History UsefulNotes / WilliamHenryHarrison

William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841), upon getting elected President at 68-years-old, had a brilliant idea for his inauguration. Facing accusations that he was old and frail, as well as unintelligent, he fatefully decided to deliver a very long, rambling, two-hour inauguration speech, still the longest inaugural speech in the history of the United States presidency.[[note]]His original draft was even longer, and large parts of it contained more discussion of ancient Rome than the United States; Secretary of State Daniel Webster did the best he could by trimming it down to 8,455 words, and after finishing said "I've just killed seventeen Roman proconsuls."[[/note]] Outside. In cold weather. In the rain. Without warm clothes on. And then went out dancing. He seemed ok for three weeks; but on March 26, the old man caught a cold (which became pneumonia and thyphoid), lingered bedridden for about eight days, and died on April 4, 1841, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy thereby proving the accusations true]].[[note]]Although modern doctors, after looking through the notes left behind by Harrison's doctor, have produced a theory that Harrison may have been killed by enteric fever caused by contaminated drinking water, especially since the idea of a cold that takes three weeks to take hold seems unlikely.[[/note]] And thus, William Henry Harrison, immediately following UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, was only President from [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica March, 1841 to April, 1841]], making way for UsefulNotes/JohnTyler.

Harrison used the memorable campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", which makes reference to the battle of Tippecanoe, a battle fought against the forces of Native heroes Tecumseh and his brother The Prophet (real name Tenskwatawa), when he was governor of the Indiana Territory. Tecumseh wasn't present at the battle, but Harrison would fight him directly two years later in the [[UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 Battle of the Thames]], where Tecumseh was killed and Harrison became a national hero. Popular legends state that a curse laid by Tecumseh's shaman is what led to his death in office, and to a curse on presidents elected in a year ending with zero, leading to [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln four]] [[UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield presidents]] [[UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley getting]] [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy assassinated]] and two dying of [[UsefulNotes/WarrenHarding natural]] [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt causes]]. This "curse" was broken in 1980, albeit in [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan one violent near-miss]]. Despite campaigning using this populist slogan, though, he was (ironically) from a city, unlike his opponent (UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren) who was actually from the country. He also had previously served as a Representative, Senator, and an ambassador to UsefulNotes/{{Colombia}}. His victorious campaign in 1840 was actually his second tilt at the presidency; his first had been at the previous election in 1836, when the Whigs had the "innovative" idea of fielding a total of four presidential candidates in an attempt to prevent any candidate from getting the required number of electoral college votes, which would force the House of Representatives to vote on who would be the next president. The strategy ended in failure, and Martin Van Buren easily defeated all four Whig candidates,[[note]](Ironically, the ''Vice''-Presidential vote in the electoral college that year failed to give anyone the required majority, albeit this was less because of the Whig strategy and more because a bunch of Democrats refused to vote for Van Buren's running mate, Richard M. Johnson, on the grounds that he was in a relationship with a black woman. Either way, the ensuing vote in the Senate just demonstrated why the Whig strategy had been fatally flawed, as it was the ''outgoing'' and heavily Democrat-dominated chambers of Congress that voted, meaning that Johnson was easily elected, as would Van Buren if the House had been forced to vote)[[/note]] but Harrison was the most successful of the four, helping him be nominated as the sole Whig candidate in 1840.

William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841), upon getting elected President at 68-years-old, had a brilliant idea for his inauguration. Facing accusations that he was old and frail, as well as unintelligent, he fatefully decided to deliver a very long, rambling, two-hour inauguration speech, still the longest inaugural speech in the history of the United States presidency.[[note]]His original draft was even longer, and large parts of it contained more discussion of ancient Rome than the United States; Secretary of State Daniel Webster did the best he could by trimming it down to 800 words, and after finishing said "I've just killed seventeen Roman proconsuls."[[/note]] Outside. In cold weather. In the rain. Without warm clothes on. And then went out dancing. He seemed ok for three weeks; but on March 26, the old man caught a cold (which became pneumonia and thyphoid), lingered bedridden for about eight days, and died on April 4, 1841, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy thereby proving the accusations true]].[[note]]Although modern doctors, after looking through the notes left behind by Harrison's doctor, have produced a theory that Harrison may have been killed by enteric fever caused by contaminated drinking water, especially since the idea of a cold that takes three weeks to take hold seems unlikely.[[/note]] And thus, William Henry Harrison, immediately following UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, was only President from [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica March, 1841 to April, 1841]], making way for UsefulNotes/JohnTyler.

William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841), upon getting elected President at 68-years-old, had a brilliant idea for his inauguration. Facing accusations that he was old and frail, as well as unintelligent, he fatefully decided to deliver a very long, rambling, two-hour inauguration speech, still the longest inaugural speech in the history of the United States presidency.[[note]]His original draft was even longer, and large parts of it contained more discussion of ancient Rome than the United States; Secretary of State Daniel Webster did the best he could by trimming it down to 8,00 words, and after finishing said "I've just killed seventeen Roman proconsuls."[[/note]] Outside. In cold weather. In the rain. Without warm clothes on. And then went out dancing. He seemed ok for three weeks; but on March 26, the old man caught a cold (which became pneumonia and thyphoid), lingered bedridden for about eight days, and died on April 4, 1841, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy thereby proving the accusations true]].[[note]]Although modern doctors, after looking through the notes left behind by Harrison's doctor, have produced a theory that Harrison may have been killed by enteric fever caused by contaminated drinking water, especially since the idea of a cold that takes three weeks to take hold seems unlikely.[[/note]] And thus, William Henry Harrison, immediately following UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, was only President from [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica March, 1841 to April, 1841]], making way for UsefulNotes/JohnTyler.

William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841), upon getting elected President at 68-years-old, had a brilliant idea for his inauguration. Facing accusations that he was old and frail, as well as unintelligent, he fatefully decided to deliver a very long, rambling, two-hour inauguration speech, still the longest inaugural speech in the history of the United States presidency[[note]]His original draft was even longer, and large parts of it contained more discussion of ancient Rome than the United States; Secretary of State Daniel Webster did the best he could by trimming it down to 8,00 words, and after finishing said "I've just killed seventeen Roman proconsuls"[[/note]]. Outside. In cold weather. In the rain. Without warm clothes on. And then went out dancing. He seemed ok for three weeks; but on March 26, the old man caught a cold (which became pneumonia and thyphoid), lingered bedridden for about eight days, and died on April 4, 1841, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy thereby proving the accusations true]]. And thus, William Henry Harrison, immediately following UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, was only President from [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica March, 1841 to April, 1841]], making way for UsefulNotes/JohnTyler.[[note]]Although modern doctors, after looking through the notes left behind by Harrison's doctor, have produced a theory that Harrison may have been killed by enteric fever caused by contaminated drinking water.[[/note]]

Harrison used the memorable campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", which makes reference to the battle of Tippecanoe, a battle fought against the forces of Native heroes Tecumseh and his brother The Prophet (real name Tenskwatawa), when he was governor of the Indiana Territory. Tecumseh wasn't present at the battle, but Harrison would fight him directly two years later in the [[UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 Battle of the Thames]], where Tecumseh was killed and Harrison became a national hero. Popular legends state that a curse laid by Tecumseh's shaman is what led to his death in office, and to a curse on presidents elected in a year ending with zero, leading to [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln four]] [[UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield presidents]] [[UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley getting]] [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy assassinated]] and two dying of [[UsefulNotes/WarrenHarding natural]] [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt causes]]. This "curse" was broken in 1980, albeit in [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan one violent near-miss]]. Despite campaigning using this populist slogan, though, he was (ironically) from a city, unlike his opponent (UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren) who was actually from the country. He also had previously served as a Representative, Senator, and an ambassador to Colombia. His victorious campaign in 1840 was actually his second tilt at the presidency; his first had been at the previous election in 1836, when the Whigs had the "innovative" idea of fielding a total of four presidential candidates in an attempt to prevent any candidate from getting the required number of electoral college votes, which would force the House of Representatives to vote on who would be the next president. The strategy ended in failure, and Martin Van Buren easily defeated all four Whig candidates,[[note]](Ironically, the ''Vice''-Presidential vote in the electoral college that year failed to give anyone the required majority, albeit this was less because of the Whig strategy and more because a bunch of Democrats refused to vote for Van Buren's running mate, Richard M. Johnson, on the grounds that he was in a relationship with a black woman. Either way, the ensuing vote in the Senate just demonstrated why the Whig strategy had been fatally flawed, as it was the ''outgoing'' and heavily Democrat-dominated chambers of Congress that voted, meaning that Johnson was easily elected, as would Van Buren if the House had been forced to vote)[[/note]] but Harrison was the most successful of the four, helping him be nominated as the sole Whig candidate in 1840.

Also known among Hoosiers for being the first president from Indiana[[note]]although he was born in Virginia and is more commonly associated with Ohio[[/note]].

Having never had a chance to really do anything in office, the ninth president, and the first from the Whig Party, is largely a footnote in history. However, this was the first time a President died in office, and the Constitution was a little vague on whether the Vice President became President or merely Acting President if the current President was incapacitated (this was all the more important as it was very clear Harrison wasn't going to resume his duties any time soon). UsefulNotes/JohnTyler's insistence on the former set an important precedent for future, [[UsefulNotes/AndrewJohnson more contentious]] Vice Presidents. Harrison was the first sitting president to have a photograph of him taken while in office, although the original copy has been lost to history; the photograph seen on this page is of an oil painting of Harrison. Also the only President to have [[UsefulNotes/BenjaminHarrison a grandson]] later hold the office. William Henry Harrison was also the oldest president elected to office until UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan took office 140 years later in 1981 as the then-oldest president (now held by UsefulNotes/JoeBiden).

Having never had a chance to really do anything in office, the ninth president, and the first from the Whig Party, is largely a footnote in history. However, this was the first time a President died in office, and the Constitution was a little vague on whether the Vice President became President or merely Acting President if the current President was incapacitated (this was all the more important as it was very clear Harrison wasn't going to resume his duties any time soon). UsefulNotes/JohnTyler's insistence on the former set an important precedent for future, [[UsefulNotes/AndrewJohnson more contentious]] Vice Presidents. Harrison was the first sitting president to have a photograph of him taken while in office, although the original copy has been lost to history; the photograph seen on this page is of an oil painting of Harrison. Also the only President to have [[UsefulNotes/BenjaminHarrison a grandson]] later hold the office. William Henry Harrison was also the oldest president elected to office until UsefulNotes/JoeBiden took office 180 years later in 2020.

* He's portrayed by David Clennon in the television film ''Tecumseh: The Last Warrior'', where he's a sympathetic AntiVillain to Tecumseh.

William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841), upon getting elected President at 68-years-old, had a brilliant idea for his inauguration. Facing accusations that he was old and frail, as well as unintelligent, he fatefully decided to deliver a very long, rambling, two-hour inauguration speech, still the longest inaugural speech in the history of the United States presidency (His original draft was even longer, and large parts of it contained more discussion of ancient Rome than the United States; Secretary of State Daniel Webster did the best he could by trimming it down to 8,00 words, saying "I've just killed seventeen Roman proconsuls" when he finished). Outside. In cold weather. In the rain. Without warm clothes on. And then went out dancing. He seemed ok for three weeks; but on March 26, the old man caught a cold (which became pneumonia and thyphoid), lingered bedridden for about eight days, and died on April 4, 1841, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy thereby proving the accusations true]]. And thus, William Henry Harrison, immediately following UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, was only President from [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica March, 1841 to April, 1841]], making way for UsefulNotes/JohnTyler.[[note]]Although modern doctors, after looking through the notes left behind by Harrison's doctor, have produced a theory that Harrison may have been killed by enteric fever caused by contaminated drinking water.[[/note]]

William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841), upon getting elected President at 68-years-old, had a brilliant idea for his inauguration. Facing accusations that he was old and frail, as well as unintelligent, he fatefully decided to deliver a very long, rambling, two-hour inauguration speech, still the longest inaugural speech in the history of the United States presidency (which had already been edited for length and was ''still'' over 8,000 words; Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, said after he finished editing it, "I've just killed seventeen Roman proconsuls"). Outside. In cold weather. In the rain. Without warm clothes on. And then went out dancing. He seemed ok for three weeks; but on March 26, the old man caught a cold (which became pneumonia and thyphoid), lingered bedridden for about eight days, and died on April 4, 1841, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy thereby proving the accusations true]]. And thus, William Henry Harrison, immediately following UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, was only President from [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica March, 1841 to April, 1841]], making way for UsefulNotes/JohnTyler.[[note]]Although modern doctors, after looking through the notes left behind by Harrison's doctor, have produced a theory that Harrison may have been killed by enteric fever caused by contaminated drinking water.[[/note]]

William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841), upon getting elected President at 68-years-old, had a brilliant idea for his inauguration. Facing accusations that he was old and frail, as well as unintelligent, he decided to deliver an eloquent two-hour inauguration speech, still the longest inaugural speech in the history of the United States presidency (which had already been edited for length and was ''still'' over 8,000 words; Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, said after he finished editing it, "I've just killed seventeen Roman proconsuls"). Outside. In cold weather. In the rain. Without warm clothes on. And then went out dancing. He seemed ok for about three weeks, then caught a cold (which became pneumonia), lingered bedridden for about nine days, and died, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy thereby proving the accusations true]]. And thus, William Henry Harrison, immediately following UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, was only President from [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica March, 1841 to April, 1841]], making way for UsefulNotes/JohnTyler.[[note]]Although modern doctors, after looking through the notes left behind by Harrison's doctor, have produced a theory that Harrison may have been killed by enteric fever caused by contaminated drinking water.[[/note]]

Having never had a chance to really do anything in office, the ninth president, and the first from the Whig Party, is largely a footnote in history. However, this was the first time a President died in office, and the Constitution was a little vague on whether the Vice President became President or merely Acting President if the current President was incapacitated (this was all the more important as it was very clear Harrison wasn't going to resume his duties any time soon). UsefulNotes/JohnTyler's insistence on the former set an important precedent for future, [[UsefulNotes/AndrewJohnson more contentious]] Vice Presidents. Harrison was the first sitting president to have a photograph of him taken while in office, although the original copy has been lost to history; the photograph seen on this page is of an oil painting of Harrison. Also the only President to have [[UsefulNotes/BenjaminHarrison a grandson]] later hold the office. He was also the oldest president elected to office until UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan took office 140 years later.

He used the memorable campaign slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", which makes reference to the battle of Tippecanoe, a battle fought against the forces of Native heroes Tecumseh and his brother The Prophet (real name Tenskwatawa), when he was governor of the Indiana Territory. Tecumseh wasn't present at the battle, but Harrison would fight him directly two years later in the [[UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 Battle of the Thames]], where Tecumseh was killed and Harrison became a national hero. Popular legends state that a curse laid by Tecumseh's shaman is what led to his death in office, and to a curse on presidents elected in a year ending with zero, leading to [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln four]] [[UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield presidents]] [[UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley getting]] [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy assassinated]] and two dying of [[UsefulNotes/WarrenHarding natural]] [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt causes]]. This "curse" was broken in 1980, albeit in [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan one violent near-miss]]. Despite campaigning using this populist slogan, though, he was (ironically) from a city, unlike his opponent (UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren) who was actually from the country. He also had previously served as a Representative, Senator, and an ambassador to Colombia. His victorious campaign in 1840 was actually his second tilt at the presidency; his first had been at the previous election in 1836, when the Whigs had the "innovative" idea of fielding a total of four presidential candidates in an attempt to prevent any candidate from getting the required number of electoral college votes, which would force the House of Representatives to vote on who would be the next president. The strategy ended in failure, and Martin Van Buren easily defeated all four Whig candidates,[[note]](Ironically, the ''Vice''-Presidential vote in the electoral college that year failed to give anyone the required majority, albeit this was less because of the Whig strategy and more because a bunch of Democrats refused to vote for Van Buren's running mate, Richard M. Johnson, on the grounds that he was in a relationship with a black woman. Either way, the ensuing vote in the Senate just demonstrated why the Whig strategy had been fatally flawed, as it was the ''outgoing'' and heavily Democrat-dominated chambers of Congress that voted, meaning that Johnson was easily elected, as would Van Buren if the House had been forced to vote)[[/note]] but Harrison was the most successful of the four, helping him be nominated as the sole Whig candidate in 1840.

William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841), upon getting elected President at 68-years-old, had a brilliant idea for his inauguration. Facing accusations that he was old and frail, as well as unintelligent, he decided to deliver an eloquent two-hour inauguration speech, still the longest inaugural speech in the history of the United States presidency (which had already been edited for length and was ''still'' over 8,000 words; Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, said after he finished editing it, "I've just killed seventeen Roman proconsuls"). Outside. In cold weather. In the rain. Without warm clothes on. And then went out dancing. He seemed ok for about three weeks, then caught a cold (which became pneumonia), lingered bedridden for about nine days, and died, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy thereby proving the accusations true]]. And thus, William Henry Harrison, immediately following UsefulNotes/MartinVanBuren, was only President from [[UsefulNotes/AntebellumAmerica March, 1841 to April, 1841]], making way for UsefulNotes/JohnTyler.