Sparks Commentary: William Henry Harrison: A great general and a 30-day president

In the United States, the most famous general in our War of 1812 was probably Andrew Jackson, who now appears on our $20 bill. But my vote for the greatest American general of the war would go to William Henry Harrison, whose name has never even been heard by most contemporary Americans. He was one of the great generals in American history, but he is remembered mainly for being just a 31-day president. As the Animaniacs would later joke, “William Harrison, how do you praise? That guy was dead in thirty days!” He is the shortest-serving president in American history, when you exclude all currently-serving presidents from this category. A president who has just been inaugurated would technically have even less time in office, but usually has a good chance of making it past day 31 in good shape. Mr. Harrison is often excluded from presidential rankings, because his brief tenure provides little data by which to judge his administration. But his pre-presidency life provides much greater insight into his character, and makes his story much more interesting than his anticlimactic death by natural causes in 1841. He was first and foremost a great soldier, who contributed much to the early American republic.

William Henry Harrison

Early life and career, through his first joining the United States military

William Henry Harrison was born in 1773, in what was then the British colony of Virginia. His father was Benjamin Harrison the Fifth, soon to be famous as a Founding Father. Specifically, when William Henry Harrison was three years old, the father signed the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. The father was also a delegate to the Continental Congress – and later, during William’s childhood, the Governor of Virginia. Politics was definitely in the Harrison family already. Obviously, neither man was born as an American citizen. But the Constitution would later declare that “a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, [would] be eligible to the office of President” (Source: Article 2, Section 1, Paragraph 4) This meant that William Henry Harrison was still eligible to become president anyway. He was the last president that was not born as an American citizen. Harrison sometimes referred to himself as a “child of the Revolution,” and this was certainly true. He also attended Hampden-Sydney College, receiving a classical education that included both Latin and Greek. He also studied some French, logic, and debate. He briefly studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, but soon ran out of money to pay for this education. This was just as well, because he had discovered that the medical profession did not suit him. He then became a soldier instead, and embarked upon a distinguished military career.

William Henry Harrison

A mix of military and political offices, including being a general in the War of 1812

He participated in the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, the battle that ended the Northwest Indian War. In 1795, he married his only wife Anna Symmes. He briefly resigned from the Army in 1798, and became the Secretary of the Northwest Territory. He then became a non-voting delegate of the U. S. House of Representatives. John Adams later appointed him as governor of the newly-established “Indiana Territory.” In this capacity, Harrison negotiated multiple treaties with Native American tribes. But he temporarily left politics, and instead returned to the Army for a while. In another Indian war, he led a force against Tecumseh’s confederacy, and distinguished himself at the Battle of Tippecanoe. This gave him the nickname of “Old Tippecanoe,” a favorable nickname that would follow him into the presidency. In the War of 1812, he was promoted to major general, and took part in an invasion of Upper Canada. In that conflict, he “led the American infantry and cavalry to a victory at the Battle of the Thames” (as Wikipedia puts it). After the war, he resigned from the Army, and moved to Ohio. Ohio then elected him as a voting member of the U. S. House of Representatives. He later served in the Ohio state senate, and then in the United States Senate. He also served as the Minister Plenipotentiary to Gran Colombia in 1829, but resigned from that position later in that year. He temporarily returned to private life. But he would soon have his eyes on an even bigger office: the White House.

William Henry Harrison

Harrison becomes the first Whig presidential candidate in 1836, but loses to Van Buren

The Federalist Party was on its way out at that time. Thus, in 1833, the new Whig Party was formed to replace it. It was named after the Whig political party from back in the mother country of England. Their first presidential election would come in 1836. Andrew Jackson was leaving the White House that year. But, in that year, the Whigs were not able to unite behind a single candidate. Thus, four Whig candidates were running separately from each other that year. Their leading candidate was William Henry Harrison. Harrison’s running mate was then Francis Granger. John Tyler was just the running mate of another Whig presidential candidate, but would become important to Harrison later on. In 1836, William Henry Harrison got 36.6% of the popular vote, and 24.8% of the electoral vote. The other three Whig candidates got a combined total of 12.4% of the popular vote, and 17.3% of the electoral vote. Meanwhile, the Democratic candidate Martin Van Buren got 50.8% of the popular vote (an actual majority), and 57.8% of the electoral vote. Thus, the election instead went to Martin Van Buren. But Harrison had gotten the second-highest vote total, and had gotten his name out there in this election. This would help him four years later, when he again ran against Martin Van Buren in 1840.

Caricature on the aftermath of the Panic of 1837, for which Martin Van Buren was blamed

However, Harrison wins his rematch with Van Buren in 1840, becoming the next president

Van Buren was still hurt by the aftermath of the Panic of 1837. And, in 1840, the Whigs finally united behind a single candidate. That candidate was now William Henry Harrison. He was nominated at the Whigs’ first national convention in 1840. Martin Van Buren was easily re-nominated by the Democrats. But his vice president, Richard Mentor Johnson, was not re-nominated in 1840. In fact, the Democrats offered no vice presidential candidate at all. By contrast, William Henry Harrison had John Tyler as his running mate, who would become important later on. Referencing Harrison’s earlier victory at the Battle of Tippecanoe, the two men campaigned on the slogan of “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” Eventually, Martin Van Buren won 46.8% of the popular vote in 1840, and 20.4% of the electoral vote. William Henry Harrison won 52.9% of the popular vote in 1840 (an actual majority), and 79.6% of the electoral vote. Thus, William Henry Harrison had just been elected the ninth president of the United States.

The earlier Battle of Tippecanoe (1811), the source of Harrison’s popular nickname

Harrison serves as president for 31 days, but then dies from some sort of natural causes

William Henry Harrison gave the longest Inaugural Address on record, speaking for nearly two hours. The weather was bad, with heavy rain. He later took his daily walk to local markets, without a coat or hat. He soon got caught in a rainstorm, and refused to change his wet clothes when he got back to the White House. He was sick for a while, and rumors went rampant when he uncharacteristically missed church. It was announced that he felt fine, but he was actually deteriorating. Nine days after the onset of his illness, he died on April 4th, 1841. He had been in office for only a month. His last words, assumed to be for his vice president John Tyler, were “Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more.” The exact causes of Harrison’s illness are still debated, but one thing is clear: his death was by natural causes. Harrison was the first president to die while in office. The Constitution had provided for a case of this kind, but people still debated about what it meant. The exact language of the Constitution was simply that “In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.” Thus, would John Tyler only “act” as president, or would he actually be president? This was the debate upon William Henry Harrison’s death. It was eventually decided (correctly) that John Tyler would actually be president himself. Harrison’s grandson, Benjamin Harrison, would later be elected president four decades later in the 1880s.

An illustration of the death of President Harrison from natural causes while in office, 1841

Conclusion: His military career helps to make up for the striking brevity of his presidency

As mentioned earlier, the William Henry Harrison administration was short enough to be the source of many jokes. But his career as a general was nonetheless very distinguished, and helps to make up for the striking brevity of his presidency.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

A review of PBS’s “The War of 1812” (North America)

John Quincy Adams: A great statesman in his own right

A review of PBS’s “Andrew Jackson: Good, Evil, and the Presidency”

The complicated legacy of Martin Van Buren

James K. Polk: President during the Mexican-American War

Why is Zachary Taylor now considered a “forgettable” president?

Millard Fillmore: A moderate on slavery who pleased on one

Harrison’s grandson Benjamin Harrison (who became president himself)

Part of a series about

The Presidents

1. George Washington
2. John Adams
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
6. John Quincy Adams
7. Andrew Jackson