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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


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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

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November 1, 1777 to December 9, 1778

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December 10, 1778 to September 28, 1779

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September 28, 1779 to February 28, 1781


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

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2nd President of the United States 
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3rd President of the United States 
in Congress Assembled
November 5, 1781 to November 4, 1782

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

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5th President of the United States 
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November 3, 1783 to June 3, 1784

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6th President of the United States 
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November 30, 1784 to November 23, 1785

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7th President of the United States 
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November 23, 1785 to June 6, 1786

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8th President of the United States 
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June 1786 - November 13, 1786

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9th President of the United States 
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10th President of the United States 
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January 22, 1788 to March 4, 1789


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under the
United States Constitution

 

George Washington (F)

John Adams (F)

Thomas Jefferson (D-R)

James Madison (D-R)

James Monroe (D-R)

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Martin Van Buren (D)

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James K. Polk (D)

David Atchison (D)*

Zachary Taylor (W)

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Franklin Pierce (D)

James Buchanan (D)

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Jefferson Davis (D)**

Andrew Johnson (R)

Ulysses S. Grant (R)

Rutherford B. Hayes (R)

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Benjamin Harrison (R)

Grover Cleveland (D)

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Wilson  Woodrow (D)

Warren G. Harding (R)

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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
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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

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