A Salute to William Henry Harrison, The President who died before he could do too much damage

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Editor


click to enlarge

William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841) was the ninth President of the United States. He had earlier been a Governor (of the Indiana Territory) and later as a U.S. Representative and Senator from Ohio. He first gained fame as an "Indian fighter," where he acquired the nickname Old Tippecanoe. When he took office, he was the oldest President ever, until Ronald Reagan's inauguration. He belong to the Whig party.

Harrison is probably best remembered for dying after a month in office. I can think of a few other Presidents I wished had followed his lead on that. His death threw the country into a constitutional crisis, from which we ultimately developed the Presidential succession protocols outlined in with 25th Amendment.
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Painting of POTUS 9, President William Henry Harrison; the drive-by President, who lasted one month in office

Click to enlarge President William Henry Harrison


President Harrison was probably the first empty suit elected to the Presidency. In the end, the damage was slight.

He rode to victory on the coattails of leading a much embroidered battle with Indians called Tippecanoe. "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," was his slogan, and it is probably the best known campaign slogan in American history. The Whigs selected Harrison as a candidate because they believed in a strong congress and a weak president; Harrison filled the bill perfectly. The Whigs turned out 82% of the eligible voters with such blandishments as live music, balloon rides, and free whiskey.

President Harrison's campaign slogan proved to be somewhat prophetic, his Presidency becoming something of an asterisk n the history books. He apparently caught, and soon, died of pneumonia 31 days after assuming office. He was succeeded by President John Tyler. Despite his highly-truncated tenure he is better known than many other Presidents. He is probably the most prominent amongst the most obscure Presidents. . .
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