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.
---o0o---

166 Years Ago Today, William Henry Harrison Became The Fastest President Ever

Fast indeed. In an earlier article on All This Is That, I called him the drive-by President. He was an empty suit, and it was probably best for the republic his term was as short as it was. There are a more than a few of us that regret the current President didn't try to tackle his record. Harrison lived for exactly one month after being inaugurated. The Whigs rolled out the voters in this election with free balloon rides, live music, and free whiskey.

---o0o---