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Benjamin Harrison Summary
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States. He began his legal career in Indianapolis, mostly in the mid-1850s. He was the grandchild of William Harrison, the ninth president of the United States. During the American Revolutionary War, he worked for the Union military and attained the rank of a military officer. He served one session in the U.S. Senate (1881–1887) before winning the Republican presidential candidacy. Despite Grover Cleveland receiving more overall votes, he beat Cleveland within the election system.
The Sherman Antitrust Law’s passing distinguished his administration. James Blaine, his head of state, presided over the meeting that resulted in the formation of the Pan-American Association.
It refused pressure to renounce American interests, mostly in Samoan States (1889), and during the Bering Sea Conflict, it reached an agreement with Britain (1891). After Cleveland rejected him for candidacy in 1892, Harrison relocated to Indianapolis to resume his legal career. He served as Venezuela’s top legal representative in the disputed border with Britain between 1898 and 1899.
Interesting Facts About Benjamin Harrison
| Born | August 20th, 1833, North Bend, Ohio, United States |
| Death | March 13th, 1901, in Indy, Indiana, at age 67 |
| Spouse | Mary Lord Dimmick > Caroline Scott |
| Parents | Elizabeth Ramsey > John Scott Harrison |
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Early and Professional Life of Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the grandchild of William Henry Harrison, the ninth democratic governor in 1840, and the child of farmer John Scott Harrison’s wife, Elizabeth Irwin Harrison. He earned a distinguished degree from Oxford, Ohio’s Miami College in 1852, and the next year, Caroline Lavinia Scott, by whom he had two kids, became his wife. Harrison traveled to Indianapolis, Ind, to start his own business in 1854, 2 years after completing his legal education.
Harrison discovered Indianapolis to be a welcoming environment for his presidential goals, particularly in the newly created Republican Establishment, despite his father’s assertion that “nobody but fools should ever join the political sphere.” As an official in the Union military during the Civil War, he eventually attained the title of brevet major general.
Harrison continued his legal career after the war and backed the Radical Republicans’ Means of reinforcing. In 1876, he ran unsuccessfully for county executive of Indiana; however, in 1881, he was chosen to serve as the Senator of America. As a congressman, Harrison battled for civil services reform, a modestly protectionist tariff, and considerable benefits for veterans. He also championed the rights of landholders and Native Americans opposing railways.
Harrison was a compassionate, morally upright man with a remarkable memory. He also had a sharp brain. He could unsettle his adversaries with a cool, discerning eye and enthrall an assembly with fiery oratory. Just like in 1882, after he fought the Chinese Exclusion Law on the grounds that it would revoke rights promised to the Chinese mostly by the Burlingame Convention of 1868, he frequently gladly forewent vital voter momentum rather than compromise his views.
Harrison, a devout man who served as an adult in the Protestant church for forty years, was regarded as a person of moral bravery before and after his decades of public service.
Republican nominee for president in 1888, he was defeated in the popular vote with Cleveland’s 5,540,309 ballots but triumphed in the race thanks to a 233-vote victory in the election system. Harrison’s excessive expenditure throughout his candidacy in the two important swing states between Nyc and Indiana was a major factor in his triumph in the voting system.
Civil War
Benjamin Harrison intended to join the Confederate Army in 1862 but was concerned about maintaining his small family. Abraham Lincoln had made a request for additional soldiers for the Union Troops. Harrison raised a regiment by recruiting people all around northeastern Indiana. After mustering, the company departed towards Louisville, Kentucky, where it joined the Union forces.
Atlanta initiative
At Resaca, Cassville, Better World Church, Lost Mountains, Kennesaw Hill, Marietta, Peachtree River, and Atlanta fights, he was in charge of his brigade. Harrison, with his company, joined the Armed Forces of the Cumberland in May 1864 and took part in Commander Sir William Sherman’s Atlanta Expedition. By January 2nd, 1864, Harrison received a promotion to major general.
Harrison had a record as a capable commander and a commander who stood by his troops throughout combat. Harrison made coffee while tented close to Nashville and delivered it to his chilly soldiers at night.
Resaca
Confederate Colonel Max Van Den Corput’s ordnance stronghold, which served as the focal point of a “frenzied combat” involving Union and Confederate soldiers, was confronted by William H. Harrison’s 72nd Indiana Army Unit.
The attack was subsequently led by Harrison with his battalion, who came out of the ravine, over the cannon parapet, overpowered the Confederate weapons, and put an end to the danger. Before being carried back to their lines, the four 121-pound Napoleonic Artillery remained in “no country for old men” for the remainder of the day.
After-War Career
William H. Harrison was chosen to be the Indiana High Court correspondent despite participating in the Union Troops. Harrison was paid a consistent salary for his efforts in creating and publicizing court decisions, which he then marketed to the legal community. President Grant selected Harrison in 1869 to defend the executive branch in a civil lawsuit brought by plaintiff Lambdin P. Milligan. The treasonous conviction resulted in the famous Ex parte Milligan decision even by the U.S. Constitutional Court.
Benjamin Harrison led a candidate to win the Conservative nomination for Indiana governorship in 1872. James D. Williams beat him by 5,084 ballots out of the 434,457 total votes. He kept giving speeches in support of Conservative nominees and ideas. He recruited a citizen militia whenever the Great Railway Protest of 1877 approached Indianapolis to negotiate a settlement with the train employees on strike.
Voting in 1888
After that, a number of contenders engaged in a “hotly fought” election battle. Blaine was the front-runner in 1888 after losing to Cleveland throughout 1884 but removed his name from consideration.
Also, as the “first good president” of the Conservative Movement and an “immortal advocate of freedom and the power of the citizens,” Abraham Lincoln was lauded. According to the conference, the Republican congressional majority was created by suppressing the vote through the illegal preemption of the Constitutional. It complained, “against its annihilation as advocated by the Chancellor and his administration.” It stated that it was “unwaveringly in support of the American measure to protect.”
Blaine remained in the country after the conference because he did not accept the nomination for president. On the initial vote, Congressman Sherman dominated, with Harrison coming in fifth. Harrison’s chances of winning increased as Nyc moved to his side. Harrison was selected as the group’s presidential nominee in the eighth round by a vote total of 544 of 108.
Presidency Tenure Of Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893)
Cabinet And Inauguration
Compared to his grandpa, William H. Harrison, his inauguration speech is just half the length. Benjamin Harrison attributed the impacts of faith and learning to the country’s development. He pushed for the mining and cotton regions to develop an industrial sector compared to the eastern provinces.
James G. Blaine’s candidacy as chief of staff was postponed by Harrison in order to prevent Blaine from participating in the creation of the cabinet, as had happened during Party leader Garfield’s tenure. He chose his cabinet rather autonomously, much to the chagrin of the Republican top brass. Harrison’s picks shared specific allegiances, such as participation in the Rebellion, patriotism, and Reformed Church attendance.
He gave his postal general a villa worth $10,000 (about $301,593 in 2021) in 1890 as a present for his spouse. Many others thought the gift was bribery in exchange for a cabinet seat. Harrison claimed that he always planned to buy the property after Caroline approved.
Reform Of The Public Sector And Retirement
Benjamin Harrison saw the Reliant and Disabilities Retirement Act, a subject he had supported while being in Congress, rapidly become law. The Act used up part of the problematic federal spending excess while providing annuities to Civil War vets who were injured (regardless of the reason for their impairment). Harrison saw the highest level of pension spending in American annals, with $135 million in pension costs (approximately $billion by 2021). Under Pensions Agency director James R. Tanner, John Willock Noble, minister of the interior underneath Harrison, discovered proof of extravagant and unlawful gratuities.
When he entered power in 1800, Governor William H. Harrison made reforming the public sector a top priority. He did nothing else to advance the cause of change other than appointing liberals Hugh Smith Thompson but also Theodore Roosevelt to the Public Service Committee. Thomas Jefferson memorialized the subject in a cartoon as the campaign issue of the day.
Tariff
Since the American Revolution, tariff rates have been an important political topic; they dominated the 1888 campaign. The McKinley Tariff established the greatest average charge on American record, and the expenditure along with it helped the Billion-Dollar House earn its moniker. Harrison pushed Congress to include reciprocity clauses, which would have allowed the presidency to lower rates if other nations lowered their levels on American imports, to make this tariff increasingly palatable.
Pieces of information Regarding Native Americans
Under the guidance of Wovoka, a medical man, the Lakota Sioux, who had previously been segregated on territories throughout South Dakota, started to become unruly. Harrison sent 3,500 national guard troops into South Dakota and instructed Former Commander Nelson A. Miles to conduct an investigation. Consequently, at least 146 Sioux were massacred, many women and kids, and their bodies were interred in a burial site.
Foreign Affairs
James Blaine, the minister of state, was well recognized for their assertive foreign affairs and willingness to engage in business with other countries. The First Global Forum of American States convened near Washington in 1889, but no significant advancements in foreign politics were made. Harrison attempted to construct a naval port in Haiti but was unsuccessful in doing so despite sending Frederick Douglass as his envoy.
Due to an unfounded fear of trichinosis, several European nations imposed import restrictions on American pork all across the 1880s; at stake were more than one billion euros of goods with a yearly market worth of $80 million. Harrison appointed William Walter Phelps, the ambassador to Germany, and Whitelaw Reid, the diplomat to France, to immediately resume these shipments for the nation.
Benjamin Harrison also succeeded in getting the Food And Safety Act passed by Congress, which ended the claims of product tampering. Together with Agricultural Minister Rusk, the government threatened Germany with retribution by imposing a blockade on the country’s highly sought-after beet sugar. During September 1891, Germany began to budge. Austria-Hungary, Denmark, and France quickly joined.
Conflicting fishing grounds on the Alaskan coastline led to Harrison’s first diplomatic issue. In defiance of American law, Canada asserted fishery and diving rights around several of the Aleutians. The government started talks alongside the British around 1891, which would finally result in a settlement on fishing quotas.
When Chilean sailors bayoneted the crews of his ship even when on beach leave visiting Chile, US William H. Harrison attempted to sever diplomatic ties with that country. The Chilean decision to reject Harrison’s request for compensation, calling it “incorrect or purposefully inaccurate,” and stating that it handled the incident similarly to any other legal situation. The government did not back President Blaine’s attempts at reconciliation, so he reversed direction and rejoined the clamor calling for Chile to make unqualified compromises and an explanation. Eventually, Harrison received praise from Theodore Roosevelt for employing the “big club” in the situation.
1892 Political Campaign
Prior to the Crisis of 1893, the country’s economic strength had deteriorated, and the budget surpluses had vanished. Liberals wanted William Henry Blaine, the ambassador, to run for office, but he finally agreed against it. Harrison’s wife, Caroline, passed away two weeks during the inauguration, and following her passing, Mary Harrison McKee took over as First Lady.
This has been the most lopsided national campaign in twenty years, with Cleveland eventually winning with 277 votes cast to Harrison’s 145, in addition to 5,556,918 versus 5,176,108 in the public election. Harrison has a reputation for being the only governor whose forebear and descendant were the same person as a result of this.
Post-presidency (1893–1901)
On May 3rd, 1893, William H. Harrison, a past president, was chosen to serve as leader of the Ohio Function representing the Military Group of the Faithful Banner of America. In 1893, Benjamin Harrison traveled to Chicago to see the World’s Columbian Exhibition. Harrison resided in San Fran for short months during 1894, lecturing on economics at Stanford College. Some of Harrison’s Democratic party supporters urged him to run for president again in 1896. However, he rejected it.
He penned several federal government-related pieces, which he collected into the book This Nation of Ours, released in 1897. At the turn of 62, Benjamin Harrison wedded 1896 Mary Scot Lord Dimmick, his widower relative, and former chief, who was 37 years old. The marriage was not authorized by Harrison’s two grown children, who also declined to witness the nuptials.
Benjamin Harrison represented the Government of Venezuela in a border conflict involving the United Kingdom over British Guiana in 1898. He left for Paris with an 800-page statement in hand and appeared in court for more than 25 hrs in favor of Venezuela. He lost the lawsuit, but his legal arguments made him a worldwide household name. Harrison passed away before he could vote in The Hague’s Initial Peace Summit.
Death
In February 1901, Benjamin Harrison became ill with what doctors initially diagnosed as grippe—an influenza-like illness—but which subsequently turned out to be pneumonia. He had air and steam mist absorption treatment, yet his condition worsened. At the turn of 67, Benjamin Harrison passed away following pneumonia around his Indianapolis residence on March 13th, 1901.
His final utterances were reported, “The physicians are they here? My lungs, doctor “. In Indy’s Crown Hill Graveyard, Harrison is buried near Caroline, his former spouse, who is also buried there. His new wife, Mary Dimmick Harrison, passed away in 1948 and was cremated next to him.
People Also Ask?
Did Benjamin Harrison pen the Proclamation of Independence?
Harrison participated in the Second National Convention the subsequent year. Harrison inked the Proclamation of Freedom and cast a vote in favor of it. Harrison participated in the Constituent Assembly through October 1777 after ratifying the Independence Act on August 2, 1776.
What famous quotation belongs to Benjamin Harrison?
I feel bad for the man who desires a coat so cheaply that doing so would cause the person who makes the fabric to go hungry. Great lives continue forever. No divine mandate has been given to us Americans to govern the globe.