to the everyman, framing their candidate as one of the people opposing the wealthy elitist Van Buren. Sound familiar?
Finally, Harrison is remembered for shaping what we now know as the Upper Midwest. He conducted treaties with and military campaigns against Native American tribes in those areas, securing vast tracts of land for the United States. As you can imagine, Harrison was not kind to the Native people who lived on those lands. He’d negotiate with one tribe (who often didn’t even live on the land in question) and then move to eradicate any other tribes living there. Some of these actions were instrumental in the start of the War of 1812. As with most of his contemporaries, Harrison had little regard for the lives of American Indians, and his policies were in keeping with that indifference bordering on hatred.
That’s basically all I’ve got on Harrison. His grandson would also go on to be president, but we’re not there just yet. Don’t read this book.
A few years ago, I set out to listen to a biography of every US President. I have completed that project and am now writing about each book I listened to. If you’re interested in more of these I have a substack (https://patrickodowd.substack.com) and a website (https://www.patrickrodowd.com) where I post these reviews/musings. Thank you for reading!
June 20, 2016
Finally done #44in52
April 20, 2023
There was a lot to admire about this book. There was a lot of detailed information derived from The Papers of William Henry Harrison that allowed the author to take a deep dive into President Harrison's life and communications. The writing was well done.
But, here is my problem. I have a hard time reading a book where the author is intent on judging the subject's life from a 21st Century historian's perspective sitting in an air-conditioned office. Sure, William Henry Harrison had significant warts in his personality---as all people do. He grappled with the issue of slavery in a way that no modern American would grapple with it. He dealt with the issue of Native Americans in a way that no modern American would either. But, it is entirely unfair to speak of that person outside of the context of his life and circumstances.
William Henry Harrison was the territorial governor of Indiana before it was a state. It was on the western frontier of America with no significant infrastructure and no significant development. There was no established police force---and even where there were some societal controls, they were in a wilderness where no person could rely on the speedy response of another to save them.
He lived in a society filled with real threats, and, whether we in this century would like to believe it or not, those included Native Americans, some of whom the author acknowledges, believed that "killing prisoners was [not] inherently wrong," and that kidnapping women and children was fine---the author called kidnapping when done by native tribes (of course) "adoption," I suppose to make it more acceptable. Don't get me wrong, Americans who were spreading across the country were not blameless and sometimes deserved the brutal treatment that they received.
However, the tone of this book is replete with condescending judgments about Harrison's generation---- they were not a "purely malevolent force," but malevolent nonetheless. We are, of course, supposed to expect the Americans in Harrison's generation to try to understand why those around them were trying to kill them and also place no blame on their tormentors. The author seems truly puzzled that "Americans found ... [the cultural] explanations [for the murder, rape, and kidnapping of their families] unsatisfying." Thus, the author sees Americans as malevolent for attempting to enter into treaties with Native Americans and the Native Americans not malevolent when they killed, raped, and kidnapped their families.
Again, I am not saying that Americans of Harrison's generation are blameless. What I am saying is that this book found malice where there was none and innocence where there was guilt depending on who the actor was. That is not history---that is judgment, and, I, for one, get tired of it.
But for the tone of the book and the thinly veiled judgments, I would have enjoyed it and rated it higher.
But, here is my problem. I have a hard time reading a book where the author is intent on judging the subject's life from a 21st Century historian's perspective sitting in an air-conditioned office. Sure, William Henry Harrison had significant warts in his personality---as all people do. He grappled with the issue of slavery in a way that no modern American would grapple with it. He dealt with the issue of Native Americans in a way that no modern American would either. But, it is entirely unfair to speak of that person outside of the context of his life and circumstances.
William Henry Harrison was the territorial governor of Indiana before it was a state. It was on the western frontier of America with no significant infrastructure and no significant development. There was no established police force---and even where there were some societal controls, they were in a wilderness where no person could rely on the speedy response of another to save them.
He lived in a society filled with real threats, and, whether we in this century would like to believe it or not, those included Native Americans, some of whom the author acknowledges, believed that "killing prisoners was [not] inherently wrong," and that kidnapping women and children was fine---the author called kidnapping when done by native tribes (of course) "adoption," I suppose to make it more acceptable. Don't get me wrong, Americans who were spreading across the country were not blameless and sometimes deserved the brutal treatment that they received.
However, the tone of this book is replete with condescending judgments about Harrison's generation---- they were not a "purely malevolent force," but malevolent nonetheless. We are, of course, supposed to expect the Americans in Harrison's generation to try to understand why those around them were trying to kill them and also place no blame on their tormentors. The author seems truly puzzled that "Americans found ... [the cultural] explanations [for the murder, rape, and kidnapping of their families] unsatisfying." Thus, the author sees Americans as malevolent for attempting to enter into treaties with Native Americans and the Native Americans not malevolent when they killed, raped, and kidnapped their families.
Again, I am not saying that Americans of Harrison's generation are blameless. What I am saying is that this book found malice where there was none and innocence where there was guilt depending on who the actor was. That is not history---that is judgment, and, I, for one, get tired of it.
But for the tone of the book and the thinly veiled judgments, I would have enjoyed it and rated it higher.
July 14, 2019
William Henry Harrison was our oldest to this point and 9th President of the United States - for one month. Upon his (longest) inauguration speech in terrible weather, where he refused to wear warm clothes and hat, he developed an illness and die.
How did he become President and what may he have been like? He had run against Martin Van Buren as a member of the Whig party. There had been a desire for change by citizens during the time of a great depression. Citizens were land rich and cash poor after a fast expansion and poor policies or non on currency and investment. The last 12 years of Jackson and Van Buren had been a "hands Off" policy in terms of leading the country. The country who had been expanding may have been in need of more of a more aggressive economic strategy to help the new changing land.
Harrison ran against Van Buren by trying to appear "A people's man" and won on that message. Ironically, Van Buren was the one who had come from humble beginnings while Harrison was from the land holder, Southern, autocratic, heritage. His father had signed the declaration of Independence and had been governor of Virginia.
Harrison mad his name as a military man. He eloped with Anna Simms (a judges daughter) without permission and received the position as Chief of Indian Affairs in the Ohio Valley. He then became governor of the Territory of Indiana. He served as Senator as well and eventually was lauded as the winner of a symbolic win at Tippecanoe against the Indians led by Tecumseh. He fathered 10 children with Anna and took his "Paternal role" of guiding the Indian Role seriously. He thought he was better than the conquistadors who had chosen killing Indians right rather than negotiating, moving, and paying them for land.
As Indian negotiator to obtain American land, he underpaid Indians 1 cent an acre. He also created questionable contracts and treaties that were misleading. President Jefferson, interested in expansion was aware and supportive of the aggressive means to obtain land and stave off as much interference as possible from the Indians.
Although Indiana Territory was supposed to be a no slavery zone. Harrison was pro slavery and encourage indentured service titles to take the place of "slave". In this way, servants would be forced to work a lifetime for there service.
How did he become President and what may he have been like? He had run against Martin Van Buren as a member of the Whig party. There had been a desire for change by citizens during the time of a great depression. Citizens were land rich and cash poor after a fast expansion and poor policies or non on currency and investment. The last 12 years of Jackson and Van Buren had been a "hands Off" policy in terms of leading the country. The country who had been expanding may have been in need of more of a more aggressive economic strategy to help the new changing land.
Harrison ran against Van Buren by trying to appear "A people's man" and won on that message. Ironically, Van Buren was the one who had come from humble beginnings while Harrison was from the land holder, Southern, autocratic, heritage. His father had signed the declaration of Independence and had been governor of Virginia.
Harrison mad his name as a military man. He eloped with Anna Simms (a judges daughter) without permission and received the position as Chief of Indian Affairs in the Ohio Valley. He then became governor of the Territory of Indiana. He served as Senator as well and eventually was lauded as the winner of a symbolic win at Tippecanoe against the Indians led by Tecumseh. He fathered 10 children with Anna and took his "Paternal role" of guiding the Indian Role seriously. He thought he was better than the conquistadors who had chosen killing Indians right rather than negotiating, moving, and paying them for land.
As Indian negotiator to obtain American land, he underpaid Indians 1 cent an acre. He also created questionable contracts and treaties that were misleading. President Jefferson, interested in expansion was aware and supportive of the aggressive means to obtain land and stave off as much interference as possible from the Indians.
Although Indiana Territory was supposed to be a no slavery zone. Harrison was pro slavery and encourage indentured service titles to take the place of "slave". In this way, servants would be forced to work a lifetime for there service.
January 10, 2021
Recommended with a caveat.
In my journey through reading in order at least one bio about each president, this was the least complete, but having read reviews beforehand I knew this going in. What surprised me was it did have more early biographical material than I expected but had even less after 1814/1816 than expected and none about his presidency and therefore his political views at that time of his life or said views in the context of the nation's history.
However, the author, Mr. Owens, wrote very well, more entertainingly than other biographers I have read. The content was both informative (for what he covered) and interesting (the two don't always go hand in hand). He was refreshingly objective about Harrison (I came away not really liking him. So far out of the 9 biographies I have read I enjoyed the most and was most impressed with John Quincy Adams ["John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit" by James Traub]. The individual I think the nicest person and would have liked to know and have conversations with was John Adams [biographer David McCullough]. I think Andrew Jackson [biographer Jon Meacham] was the worst and most obnoxious and self centered president/person thus far [very much foreshadowing Trump]. One can argue about his intense patriotism but one could also argue he sometimes put his interests first before the country due to his arrogance). Just as important and refreshing, Mr. Owens is objective about the Founding Fathers, the Revolution, the Constitution and the dynasty/oligarchy from Virginia. The first chapter should be required reading for any U.S. History course. He really does not put any makeup on any warts.
Essentially, this is a history of the development of the Northwest territory created by the Ordinance of 1787 (specifically what eventually became Illinois and Indiana), the tempestuous relations with the Native Americans (how unfair we were!), and the continuing relations in that area with the British after the Revolutionary War, all with William Henry Harrison as the main character. It is a slice of his life, a healthy, hefty slice, but just a slice none the less.
Anyone interested in presidential biographies would do well to visit bestpresidentialbios.com created by Stephen Floyd. The man is amazing and his site an invaluable guide.
In my journey through reading in order at least one bio about each president, this was the least complete, but having read reviews beforehand I knew this going in. What surprised me was it did have more early biographical material than I expected but had even less after 1814/1816 than expected and none about his presidency and therefore his political views at that time of his life or said views in the context of the nation's history.
However, the author, Mr. Owens, wrote very well, more entertainingly than other biographers I have read. The content was both informative (for what he covered) and interesting (the two don't always go hand in hand). He was refreshingly objective about Harrison (I came away not really liking him. So far out of the 9 biographies I have read I enjoyed the most and was most impressed with John Quincy Adams ["John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit" by James Traub]. The individual I think the nicest person and would have liked to know and have conversations with was John Adams [biographer David McCullough]. I think Andrew Jackson [biographer Jon Meacham] was the worst and most obnoxious and self centered president/person thus far [very much foreshadowing Trump]. One can argue about his intense patriotism but one could also argue he sometimes put his interests first before the country due to his arrogance). Just as important and refreshing, Mr. Owens is objective about the Founding Fathers, the Revolution, the Constitution and the dynasty/oligarchy from Virginia. The first chapter should be required reading for any U.S. History course. He really does not put any makeup on any warts.
Essentially, this is a history of the development of the Northwest territory created by the Ordinance of 1787 (specifically what eventually became Illinois and Indiana), the tempestuous relations with the Native Americans (how unfair we were!), and the continuing relations in that area with the British after the Revolutionary War, all with William Henry Harrison as the main character. It is a slice of his life, a healthy, hefty slice, but just a slice none the less.
Anyone interested in presidential biographies would do well to visit bestpresidentialbios.com created by Stephen Floyd. The man is amazing and his site an invaluable guide.
December 9, 2022
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Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens is a biography of the 9th President of the United States. Not many have heard of Mr. Harrison, he was the first President to die in office, and only served 31 days.
This is not a presidential biography per se, as Mr. Harrison is the shortest-serving President. The author mostly focuses on the time Mr. Harrison spent in Indiana and the issues faced by frontier society.
As a Virginia aristocrat, Mr. Harrison was usually in debt, as were many others, in sharp contrast to his Presidential campaign painting him as a man of the people. He joined the military where he cut his chops negotiating, and fighting, with Native Americans. Later President Thomas Jefferson appointed William Henry Harrison as governor of the Indiana Territory, and this is the part where the book finds its strengths.
Relying on documents relating to Harrison’s activity in Indiana from the Indiana Historical Society, the author provides an insightful window into frontier challenges. Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer by Robert Owens doesn’t shy away from issues that were controversial at the time, as well as today, namely the policy towards Native Americans and slavery.
On this front, the book succeeds immensely. However, it skips the 20-plus years Mr. Harrison served in the military, his childhood, or the three decades (almost) after he resigned as commander of the Army of the Northwest. Only the last few pages mention his service in Congress or his appointment as Minister to Columbia.
The parts that the author intends to cover, and frankly tells us so at the beginning of the book, are covered extremely well. They are well written, well documented, as well as clear, and concise, yet somehow still analytical. The Battle of Tippecanoe, which I heard about but didn’t know much was a fascinating section – frontier propaganda which the author dismantled with ease.
Mr. Owens’ has the fantastic ability to connect his subject’s actions to the difficult life and challenges that society at large experienced. While incomplete as far as presidential biographies go, this was an excellent book about what makes a President and American frontier society.
Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer: William Henry Harrison and the Origins of American Indian Policy by Robert M. Owens is a biography of the 9th President of the United States. Not many have heard of Mr. Harrison, he was the first President to die in office, and only served 31 days.
This is not a presidential biography per se, as Mr. Harrison is the shortest-serving President. The author mostly focuses on the time Mr. Harrison spent in Indiana and the issues faced by frontier society.
As a Virginia aristocrat, Mr. Harrison was usually in debt, as were many others, in sharp contrast to his Presidential campaign painting him as a man of the people. He joined the military where he cut his chops negotiating, and fighting, with Native Americans. Later President Thomas Jefferson appointed William Henry Harrison as governor of the Indiana Territory, and this is the part where the book finds its strengths.
Relying on documents relating to Harrison’s activity in Indiana from the Indiana Historical Society, the author provides an insightful window into frontier challenges. Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer by Robert Owens doesn’t shy away from issues that were controversial at the time, as well as today, namely the policy towards Native Americans and slavery.
On this front, the book succeeds immensely. However, it skips the 20-plus years Mr. Harrison served in the military, his childhood, or the three decades (almost) after he resigned as commander of the Army of the Northwest. Only the last few pages mention his service in Congress or his appointment as Minister to Columbia.
The parts that the author intends to cover, and frankly tells us so at the beginning of the book, are covered extremely well. They are well written, well documented, as well as clear, and concise, yet somehow still analytical. The Battle of Tippecanoe, which I heard about but didn’t know much was a fascinating section – frontier propaganda which the author dismantled with ease.
Mr. Owens’ has the fantastic ability to connect his subject’s actions to the difficult life and challenges that society at large experienced. While incomplete as far as presidential biographies go, this was an excellent book about what makes a President and American frontier society.
March 29, 2024
Another book in the books. This book, as the title alludes to, is all about William Henry Harrison and his dealings with the Indians. Not much else but that. I enjoyed the book, but at times it definitely was hard to follow all the contact with all different types of people. It was my choice to read this book and I knew it would be full of Indian treaties and information on them, so I can’t fault it for its contents per se. For readability, I give this book a 6/10. The writing was pretty clear and the language was easy to understand, although at times what I was reading was far from interesting and it took some fighting to continue. For depth, I give this book a 3.5/10. Given that almost everything that was covered in this book occurred from 1805 to 1815, I was very disappointed that I did not learn more about WHH’s life. Again, the book’s title warned me. For engagement, I’ll give this a 6.5/10. Although what I was reading was not most interesting subject in the world, I had very little on the mid-west land expansion and I enjoyed learning more about it. Additionally, Owens’ accounts of WHH’s time in battle were really engaging and thrilling. This book was decent and luckily not too long, but boy the subjects could become meh real quick, but now I know about the Indian affairs in the mid-west. Overall Rating 4.5/10. Now for Harrison himself, I low key did not learn a ton about him and it’s hard for me to put my finger on what he was really like. He was very “Jackson-like” in his negotiation tactics and very “Washington-like” in his military tactics. Since he was only president for 31 days (not even covered in this book), I can’t judge him much on his accomplishments in policy, but he did do a lot for America in land expansion, and was a pretty good territory governor and military leader, so 5/10 on accomplishments. He did do a lot in his short life and he seems like a pretty cool dude. For how “great” he was, I honestly have no idea. Again he was a great negotiator and soldier, but also, made a lot of mistakes in his career as governor and also owned slaves and he did nothing as president because he did so for the “great” scale he gets a 2/10. He died and didn’t do anything as president so he can’t be high at all, at least the previous presidents lived through their terms.
April 3, 2019
When it comes to president’s legacies and impact on the country, William Henry Harrison’s is minimal to the extreme, since he died one month into his first term. Couple that with him being sick most of the time, and his policies that he wished to enact on the nation were never fully realized, if they were thought about at all.
With this consideration in mind, Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer by Robert M. Owens, chooses to look at Harrisons pre-presidential career serving as Indiana’s Governor. During this time, Owens also explores the states history with slavery, and how Native Americans were treated by the United States government. Does this make for an interesting book? Not really, and it is because of the ending that I find it so troublesome.
You see, this book baerly focuses on the career of Harrison after he ends his time as Indiana’s Governor. Baerly 10 pages are devoted to it, so we get little information about what made him want to run for president, or what he did in between Indiana and running for office. Instead, we get an ample look at how he shaped frontier life for those in Indiana, and the Ohio River Valley. Relationships between the US government is explored, along with notable people on both sides. We also see how the relationship and protocol when dealing with land acquisition was developed (largely due to Harrison). Yet, what should be a very interesting element of American history is delivered in a dry manner that can make it difficult to read. History at it’s best can be compelling and can show the how and why of an event, while being entertaining as well. This book does not do this, and the result is a boring text that can be a slog to sit through.
In the end, what I found really annoying was the lack of explanation on Harrison’s presidential career, and his running for office. It would not have been hard to include, given he served such a short time in office. Yet, it is barely mentioned, as though it was an afterthought. When there are so few modern Harrison biographies in print these days, this seems almost criminal. I give this book a two out of five. I can only hope that John Tyler’s biography is better.
With this consideration in mind, Mr. Jefferson’s Hammer by Robert M. Owens, chooses to look at Harrisons pre-presidential career serving as Indiana’s Governor. During this time, Owens also explores the states history with slavery, and how Native Americans were treated by the United States government. Does this make for an interesting book? Not really, and it is because of the ending that I find it so troublesome.
You see, this book baerly focuses on the career of Harrison after he ends his time as Indiana’s Governor. Baerly 10 pages are devoted to it, so we get little information about what made him want to run for president, or what he did in between Indiana and running for office. Instead, we get an ample look at how he shaped frontier life for those in Indiana, and the Ohio River Valley. Relationships between the US government is explored, along with notable people on both sides. We also see how the relationship and protocol when dealing with land acquisition was developed (largely due to Harrison). Yet, what should be a very interesting element of American history is delivered in a dry manner that can make it difficult to read. History at it’s best can be compelling and can show the how and why of an event, while being entertaining as well. This book does not do this, and the result is a boring text that can be a slog to sit through.
In the end, what I found really annoying was the lack of explanation on Harrison’s presidential career, and his running for office. It would not have been hard to include, given he served such a short time in office. Yet, it is barely mentioned, as though it was an afterthought. When there are so few modern Harrison biographies in print these days, this seems almost criminal. I give this book a two out of five. I can only hope that John Tyler’s biography is better.
July 2, 2020
In this biography, Owens does a great job of being a responsible historian. That is to say, he absolutely contextualizes William Henry Harrison as a product of his time and upbringing (Could we expect other than a wealthy Virginian attempting to spread the institution of slavery?) without excusing him. Owens threads the needle between modern values and cultural relativity in a satisfying way, offering a portrait of 18th and 19th century Indiana territory that variously focuses on slavery, women's rights, expansion, and early United States Indian Policy.
Harrison has an interesting career, culminating in his record-breaking stint as President-of-the-month. This book focuses on Harrison's youth and the formative stages of his career as the governor of Indiana Territory around the turn of the century. The book describes how Harrison epitomized Jeffersonian tactics and goals when dealing with locals, including misleading and manipulative treaty negotiations, gaslighting, and conquest. He rationalizes his civilizing mission as being the best alternative to wiping out the locals, but on the other hand embarks upon a brutal military campaign against local tribes, making him a hero at the Battle of Tippecanoe.
This biography is not a flattering portrait of a young Harrison, but neither does it vilify him. In the concluding paragraphs, it notes how its goal wasn't to endorse or demonize President Harrison, but to explain his role in early American frontier life. There are hints of an especially tantalizing comparison to be made between Governor Harrison of Indiana and Governor Jackson of Tennessee, both military men who were made in the war of 1812 and frontier governors who used more (Jackson) or less (Harrison) brutal methods of pacification against Native Americans.
Well-written and looking at all of society in Harrison's Indiana, this biography does a great job representing its subject and their society.
Harrison has an interesting career, culminating in his record-breaking stint as President-of-the-month. This book focuses on Harrison's youth and the formative stages of his career as the governor of Indiana Territory around the turn of the century. The book describes how Harrison epitomized Jeffersonian tactics and goals when dealing with locals, including misleading and manipulative treaty negotiations, gaslighting, and conquest. He rationalizes his civilizing mission as being the best alternative to wiping out the locals, but on the other hand embarks upon a brutal military campaign against local tribes, making him a hero at the Battle of Tippecanoe.
This biography is not a flattering portrait of a young Harrison, but neither does it vilify him. In the concluding paragraphs, it notes how its goal wasn't to endorse or demonize President Harrison, but to explain his role in early American frontier life. There are hints of an especially tantalizing comparison to be made between Governor Harrison of Indiana and Governor Jackson of Tennessee, both military men who were made in the war of 1812 and frontier governors who used more (Jackson) or less (Harrison) brutal methods of pacification against Native Americans.
Well-written and looking at all of society in Harrison's Indiana, this biography does a great job representing its subject and their society.
November 20, 2023
William Henry Harrison is most famous for dying a month into his first term after giving a 2 hour inaugural speech in crappy weather and catching pneumonia. I was also familiar with his "Log Cabins and Hard Cider" presidential campaign as he tried to pass himself off as a common frontiersman in spite of his wealthy upbringing. Finally I knew he had won fame for the Battle of Tippecanoe but I knew nothing about him beyond that.
Turns out he was heavily involved in negotiating treaties with Native American tribes, so happy accident that I stumbled on this book during Native American Heritage Month. This book seems like a more scholarly endeavor which perhaps makes it a little dryer to read but provided a more nuanced picture with less editorializing than I expected.
Overall, it provides a pretty interesting picture of American policy and attitudes towards Native Americans. For instance, early Americans often assumed the British were behind everything the tribes did and so attitudes towards the natives moved in concert with Anglophobia. There was also this extreme version of paternalism where the natives even referred to Harrison, Jefferson, and other white men, and they referred the tribes as their sons all of which seemed like a useful tool for rationalizing some of the disreputable treatments of the natives.
The book is also displays many of the shady tactics Harrison and others used to get natives to sign treaties. Things like bribing friendly chiefs, paying annuities to tribes for signing one treaty then withholding the annuity if they don’t sign the next, attributing ownership only to the tribes who would treat with you and cutting out those who refused, and of course giving the natives alcohol.
This book has some other excellent sections just recounting life on the frontier in the early 1800s. Sections about dueling, newspapers or just life in general were fascinating.
Turns out he was heavily involved in negotiating treaties with Native American tribes, so happy accident that I stumbled on this book during Native American Heritage Month. This book seems like a more scholarly endeavor which perhaps makes it a little dryer to read but provided a more nuanced picture with less editorializing than I expected.
Overall, it provides a pretty interesting picture of American policy and attitudes towards Native Americans. For instance, early Americans often assumed the British were behind everything the tribes did and so attitudes towards the natives moved in concert with Anglophobia. There was also this extreme version of paternalism where the natives even referred to Harrison, Jefferson, and other white men, and they referred the tribes as their sons all of which seemed like a useful tool for rationalizing some of the disreputable treatments of the natives.
The book is also displays many of the shady tactics Harrison and others used to get natives to sign treaties. Things like bribing friendly chiefs, paying annuities to tribes for signing one treaty then withholding the annuity if they don’t sign the next, attributing ownership only to the tribes who would treat with you and cutting out those who refused, and of course giving the natives alcohol.
This book has some other excellent sections just recounting life on the frontier in the early 1800s. Sections about dueling, newspapers or just life in general were fascinating.
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