Virtual Museum of Art | Virtual Museum of History | Virtual Public Library | Virtual Science Center | Virtual Museum of Natural History | Virtual War Museum
   You are in: Museum of History >> Hall of USA >> US Presidents >> Benjamin Harrison

Who was the First U.S. President?
There were actually four first Presidents
of the United Colonies and States of America
Click Here


New Page 1

Benjamin Harrison
33rd President of the United States
23rd under the US Constitution



BENJAMIN HARRISON was born in his grandfather’s home in North Bend, Hamilton County, Ohio on August 20, 1833. His father, John Scott Harrison was the son of William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States and the grandson of Benjamin Harrison of Virginia, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Harrison’s mother was Elizabeth Irwin of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania and the couple settled on the family estate on the banks of the Ohio near the mouth of the Big Miami River.

Young Harrison started school in a log schoolhouse and at the age of fifteen he went to Cary’s Academy (which later became Farmer’s College) near Cincinnati. In 1850, he entered Miami University of Ohio as a junior. At Miami he renewed his acquaintance with Caroline Lavinia Scott, the daughter of John W. Scott who had taught Harrison science at Cary’s Academy and was the president of the Oxford Female Institute. Harrison graduated in 1852 with highest honors. Although deeply religious, he finally decided to study law with Storer and Gwynne a Cincinnati firm. He married Caroline on October 20, 1853 in the same year he was admitted to the Ohio bar. The Harrisons had two children: Russell Benjamin Harrison (1854 – 1936) and Mary Scott Harrison (1858 – 1930).

Harrison and his bride moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, which seemed to him to be a promising location for a legal practice. He formed a partnership with William Wallace, son of a former Indiana governor and the firm prospered, as they were not specialized but took every case. Harrison achieved his training as an all around lawyer and he had few rivals. His ability as a lawyer aided well in his political career and in 1860, he was elected to the office of Reporter of the Supreme Court of the State of Indiana.

In August 1862 at the request of Governor Oliver P. Morton, Harrison entered the Union Army as a Colonel of the 70th Indiana Regiment and he was honorably discharged in June 1865, after participating in many important engagements during his three years of service.

Harrison returned to Indiana a war hero and he gained wide fame and some fortune with his law practice, Porter, Harrison & Fishback. In 1881, he was elected to the United States Senate by the Indiana Legislature and served until 1887, during which time he became one of the Senate’s strongest debaters. In 1888 he was presented to the Republican National Convention by the Indiana delegation as a nominee for president. He won the nomination on the eighth ballot and took a very active part in his campaign, making many speeches and aided by his historic name. He was elected in November receiving 233 electoral votes to Grover Cleveland’s 168.

On March 4, 1889, Harrison was inaugurated. He had received substantial campaign contributions from American manufacturers who favored his protectionist stance, but he displeased both party loyalists and reformers during his term in office. He sponsored the first Pan-American Congress and supported the McKinley Tariff Act, which increased import duties, and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which regulated monopolies. While manufacturers benefited from the high tariffs under Harrison, they did not pass the benefits on to labor. He was faced with mounting resentment among industrial workers and a depressed farm economy.

Harrison was nominated again for president at the conclusion of his term but was defeated by Grover Cleveland – the same man he had defeated four years before.

Harrison’s wife Caroline had died two weeks before the election so as a widower he returned to his law practice and his home in Indianapolis. He was hired by Senator Stanford to deliver a course of lectures at the Leland Stanford Jr., University in California on Constitutional law. He was prominent in the Presbyterian councils and was a member of the Committee on Revision. In April 1896, Harrison married Mrs. Mary Scott Lord Dimmick, his first wife’s niece and in 1897, their daughter, Elizabeth Harrison was born. In the same year, he published This Country of Ours, his book explaining how the federal government operates.

Harrison died in Indianapolis on March 13, 1901 of pneumonia. His Views of an Ex-President, which was edited by his widow, was published posthumously. Mary Scott Lord Dimmick Harrison survived him by nearly 47 years.

Courtesy of: National Archives and Records Administration

Media Textual records
Descr. Level Item
Record Group 46
Series MCCOOK
Item 3(3)
Title Message of President Benjamin Harrison nominating William Windom to be Secretary of the Treasury
Dates 03/04/1889
Sample Record(s) (larger access file - 92903 bytes)
Creating Org. Congress. Senate.
Record Type/Genre Messages
See Also Series Description
Access Unrestricted.
Use Restrictions None.
Items 1 item(s)
Contact Center for Legislative Archives (NWL), National Archives Building, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408 PHONE: 202-501-5350 FAX: 202-219-2176


Presidents of the Continental Congress
United Colonies of The United States

Peyton Randolph
September 5, 1774 to October 22, 1774 
and May 20 to May 24, 1775

Henry Middleton
October 22, 1774 to October 26, 1774

John Hancock
October 27, 1775 to July 1, 1776

 

Presidents of the Continental Congress
United States of America

John Hancock
July 2, 1776 to  October 29, 1777

Henry Laurens
November 1, 1777 to December 9, 1778

John Jay
December 10, 1778 to September 28, 1779

Samuel Huntington
September 28, 1779 to February 28, 1781


Presidents of the United States
in Congress Assembled

Samuel Huntington
1st President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
March 1, 1781 to July 6, 1781

Thomas McKean
2nd President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
July 10, 1781 to November 5, 1781

John Hanson
3rd President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
November 5, 1781 to November 4, 1782

Elias Boudinot
4th President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
November 4, 1782 to November 3, 1783

Thomas Mifflin
5th President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
November 3, 1783 to June 3, 1784

Richard Henry Lee
6th President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
November 30, 1784 to November 23, 1785

John Hancock
7th President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
November 23, 1785 to June 6, 1786

Nathaniel Gorham
8th President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
June 1786 - November 13, 1786

Arthur St. Clair
9th President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
February 2, 1787 to October 29, 1787

Cyrus Griffin
10th President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
January 22, 1788 to March 4, 1789


Presidents of the United States
under the
United States Constitution

 

George Washington (F)

John Adams (F)

Thomas Jefferson (D-R)

James Madison (D-R)

James Monroe (D-R)

John Quincy Adams (D-R)

Andrew Jackson (D)

Martin Van Buren (D)

William H. Harrison (W)

John Tyler (W)

James K. Polk (D)

David Atchison (D)*

Zachary Taylor (W)

Millard Fillmore (W)

Franklin Pierce (D)

James Buchanan (D)

Abraham Lincoln (R)

Jefferson Davis (D)**

Andrew Johnson (R)

Ulysses S. Grant (R)

Rutherford B. Hayes (R)

James A. Garfield (R)

Chester Arthur (R)

Grover Cleveland (D)

Benjamin Harrison (R)

Grover Cleveland (D)

William McKinley (R)

Theodore Roosevelt (R)

William H. Taft (R)

Wilson  Woodrow (D)

Warren G. Harding (R)

Calvin Coolidge (R)

Herbert C. Hoover (R)

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D)

Harry S. Truman (D)

Dwight D. Eisenhower (R)

John F. Kennedy (D)

Lyndon B. Johnson (D)

Richard M. Nixon (R)

 Gerald R. Ford (R)

James Earl Carter, Jr. (D)

Ronald Wilson Reagan (R)

George H. W. Bush (R)

William Jefferson Clinton (D)

George W. Bush (R)


 

*President for One Day

**President Confederate States of America

   

Current Order of Presidential Succession

The Vice President
Speaker of the House
President pro tempore of the Senate
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Attorney General
Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of Agriculture
Secretary of Commerce
Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Secretary of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Veterans Affairs

   

Research Links

Virtualology is not affiliated with the authors of these links nor responsible for its content.

 

Presidential Libraries

 

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center

McKinley Memorial Library

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum - has research collections containing papers of Herbert Hoover and other 20th century leaders.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum - Repository of the records of President Franklin Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor Roosevelt, managed by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Harry S. Truman Library & Museum

Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library - preserves and makes available for research the papers, audiovisual materials, and memorabilia of Dwight and Mamie D. Eisenhower

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library

Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum

Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace Foundation

Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum

Jimmy Carter Library

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library - 40th President: 1981-1989.

George Bush Presidential Library

 

Control Number NWL-46-MCCOOK-3(3)
Media Textual records
Descr. Level Item
Record Group 46
Series MCCOOK
Item 3(3)
Title Message of President Benjamin Harrison nominating William Windom to be Secretary of the Treasury
Dates 03/04/1889
Sample Record(s) (larger access file - 92903 bytes)
Creating Org. Congress. Senate.
Record Type/Genre Messages
See Also Series Description
Access Unrestricted.
Use Restrictions None.
Items 1 item(s)
Contact Center for Legislative Archives (NWL), National Archives Building, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408 PHONE: 202-501-5350 FAX: 202-219-2176

Start your search on Benjamin Harrison.


The Congressional Evolution of the United States Henry Middleton


Unauthorized Site: This site and its contents are not affiliated, connected, associated with or authorized by the individual, family, friends, or trademarked entities utilizing any part or the subject's entire name. Any official or affiliated sites that are related to this subject will be hyper linked below upon submission and Evisum, Inc. review.

Copyright© 2000 by Evisum Inc.TM. All rights reserved.
Evisum Inc.TM Privacy Policy

Search:

About Us

 

 

Image Use

Please join us in our mission to incorporate The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America discovery-based curriculum into the classroom of every primary and secondary school in the United States of America by July 2, 2026, the nation’s 250th birthday. , the United States of America: We The People Click Here

 

Historic Documents

Articles of Association

Articles of Confederation 1775

Articles of Confederation

Article the First

Coin Act

Declaration of Independence

Declaration of Independence

Emancipation Proclamation

Gettysburg Address

Monroe Doctrine

Northwest Ordinance

No Taxation Without Representation

Thanksgiving Proclamations

Mayflower Compact

Treaty of Paris 1763

Treaty of Paris 1783

Treaty of Versailles

United Nations Charter

United States In Congress Assembled

US Bill of Rights

United States Constitution

US Continental Congress

US Constitution of 1777

US Constitution of 1787

Virginia Declaration of Rights

 

Historic Events

Battle of New Orleans

Battle of Yorktown

Cabinet Room

Civil Rights Movement

Federalist Papers

Fort Duquesne

Fort Necessity

Fort Pitt

French and Indian War

Jumonville Glen

Manhattan Project

Stamp Act Congress

Underground Railroad

US Hospitality

US Presidency

Vietnam War

War of 1812

West Virginia Statehood

Woman Suffrage

World War I

World War II

 

Is it Real?



Declaration of
Independence

Digital Authentication
Click Here

 

America’s Four Republics
The More or Less United States

 
Continental Congress
U.C. Presidents

Peyton Randolph

Henry Middleton

Peyton Randolph

John Hancock

  

Continental Congress
U.S. Presidents

John Hancock

Henry Laurens

John Jay

Samuel Huntington

  

Constitution of 1777
U.S. Presidents

Samuel Huntington

Samuel Johnston
Elected but declined the office

Thomas McKean

John Hanson

Elias Boudinot

Thomas Mifflin

Richard Henry Lee

John Hancock
[
Chairman David Ramsay]

Nathaniel Gorham

Arthur St. Clair

Cyrus Griffin

  

Constitution of 1787
U.S. Presidents

George Washington 

John Adams
Federalist Party


Thomas Jefferson
Republican* Party

James Madison 
Republican* Party

James Monroe
Republican* Party

John Quincy Adams
Republican* Party
Whig Party

Andrew Jackson
Republican* Party
Democratic Party


Martin Van Buren
Democratic Party

William H. Harrison
Whig Party

John Tyler
Whig Party

James K. Polk
Democratic Party

David Atchison**
Democratic Party

Zachary Taylor
Whig Party

Millard Fillmore
Whig Party

Franklin Pierce
Democratic Party

James Buchanan
Democratic Party


Abraham Lincoln 
Republican Party

Jefferson Davis***
Democratic Party

Andrew Johnson
Republican Party

Ulysses S. Grant 
Republican Party

Rutherford B. Hayes
Republican Party

James A. Garfield
Republican Party

Chester Arthur 
Republican Party

Grover Cleveland
Democratic Party

Benjamin Harrison
Republican Party

Grover Cleveland 
Democratic Party

William McKinley
Republican Party

Theodore Roosevelt
Republican Party

William H. Taft 
Republican Party

Woodrow Wilson
Democratic Party

Warren G. Harding 
Republican Party

Calvin Coolidge
Republican Party

Herbert C. Hoover
Republican Party

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic Party

Harry S. Truman
Democratic Party

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican Party

John F. Kennedy
Democratic Party

Lyndon B. Johnson 
Democratic Party 

Richard M. Nixon 
Republican Party

Gerald R. Ford 
Republican Party

James Earl Carter, Jr. 
Democratic Party

Ronald Wilson Reagan 
Republican Party

George H. W. Bush
Republican Party 

William Jefferson Clinton
Democratic Party

George W. Bush 
Republican Party

Barack H. Obama
Democratic Party

Please Visit

Forgotten Founders
Norwich, CT

Annapolis Continental
Congress Society


U.S. Presidency
& Hospitality

© Stan Klos

 

 

 

 


Virtual Museum of Art | Virtual Museum of History | Virtual Public Library | Virtual Science Center | Virtual Museum of Natural History | Virtual War Museum