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Mrs. Hansen |
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This person had a very important
position in common with his grandfather. His grandfather's name
was William Harry Harrison and they both were presidents of the
United States. Benjamin Harrison was born August
20, 1833. Benjamin was the 2nd of eight children. Four of his
brother and sisters died as infants. He was born in North Bend,
Ohio to John Scott and Elizabeth Harrison.Benjamin spent most of his time
milking cows and making candles for the house. Since there was
no school nearby, his father hired a teacher to teach Benjamin
and his brothers and sisters. When Benjamin was seven years old,
his grandfather was elected President of the United States. After
serving as President for only one month, Benjamin's grandfather
William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia. When Benjamin was 14 years old,
his father sent him to a farmer's college near Cincinnati, with
a teacher named Dr. Robert Hamilton Bishop. At the college, the
boys were required to read government documents and then give
a report on them. Bishop often told them, "other things
being equal, that man will succeed best in any given work who
had the most facts." Benjamin took this advice to heart.Throughout his career as lawyer,
soldier and senator, he insisted on mastering the classes problems
before him. At Farmer's College, they learned all about responsibility.
Benjamin took this to heart too. Benjamin's studies were interrupted
by trips to home to help with the spring planting and fall harvesting.
His Father managed to keep Benjamin in college until his mother
died. Benjamin's mother died in the spring of 1850. Also that
summer, two of the younger Harrison children died from illnesses
too.The fall after Benjamin's mother's
death, he went to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. To complete
his college education. By the time he graduated, he had made
two important decisions: He would look for a position in a law
office and he would marry Caroline Scott.When Benjamin graduated, he and
Caroline got secretly engaged, but neither knew how long it would
be until he could support a wife. On October 20, 1853 Benjamin
and Carrie were married in her father's front room. They had
three children. 2 girls and 1 boy. They named their girls Mary
and Elizabeth (after Benjamin's mother) and they named their
boy John (after his father).Benjamin Harrison became a republican
candidate for governor. His opponent was James D. William's or
better known as "Blue Jeans William's" for his habit
of wearing overalls. However, so many Republicans deserted their
own party to vote for greenbacks. So Harrison lost by 5 thousand
votes.In the 1880, the Republican party
swept back into power. When Benjamin told the citizens that he
would run for US senator, the party nominated him anonymously.
Since the Indiana Legislature had the Republican majority, Benjamin
was easily elected. His first job as Senator from Indiana was
to interview a seemingly endless crowd of office seekers. Benjamin
was well liked by President James Garfield.Harrison was elected President
in 1888. His opponent was Grover Cleveland. Grover got 90,000
more votes than Harrison however, state by state, Harrison won
more electoral votes beating Cleveland 233 to 168. The major
issue of this presidential race was tariffs. A tariff is an extra
charge or tax on goods from foreign countries. Cleveland's
idea was to lower tariffs. Harrison was against this. Cleveland
thought that the tariffs were evil. Harrison thought that the
tariffs would protect the American businesses by keeping the
American made goods cheaper than the foreign goods. Harrison had several things to accomplish. He had 1700 other patronage jobs to fill. He also thought that by the government purchasing silver, it would bring in a great deal of money. He compromised with the Sherman Silver Purchase. Harrison worked hard on foreign
affairs. He made reciprocity agreements with nine countries.
United States almost went to war with Chile during his reign
as President. When an American ship went to shore in Chile and
the sailors were attacked by a group that included Chilean police
officers. Two Americans were killed. This upset Harrison and
he addressed Congress with it. Chile was forced to apologize.In March 1901, Harrison caught
a cold that turned into pneumonia. He died on March 13, 1901.
At his funeral, Poet James Riley praised Harrison for "his
fearless independence and for standing for what he believed".
"He took his campaign promises seriously and did his best
to fulfill them". Harrison had maintained an honest administration.Harrison had lived a life of integrity.
He was a better man than a politician. He spoke directly and
relied on facts rather than style to win people to his way of
thinking. |
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 When
he was seven years old his grandfather was elected president.He
did not receive a majority vote, but won in the Electoral College. |
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Clinton. Encyclopedia of Presidents, Benjamin Harrison. Chicago: Children's Press, 1989 |
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