Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison
1896 portrait
23rd President of the United States
In office March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1893
Vice President	Levi P. Morton
Preceded by	Grover Cleveland
Succeeded by	Grover Cleveland
United States Senator from Indiana
In office March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1887
Preceded by	Joseph E. McDonald
Succeeded by	David Turpie
Personal details
Born	(1833-08-20)August 20, 1833 North Bend, Ohio, U.S.
Died	March 13, 1901(1901-03-13) (aged 67) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Resting place	Crown Hill Cemetery
Political party	Whig (before 1856) Republican (1856–1901)
Spouses	Caroline Scott ​ ​ (m. 1853; died 1892)​ Mary Lord Dimmick ​ (m. 1896)​
Children	Russell Mary Elizabeth
Parent	John Scott Harrison (father)
Relatives	Harrison family
Education	Farmer's College Miami University (BA)
Occupation	Politician lawyer
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	U.S. Army (Union Army)
Years of service	1862–1865
Rank	Colonel, USV Brevet Brig. Gen., USV
Unit	Army of the Cumberland
Commands	70th Ind. Infantry Reg. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, XX Corps
Battles/wars	American Civil War Battle of Resaca Battle of New Hope Church Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Battle of Marietta Battle of Peachtree Creek Battle of Atlanta Battle of Nashville
Benjamin Harrison's voice On his presence at the first Pan-American Congress Recorded 1889

This article is part of a series about Benjamin Harrison
Early life Family Public image Bust Senator from Indiana Senate career 23rd President of the United States Presidency Inauguration Foreign policy Cabinet appointment Judicial appointment Treaty of Berlin (1889) First International Conference of American States Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) Sherman Silver Purchase Act Forest Reserve Act (1891) International Copyright Act New Orleans Lynchings Baltimore crisis Presidential campaigns 1888 convention election 1892 convention election Post-presidency Presidential Site Death
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Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833 – March 13, 1901) was an American politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison V, a Founding Father.

Harrison was born on a farm by the Ohio River and graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. After moving to Indianapolis, he established himself as a prominent local attorney, Presbyterian church leader, and politician in Indiana. During the American Civil War, he served in the Union Army as a colonel, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a brevet brigadier general of volunteers in 1865. Harrison unsuccessfully ran for governor of Indiana in 1876. The Indiana General Assembly elected Harrison to a six-year term in the Senate, where he served from 1881 to 1887.

A Republican, Harrison was elected to the presidency in 1888, defeating the Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland in the Electoral College despite losing the popular vote. Hallmarks of Harrison's administration were unprecedented economic legislation, including the McKinley Tariff, which imposed historic protective trade rates, and the Sherman Antitrust Act. Harrison also facilitated the creation of the national forest reserves through an amendment to the Land Revision Act of 1891. During his administration six western states were admitted to the Union. In addition, Harrison substantially strengthened and modernized the U.S. Navy and conducted an active foreign policy, but his proposals to secure federal education funding as well as voting rights enforcement for African Americans were unsuccessful.

Due in large part to surplus revenues from the tariffs, federal spending reached one billion dollars for the first time during his term. The spending issue in part led to the defeat of the Republicans in the 1890 midterm elections. Cleveland defeated Harrison for reelection in 1892, due to the growing unpopularity of high tariffs and high federal spending. He returned to private life and his law practice in Indianapolis. In 1899 he represented Venezuela in its British Guiana boundary dispute with Great Britain. Harrison traveled to the court in Paris as part of the case and after a brief stay returned to Indianapolis. He died at his home in Indianapolis in 1901 of complications from influenza. Many have praised Harrison's commitment to African Americans' voting rights, and his work ethic and integrity, but scholars and historians generally rank him as an average president, due to the uneventful nature of his term.^[1]