William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
Basic Info
Presidential Term: March 4, 1841 - April 4, 1841
From: Ohio
VP: John Tyler
Party: Whig
He was born at Berkeley in 1773. He studied at Hampden-Sydney College, then began the study of medicine in Richmond. This was until 1791, when Harrison decided to get a commission as ensign in the First Infantry of the Regular Army, and headed to the Northwest, where he spent much of his life. He started his own political career as Secretary of Northwest Territory, then becoming governor of Indiana. Once elected, he delivered the longest inaugural in history, and served a little over a month before becoming the first president to die in office in 1841. With him died the Whig Party.
Main Points in Inaugural (Link)
The great danger is not from the government but by the accumulation by the department of that which was assigned to others, which was the accumulation of Presidential actions.
Far different is the power of our sovereignty than other nations. It can interfere with no one's faith, inflict no punishment but after proven guilt, the result of investigation under rules prescribed by the Constitution itself.
These precious privileges the American citizen derives from no charter granted other than the Constitution.
As was to be expected, disputes have arisen as to the amount of power which it has granted or was intended to grant to the Congress. Republics, therefore, can commit no greater error than to adopt or continue anything that might lower the power of these rights of citizens.
The veto power that the executive branch holds is a conservative power that must be used to protect the constitution, then the people, then the other minorities. Not singular priorities or party issues.
It should be considered proper that an altogether different department of the Government should be permitted to originate the bills, but nevertheless it is strange to consider only one part of Congress should originate the bill.
The legislators are not the subjects of the people of the States, but free American citizens. Based on the great principle of unalienable rights insisted upon in our Declaration of Independence, they could neither make nor the United States accept a surrender of their liberties and become the subjects of their fellow citizens.
Out of all the important things to remember, we must remember the importance of the union, since it is the only true and sure guarantee of all others.
Main Conflicts
Unorganized before heading into office
Calling Congress into Session to talk about the funds.
Media
Presidential Commentary
Since the presidency of Harrison was short, there were not many conflicts like the previous ones before him. However, it seems to be that the main conflict during his month-long presidency includes the increasing amount of people trying to control the appointments of the president. Many of his problems lie in the disrespect people kept pushing onto him and even in his campaign many people called him "Granny Harrison" to talk about his resignation during the War of 1812. After being tired of the disrespect, he said to Henry Clay, "You forget thatI am the President" during one of their conversations. He later spurned Clay by electing Daniel Webster for his Secretary of State. This proved to be important to the United States when dealing with power in the Whig Party.
The astronomical amount of people who wished to benefit from the election of Harrison continued as many people visited him and he was to have extensive social obligations. This was his own weakness as he refused to listen to the advisors and mentors around him that told him to decide before the inauguration. His lack of organization and vetting the people that applied to work under his presidency ensued chaos and it is no wonder that he was so ill at the end of his life. The amount of stress could have been avoided if he had the right help and not those who slithered around him trying to take as much advantage as they could of him.
However, one of the notable things that Harrison did was not bending over to other people’s will. For example, because the Whigs had lost the last election and were trying to push their policies, they attempted to remove all the Democrats from power. Harrison, who always seemed to know when to put his foot down, made sure that the other officials in government know who the President was and told them he would rather resign than be unfair towards the other party (4). These are examples of a strong, confident leader that proved to be useful in his other decisions, although there were not many.
Looking back at the presidency of William Henry Harrison, although there is not much to analyze, he was a man of seriousness and fairness and not the “Granny Harrison” Democrats labeled him to be. The inaugural address, however long it might be, was important to the common man in understanding what the president believed about the Constitution and what values he held in his mind while trying to begin his presidency. The acknowledgement of what impact both Jackson’s presidency and Van Buren, as well as the justifications of how he thought, further proved his care for the nation. His years of experience in the military proved vital in his demand for respect out of the people trying to use him to get what they want. He was a strong man and might have had a successful presidency if he adopted more organized methods and wrote a shorter speech.
Citations
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/harrison.asp
https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Henry-Harrison
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-henry-harrison/
https://millercenter.org/president/harrison
